Gary Longfield (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
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A 43-year-old man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years for sexually abusing a drunk young woman after taking her back to his house from a Pembrokeshire nightclub.
Gary Longfield, of Corporation Terrace, Pembroke Dock, was found guilty of rape and assault by penetration after a trial at Swansea Crown Court. He still denies the offences, which the recorder who sentenced him said was a cause for concern.
A night out in spring 2022
The woman had been out with friends celebrating a birthday when she met Longfield at the nightclub. Afterwards, she went back to his house along with Longfield and several other men.
She remembers very little of what happened there. She has no memory of the sexual abuse itself, but she recalls hearing male voices discussing taking her clothes off. Her next memory is of police officers waking her and asking if she knew where she was. The court was told it took officers 10 minutes to wake her.
The recorder’s findings
Recorder David Harris said Longfield had been one of a group of men at the house with the intoxicated woman to begin with. He was satisfied that at some point during the night, Longfield told his friends to “p*** off” and leave the property.
Speaking directly to the defendant, he said: “You took advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable state and you sexually abused her by committing offences of rape and assault by penetration.”
The recorder said it concerned him that Longfield continues to deny the offending and has no insight into what led him to behave as he did. He had also read references that spoke highly of the defendant, and added: “It is clear to me that the alcohol you consumed caused you to behave in a way they do not recognise”.
How it has affected her
Prosecution barrister Ian Wright read a statement from the woman to the court. In it, she said she used to believe everyone was “good and nice”, adding: “I don’t see the world that way any more”.
She described herself as someone who used to be outgoing but has since withdrawn into herself and now struggles to trust people. She said high levels of anxiety have affected her work, and that nightmares have left her scared to go to sleep.
The defence case
Robin Rouch, representing Longfield, said the character references before the court spoke very highly of his client and showed there was “clearly a different side” to him.
He said the custodial sentence his client inevitably faced would affect those close to him, but accepted: “He has brought that upon himself”.
The sentence
Longfield, who has previous convictions for public order matters from 2001 and 2002, will serve two-thirds of his seven-and-a-half-year sentence in custody. He will then be released on licence to serve the rest in the community.
He will be a registered sex offender for life and was made the subject of an indefinite restraining order.
