Rapist given extended sentence after second conviction

A Neath man has been handed an extended sentence after being convicted of raping a second woman, with a judge ruling he poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public.

Simon Benjamin Morgan, 40, of Windsor Road, Neath, pushed his victim to the floor, strangled and kicked her before taking her phone and raping her during the attack in 2015.

The rape was not reported for almost a decade, with the victim telling Swansea Crown Court she had tried to block out what happened as a “coping mechanism.”

In an impact statement read to the court by prosecution barrister Tom Scapens, the woman said she was experiencing recurring nightmares and that the rape had taken away her “sense of safety and control” over her life.

Morgan, a father-of-two, had previously been convicted of the rape at trial before returning to the dock for sentencing.

He has 10 previous convictions for 16 offences including assaults by beating, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, and rape.

Previous sentencing

In April last year, Morgan was sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping a woman in 2021 – an offence which saw him drag the victim to the floor, assault her, and make threats to kill her while brandishing a bottle of rum.

He was also sentenced at the same time for a brutal attack on a man in Neath which left the victim with severe facial injuries requiring reconstructive surgery, and two assaults on a woman – one of which took place on a Gower beach in front of beachgoers, including a family visiting from the north of England.

Mitigation

Nick Gedge, for Morgan, said the defendant maintains his innocence regarding the 2015 rape. He told the court a pre-sentence report detailed the “childhood trauma” Morgan experienced, which had resulted in intervention from a psychologist.

He said that although Morgan left school with no qualifications, he had run his own business and had “discovered a passion for learning” while in prison. The barrister said his client was studying the equivalent of an A-level in English, was teaching fellow inmates, and had an ambition to study law to degree level. He added that Morgan had found the Buddhist faith and meditates daily.

Sentencing

Judge Huw Rees said the defendant was being sentenced following his second conviction for raping a woman, and that both rapes had been accompanied by violence.

He said given the facts of the offences and everything he had read about the 40-year-old, he was satisfied Morgan poses a significant risk of causing serious harm to members of the public by further offending.

Morgan was made subject to a 10-year extended sentence comprising six years in prison followed by a four-year licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial element before he can apply for release, but it will be for the Parole Board to determine whether he is safe to be let out.

The sentence will run consecutively to the 14-year sentence he is currently serving.