Hartlepool man jailed for eight years after raping woman as she slept beside her boyfriend

Paul Maiden launched the early morning attack on his victim after an evening spent drinking and taking drugs.

Maiden's victim said she has struggled to come to terms with what happened to her, Teesside Crown Court heard.

During a trial earlier this month, the victim's boyfriend at the time described how he was awoken by the victim shouting she had been raped.

He said: "My girlfriend shouted she had been raped.

"I chased him down the stairs and out of the house."

The court heard the victim was four times the legal limit for driving.

In a victim personal statement, she said she is determined to look forward and get on with her life.

Maiden, of Bowline House, at Hartlepool Marina, denied rape.

A jury in a trial last year failed to reach a verdict.

Maiden was convicted at the end of the re-trial.

Robin Denny, defending, said: "In light of the jury's verdict, there is very little I can properly say on his behalf.

"This offence would not have happened were it not for the taking of a great deal of drink.

"Mr Maiden has no relevant previous convictions, his last offence being drink driving in 2010."

Judge Deborah Sherwin jailed Maiden for eight years.

The judge told him: "I have heard of the impact this offence had on your victim.

"I hope the verdict gives her some comfort.

"Your best mitigation is that you have no relevant previous convictions."

Maiden was made the subject of an order banning him indefinitely from contacting the victim, and he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.