Five years prison for teen rape

A GARSTANG man who raped a teenage girl while she lay unconscious in a bed has been jailed for five years.

John Southwell, 63, of Bridge Street, Garstang, has been branded a 
“dangerous individual” and police say the community is safer for him being locked up.

Southwell found his 18-year-old victim drunk and unconscious outside a takeaway in Garstang on October 22 last year.

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He picked the victim up and walked her back to his home in Bridge Street, where he then raped her.

Southwell was convicted of rape following a trial at Preston Crown Court this summer.

Appearing at court again yesterday he was jailed for five years and placed on the sex offender register.

Detective Constable Stephen Lloyd of Fleetwood and Wyre CID, said: “Southwell preyed on his victim because she was in a vulnerable position and he has taken advantage of that for his own gratification.

“He clearly is a dangerous individual and the community is safer for him being behind bars.”