15-year sentence for vile double-rapist who attacked teenage girl and transgender man
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A 24-year-old man who raped two victims, a young transgender man and a teenage girl, has been convicted at Durham Crown Court, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The attacker, Shelton Dube, attacked the young woman, who is not to be identified, in January 2016, after meeting her on a night out in Newcastle.
The court heard that Dube encouraged her to drink from a bottle of vodka as they shared a taxi, and she woke up in her own bed to Dube raping her.
“I don’t know how long it will take me to fully trust others and be in a relationship that is not under strain from what Shelton Dube did to me,” she said.
Three months later he attacked 19-year-old Scott Wilson, at the hostel where they both lived.
Wilson, who is undergoing hormone therapy and hopes to have gender-reassigment surgery in the future, has given up his right to anonymity in the hope of encouraging other LGBT people who have been through similar experiences to come forward.
He wants to tell them that they will be believed.
“I was treated with respect, I was taken seriously, there wasn’t a minute where I was doubted or disbelieved, the support was amazing,” he told the BBC.
Wilson said he told Dube prior to the attack that he was transgender, and attracted to women, but that Dube continued to make sexual advances.
“People have said to us; ‘Why didn’t you shout out?’ or ‘Why didn’t you try and get away?’ But I just froze,” Wilson said.
“If I did try to struggle I don’t know what he would have done. I was just thinking; ‘Just wait until it’s over and done with because I didn’t know what he was capable of.”
Wilson told the Newcastle Chronicle that he had been reluctant to come forward but had been encouraged by a friend, and now Dube has been jailed he feels able to move on with his life.
“I’m glad I did come forward because if I didn’t it would have made my life a lot worse. When he was convicted it was a massive weight off my shoulders. I can try and move on now.”
Dube claimed that both incidents were consensual and was described by the defence as a talented athlete, academically gifted, and a churchgoer
He was jailed for 10 years for the rape of the young woman, and a further five for the rape of Mr Wilson.
