A man who dragged a woman into a bush and raped her has been jailed for seven years.
Sheldon Harlow, 35, approached his victim as she stood in the Mansfield Road area of The Forest Recreation Ground at around 2am on 9 February.
Despite the woman, a sex worker, stating that she didn’t want to have sex with him outside on a pathway, he grabbed her so she couldn’t escape and pushed her to the muddy ground.
She tried to scream but he covered her mouth with his hand before proceeding to sexually assault and rape her.
Having been left feeling scared for her life, upset and stressed, Harlow, of Fleece Street, Bradford, then asked the victim to go back to his place. When she declined he walked off like nothing had happened.
The woman reported it to Nottinghamshire Police and Harlow was arrested a few days later as a result of forensic evidence and enquiries.
In her statement, the victim said she felt powerless: “I couldn’t do anything and felt too scared to fight back. He had stopped me from screaming and I didn’t know what he was going to do to me. I was left to feel disgusting.”
Harlow pleaded guilty to rape at Nottingham Crown Court and was jailed for seven years.
Detective Constable Donna Robinson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “No one should be forced or coerced into a sexual act of any kind.
“Harlow’s actions were unthinkable, dragging a woman off the street and raping her on the ground.”He showed no remorse throughout our investigation but has now been convicted by a jury as a result of the strength of evidence we provided.
“The victim acted incredibly bravely and without her we would not have seen the outcome we saw today.
“We hope that this sends a strong message out that we take sexual offences of any nature extremely seriously and will investigate to the best of our ability.”
