Cardiff: Homeless woman beaten and raped twice, court hearing

Warning: Contains disturbing content

A homeless woman pleaded with her attacker to stop as she was stripped naked, beaten and raped twice in a city center, a court heard.

A jury at Cardiff Crown Court was told the 40-year-old woman was punched and kicked during the attack under a bridge near Cardiff Central station in the early hours of December 27 last year.

Liam Stimpson, 24, from Cardiff, denies two counts of rape, engaging in sexual activity without a person’s consent and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The jury was shown videos on Wednesday found on Mr Stimpson’s phone after his arrest in which the woman pleaded for the alleged attack to stop.

In one it was seen that the woman had a severely swollen and bleeding face and her right eye was completely closed.

She raised her hands to her attacker and said, “Don’t hit me, baby, please don’t hit me. I have children.”

Mr Stimpson was heard replying: “I’ll tell you what to do. I’m the boss.”

Then he asked her to take off her coat despite the cold and wet.

The woman replied, “It’s freezing cold.”

The bailiff handed the jury of nine women and three men tissues and glasses of water as they viewed the images on large screens.

Prosecutor Nicola Powell said: “What you see is a frightened and broken woman who is simply too frightened and too afraid to do anything other than what the defendant has asked of her.”

“He abused, humiliated and degraded her because of his own sexual perversions.”

CCTV footage shown in court then showed the woman running from the bridge into the intersection of the city’s St Mary Street at around 4.45am.

She was chased, beaten and repeatedly kicked to the ground.

Cleaning staff at the nearby Great Western pub heard screams and shouts: “Someone help me, police, help,” the court was told.

She was then seen running into the pub, where a member of staff took off her coat and hoodie and handed them to her.

Shortly afterwards the police arrived.

When she gave evidence in court, the woman said: “I remember him hitting me on the head. It looked like a hammer. He hit me several times on the head, on my eyes and on my cheekbones.”

“I remember waking up sore, under the bridge. He was laughing.”

“When I came to, he asked me to crawl like a dog.”

The court was told Mr Stimpson was in the city center on Boxing Day last year to celebrate his birthday and met the woman sleeping on the street.

He befriended her and told her that he would get her something to eat if she would go with him.

Ms Powell said: “She came with her own problems and her own vulnerabilities. It is risky and dangerous for a woman to live and exist alone.”

In a prepared statement to police, Mr Stimpson said he was approached by a woman who worked as a prostitute and paid for sex. He said it was consensual.

He did not comment on further questions from officials.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Ruth Smith, the woman said she had a crack cocaine addiction that stemmed from the death of a close family member, but added: “I’m not selling myself, OK.”

“I am a mother, a grandmother and a good woman. “I’m not a prostitute,” she told the court.

Ms Smith claimed she had made false rape allegations in the past, which she denied.