A girlfriend smiled and watched as her boyfriend pinned down and raped a terrified woman.
Anthony Preston, 22, and his fiancee, Nicole Rickatson, 27, from Hull, were involved in a non-consensual “threesome” with the frightened victim who was “used as a rag doll” for sexual abuse.
The vile couple denied three offences of rape, three offences of assault by penetration and one offence of perverting the course of justice at Hull Crown Court.
They were each convicted after a trial of one offence of rape and Preston was convicted of perverting the course of justice, the Mirror reports.
She was trying to stop this sexual attack – and that’s what it was,” said Mr Butters. “This was a horrific sexual attack on her. She was trying to fight back and struggled to prevent this from happening but Preston kept on pushing her down. He was making sure she couldn’t move.”
During the sexual acts, the woman said: “No, please don’t.” It was claimed that she was forced to commit sexual acts on both Preston and Rickatson. She was saying ‘Stop’ – she didn’t want to do any of this – but the male defendant kept on doing what he was doing,” said Mr Butters. “Rickatson was present at the time. They just didn’t seem to care. That’s how she described it in her evidence.”
There was blood on the bed. “Throughout this abuse, she couldn’t move because one or other of them was holding her down,” said Mr Butters. “All the time, Rickatson was in the bedroom encouraging this abuse.
“This pair knew full well throughout this sexual attack that she did not want to be involved in any way. She was saying ‘No’. By saying ‘No’, that just made things worse because the abuse just continued.
“She remembered Preston saying to her that she was a ‘good girl’. She described that, throughout this abuse, when she was saying ‘No’, both defendants, Preston and Rickatson, were both laughing and that’s a theme throughout this incident.
Both defendants knew that she was not consenting to any of these acts but both abused her directly or encouraged the other to do the same. Both defendants told her that they were having fun and she remembers that, when she was being raped by Preston, Rickatson was at her side smiling.
“Preston was asking her to stay over. She was saying ‘No’. That seemed to enrage Preston and it was at that point that he forced himself upon her, raping her, and the female defendant was just smiling in the bedroom. Preston was telling her to stop moving and she remembers how Preston was so persistent that he would just not get off. She said ‘Please don’t’ during this whole incident.
“She remembers Preston saying all the time: ‘Just keep still’ and she remembers her mouth being covered by him while he raped her. During the course of this, her breathing was quite rapid and she was having a panic attack – and one can understand why.”
After the ordeal, the young woman quickly dressed and ran downstairs before calling a male friend.
The incident was immediately reported to the police. The victim had severe scratch marks down her back.
“She felt numb,” Mr Butters added. When police visited the couple’s home, they found blood on the bed but when they returned the following day, all the bedding had been removed from the bedroom.
“They were trying to get rid of the evidence,” stated Mr Butters. “The bed was cleared of all bedding from the night before. They removed evidence, namely bedding, from the investigation scene.”
Both Preston and Rickatson declined to provide defence evidence at the trial, asserting that the sexual activity was consensual.
Mr Butters addressed the jury, saying: “These two want you to believe that they had a thoroughly enjoyable threesome. They have abused her terribly. She felt as though she was being used as a toy, being used for their own sexual exploits and desires. These two have not come out of the dock to give you their case. Would you want to just sit there, hide away and say nothing? They know that during the course of their interviews, they have lied. They have lied and lied again.”
David Godfrey, representing Preston, argued that the young woman’s account was “packed with questions and with doubt” and that there was nothing preventing her from “getting up and going out”. He mentioned previous “banter” about a “threesome” between them.
“Anthony has been steadfast in his innocence,” said Mr Godfrey. “He says that she was a willing participant throughout. He accepted that he had sex with her.”
Preston had no prior convictions.
Claire Holmes, representing Rickatson, stated: “Both defendants say that this was consensual. They both say that it was a consensual threesome.”
Rickatson admitted to engaging in sexual activity, which she had not denied at any point. “They are inviting somebody else into their sexual world,” Miss Holmes remarked, emphasising that it was “A threesome that’s consensual rather than a vile attack.”
Rickatson, who holds no prior convictions, alongside Preston, saw their sentencing postponed; however, both face the prospect of imprisonment.
The pair, already held on remand throughout their trial, were ordered to remain in custody.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.