A vile girlfriend watched and smiled as her boyfriend forcefully pinned down and brutally raped a terrified young woman who was treated like a “rag doll.”
Anthony Preston, 22, and his fiancée, Nicole Rickatson, 27, from Hull, were involved in a “threesome” with the victim when they “sexually abused” her without her consent, encouraging each other in their horrific acts, Hull Crown Court heard. Despite denying three counts of rape, three counts of assault by penetration and one count of perverting the course of justice, they were both found guilty of one count of rape after a trial, with Preston also convicted of perverting the course of justice, reports the Mirror.
Prosecutor Richard Butters stated: “They did what they wanted. They helped themselves to her. They treated her, in effect, like a rag doll, sexually abusing her.”
The pair had previously suggested a threesome, which the woman thought was a joke. “Preston started to grab at her,” said Mr Butters. “He pulled her hair and immediately she was saying she didn’t want to do this. She was saying that from the outset. This pair knew that what they were doing was against her will.”
The young woman was “all the while fighting back” against the couple. “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. ” 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.”
encouraged and assisted each other”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’.
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 accused were fully aware that the victim was not consenting to any of their actions, yet they continued to abuse her either directly or by encouraging each other. The defendants told her they were having fun and she recalls that while Preston was raping her, Rickatson was beside her, 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 persistent he was, refusing to get off. She pleaded ‘Please don’t’ throughout the entire incident.
“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 woman had severe scratch marks all down her back.
“She felt numb,” said Mr Butters. When police visited the couple’s home, they found blood on the bed but when they returned the next day, “lo and behold, all that bedding had gone” from the bedroom. “They were trying to get rid of the evidence,” Mr Butters stated. “The bed was cleared of all bedding from the night before. They removed evidence, namely bedding, from the investigation scene.
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” Preston and Rickatson both declined to give defence evidence at the trial, insisting that the sexual activity was consensual. Mr Butters told the jury: “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 stopping her from “getting up and going out”.
There had previously been “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 previous convictions. Claire Holmes, representing Rickatson, said: “Both defendants say that this was consensual. They both say that it was a consensual threesome.”
Rickatson admitted to engaging in sexual activity and has never denied it. Miss Holmes commented, “They are inviting somebody else into their sexual world,” adding, “A threesome that’s consensual rather than a vile attack.”
Rickatson had a clean record prior to this incident.
Although sentencing for Preston and Rickatson was postponed, they are likely facing imprisonment. Both were already held on remand throughout the trial and have been further remanded in custody.
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