Clear DNA evidence convicts defiant Wakefield predator of raping young girl
Pervert targeted youngster after encouraging her to down spirits
A paedophile has been jailed for 12 years after he plied a girl with vodka before raping her.
Tony Yates was found guilty of sexually assaulting the youngster and then raping her following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.
The 35-year-old continued to protest his innocence, despite overwhelming DNA evidence.
Prosecutor Gerald Hendron said that Yates encouraged the girl to drink to the point that she could not stand, before he took advantage.
He later contacted her, to which Mr Hendron said: “He was essentially trying to make sure she did not speak and find out what she could remember.”
Yates was arrested and denied the allegation, saying nothing had happened. He said he had been drinking and taking cocaine at that time.
He later refused to answer questions after being told there was a DNA match to him found on the girl after she was examined.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, it was heard that the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was left “feeling disgusted and ashamed”.
She said she suffered nightmares for months and said: “The weight of guilt was overwhelming.”
Yates, of Walker Avenue, Wakefield, has previous convictions for threatening behaviour, criminal damage and driving matters, but none for sexual offences.
Mitigating, Shila Whitehead read out references for Yates that described him as “hardworking”, “reliable” and “trustworthy”.
She said he was the breadwinner for his family, but conceded she was limited on what could be said, given that he denied the offences.
Judge Kate Rayfield told Yates: “She was plied her with vodka by you until she was incapacitated. It’s clear she was unable to stand unaided.
“She would not have been able to consent to any sexual activity in the state that was plain for all to see, and yet you took the opportunity.
“It gave you the excuse you were looking for. She was incapable of defending herself.”
Jailing him, she also put him on the sex offender register for life, and gave him a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).