Predatory rapist Googled his odds of conviction before sexually assaulting a woman in a car park

A predatory rapist Googled how to get away with assaulting a woman on the same night he carried his victim to a car park in Portsmouth before sexually assaulting her.

Daniel Booth, 20, of Beresford Road, Portsmouth, began his seven year jail sentence on Saturday, which was handed down nearly 17 months after the attack.

The jury heard how a young woman, aged in her 20s, had become separated from her friends shortly after 11pm following a night out in Portsmouth in June last year.

She woke up in a car park after passing out with no idea what had happened to her, a court heard.

The rapist had left her unconscious in the car park before he vanished.

An examination of Booth’s mobile phone by police showed that prior to his arrest, he had been doing web searches on Google about rape, including how someone can be convicted of rape and what evidence police need to charge someone for the offence. 

The judge who convicted Booth told him: ‘She could not have anticipated what happened to her that night and was incapable of protecting herself from you.

‘You took complete advantage of her. You carried her to the place where you violently raped her and abandoned her, you left her in the cold and wet.’

Booth denied the rape, which took place on June 29, 2021, but he was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court in June this year.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘A man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a woman in Portsmouth city centre last summer.

‘Daniel Booth, who was aged 18 at the time he committed the offence but is now 20, was sentenced [Monday].’

In addition to his prison sentence, of which he will be required to serve at least two thirds in custody, he will also have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

The jury heard how the victim reported to police that she had been separated from her friends shortly after 11pm following a night out in Portsmouth.

She reported waking up in what officers later determined to be the Hippodrome House car park in the early hours of June 30 with no recollection of what had happened to her.

A young man reportedly found the woman in the car park and helped her to contact her friends and ensured that she was reunited with friends.

Judge Mousley commended the actions of the young man who found the victim and made sure she got to a place of safety.

An investigation was launched, led by Hampshire Constabulary’s specialist Operation Amberstone team and extensive CCTV inquiries led to the arrest of Booth.

CCTV photos from the scene show a man identified as Booth leaving the car park. The jury was told how the victim, a woman in her 20s, was located by members of the public in the car park, with no recollection of what had happened to her

The jury was told how the victim, a woman in her 20s, was located by members of the public in the car park, with no recollection of what had happened to her

Booth’s mobile phone showed that he had also visited the CPS website on how the Crown Prosecution Service prosecute rape.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman involved said that what happened to her will be a nightmare that she will forever have to live with.

Sentencing Booth, Judge Timothy Mousley commended the bravery of the victim after Booth had put her through a trial by pleading not guilty as he ‘did not have the courage to admit the obvious.’