Man jailed for raping teenage girl in St Neots after plying her with vodka

A man who pressured a teenage girl into drinking vodka before raping her in St Neots has been jailed for more than nine years.

Sajeenthira Dharmendra, 24, met the 17-year-old on an online chat platform and arranged to meet her in the town on 11 October last year.

The victim, who was wary of getting into his car, asked Dharmendra to empty his pockets and checked the boot before agreeing to go with him. They drove to a shop, where he bought alcohol and a vape, before pouring vodka into a bottle of cola and urging her to drink it — warning she would be “wasting his time” if she refused.

After driving to the Riverside Car Park, Dharmendra sexually assaulted her. When the teenager told him to stop, he instead forced her to drink more alcohol until she passed out.

When she woke up, she found the bottom half of her clothes removed and was in pain, with no memory of what had happened. While Dharmendra slept, she unlocked his phone and was horrified to discover he had filmed himself sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious.

The victim forwarded the video to another phone to preserve the evidence before fleeing to a friend’s house and calling police.

Dharmendra, of Springfield Mews, Mill Road, Aveley, near South Ockendon in Essex, was later arrested at his home, around 75 miles away.

Following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court last month, he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault by penetration. He had earlier pleaded guilty to voyeurism and making indecent photographs of a child.

On Tuesday (8 October), he was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison and placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

In sentencing, Judge Andrew Hurst said Dharmendra had deliberately set out to get the teenager drunk in order to have sex with her, regardless of consent.

“Your sole, single-minded purpose was for sexual intercourse,” the judge said. “You planned to buy alcohol to get her drunk. You were sober. You were responsible for this girl who was very drunk, late at night, in the back of your car. What you should have done was decide that she was far too drunk and take her home. Instead, you raped her.”

Detective Constable James Collinwood, who led the investigation, praised the victim’s courage in coming forward and securing vital evidence.

“She has shown tremendous strength and bravery throughout,” he said. “I hope it gives confidence to other victims to come forward, knowing they will be listened to and supported as we work to get justice for them.”