Marv
Trusted Member
A care worker who raped three vulnerable women at the home he worked in has been jailed for 14 years.
Colin Stokes, 48, attacked the women - aged 32, 50 and 54 - between January 2012 and April 2013 in supported living accommodation in Gloucestershire.
One victim has a mental age of a child, another is registered blind and the third needs aid to communicate.
Stokes, of Dursley, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court, where in January he admitted three rape charges.
Each victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has severe learning disabilities and requires 24-hour care.
At the earlier plea hearing Stokes denied a further charge of rape and one of sexual assault and the court was told those charges would lie on file.
Stokes was employed to work the night shift at the home, which also cannot be identified, and help with day-to-day tasks. Due to staff cutbacks he worked alone.
Police branded him a "sexual predator" who deliberately targeted his victims and said he had not shown any remorse for the damage he had inflicted on them.
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Judge Jamie Tabor QC jailed Stokes for 14 years and told him he would serve another six years on licence. He also placed him on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
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It has emerged Stokes was arrested in 2007 for "inciting sexual activity with a mentally ill female at a care home".
He was questioned and bailed but that was cancelled following an investigation and referral to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). No further action was taken.
A second investigation began in April last year when one of his colleagues reported that a resident had told them they had been abused by him, the court was told.
Stokes, who had worked in the care industry for 13 years and in his current job since 2007, was immediately arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault and suspended.
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Chris Haynes, who oversees learning disability services for the council, said: "We are very concerned about what might have been known in 2007, what actions might have been taken at that point and whether the matter could have been prevented.
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Rachael Scott, head of the CPS South West rape and serious sexual offence unit, said that when the 2007 complaint was made Stokes was interviewed and denied the offence.
"This was one person's word against another," she said.
"In the absence of any corroboration the decision was made that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-26662512