Man jailed for kidnapping drunk woman and dragging her 'like a ragdoll' to his flat
A man dragged a drunk woman "like a ragdoll" into his flat for sex, a court has heard.
The victim had become separated from her partner during a night out in Swansea after leaving her phone in a bar before Craig Aaroyo took her back to his nearby apartment.
It wasn't until later that morning that she was able to call her worried partner, who had reported her missing and was with police when she phoned in a "distressed" state.
She had woken up alone in his bed without any underwear, the Court heard. But the last thing she could remember was being in a bar on Wind Street.
Sentencing Aaroyo for kidnap a judge said he had no doubt Aaroyo had an "ulterior motive" in taking the intoxicated woman back to his flat. The Judge said the case was a "particularly singular one".
But he was not sentencing him for any sexual offences, Wales online reports.
The victim and her partner travelled to Swansea on December 31 last year to celebrate New Year's Eve and checked into a city hotel.
The couple spent the night in the bars on Wind Street but in the early hours of January 1 became separated after the partner went back into a bar to retrieve his girlfriend's phone.
Aaroyo approached her as she was sitting alone on a bench near the street's Peppermint bar.
After around four minutes the woman accompanied the defendant through the entrance gates of his nearby block of flats while "clearly unsteady on her feet". In the building the woman collapsed to the floor and the defendant carried her to the lift.
Internal CCTV footage from the block showed the defendant dragging the woman by her arms along the corridor floor from the lift to his fourth-floor flat.
Around 9am the missing woman called her number. Her boyfriend was with cops and an officer answered the call. The woman was crying and sounded in a distressed state. She gave Aaroyo's address and when officers arrived at the flats they found the woman and the defendant in a corridor of the block.
The woman was slurring her speech, shivering, and being sick. The court heard the woman gave a brief initial account of events saying the last thing she could remember was being in a bar on Wind Street then waking up alone in a bed and without her underwear.
She later left hospital with her partner - and with a saline drip still attached to her arm. The woman told officers she couldn't remember what had happened as she had blacked out before waking up in an unknown flat. She added that she had not consented to going to the defendant's flat.
But the woman had not provided a statement nor agreed to be interviewed, despite efforts from Swansea Police.
Aaroyo said he had put the woman to bed with a bottle of water and checked on her regularly for an hour before getting into bed with her.
The prosecutor said Aaroyo then described "a number of sex acts" the pair engaged in, including intercourse, and said they had both "abandoned their inhibitions". The defendant was subsequently charged with rape and sexual assault.
He had claimed "We had a little fumble. She was so drunk. We both were". The court heard he was seen to be "smirking" while giving his account. The officer then saw urine, vomit and ladies underwear in the defendant's bedroom and after speaking to his sergeant - who was with the victim - decided to caution the defendant as he suspected an offence had been committed.
Craig Aaroyo, of Hen Llys, Wind Street, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said having seen the CCTV footage it was clear the victim was extremely vulnerable through intoxication and was in no position to make rational decisions. He said he had no doubt the defendant had an "ulterior motive" in taking the woman to his flat, and he said Aaroyo had dragged the woman "like a ragdoll" to his door.
The judge said had sexual offences been proved the sentence the defendant would get would be "many times longer" than the one he was going receive, and he said he wanted to make it clear that Aaroyo was only being sentenced for the offence of kidnap saying the victim doubtless had "good reasons" for not wanting to engage with the police.
The judge added that the case was a "particularly singular" one and a "very unusual sentencing exercise" for which he could find no relevant case law.
Aaroyo was sentenced to 28 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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