Man who raped, assaulted and strangled woman jailed

A man who raped, assaulted and strangled a woman in Stoke-on-Trent has been jailed for more than a decade.

Richard Allmark, 21, of Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for 15 years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court today (Friday 3 October) after he was previously found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of assault thereby occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of intentional strangulation. He also pleaded guilty to another count of assault by beating at an earlier hearing.

He inflicted a campaign of abuse on the survivor between May and December last year, assaulting her on numerous occasions by dragging her by her hair and strangling her.

We put out a wanted appeal to help with efforts to track him down. He handed himself in after seeing it and was then charged with the offences.

As part of his sentence, he was put on the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely and served with a restraining order against the survivor.

DC Alicia Tierney, from our public protection unit, said: “The survivor in this case has shown immeasurable bravery in coming forward and telling us about the abuse she was subjected to.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to build the evidence needed to secure this result against a dangerous individual who subjected the survivor to such physical and emotional harm.”

If you’re a survivor of rape or sexual assault and you feel ready to talk about it, call us on 101 or use Live Chat on our website. We’re here to speak to you in confidence and to act robustly against those responsible.

Rape is one of the most horrendous, complex and challenging crimes that people can experience and Staffordshire Police is committed to achieving the best outcomes for victims.

Our officers are specially trained to thoroughly investigate these crimes, and to make sure that those reporting them are properly supported and put those responsible before the courts.

We want to reassure anyone who has suffered a sexual offence that if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us, we will listen to you and treat you with sensitivity and compassion.

Anyone who has experienced this type of crime should feel confident to report their experiences of harm to the police directly or indirectly, safe in the knowledge that they will be taken seriously and that they will be treated with dignity and respect.

To find out more about how we support victims, see: Operation Soteria – Transforming the Investigation of Rape