A convicted rapist from Lithuania attacked and raped a woman in Northampton a month after arriving in the UK, a court heard.
Gintas Burinskas, aged 36, finished a 10-year sentence for a rape committed in his home country in August last year, and came to Northampton three months later.
At Northampton Crown Court today, he was given another 10-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges of rape and grievous bodily harm relating to a brutal attack on a Northampton woman in the early hours of Boxing Day.
The court heard that a 31-year-old woman was walking along St Andrew’s Road, near the junction of Black Lion Hill, at about 4am when she became aware of a man standing near her with a can of cider in his hand.
James House, prosecuting, said the woman avoided eye contact with the man and walked away but he then grabbed her from behind and put his hand around her throat and started to squeeze her windpipe.
Mr House said: “The woman tried to get away, but he was too strong. She grabbed him in the groin to try to get him off. She shouted for help but her calls went unheeded.”
Burinskas then pressed harder on the woman’s windpipe until she lost consciousness.
He then dragged her to an area covered by trees and bushes and the woman then woke up to find him on top of her.
Mr House said Burinskas then hit her in the face and grabbed hold of her throat again.
Burinskas then brutally raped his victim and poured cider over her body during a horrific attack lasting 10 minutes.
Mr House said the victim managed to briefly escape after making a run for it when she saw Burinskas’s back was turned.
However, Bursinskas chased her and kicked her legs from underneath her so she fell over. He then kicked her in the head and stamped on her stomach.
The victim finally managed to get away from her attacker after she ran into the nearby Ibis hotel.
Mr House said: “The defendant hung around outside the hotel before disappearing from view.
“As the woman was phoning the police, the defendant then reappeared and staff at the hotel locked the front door to prevent him getting in.”
Burinskas was arrested shortly afterwards and the woman was taken to Northampton General Hospital where she was treated for cuts and bruises and X-rays revealed she had a fractured jaw.
Mr House said the victim had suffered bouts of depression as a result of the attack and had needed counselling.
He said: “The victim is now very fearful about going out and is particularly fearful if she hears a foreign language being spoken close to her.”
The prosecutor said Burinskas had a number of previous convictions from Lithuania, which included three years in prison for an aggravated burglary committed in 1998 and a 10-year sentence for a rape committed in September 2002.
He also got a further six-year sentence for the illicit consumption of drugs in prison in February 2006.
Burinskas eventually ended up serving a prison sentence of 10 years and six months and was released on August 2 last year.
It is believed he came to Northampton in November 2012 in order to visit a family member.
Judge Rupert Mayo, sentencing, said: “The victim has been left with psychological scars and has required treatment for depression.
“You came to the UK and committed these offences within a month of arriving in the country. I believe you pose a significant risk of causing harm to others by committing other offences.”
Judge Mayo said he had given Burinskas credit for his early guilty plea and reduced his sentence from 12 to seven years.
Burinskas was also sentenced to four years in prison for grievous bodily harm, to be served concurrently, and given an extra period of three years, to be served consecutively, making the total sentence 10 years, although he is likely to serve less than five years in custody.
Matthew Kirk, defending, said it was “likely” that Burinskas would be deported back to Lithuania towards the end of his prison sentence.
Detective Constable Paul Houghton-Graeger, said he thought the sentence sent out a “strong message”.
He said: “We welcome the sentence and would like to pay special thanks to the victim, who showed tremendous courage throughout this case.
“This sentence should send a strong message to those who think they can commit such horrific acts or believe they will evade capture and prosecution”