North Shields man jailed after pleading guilty to rape

Published 2nd Jun 2016

A North Sheilds man is now behind bars after pleading guilty to rape at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday, June 1).

Mark Douglas, aged 39, of Bewicke Road, was sentenced to six years for rape and three years concurrent for assault and has been placed on the Sex Offender's register indefinitely.

He attacked a 27-year-old woman in the incident earlier this year, on March 4, inside an address in Willington Quay.

He assaulted and then raped her during the attack before she was able to leave the premises and raise the alarm and seek help.

Following enquiries offices arrested Douglas two days later and he was subsequently charged with the offences.

DC Paul Barcham said: "We hope the outcome at court brings the victim some sense of justice and she can begin to move on with her life. We are committed to providing support to victims of rape and we hope this sentence will help to give people the courage and confidence to come forward and report sexual offences to police, a partner agency or someone you trust."