Swindon man jailed for rape and sexual assault
The offences happened over a number of months
A 59 year-old man from Swindon's been jailed for serious sexual assaults over a number of months.
Charles Schneider of Freshbrook, Swindon, was found guilty of several charges of sexual assault and rape following a trial at Swindon Crown Court last month.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The court had earlier heard how Schneider subjected his victim to sexual assaults over a number of months.
Sergeant Matthew Gamble said: “Schneider’s actions have caused understandably significant amounts of stress to his victim. She has suffered with her mental health as a consequence, which has had a huge negative impact on both her private and professional life.
“I want to highlight the dignity and courage that she has maintained through this extremely distressing time.
“I hope that today’s sentencing will provide her with some closure so that she can start to rebuild her life.”
In a victim impact statement provided to the court, the victim described the enormity of her ordeal: “What Charlie has done to me has massively affected my ability to trust others. I now worry about people's motives and things like jokes and comments get to me a lot more than they ever did.
"I have noticed simple every day things are now more stressful. I recently got a taxi on my own with a male driver and I realised how uncomfortable I now felt in that situation. I am way more wary of any physical proximity to me.
"I am grateful that Charlie has been found guilty as now I can start to feel safe for the first time in years. It feels like the end of a horrific period in my life. I don't feel it means I can move on, because it still happened and I still have to deal with it, but it does begin to help."