Man jailed for attack and sexual assault at a stranger's Pembrokeshire home

Benjamin Guiver broke into his victim's house as she slept in front of her TV

Benjamin Guiver
Author: Jonny FreemanPublished 31st Oct 2024

A man who attacked and sexually assaulted a woman in her own home in Pembrokeshire has been jailed for 20 years.

Benjamin Guiver, 34, went into the property in the Goodwick area late at night where the woman had fallen asleep in the living room. She awoke to see Guiver in the room and ran from the property in fear.

Guiver followed her, grabbed her by the hair and punched her, and also hit her face on the ground. After dragging the woman back to the house by her hair, Guiver sexually assaulted her.

A male relative arrived at the property and chased Guiver out of the house where Guiver assaulted him by punching and choking him, before the police arrived.

It was later established by police that the 34-year-old, of Fishguard, had attempted to enter another house in close proximity to the victim’s home a short while earlier.

Guiver pleaded guilty to all six charges when he appeared at Swansea Crown Court in July.

Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Briggs from Dyfed-Powys Police said:

“She was clearly badly injured, and was incredibly distressed, but at that point we weren’t aware of the extent of the ordeal she had been put through.

“Our focus was on prioritising her care with the help of paramedics, and getting officers out on the street to find the suspect.

“Shortly after officers arrived at scene, a man by the name of Benjamin Guiver was arrested not far from the house.”

The victim revealed in interview that she didn’t think she would survive the assault, but that two family members returned home and disturbed the attacker.

She explained that she had fallen asleep while watching TV, and woke to find a man in her living room. He said his name was Benjamin and that he had come ‘to rescue her’. When the victim asked who he was, he replied ‘don’t ask any questions or I’ll kill you’.

The victim manged to escape the address and run out onto the drive, shouting for help. She was followed by the suspect, who assaulted her outside and threated to kill her before continuing the sustained attack inside the address.

The victim lost several teeth and sustained significant bruising to her body.

Jessie Walling from the Crown Prosecution Service said:

“The physical and sexual violence inflicted on this woman by a complete stranger in her own home was horrific.

“The strong evidence presented by the CPS resulted in guilty pleas to very serious offences. Both victims have displayed enormous bravery, and we hope they will take some comfort from seeing this offender brought to justice for his appalling offences.”

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