Young women praised for reporting rapist
Northumbria PoliceTwo young women have been praised by a judge for their "bravery and tenacity" after seeing their rapist jailed.
Elliot Robinson was 14 when he raped a teenage girl, was given a police caution for another rape when he was 15 and attacked a third young woman when he was 19, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
"When something terrible happens there is a great temptation to hide away," judge Gavin Doig said, but Robinson's victims had not done that.
Robinson, now 22 and from South Shields, was jailed for eight and a half years having admitted two counts of rape.
After raping his first victim while ignoring her pleas to stop and making her life a "misery", Robinson raped another girl and caused a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, Judge Doig said.
The youth had received the "clearest of warnings" about his behaviour but "instead of desisting", raped another woman who was unconscious through drink when he was 19, the judge said.
'Everyone knows what you did'
The judge said character references had described Robinson as "kind", but the rapist "showed no kindness at all towards [his] victims".
He said "lying" Robinson could have admitted the offences three years ago but waited until his trial was due to begin before changing his pleas to guilty, prolonging the "dread" the women must have felt about the prospect of having to give evidence.
Doig told the rapist: "Due to the courage of both these young women, everyone now knows what you did."
The judge said he could "well understand" if the women had wanted to "pretend it had not happened" and hoped it all went away, but added: "If both victims had followed that course, these offences would never have come to light and [Robinson] would remain unpunished."
Robinson will have to sign the sex offenders register for life
