11.5 years in jail for rapist who suffocated his victim during violent attack in Surrey

Adam Fairfoot, 31, (DOB: 03/04/1994) from Leeds, was found guilty of a number of offences including rape, voyeurism and threatening to share a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state following a week-long trial at Guildford Crown Court.

In August last year, having only known his victim for a few weeks, Fairfoot raped and assaulted a woman in a jealous rage at her home address. Surrey Police say he punched her in the face and hit her head against the wall and, when she tried to scream, covered her mouth and nose with his hands and said he was going to kill her.

He then forced the victim into her own vehicle and drove to West Yorkshire, police said, throwing her phone out of the vehicle on the motorway when on route. Fairfoot then pulled over, took all the money in the victims’ possession and ran off. The victim was able to bravely drive off and flag down a member of the public who assisted her in calling police.

At trial he was found guilty of all the offences and on Friday, 2 May was sentenced to 11.5 years imprisonment, handed a 12-year restraining order, a 12-year sexual harm prevention order and put on the sex offenders register for life.

The survivor of the assault gave her powerful statement to court in which she said: "I am here today as a survivor, but barely holding on. I want to share what this experience has done to me - not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and financially. I’m not standing before you as the person I used to be. That person—the one who had hope, peace, and a sense of direction, was taken away from me.

"I don’t want pity. I just want to be heard. I want the court to understand that I didn’t just go through something painful, I’m still going through it. Every single day. I’m trying to take small steps forward, but I need support. I need justice. I need to know that my pain matters. That someone sees what I’ve been through and cares enough to protect others like me."

Detective Constable Hannah Simmonds, from Surrey Police’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team, said: “Fairfoot is a dangerous man who launched a terrifying assault on a woman in an outburst of pure jealousy. He has shown no remorse, even storming out of the court room and back to his cell midway through the judge's sentencing.

"I would like to pay tribute to the survivor of his attack and acknowledge the courage it took to come forward and tell us what happened. I hope this sentence sends a message to other victims of sexual violence that these are serious offences which should never be tolerated.

“If you have been a victim of a sexual offence, please come forward and report it to us. You will be believed; you will be supported and we will do everything possible to bring these criminals to justice.”

Surrey Police has signed up to implement the National Operating Model, developed through Operation Soteria, to transform investigations of rape. Rape is one of the most complex and challenging crimes we deal with within the criminal justice system, but we are determined to make improvements for victims of rape and sexual offences and are working closer than ever with the CPS for real and meaningful changes to be made.