Rapist targeted woman as she slept.

Serial Rapist's Appeal Against Lengthy Jail Term Fails

A serial rapist who targeted a woman as she slept has failed in his attempt to challenge his lengthy jail term.

Callen Chandler-Jones, 31, was handed an extended sentence at Liverpool Crown Court in April for raping his "extremely vulnerable" victim while she was asleep on at least 11 occasions over several years.

The victim, who cannot be identified, described feeling "completely broken" and "treated like an object" by Chandler-Jones' actions.

During the trial, it was revealed that the victim had become suspicious of Chandler-Jones' behavior and began leaving her phone under her pillow to record while she slept. When she confronted him, Chandler-Jones apologized, claiming he had been experiencing "irresistible urges". He later made "partial admissions" to the attacks, which occurred at an address in Merseyside.

Chandler-Jones was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with an extended licence period of eight years, after admitting to two counts of rape. The court heard that the second count encompassed multiple occasions.

The sentence means Chandler-Jones must serve at least two-thirds of his jail term before becoming eligible for parole. He will only be released early if a Parole Board deems him safe to be released into the community.

However, Chandler-Jones launched an appeal against his sentence, arguing that the judge had no right to impose such a long prison term.

The Court of Appeal rejected his arguments, stating that the "index offences are very severe" and the "repeated nature makes it reasonable to go above the upper limit of that category by some margin."

Lady Justice Whipple, who presided over the appeal, emphasized the severity of the crimes: "This sentence was for a series of rapes (at least 11) over a lengthy period, committed despite [the complainant] asking the applicant to stop and expressing her deep upset at what was occurring. These rapes were committed while she was asleep and unable to resist."

Regarding the extended sentence, Justice Whipple stated: "The judge had good reason to impose an extended sentence in this case. The applicant plainly does present a real danger to the public."

In a powerful victim impact statement read out in court, the woman described the devastating impact of Chandler-Jones' assaults: "I don't know how to put my feelings into words. This has completely broken me as a person. I am doing all I can to put the pieces back together. The hardest thing to get my head around was why he would want to cause me such distress time and time again. My confidence and my heart and soul was completely stripped from me. He treated me like an object to give pleasure. It broke my heart. I really struggle to understand how he could disregard me and my body. I want to ensure he never hurts anyone ever again. I refuse to be hurt by him anymore. I completely lost who I was."

Chandler-Jones, a heroin and crack cocaine addict, has 19 previous convictions, including for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge David Swinnerton, who passed the original sentence, stated: "You raped her in circumstances where she was exceptionally vulnerable. You used her like an object. You ignored her humanity completely and completely disregarded her as a human being. You treated her as a sexual plaything to do with what you wanted."

Chandler-Jones was also given a restraining order, preventing him from contacting the complainant indefinitely. He must also sign the sex offenders' register for life.