Crack cocaine addict committed double rape of a woman.

A crack cocaine addict has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the double rape of a woman, a crime that only came to light after a police officer noticed bruising on her forehead.

Lee Murphy, 49, was found guilty by a jury at Teesside Crown Court after a trial. He was arrested after an officer was speaking to the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, about an unrelated incident.

"The officer noticed bruising to the woman's forehead and asked her questions," said prosecutor Robert Mochrie on Monday. The victim revealed that she had been attacked and forced to have sex twice, but had been too afraid to report the incident to the police.

When officers arrived to arrest Murphy, he initially attempted to jump out of a window before hiding in a storage cupboard. Murphy has a history of 39 previous convictions for 85 offenses, including violent crimes, but this was his first sex offense.

The court heard that Murphy struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.

Sentencing Murphy, Judge Jonathan Carroll stated, "You are a man who has an entrenched dysfunctional attitude towards women. This sexual violence was as much driven by your need to have power and control over your victim, as the need to have sexual power."

Murphy, from Middlesbrough, was sentenced to a 20-year extended prison term, consisting of 16 years in prison followed by a four-year extended licence period, which he will serve out in the community.

He has been placed under sex offender notification requirements for life and an indefinite restraining order prohibits him from ever contacting his victim again.

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Simone Bennett, of the Domestic Abuse Unit, said: "No one should have to succumb to such violent and despicable crimes that Murphy committed against his victim. His actions towards the victim in this case were nothing less than inhumane and cruel, which I have no doubt will have a lasting impact on the victim's life."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the victim in this case for her bravery. She has not only taken that unimaginable critical step to come forward to report these incidents to police, she has also lived through this distressing time all over again throughout the trial. Without the victim demonstrating such courage Murphy would not have been convicted of these heinous crimes."

"I would also like to thank the team for their hard work and tenacity and the jury in this case, which has resulted in Murphy receiving a lengthy sentence in prison where he belongs."