Sex beast who raped four women.

Tears of relief flowed from victims and their families as serial rapist Paul Kent was jailed for 19 years.

Kent, now 39, was found guilty of 20 crimes, including sexual activity with a child, following a trial in the summer. He had raped four different women in Basingstoke over an eight-year period, forcing them into depraved sexual acts, some during the course of relationships.

Two other victims were subjected to crimes including sexual assault, blackmail, and intimidation.

Last Friday, some of the victims and their friends and family wept in the public gallery as Judge Guy Boney sentenced Kent to nearly 20 years.

Kent, who showed little emotion throughout the sentencing hearing, was seen to smirk as he was led away to the cells. Judge Boney addressed him, saying: "You have no moral compass at all - it's an instrument that does not appear on your dashboard. Not once did you express a smidgen of remorse, sorrow, sympathy or compassion about the appalling acts you put these women through."

The judge stated that Kent's lack of remorse stemmed from a dislike of women and an aura of "armour-plated sexual arrogance" that led him to portray himself as the victim during the trial.

"It's all utter nonsense," Judge Boney said. "You have a turbo-charged sex drive, and you are utterly ruthless in the ways you go about it."

During the trial, Kent either denied having sex with the women or claimed the sexual acts, some of which Judge Boney described as "amongst the most depraved the court had ever heard about," were consensual.

Stephen Parish, prosecuting, read out victim impact statements from the seven women who had made allegations against Kent. Most of them suffered from recurring nightmares that Kent would return to harm them, and many described the difficulty of being questioned about the allegations in court.

One woman revealed that she turned to self-harm after making her allegations. Another said: "Paul has left me feeling I cannot trust anyone, and I feel that I have lost confidence in myself."

Mr. Parish stated that while the allegations made by the seventh woman did not result in convictions, her bravery in coming forward to the police gave confidence to some of the others to tell their stories.

Iain Lawrie, defending, said Kent's mitigation was "meagre" but added that his client hoped to be moved to a prison on the Isle of Wight to take part in a sexual rehabilitation course.

Judge Boney ruled that Kent poses such a risk to the public that a parole board will only be able to decide whether he is fit for release after he has served two-thirds of his sentence. If paroled, he will serve any remainder of his sentence on licence, and that licence period will be extended by four years, the judge said. Kent was also ordered to remain on the sexual offenders register for life.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Louise Trigg, who was praised for her work by the judge, welcomed the sentence, which she said marked the end of a long and complex investigation. She said: "Paul Kent is a dangerous man who spent many years manipulating, controlling, and abusing women in the Basingstoke area. His behaviour towards women and girls was vile and degrading and has had lasting effects on all of their lives. The victims in the case may never be able to forget what happened to them at the hands of this man."