A Lancashire man, David Bennett, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman while she slept.

Bennett, a registered sex offender, filmed the assaults on his phone. The victim had no recollection of the incident. The pair had shared drinks at her home in May of last year after agreeing to go on a date. They briefly visited a friend's house before returning to her residence. From that point, the woman couldn't remember anything else about the night.

It was during this time, while she was asleep and unresponsive, that Bennett sexually assaulted her. In the following days, he repeatedly contacted her, which raised concerns due to his strange behavior. The victim searched for his name online and discovered newspaper articles detailing Bennett's previous offenses. This led her to contact Lancashire Police.

Upon arrest, Bennett's phone was seized, revealing videos of him sexually assaulting the woman while she was unconscious and motionless. The 40-year-old from Blythewood, Skelmersdale, appeared at Preston Crown Court on January 13th, where he was found guilty by a jury of two counts of sexual assault following a trial.

The judge imposed a 10-year sentence, consisting of five years in prison and an extended five-year licence period. An indefinite restraining order and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order were also issued.

"David Bennett is a dangerous offender, and I welcome the lengthy prison sentence the judge passed," said Detective Constable Chris Wilding of Lancashire Police's South Division Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team. "He committed abhorrent offences against his victim who was unable to defend herself. We take all sexual offenses very seriously and will thoroughly investigate them to bring offenders to justice."