A man who raped a woman while she was experiencing a medical episode and then attempted to gaslight her by claiming she "jumped on him" has been jailed.

Mark Anderson, 42, of Shafton Road, Hackney, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday, April 5th, after being found guilty of rape by a jury at Wood Green Crown Court.

Anderson, who wore a grey Nike tracksuit with an orange tick, thanked the judge as he was led from the dock. After reacting badly to the guilty verdict in February, he apologized to the court through his barrister at the outset of his mitigation.

The court heard that Anderson had invited the victim to his house in the summer of 2023 and raped her while she was asleep. "She woke up to find that she had been completely undressed, and you were on top of her having vaginal sex with her. And she remembers you saying 'be a good girl' and 'stay still'," Judge Daniel Fugallo told Anderson.

"It was clear to her she was not only coming around from being asleep, but from [a medical episode]. The physical exhaustion, and the feeling like she had been hit by a bus, it was clear to her what you were doing could not be normal consensual sex."

Anderson then told the victim that she had wanted to have sex and that "you jumped on me." After piecing together her memories, the victim concluded that Anderson had raped her and bravely reported him to the police.

Anderson was arrested and taken to Stoke Newington Police Station, where a small bag of cocaine was discovered during a search. He was subsequently charged with rape, common assault, and cocaine possession, but only admitted to the latter.

Prosecutor Daniel Bishop argued that the rape should be aggravated by the common assault on the victim, calling for the highest level of culpability.

The victim's impact statement detailed the lasting trauma she experienced, including sleep deprivation, nightmares, suicidal thoughts, and threats from third parties after reporting her rapist to the police.

"I used to be so confident and full of life," she said. "Now I am an empty shell. I do not have a soul. My relationships with other people have suffered. He has stolen my soul and the happy person I once was."

Defense counsel Emma Hayfield argued for medium culpability, claiming that the common assault was "relatively low level" and that there was no evidence of any link between Anderson and the alleged threats against the victim.

Ms Hayfield also stated that Anderson, who has no previous convictions, was assessed as having "several" Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms and a low IQ, which she claimed impacted his ability to empathize and recognize the emotions of others.

Judge Fugallo sentenced Anderson to eight years for rape and three months concurrent for the assault, with no separate penalty for cocaine possession. He also imposed a 10-year restraining order and placed Anderson on the sex offenders register for life.

Summarizing the offense, Judge Fugallo told Anderson: "[The victim] was not conscious when you raped her, due to her being asleep and having a [medical episode]."