A 25-year-old man, Nathan Thorburn, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping a woman while she was unconscious at student accommodation in Cardiff in 2019.

The victim, who was heavily intoxicated after a night out, was put to bed by Thorburn, who took advantage of her unconscious state and raped her. She woke up during the attack in immense pain and discovered Thorburn was forcing himself upon her.

Years later, Thorburn contacted the victim on Facebook, asking to discuss what had happened in order to "get closure." The victim, however, was furious and accused him of "massaging his ego" by trying to absolve himself of guilt.

In a statement read to the court, the victim described the devastating impact the rape had on her life, saying she felt "defiled, dirty, vile, and disgusting" and that it had turned her into a "broken shell" of her former self.

Thorburn pleaded guilty to rape and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. He had previous convictions for accessing indecent images of children and had been found to have deleted his internet history.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke described Thorburn as a "dangerous offender" and stated that his actions had "a devastating impact on her and her life." She emphasized that "Nothing was her fault. The fault, responsibility, and blame is all yours."

Thorburn was sentenced to a 13-year extended sentence, which includes nine years in prison and a four-year extended license period. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for life and given a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim.