Guildford Man Jailed for Eight Years for Attempted Rape In Car Park

Published on: 2 Dec, 2017
Updated on: 2 Dec, 2017

David Lamport

A 23-year-old man from Guildford has been jailed for eight years for the attempted rape and sexual assault of a woman in her twenties at the Farnham Road car park in Guildford in April this year (2017).

David Lamport, 23, from Onslow Street, Guildford was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on November 24 after being found guilty at the same court on October 27.

The attack happened around 11.35pm on April 30 as the victim walked along Farnham Road to the multi-storey car park. Lamport followed her into the car park and then grabbed her by the back of her hair, groped her body and forced her to kiss him. The victim was able to hit him in the neck with her keys which caused him to let her go. She then ran into the main road and flagged down a passing motorist for help and then phoned the police.

Detective Constable Anne Simpson from West Surrey CID said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and as you can read from her moving statement below it’s had a devastating effect on her life. I just hope Lamport’s lengthy prison sentence will provide some comfort to the victim and help her recover from this awful experience.

“We take all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously and urge anybody who has been subject to sexual abuse or assault to report it as soon as possible where specialist officers will investigate sensitively and thoroughly.”

The entrance to Farnham Road multi-storey car park.

In a moving statement, the victim told the court: “As a result of the attack I just don’t feel safe anymore, even when I’m at home.  I can’t sleep at night because I always think there is someone in my house.  I’ve never had trouble sleeping before.  I cry all the time when I’m at home and I cried at work recently.  It’s not like me to cry at all.  I’ve always been quite happy.

“I can’t even go out of the house without feeling scared that I’ll be attacked again.  Because I was attacked when I was doing a routine thing of walking back from work it took me out of my comfort zone.  I used to chat to anyone but now I don’t want to engage in conversation with anyone I don’t know.

“Three days after I was attacked I got my hair cut a lot shorter.  I did this because he dragged me by my hair and I now feel like I’ve taken some control back.  Now it might be more difficult for someone to grab my hair.  I had no intention of cutting my hair – in fact, I wanted to grow it longer.

“Since the attack, I’ve had a constant headache and no amount of painkillers seem to help.  Also, I now suffer from panic attacks.  Someone knocked on my door and I just couldn’t breathe.  I felt really anxious and worried that someone was going to break in and attack me.

“As a result of the attack, I have had to work at a different location.  I used to put a lot of hours in and work hard but now I just don’t want any responsibility. I just don’t want to be around people anymore.

“Six days after the attack I was due to be bridesmaid at my friend’s wedding but I cancelled it.  I just didn’t want to stand up in front of everyone.

“I used to be confident and happy and now I’m not.  This attack has completely changed my life.”

Advice for those affected by sexual abuse and assault can be found on the Surrey Police website at http://www.surrey.police.uk/.

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