{"id":953153,"date":"2026-05-11T18:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/953153\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T18:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:28:16","slug":"man-brought-to-justice-almost-20-years-after-attacking-woman-in-her-own-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/953153\/","title":{"rendered":"Man brought to justice almost 20 years after attacking woman in her own home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dean Edwards&#8217; victim came forward after learning her attacker had committed another offence<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"walesonline\" class=\"PremiumArticleBadge_premium-badge-image__ceBDv\" data-testid=\"premium-byline-walesonline\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/assets\/walesonline\/images\/premium-byline-walesonline.svg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>19:14, 11 May 2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Custody photo of Dean Edwards, 48, who has short brown hair, a brown\/grey beard, and is wearing a red t-shirt.\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_PDR_ECH_110526DeanEdwards.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Dean Edwards, 48, raped a woman after attempting to 'sweet talk' her\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Dean Edwards, 48, raped a woman after attempting to &#8216;sweet talk&#8217; her(Image: South Wales Police)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A convicted rapist was brought to justice almost 20 years after raping a woman who made a complaint to police after her attacker was jailed for committing a separate sexual offence. She was left sobbing on the floor and feeling &#8220;worthless&#8221; after the man attempted to &#8220;sweet talk&#8221; her before raping her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dean Edwards, 48, was intoxicated through drink and drugs when he raped his victim, after he had attended her home in <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/cardiff\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Cardiff<\/a> and asked to be let in. The victim refused but he didn&#8217;t take no for an answer and attempted to &#8220;sweet talk&#8221; his way into the house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A sentencing hearing at <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/cardiff-crown-court\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Cardiff Crown Court<\/a> on Monday heard the defendant forcibly took hold of the victim and kissed her neck before shepherding her into the house. Make sure you never miss Wales\u2019 biggest updates by <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=aa0abd38-0db5-4492-99f3-e73baecff682&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">getting our daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He then held her arms above her head, removed her underwear and his trousers and raped her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Prosecutor Dan Jones said the victim was crying and repeatedly saying &#8220;no&#8221; and &#8220;stop&#8221; but Edwards continued to rape her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He then pulled up his trousers and left, leaving the victim sobbing on the living room floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">She told people about what had happened but did not report it to the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But in 2023, the victim did contact the police after learning the defendant had been imprisoned for another rape committed after the rape committed against her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">When arrested, the defendant was a serving prisoner and denied raping the victim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Edwards, of HMP Parc, was later convicted of rape following a trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The court heard he has 22 previous convictions for offences including rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, indecent assault, common assault, battery and robbery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In a victim personal statement read to the court by Mr Jones, the victim said: &#8220;The incident has had a profound impact on my life. I questioned whether it was something I deserved. I feel an immense amount of guilt for not reporting the matter to the police. When I found out about other matters against this defendant I felt responsible and thought I could help other women by going to the police earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I felt worthless and ashamed of myself, it&#8217;s affected my confidence and my relationships with men ever since&#8230; It&#8217;s had a negative impact on my working life and my mental health. I&#8217;m not currently working due to stress with the investigation and court process. I experienced sleep issues due to the stress of the investigation. I am not sure I will ever truly get over what happened to me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The court heard the defendant continues to maintain his innocence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Judge Vanessa Francis sentenced Edwards to eight years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The defendant was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a restraining order indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining <a aria-label=\"our WhatsApp community hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/KLfwXOh37d73cWPw0KYD9Q\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">our WhatsApp community here<\/a>. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. 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