Gainsborough: Rapist who filmed his attacks gets his sentence reduced on appeal

A sick Gainsborough rapist who filmed himself sexually abusing a woman while she slept, and uploaded footage onto the internet, has had his jail term cut on appeal.

Lee Schofield, 45, inflicted “degradation and humiliation” on his victim as she lay unconscious, before transfering video recordings of the abuse onto DVDs and the web.

Schofield, of Foxby Lane, Gainsborough, was caged last April for 15 years at Lincoln Crown Court, after he admitted two rape counts and five of sexual assault dating back to 2005.

On Friday 30th January, three senior judges at London’s Criminal Appeal Court upheld a sentence challenge by the sex offender, cutting his jail term to 12 years.

Lord Justice Bean said the videos emerged in 2012 when police received DVDs labelled “porn”, which Schofield had kept hidden in a bedside cabinet.

Schofield had carried out a series of vile and troubling sex acts on his victim while she slept.

She was completely unaware of what was being done to her until the shocking videos came to light, the appeal judge added.

Schofield was arrested and initially denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the activities were entirely consensual.

However, he later pleaded guilty.

It then emerged, before he was due to be sentenced, that Schofield had posted some of the footage online, causing the victim even greater distress.

Schofield’s counsel, Timothy Spencer QC, argued he had not been given enough credit for his guilty pleas and that his punishment was far too tough.

Lord Justice Bean, sitting with Mr Justice Irwin and Judge Paul Batty QC, agreed to slice three years off Schofield’s jail term, reducing it to 12 years.

The judge concluded: “To that extent, the appeal against sentence succeeds.”

The court earlier rejected Schofield’s challenge to his convictions.

The judges rebuffed claims that he had been put under “improper pressure” to enter guilty pleas.

At the original hearing the court was told how the visitim has been badly affected by what had happened to her and has since suffered nightmares and panic attacks.