Southampton man, who raped a woman and then ran over her with his car, gets 8-year prison sentence

A 20-year-old man from Southampton, England has been sentenced to eight years in prison for raping a woman and then running over her with his car at the St Denys railway station. The "shocking" incident had taken place in June.

Dylan Collins will be placed on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life and will also be disqualified from driving for two years.

The Southampton Crown Court heard that Collins had approached the victim on 23 June around midnight and started having a conversation about sex. The woman then got into his car and the two drove to the St Denys train station car park, the Daily Mail reported.

The woman, however, became concerned about the situation she was in and tried to leave. But as she was leaving, Collins punched her in the face and bit her neck before raping her.

The screams of the woman were heard by a passer-by who came to help her before calling the police, according to the website.

Collins had jumped into his car by then, and while driving off, reversed over the woman's legs.

Police officers from Hampshire Police, who were conducting routine traffic stop checks, then began to chase Collins after he did not halt for a check.

As the police pursued him, he abandoned his vehicle at a junction and started to run on foot. But the officers managed to catch up with him and subsequently arrest him.

At an earlier hearing on 11 August, the accused had pleaded guilty to the charges of dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen of breath.

Collins, of Leighton Avenue, was convicted of rape and assault leading to actual bodily harm following his trial at the court, the Heart radio network reported.

Detective sergeant Neil Black of Hampshire Constabulary, said, "This was a horrendous incident in which the effects of Collins' actions will remain forever with the woman that he assaulted.

"There is no place for unwanted sexual behaviour on the network or anywhere in society. The sentenced handed down by the judge today reflects how dreadful and shocking the incident was.

"Thankfully for the woman, a member of the public came to her rescue and helped her and also reported Collins to the police.

"I'd like to say thank you to that person for coming forward and giving us the best chance we could have had to catch Collins and bring him to justice. I'd also like to thank my colleagues at Hampshire Police for their assistance in catching Collins."