‘Distorted’ child rapist imprisoned for more than 19 years

A Daventry man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping a child and other child sex offences.

Paul Hayward, aged 42, of Orchard Street in Drayton, Daventry, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Monday, August 22 after pleading guilty to the offences which took place a number of years ago.

The court heard that Hayward apologised to the victim after admitting to his offences and said: “It was totally wrong for me to let you touch me.”

The court heard that, when the victim asked him why he did it, his response was, “I just wanted to please you.”

Hayward was arrested on June 13, 2021 when he gave a no comment interview to police officers.

In a statement read out to the court, the victim said: “I constantly have realistic nightmares about what happened and I feel like I am reliving what you did to me.”

The victim added they suffer from “sleepless nights”, depression, anxiety, self harming and suicidal thoughts.

The victim continued: “You did something, which will stay with me for the rest of my life. I don’t know if I will be able to move past this or live a normal life. I hope one day I can forget what you did and live a normal happy life.”

Paul Webb, mitigating, said that Heyward has no previous convictions and he has expressed remorse, apologising on “numerous” occasions for his behaviour.

Mr Webb added: “He identifies that he is solely to blame for what happened. I think one can also see in the words he chose to use, there was an initial suggestion that the victim was participating. He removes himself from that entirely.

“Having spoken with him on a number of occasions, his intellectual disability probably limits how articulate he is able to be when talking about his offending behaviour.”

Defence barrister, Rahul Kumar, branded the defendant as “fortunate” for having a family, who is continuing to support and be there for him at the end of his prison sentence, however lengthy that may be.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking, branded Hayward as “distorted” for implying that the victim was responsible after admitting his offences.

Judge Lucking said: “[The victim] has suffered severe psychological harm; [the victim] is struggling to cope with daily life and sleeping because of nightmares.

“You are remorseful and I accept that you have learning difficulty but you were able to function, you knew the difference between right and wrong and your learning disability does not contribute to the commission of these offences.”

Hayward was sentenced to 11 years and three months imprisonment with an extended licence period of eight years for all six offences. He will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.