Yeovil man given four year sentence for rape

A man from Yeovil has been jailed after being found guilty of the rape of a woman he met on a dating app.

Leon Walker, 38, denied the offence, which took place in 2023, but was found guilty by a jury in July.

He was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Friday 11 September to four years and three months in prison.

Walker met the victim through a dating app in 2023 and arranged to meet her at her home where he raped her following earlier consensual sex.

She reported it to police and Walker was charged following an investigation by Avon and Somerset Police's rape and serious sexual offences team, Operation Bluestone.

He pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, claiming it had been consensual.

However, a jury found him guilty of one count of rape. He was acquitted of the two other counts.

"Before this happened I was an open and trusting person"

In her victim personal statement, read out at the sentencing hearing, the victim said: “Before this happened I was an open and trusting person, however this incident also left me not being able to trust people as I used to.

“I had to rebuild my confidence in meeting new people and became far more sceptical and wary of people than I previously had been,

“For a while after I avoided dating and meeting new people altogether. When I was eventually able to meet new people, I found myself to be on higher alert and more cautious than I previously needed to be.”

PC Jake Whatley, the investigating officer, said: “This conviction reflects the courage and determination shown by the victim in reporting the offence and supporting the investigation throughout.

“It also serves as an important reminder that consent can be withdrawn at any time.

“Being in a consensual relationship, or consenting to one sexual act, does not mean a person has consented to every other sexual act.

“Everyone has the right to say no, and that decision must be respected.”