(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A sick Darlington man raped a woman as her child slept next to her on the settee after he entered her home at night.
The woman woke up after intruder Paul Hodgson entered via an unsecured door and tried to take off her clothes, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Despite her calls for him to stop, he continued the assault, all while her child remained on the sofa in the same room.
"Mercifully", Judge Richard Bennett said, the youngster did not wake up.
He also strangled the woman almost to the point of passing out, leaving her fearing for her life.
Hodgson, 34, of Eskdale Street, Darlington, rejected the allegations when questioned by police and maintained those denials at trial.
Convicted rapist Paul Hodgson given an extended sentence, featuring 10-year custodial element, as he is considered a 'dangerous' offender
(Image: Durham Constabulary)
But he was convicted by a jury of both rape and intentional strangulation following a trial at Teesside Crown Court, last month.
He appeared back before the court on Friday (August 14) and was jailed for ten years.
The impact report of the victim was read to the hearing in which she outlined the fear she had in case the defendant returned, as she felt “anxious and vulnerable”.
Despite the feeling of “relief” when he was convicted and remanded in custody at HMP Holme House, she said she fears she will always be “on edge” in case he one day tries to get back into her home.
Sophie Murray, for Hodgson, said it was difficult to mitigate on his behalf as he still does not accept the jury’s verdicts in the case.
She said despite past convictions, the most recent in 2016, it has been his first taste of custody, which has left him depressed.
References were presented to the court on the defendant’s behalf, in which he was variously described as, “kind”, “polite”, “willing to help others”, and “hard-working”.
But Judge Richard Bennett, who presided over the four-day trial, said he was left feeling that the defendant has, “a profound sense of entitlement”, giving him, “the green light” to do what he likes, “prioritising your own needs above everyone else’s”.
The judge said he found the defendant’s evidence during the trial as, “utterly incredible” and “dishonest”.
He said Hodgson had entered the victim’s home uninvited, as a “trespasser”.
Judge Bennett said it was aggravated by the presence of a child, who, “mercifully” did not wake up during the incident.
He said he was satisfied the defendant poses a high-risk of future serious harm, particularly to women.
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Imposing an extended ten-year prison sentence, the judge said he will serve a minimum of two-thirds, or six years and eight months, before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board.
But depending on the Parole Board’s view he may have to spend the entire ten years in prison before he is released, subject to three years’ extended licence supervision.
Hodgson was also made subject of registration as a sex offender and a restraining order, relating the victim, both “indefinitely”.