A Swindon man, jailed for murder last year, has been found guilty of raping and assaulting a woman.
Anthony Porter (33), pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, one of which is a multi incident count alleging it happened on at least two occasions, and actual bodily harm.
A jury of eight men and four women, at Swindon Crown Court, convicted him of all of the offences which took place in 2012.
He is currently serving life, with a tariff of more than 17 years, for killing Andraya Lyons in December 2016.
Detective Constable Janet Thomas, who led the investigation, said: “This is a welcomed sentence, reflecting the horrendous crimes Porter committed against his victim.
“Despite pleading not guilty and attempting to convince the jury that the victim was a liar and seeking revenge against him, the jury were clearly able to see though to the truth and unanimously found him guilty of all the crimes he had been accused of.
“Sadly, in this case the victim did not come forward to report the crimes that had been committed against her until the defendant was arrested for the murder of his partner Andraya Lyons.
“The victim was spoken to by police as part of the murder investigation and broke her silence in relation to the years of horrendous abuse she had suffered by Anthony Porter – which has had a profound and lasting effect on her and her family.
“It was clear to us that she may never have had the courage to speak about the abuse had Porter not been sent to prison – so great was her fear of him.
“I urge anyone who feels they may have been a victim of abuse – in whatever form – to come forward and report it to the police.
“We will take you seriously and you will be supported by professional, trained staff every step of the way so we can to bring offenders like Porter to justice. ”
Please contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Victims can also seek support and counselling from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) based at the New Swindon Sanctuary – they can be contacted on the 24-hour helpline 0808 168 0024.
