Rapist contributed to woman's suicide, judge says

A rapist whose attack on a friend contributed to her killing herself has been jailed for 10 years.

Ryan Callaghan, 33, raped the woman at his home after inviting her round to use a hot tub in June 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The woman killed herself eight weeks later with Judge Stephen Earl saying the rape was a factor in her death.

Callaghan, of Mowbray Road, in South Shields, denied rape but was found guilty by jurors.

Callaghan and the woman had known each other for years and been platonic friends, Judge Earl said.

On 12 June 2022, when his partner and child were away, Callaghan invited the woman to a hot-tub party, after which he raped her at his home, the court heard.

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The woman, who the BBC has chosen not to name, fled into the street and was helped by a "good samaritan" who called 999, the judge said.

She gave an interview to police but killed herself in August 2022, the court was told, with notes she had left referencing the rape and the trauma caused by it.

The court heard the "very complex" and vulnerable woman had significant mental health problems and an alcohol addiction, and had been released from hospital only hours before Callaghan had raped her.

Judge Earl said he could not say Callaghan "caused" her death but the rape had been a "substantial element" in her thinking over the "last few weeks" of her life.

He said Callaghan's actions had been a "significant point towards the end of her life" ,which she "found unable to deal with".

The woman's death was "tragic" and she had so much to live for, the judge said, adding her family were devastated.

During the trial, Callaghan sought to make out the woman had been "throwing" herself at him, but the judge said jurors "did not countenance that was the truth".

Judge Earl said the evidence against Callaghan, which included the woman's interview with police, was "clear and compelling", while accounts given by the rapist were "inconsistent".

He also said Callaghan made attacks on the woman's character during the trial "knowing she could not respond".

After the six-day trial, jurors took one hour and 10 minutes to unanimously convict Callaghan of rape.

Prosecutors had also sought an order that would have required Callaghan to tell any women he planned to have a relationship with or work with in his role as a fitness instructor in the future of his rape conviction.

But Judge Earl said that was neither "necessary" nor "proportionate" and such an order would be the start of a "rocky road" of court orders.

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