March 2002 Rapist gets nine years A RAPIST who attacked a 14-year-old and indecently assaulted another girl of the same age was jailed for nine years yesterday. Cardiff crown court was told that the rape victim told the police that during the attack she tried to close her eyes and believe that what happened was just a dream. Jamie Phillips, aged 22, a chef, of Hereford Road, Abergavenny, was found guilty by a majority of ten to two of a charge of rape. On a unanimous verdict he was also found guilty of the indecent assault. He was found not guilty of two charges of raping a third 14-year-old girl and not guilty of two charges of raping a 17-year-old girl. Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones said that at night he had gone to the bedroom of one of the 14-year-olds he was convicted of attacking, and raped her. The second attack took place when, by a “ruse”, the judge said, Phillips enticed the victim into a room and indecently assaulted her. “But for the fact that she resisted you, you would have continued and raped her,” said the judge. He said he had overcome the first victim by his “sheer size”. Afterwards, he said, she simply wanted to get into a bath because she felt so dirty. Both girls, he added, were threatened not to say anything to anyone. “These are exceedingly serious offences,” the judge added. The rape victim said during the police interview recorded on video, that during the incident she tried to scream but was unable to. “He was making me feel sick,” she said. At one point she said she noticed him grinning, and when it was all over had a bath and cried her eyes out. The assault victim said Phillips sat on her legs and during the attack tried to rip off her bra. Phillips, who denied all the charges, said nothing occurred between himself and any of the four girls. He said they invented the allegations. Keith Thomas, defending, said it was realised the offences called for long-term sentence and that the aggravating feature was the age of the girls. The judge ordered that on his release Phillips registered as a sex offender for life.