NEWCASTLE SEX OFFENDER LEE BARRASS SENTENCED TO INDEFINITE DETENTION FOR RAPE

A sex predator identified as Lee Barrass, who had previously been on the sex offenders' register and was serving a suspended sentence, launched a terrifying attack in his victim's Tyneside home last March. During the assault, Barrass forced himself on the young woman, a mother he knew, molesting and raping her while her infant daughter slept nearby. The attack only ended when he checked the microwave clock and realized he was close to his 11 pm curfew at his probation hostel. Following his guilty plea to rape and sexual assault, Judge Guy Whitburn branded him a 'predator' and issued an indeterminate sentence to protect others, stating, 'It seems absolutely clear to this court you present a considerable danger of really serious harm. It also seems you have very little insight into what you do.' The judge ordered Barrass to serve a minimum of three years before eligible for parole, but clarified that he would only be released when deemed safe by the Parole Board, which could mean never. Barrass was also ordered to remain on the sex offenders' register for life, having joined it in October 2007 after admitting to a previous sex assault on a woman he knew. His history includes a suspended jail sentence for assaulting a former girlfriend shortly before the latest attack. The victim expressed her desire for him to stay incarcerated until he accepted his wrongdoing to prevent further harm to women. Barrass's defense acknowledged his guilty pleas, emphasizing he made them with awareness of the inevitable sentence. The court recognized the public threat he posed, sentencing him to an indefinite incarceration aimed at public safety.