May 2014 Saltash rapist Paul Vine, 60, jailed after ‘luring’ victim to his home A SALTASH father of 11, who “lured” a young woman to his house by asking for her help and then raped her, has been jailed for 18 years. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of three that 60-year-old Paul Vine sexually assaulted over a 16-year period, Truro Crown Court heard during his trial last week. On Thursday, Vine was found guilty of raping two of the women and indecently assaulting the third, who was aged under 16 at the time. Vine, of Wentworth Way, was investigated by police after one of his victims, aged in her twenties, told police that he had raped her that day after he asked her to go to his house to help him. She also revealed that he had raped her on previous occasions when she was a teenager. Police investigations then uncovered the two further victims – one woman who he raped in 1996 and a third who had been indecently assaulted by Vine in 2001 when she was a teenager. Jason Beal, for the prosecution, said: “What is a common theme throughout the offending of the defendant is that he manipulated situations … to commit offences against vulnerable females.” Vine was arrested at his home, then in Gunnislake, on January 10. In interview, he gave a prepared statement denying that he had raped one of the women the previous day, claiming that they had had sex at his home but that it had been consensual. In a later interview he denied that he had indecently assaulted the other girl when she was 14 or 15 or that he had raped an adult woman in 1996. Mr Beal told the court that Vine had 11 children by four women and had had numerous affairs. Joanna Martin, for the defence, urged the jury to set aside any feelings of dislike they might have towards Vine. She said: “He is not monogamous and faithful … what we heard throughout this case was a backdrop of affairs that he had. “This case is not about his affairs; it is not about how you judge his morals.” Vine was convicted of four counts of raping two different women and one of indecently assaulting a third between May 1996 and January 2013. Sentencing, Judge John Neligan said: “It became clear to me during the trial that over the years you treated women with little or no respect, more as possessions for your sexual gratification without regard to their feelings.” He added that the circumstances of the rape in 2013 showed how Vine manipulated situations to get what he wanted. He said: “I take the view that you lured [the victim] to your home for the purposes of taking advantage of her sexually.” Judge Neligan said that an aggravating feature of the case was that Vine had accused his victims of dishonesty. He said: “In the conduct of your case you have accused these three ladies of having lied about you and all along it was you who was lying.” Vine was made subject to a sexual offences prevention order indefinitely and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.