ROBERT WELHAM SENTENCED IN HULL FOR RAPE OF VULNERABLE STUDENT
In October 2017, a vulnerable student in Beverley, Hull, awoke to find herself being raped by Robert Welham, 26.Welham, who had met the victim earlier that evening through mutual friends while they were out in Beverley, Hull, was heard to comment on her appearance, saying she had a "nice a**e" after leaving a pub.
A friend intervened when Welham made inappropriate remarks, telling him to "cut the s**t" because the victim was "too young." Despite this, Welham later assaulted her while she was asleep at a friend’s flat.
When the victim woke up and realized what was happening, she managed to push Welham away.
He then continued to sexually assault her for approximately ten minutes.
Welham, who is now married, initially claimed to police that they had engaged in consensual sex following the attack.
However, the court did not believe his account.
A jury at Hull Crown Court convicted him of rape and a sexual assault.
Welham, of Hambling Drive, Beverley, was visibly emotional as he was led away to the cells after being sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Simon Jack.
Additionally, he is required to register as a sex offender for life.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Julia Baggs, the woman explained that she was already "quite an anxious person" prior to the assault.
She described how she now struggles with sleep, suffers from regular nightmares, has "severe panic attacks," and feels nervous around strangers.
She also revealed she initially kept her ordeal from her father out of embarrassment, noting, "I think my dad found it hard to accept, think about it or talk about it." The victim expressed resentment towards Welham for forcing her to relive the trauma during the trial process.
She said, "I’m angry he did what he did and made me and other witnesses go through a long and upsetting process." Prosecutor Philip Standfast told the jury that the victim had consumed four or five vodka and cokes that evening, but was less intoxicated than others and "still knew what she was doing." He added, "During the course of the evening she spoke with the defendant but only like a friend to ask whether he had a job and things of that sort.
She does not recall that he was trying to chat her up or give her the impression that he liked her in that sort of way." Addressing Welham in his sentencing remarks, Judge Jack emphasized the severity of the crime: "Offences of rape in particular are always very serious because of the effect that they have on people, and we have heard the victim impact statement read out.
The level of seriousness is reflected in the sentencing guidelines, and it’s because of the very serious view society takes of these offences that the starting point for what might be described as the lowest level of rape is five years imprisonment." He further explained that this case involved aggravating features, including the victim’s vulnerability due to her depression, medication use, and ongoing counseling.
The judge highlighted that Welham’s denial of guilt worsened the situation: "She was suffering from depression, receiving medication and undergoing counselling before all this happened.
She was particularly anxious to make friends and please people because of the difficulties she had had.
That all went badly wrong because of what you did that night.
Secondly, this was denied."
