West Yorkshire Police sergeant, 36, who raped ‘paralytic’ drunk woman, 20, and got her pregnant after plying her with alcohol on a night out is jailed for 10 years
- Ben Lister was found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping the woman in 2016
- He dragged the ‘very drunk’ woman off the sofa while she slept before he touched her sexually
- In a victim personal statement read to the court, the woman said although she ‘loved her little girl to bits’, she had ‘always struggled since she was born’
- Lister was today sentenced to 10 years in jail at Bradford Crown Court for one count of rape and one of assault by penetration
A West Yorkshire police sergeant was today jailed for 10 years for raping a ‘paralytic’ woman who went on to give birth to his child.
Ben Lister was found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping the woman while they were both staying in the same house after a night out in 2016.
Prosecutors said that Lister, 36, had dragged the ‘very drunk’ woman off a sofa while she slept before he touched her sexually as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
Sentencing the 36-year-old at Bradford Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Rose said he had then contacted the woman the next day, ‘testing the waters to see if you had got away with having sexual intercourse with a comatose woman’.
The woman had asked Lister if she had sex with him but the 36-year-old lied and told her they had engaged in sexual activity.
Months later, the woman found out that she was pregnant and ‘knew then that she had been raped’ and jurors were told a DNA test later revealed Lister was the child’s father.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, the woman said although she ‘loved her little girl to bits’, she had ‘always struggled since she was born’.
Ben Lister (pictured) was found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping the woman while they were both staying in the same house after a night out in 2016
The woman went to police in January 2020 and the 36-year-old was arrested and interviewed.
Lister denied one count of rape and one of assault by penetration, saying that sexual contact between the two was consensual.
He was today convicted of both counts and his sentencing comes after a previous trial jury failed to reach verdicts in October last year.
In a victim impact statement read to the court the woman said: ‘I really didn’t cope well throughout the pregnancy and felt like I shouldn’t have kept her, because I knew deep down what had happened to me and how she was conceived.
‘I don’t think I went through with the abortion because I was so scared they would ask questions and I wasn’t ready to explain what happened to me then.
‘I didn’t enjoy the feeling of her moving around in my stomach like the other mums did.’
The woman added: ‘I look at her and feel she is a constant reminder of what he has done to me.
‘She is such a lovely, funny, caring young girl and I already dread the future.
‘I don’t want her to grow up to hate me even though I have done nothing wrong.’
Prosecutors said that Lister, 36, (pictured) had dragged the ‘very drunk’ woman off a sofa while she slept before he touched her sexually as she drifted in and out of consciousness
Lister was jailed for 10 years by Judge Rose for the ‘disgusting and persistent sexual attack.’
He told Lister: ‘You took advantage of her, knowing she couldn’t physically fight you off.’
The judge said: ‘The consequences will extend for many, many years and there are difficulties yet to come when the child asks ‘who is my daddy?’
He added: ‘You were a police officer. That carries with it a requirement that you behave in an upright, decent and proper manner at all times, whether on or off duty.
‘Every woman of any age is entitled to go out and enjoy themselves and to do so knowing they will be safe throughout the evening and when they return to the comfort of a home.’
The 36-year-old had been suspended from his role with the force pending the outcome of the case.
Following the verdict, he will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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