A RAPIST who skipped bail last month has today been sentenced to 14 years in jail.
Brighouse man Colin Spencer, 53, left Bradford Crown Court while his guilty pleas to a series of sex offences were being discussed by barristers, but a few days later he was found drinking in a pub and arrested.
Today the demolition worker, who previously lived at Marion Street, was locked up for repeatedly raping a teenage girl and sexually assaulting her.
The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had initially reported incidents of abuse in 2004, but at that stage she did not want the police to charge Spencer.
But prosecutor Nicholas Askins said Spencer sent the complainant explicit sex texts last September which prompted her to contact the police again.
Following his arrest on a warrant last month Spencer pleaded guilty to three sample allegations each of rape and sexual assaults against the complainant.
The court heard today how Spencer, who had previous convictions for indecent assault in the 1970s and 80s, would hold his victim by the wrists as she struggled and made threats to kill her if she reported the abuse.
Spencer was arrested last November, but denied any sexual activity with the complainant and it was not until he entered his guilty pleas last month that he finally owned up.
Mr Askins said it had been something of a relief to the complainant that Spencer had admitted what he had done.
Spencer's barrister Edward Bindloss conceded that the case was in the top bracket for sentencing, but he stressed that his client's guilty pleas had spared the victim the ordeal of a trial and being cross-examined about intimate matters.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said the complainant's victim impact statement revealed the trauma and anquish caused by such offences and added:''The psychological injury is deep and will last for the rest of her life.''
In 1977 Spencer was sent to borstal as a 16-year-old for indecently assaulting a woman and in 1986 he was jailed for 12 months after he tried to kiss and fondle a girl under 16.
In 1988 he received a suspended prison sentence after he grabbed a woman and groped her breast.
Judge Durham Hall said Spencer had a deeply troubling attitude towards sexual behaviour and he highlighted the explicit texts sent to the complainant last year which included offers of money.
The judge concluded that Spencer posed a danger to females in the future and in addition to the 14-year prison term he extended Spencer's licence period by an extra six years.
Spencer must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and he will also be subject to an indefinite sexual offences protection order.
