'Bully' tried to stop woman reporting he raped her

Preston Moralee was found guilty of rape and perverting the course of justice

A "bully" who tried to stop a woman reporting he had raped her to police has been jailed for seven years.

Preston Moralee, 29, confronted his victim in a "foaming rage" a day after forcing himself upon her in an "angry and aggressive way," Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The woman said she felt like a "shell" of the person she was before the attack but she hoped to one day return to being her "happy bubbly" self.

Moralee, of Kendal Gardens in Wallsend, had denied the attack but was found guilty of rape and perverting the course of justice by jurors.

Judge Tim Gittins said Moralee was a "bully" who wavered between "self-pity and aggression".

He said the attack was an "out and out rape from the start" and Moralee knew the woman was not consenting, adding it was done in an "angry and aggressive way".

The following day, fearing the woman would report the rape to police, Moralee confronted her in a "foaming rage" and grabbed her by the throat, the judge said.

'Psychological damage'

In a statement read to the court, the victim said Moralee told lies about her during the trial causing further "pain, hurt and anxiety" and she was "petrified" of him being out of prison.

"I feel like a shell of the person I used to be", she said, but added with the support of friends and family and following counselling there was "every hope" she would return to the "happy bubbly person" she was.

Judge Gittins said it was clear Moralee, who the court heard had previously been acquitted of raping another woman, had caused the victim "psychological damage" but she had a "determination" to recover.

Moralee, who had previous convictions for violence, must also sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.