Rapist Lee Metcalf who held 16-year-old girl captive jailed

Lee Metcalf was found guilty of rape and false imprisonment

A "dangerous" rapist who kept a 16-year-old girl captive for seven hours has been jailed for nine years.

Lee Metcalf threw his victim's shoes out of his B&B room window and threatened to "break every bone in her body" to stop her escaping, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Metcalf, 38 and from Penshaw near Sunderland, had denied rape and false imprisonment but was found guilty.

His history of violence against women was "deeply concerning", a judge said.

'Tiny by comparison'

The court heard Metcalf met the girl, who was vulnerable and prone to running away, and invited her back to his room with the promise of alcohol and cigarettes on 30 November.

The girl "naively thought" he was "offering her friendship", Her Honour Judge Amanda Rippon said, adding he actually "intended more".

When the girl, who was "tiny by comparison" with Metcalf, did not comply, he took what he wanted and overpowered her, the judge said.

The judge said he repeatedly threatened her, threw her shoes out of the window and held her in the room for seven hours.

She was only freed when a cleaner arrived at about 07:30 GMT the following day as Metcalf had broke his sink and water was leaking into the room below.

In a statement, the victim said she had "really struggled with trusting men" and suffered from depression and feared running into him or someone he knew.

The judge praised her as a "very strong young woman who should be very proud of her ability to stand up for herself now".

'Dangerous'

The court heard Metcalf had been diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia but had decided to stop taking his medication weeks before the rape.

The judge said she had received "glowing" references about Metcalf, who had an 18-year-old son and two-year-old granddaughter, and he had shown signs of "turning his life around" after addressing his mental health issues.

The court heard he has multiple convictions for violence, including a nine-year prison sentence given in 2010 for a sustained attack on a woman and an assault from 2008 when he strangled and bit his then-partner while she was eight months pregnant.

The judge said Metcalf was "dangerous" and sentenced him to nine years in prison with a further four years on extended licence for the rape offence, and eight years to be served concurrently for false imprisonment.

The judge said he would have to serve six years before he could be considered for release by the parole board, while a sexual harm prevention order and restraining order banning him from contacting the victim for life were also made.