A man has been sentenced to a total of 19 years and one month in prison after he kidnapped and raped a woman in Hemel Hempstead, the judge who sentenced the criminal described him as “every woman’s worst nightmare”.
Zachery Owens, 26, of Wilkinson Way, Hemel Hempstead, appeared at Luton Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, May 19) for sentencing, after previously pleading guilty to the following six charges, which all relate to one victim:
- Rape of a female aged 16 years or over (two counts)
- Assault of a female aged 13 years or over by penetration
- Kidnap
- Taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent
- Driving while disqualified
Her Honour Judge Barbara Mensah handed Owens a total of 18 years and nine months for the two counts of rape and the assault by penetration, and five years for the kidnap charge, to run concurrently.
Further to this he was sentenced to an additional four months for both driving offences, to run consecutively.
Other charges of false imprisonment and inflicting grievous bodily harm were not proceeded with but the prosecution team asked that they lie on file.
The court heard how Owens kidnapped the victim, a woman in her 20s, on Farmhouse Lane at 7.30am on Tuesday, January 21, this year.
The victim was walking to work when she was attacked and was not known to Owens.
He tried to engage her in conversation before forcing her into a BMW, which he had taken without the owner’s consent.
A witness, who had been walking their dog, heard the victim calling out for help but they did not have a mobile phone, so they knocked on the door of a house nearby and asked for the police to be called.
Detective Inspector Phil Moss, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Today we finally have justice for Owens’ victim, who has shown nothing but courage and dignity throughout her awful ordeal.
“I cannot imagine what she must have been through since that terrible day, but I know the people of Hemel Hempstead, and indeed the whole of Hertfordshire, will have her in their thoughts.
“Owens’ brazen actions on that day clearly show what a danger he is to women and as a result of our investigation, he is now facing a significant prison term.
“We hope today’s sentencing means his victim can, in some part, move forward and begin to rebuild her life now justice has been served.”
On his release, Owens will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and he will be managed by officers from the Public Protection Unit. He will also be disqualified from driving for 18 months.
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