Taxi driver who picked up woman and was told to 'get her home safely' by friends after a night out is jailed for 15 years after he took her to a cemetery and raped her

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A taxi driver has been jailed after taking a woman to cemetery where he raped her after being told to 'get her home safely'.

David Greaves collected the woman after she had been on a night out with a friend in Newton Aycliffe.

He was told by her friend: 'Make sure she gets home safely; she's had a lot to drink.'

But instead of taking her home, the 42-year-old took the woman to a secluded cemetery car park where he proceeded to rape her.

A trip that should have taken just five or ten minutes lasted an hour, a court heard. 

The woman woke up the next day and knew something had happened as she was bruised and sore, but couldn't remember the details.

Taxi driver David Greaves was asked to get a woman home safely following a night out, but instead drove her to a cemetery where he raped her

She confronted Greaves who confirmed he had sex with her before dropping her off at home. 

Greaves, of Wansbeck Close, Spennymoor, was arrested and later charged with rape.

He denied the offence, claiming the sex was consensual, but a jury sitting at Durham Crown Court found him unanimously guilty. 

A pre-sentence report found him to be a dangerous offender, and he was jailed for 15 years.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she had gone through periods of low confidence and self esteem, had suffered panic attacks and depression and was struggling to sleep at night.

Her statement read: 'As a taxi driver he was in a position of trust and on the night he raped me, he had one job - that job was to get me home safely while I was intoxicated and not to rape me when I was too drunk to know what was going on.

'He has changed my life forever by his actions. I have ongoing feelings of self-loathe and disgust at what happened, feelings of worthlessness, low confidence and self-esteem, of panic, anxiety and depression.

'I see danger everywhere and wonder who will hurt me next. I see everyone as a potential threat to me, making me hyper vigilant when I am out, sometimes crossing the road or changing direction if someone gets too close to me or is following me in the street. I do not think I will ever trust anyone ever again.'

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing the defendant had taken advantage of the victim's 'extremely vulnerable state'.

He said: 'It was a protracted incident with a degree of planning, driving her to a car park of a secluded cemetery to carry out the attack.'

Stuart Duke, in mitigation, told the court the position of the defendant remains the same, maintaining his innocence.

He added: 'But he accepts he was convicted by the jury and will receive a significant term of imprisonment.

'He regards his life as effectively over and is very pessimistic about his future.

'He has no previous convictions and has never been to prison before.

'He's found his time as a vulnerable prisoner extremely distressing and difficult.

'It will be many years before he will be at liberty.'

Sentencing, Judge Jo Kidd told Greaves: 'I take the view that you continue to hold a thoroughly delusional and incorrect view of the predatory rape you carried out on the victim in this case.'

She added: 'They couldn't have been more obvious to you. You drove her to a secluded area some distance from her home.

'No one will ever know what you did to her when she was in that secluded, dark area, in that taxi with you. It's an understandable source of trauma to your victim.'

Judge Kidd continued: 'Your delusional attitude continues to be disturbing.

'The way you described that sexual activity seemed to contain elements of relish, enjoying the description.

'Understandably, the probation report author's view is that you pose a danger despite having no previous convictions.

'There was an element of abduction and this was a sustained incident.

'The victim was particularly vulnerable and has endured severe psychological harm.'

Detective Constable Dave Taylor, from South Durham CID, who led the investigation, said: 'As a taxi driver, Greaves held a position of trust - his job was to get people home safely. 

Greaves was found guilty at Durham Crown Court (pictured), who heard that he drove his victim some distance before engaging in sex without her consent (file photo)

'On that evening, he abused this position for his own gratification. He preyed on a vulnerable woman who was too intoxicated to give consent or to remember what had happened.

'Consent means saying 'yes' to what happened. If you can't freely give consent - for example you're too drunk to consent - then it's a crime. It is as simple as that. I hope this prison sentence will give him time to reflect on his actions and the damage they have caused.'

He added: 'I'd like to commend the bravery of the woman in this case, who has shown immense courage in standing up to her rapist at court. 

'By pleading not guilty, Greaves subjected her to further trauma by forcing her to relive her ordeal in court.

'Her strength has prevailed, and her attacker has been handed a lengthy prison sentence. I hope that this sentence will allow her to begin the healing process and enable her to rebuild her life.

'If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, please tell us - you will be listened to, and we will believe you. We know it can be difficult, but we have specially trained officers who will support you every step of the way.'