Sick thug kidnapped man and raped him at gunpoint while hurling homophobic abuse
A sick predator who held a gun up against a man before raping him in the street has been jailed.
Ashley Cleary kidnapped the man and subjected him to a horrific sexual assault, before forcing him into his home where he raped him again, reports Manchester Evening News. The 39-year-old put a gun to the man's head and told him: "If you tell anyone, I'll smoke you." His DNA was found on the man's underwear and he was discovered hiding in a loft when police went to arrest him, Bolton Crown Court heard.
The dad, from Salford in Greater Manchester, has been jailed for 21 years after being found guilty of multiple offences, including rape and kidnap.
Prosecutors told how the victim knew Cleary as he was a regular customer at his place of work. In December last year, Cleary turned up at his workplace and began acting in an ‘intimidating and threatening manner’ towards him, prosecutor Daniel Calder said. At one point, Cleary opened up his coat to 'expose what appeared to be a handgun', the prosecutor said.
The victim stayed at work with colleagues for a time after Cleary had left, to try and allow time for him to leave. But Cleary was still there when he left the building, and at one point Cleary took hold of the man’s arm and told him: “You’re going to drive my car home.” He ‘felt compelled’ to go with Cleary, who it turned out did not have a car with him. Cleary, who was also armed with a hammer, took him down an alleyway and repeatedly raped him. He subjected him to a barrage of homophobic abuse as he committed the sickening crimes, labelling his victim a ‘f****** dirty little queer’.
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Cleary told the terrified man: “Come on, we’re going to yours” and made their way to the victim’s home, where Cleary placed the handgun on a side table. He then proceeded to rape the man in his own bed, and subjected him to further homophobic abuse. Mr Calder said said Cleary then forced his victim to ‘reassure’ him ‘that he wasn’t gay’. After committing another rape, Cleary got up and retrieved his gun, before putting the barrel to the man’s head and telling him “If you tell anyone, I’ll smoke you,” before leaving the the property.
The victim left his home in his bare feet, wearing only a dressing gown, and visited a friend to tell them what had happened. The police were alerted and Cleary was arrested at his home on Christmas Eve, where he was discovered hiding in a loft. Tests revealed the presence of Cleary’s DNA on his victim’s underwear. Cleary, of no fixed address, denied all wrongdoing, and at trial claimed he and the man had engaged in consensual sex.
A jury found him guilty of seven counts of rape, one count of kidnap, one count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and one count of threatening with an offensive weapon. Cleary said 'I'm innocent by the way' as he was sent down to begin his sentence. In a statement read on his behalf, the victim said: "I felt like it was never going to end. He used and abused me for his own benefit, for reasons of his own that I will never understand."
The court heard how Cleary has racked up 34 previous criminal offences, and had previously appeared in court following an incident where he turned up at a pub armed with an axe. Defending, Rachel Shenton said Cleary still maintains his innocence. She said he had been due to work on the day of the incident as a labourer but that his shift was cancelled due to bad weather, and he instead went on a ‘drinking binge’. Ms Shenton said Cleary has suffered from a number of ‘long standing’ issues, including anxiety and depression and ‘intellectual difficulties’. She said Cleary, who has a female partner who stands by him, would find prison ‘particularly difficult’.
Judge Nick Clarke KC handed Cleary a 25 year extended sentence, after declaring him a 'dangerous' criminal. He will serve at least two-thirds of a 21 year prison sentence, before the Parole Board decide whether it is safe for him to be release. He will then be monitored for a further four years on licence.
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