Chef jailed for rape of teenager

Lee Bellwood returned home to his pregnant girlfriend after the rape

A man has been jailed for 15 years for raping a pregnant teenager at knifepoint in her Darlington home.

The judge at Teesside Crown Court told Lee Bellwood, 26, that he was a considerable danger to women.

Bellwood, of Brignall Moor Crescent, Darlington, claimed he was drunk when he broke into the 17-year-old's flat and raped her as she lay dozing in bed.

The jobless chef admitted burglary and denied rape but was convicted of the charge by a jury.

The court heard that Bellwood hid his face inside his zip top when he attacked her at knifepoint on 8 June, last year.

His fingerprints were found on the drainpipe and his trainer print was on the window ledge of the bathroom window where he climbed inside.

After raping her, he returned home to his girlfriend who was also pregnant with her third child.

Judge Peter Fox QC, recorder of Middlesbrough, told him that it was the most serious kind of rape and it called for a sentence of the highest order.

Bellwood was also made to sign the sex offenders register for life.