'Barbaric' sex attacker is jailed

A man who subjected a jogger to a "barbaric" hour-long sex attack in Cumbria has been jailed indefinitely.

Barry Hunter, 33, targeted his female victim on a cycle path near the River Caldew, Carlisle, in July last year.

His attack sparked one of Cumbria Police's biggest manhunts, including a reconstruction of the crime and a poster campaign.

Hunter, of Newlaithes Avenue, Carlisle, had denied four counts of sexual assault and one of actual bodily harm.

He was found guilty at Carlisle Crown Court earlier this year.

Prosecutor Tim Evans described the attack on the woman as "persistent torture and degradation."

Hunter repeatedly punched his victim and bit her on the nose, Mr Evans said.

The court heard how Hunter had snorted cocaine and had attacked another woman in a pub on the afternoon of the cycle path assault.

Judge Paul Batty QC said the case was unique because of its "barbarity" and said the level of violence used had been "as bad as one could imagine".

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