Customs officer jailed over rape

Bennett was working at Dover when he carried out the rapes in 2000

A former customs officer who kidnapped and repeatedly raped a woman in Kent has been jailed for 12 years.

Kelvin Bennett, 45, of Dart Street, Birmingham, was convicted at a previous hearing at Maidstone Crown Court.

Jurors heard how he attacked his victim several times before dumping her in a remote country lane in December 2000. He was working at Dover at the time.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Statman said: "This case illustrates every woman's worst fear."

He told Bennett: "You showed her absolutely no mercy. You remain to this day in denial."

The court heard how the woman had been left suffering from depression, having to see a psychologist, and experiencing difficulty in carrying on with her life.

Bennett carried out a brutal attack on a terrified and vulnerable woman Det Ch Insp David Withers

Judge Statman said: "I have seen the impact that your crime had upon her."

Bennett was arrested this year after police matched his DNA profile during an inquiry into a separate allegation against him.

The jury was told that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was kidnapped as she returned to her mother's house from a night out in Folkestone.

The victim, now 29 but aged 21 at the time of the attack, said he forced her into the back of his car and drove her to a number of remote locations where he raped her three times before letting her go.

'No empathy'

After the hearing, Det Ch Insp David Withers said: "Bennett carried out a brutal attack on a terrified and vulnerable woman.

"He didn't show any empathy when she pleaded to be released saying her young son needed her.

"He showed his arrogance in court where, despite overwhelming evidence, he continued to deny the offence, forcing the victim to give full details of the offence in the witness box."

But he said the jail term would help "bring closure" for the victim, knowing that the person who raped her was "behind bars".

He added: "Like most criminals, Bennett became complacent and must have thought he had got away with it."

But he said latest DNA technology led to "his undoing".