A MAN who raped a 20-year-old woman he met in a city nightclub was jailed for five years at Chester Crown Court.

Christopher Betts, of Tarvin Road, Chester was found guilty of rape, assault and theft of the victim’s mobile phone which he used to call adult chat lines.

The 24-year-old met his victim in a Chester night club in February 2009. They then agreed to return to her home. There, Betts bit his victim on her face, she was in pain and told him to ‘stop’ and ‘get off’ but he continued raping her and bit her twice more.

He then left the house, taking her mobile phone. The phone was used over the next 18 hours to contact multiple adult chat lines, running up a bill of more than £500.

When Betts was arrested the victim’s mobile phone was found in the communal lounge of his shared home.

His fingerprints and partial DNA were found at the victim’s house and his dental impressions were obtained and compared against the bite mark. A dental expert said the bites were ‘serious wounds’ which would have caused ‘significant pain’ and that Betts was the probable biter.

A jury took little over an hour to find Betts guilty on all counts.

He was sentenced to five years in prison for the rape, 18 months for assault and six months for theft, to run concurrently. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

DC Allan Faddes of Cheshire police said: "This was obviously a very distressing and frightening incident for the woman involved and I hope the fact that Betts has been given a significant sentence gives her some comfort.

"It is not always easy for victims of sexual assaults and rape to come forward and possibly face giving evidence in court but I hope this woman’s bravery shows other victims that the support and help is available for them to bring their attackers to justice."

Cheshire Constabulary has specially trained officers who work within public protection units and are able to provide specialist advice and support to victims of sexual assaults and rape.

To contact Cheshire Constabulary call 0845 458 0000