Sheffield woman's 'living nightmare' after remorseless rapist attacked her in her own bed as she slept

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A Sheffield woman has been forced to endure a ‘living nightmare,’ after she was raped in her own bed in the dead of night by a teenager condemned by a city judge for falling to show a ‘scrap of remorse’. 

20-year-old Cody Cartwright sought to deny being involved in the wicked crime, claiming the DNA taken from his underwear, which linked him to the offence, was down to ‘secondary contamination’.

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Jurors rejected Cartwright’s account, however, when they unanimously convicted him of a single count of rape at the conclusion of a Sheffield Crown Court trial.

Jailing Cody Cartwright for the ‘repugnant’ sex crime during a hearing held at the same court on October 18, 2024, Judge Paul Watson KC told him: “This was an appalling offence committed for your own self-gratification.”Jailing Cody Cartwright for the ‘repugnant’ sex crime during a hearing held at the same court on October 18, 2024, Judge Paul Watson KC told him: “This was an appalling offence committed for your own self-gratification.”
Jailing Cody Cartwright for the ‘repugnant’ sex crime during a hearing held at the same court on October 18, 2024, Judge Paul Watson KC told him: “This was an appalling offence committed for your own self-gratification.” | Adobe/SYP

Jailing Cartwright for the ‘repugnant’ sex crime during a hearing held at the same court on October 18, 2024, Judge Paul Watson KC told him: “This was an appalling offence committed for your own self-gratification.

“She was fast asleep at the time - and no question of consent arises. 

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“She was shocked and horrified by what you were doing, and told you to get off and to get out.”

The complainant has been waiting more than three years for justice, since the offence on May 28, 2021. 

Speaking through a gut-wrenching statement read to the court, the complainant said: “For the last three-and-a-half years I have endured a living nightmare…this event has affected my life in every possible way.”

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The complainant said she had worked to make significant changes to her home, in a bid to return a sense of ‘normality’ to her life; but remains plagued by ‘flashbacks’.

She described herself as being constantly exhausted - something which has detrimentally affected her professional life - due to the mental toll of Cartwright’s offending.

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“I never want to go through this again,” continued the complainant, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity.

She reported the rape to the police almost immediately, leading to Cartwright’s arrest.

The court heard how from his arrest, during his trial, and through to the point at which he was jailed, Cartwright, of Argyle Street, Mexborough, South Yorkshire, has maintained his denial of the rape.

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“You don’t have a scrap of remorse,” Judge Watson told Cartwright.

Defending, James Baird detailed Cartwright’s difficult upbringing, described by Judge Watson as having been ‘disturbed’, which included alleged physical abuse and living with his grandmother after his father was incarcerated.

Cody CartwrightCody Cartwright
Cody Cartwright | SYP

He told Judge Watson that in the wake of his difficult childhood, Cartwright has begun to suffer from anxiety and has also subjected himself to incidents of self-harm.

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Mr Baird said Cartwright had turned 17 a matter of weeks before the offence was committed, and was thus still a child.

Jailing Cartwright for four years, eight months, Judge Watson told him: “Although you were only young, you still knew exactly what you were doing.”