A 24-year-long extended sentence was given to an attacker who tried to rape mother and daughter in a 20 minute ordeal on a cycle track.
Anthony Williams, 43, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, threatened a woman’s children and tried to rape the mother in an attack on May 17 this year on a cycle path near Haverfordwest.
Williams threatened to harm her children if she did not submit to him. Then he tried to rape her. After forcing the mother partially undress one her daughters, he tried to also rape them.
Sentencing the defendant to a a 24-year extended sentence at Swansea Crown Court, the judge described William’s horrific actions as ‘unspeakably bad’.
Robin Rouch, prosecuting, said the mother was walking with her children when they passed an ‘unkempt’ stranger, a man who was later identified as Williams.
The defendant then followed the family, before approaching the woman, who hasn’t been named, and telling it to ‘get down and take off her clothes.
Anthony Williams (pictured), 43 years old, from Pembrokeshire threatened a woman’s children, and attempted to rape her mother in an attack that took place on May 17th, this year, while she was riding on a path near Haverfordwest.
Williams initially confused the woman but threatened to harm her children and throw one in a nearby river if she did not do what he wanted.
The court heard that Williams attacked the woman in a terrifying attack that lasted about 20 minutes and ordered her to take off her jeans and get down on the ground.
Williams asked the woman, “Do you want your children to survive this?” Before he slapped her again.
William demanded that the mother undress her daughter, while he continued to make threats of violence. William tried to rape the child while he was laying face down in the water.
The mother, who was lying in the mud with her daughter, reached out to her child and tried to comfort her.
The girl claimed that she could not breathe and the assault was stopped.
The mother and her three children managed to escape. They ran down the path until they encountered a father-son duo who were on their bikes with a phone.
The court heard that Williams would tell his partner later that he had done something “that may get him in trouble”, claiming that a woman approached Williams on the cycle path asking him for rough sex.
Williams later admitted to a neighbor that he believed he had raped someone.
After widespread public appeals for information about the incident in the media, the neighbour went to the police to report his concerns.
In his police interview, Williams said he had a problem with alcohol and had spent between £300 and £400 on drink in the days before the incident.
He said that he had drunk large quantities of Carling Lager and Sambuca over the weekend.
The judge sentenced William to 16 years imprisonment at Swansea Crown Court (pictured). He described William’s horrible actions as ‘unspeakably terrible’.
Later, he submitted a prepared statement that read: “I genuinely can’t remember the incident.”
‘I have no idea what came over me. I am sorry for what I did and the trauma that I caused.
Williams replied “no comment” to any further questions.
The mother read from the witness box a statement that the woman gave. She described the devastating emotional effects of the ordeal on her cycle path.
She said the attack would ‘haunt’ her forever and said the memory that would never leave her was of comforting her daughter while they lay side-by-side as Williams, a vile, sick and disgusting man, attempted to rape her child.
The woman said, “Heart-breaking doesn’t even begin to cover”
The husband of the woman also made a statement from the witness box, in which he described how the attack had affected his wife and daughter.
Williams interrupted him from the dock to apologise, but the husband turned to him directly, told him to shut up, and called him a ‘f****** animal’.
Anthony Williams had pleaded guilty previously to three counts each of attempted rape when Williams appeared in court for sentencing.
He has been convicted of nine other offences, including arson, burglary and theft.
Dyfed Thomas, for Williams, stated that the defendant’s pleas of guilty showed remorse.
Judge Geraint Walters told the defendant that what he had done on the cycle path that day was ‘unspeakably bad’, saying he had subjected his victims to a terrifying ordeal which would leave a life-long impact on them.
Williams was told by the judge, that he had used a ‘ultimate Threat’ that any mother could be subject to – that her children would be hurt.
Judge Walters ruled that the defendant should be sentenced to a longer term as a dangerous offender because it was clear that he was a risk to the public and will continue to do so in the future.
The judge sentenced the defendant to a 24-year sentence that included 16 years in prison and an eight year license period.
Williams must complete at least two-thirds time in prison before applying to parole. However, it is up to the Parole Board whether Williams is fit to be released.
Williams will be a registered sexual offender for the rest his life. He was also subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Michael Jenkins, a senior Crown Prosecution Service Cymru Wales’ Serious Sexual Offenses Unit prosecutor, spoke after the sentencing. He said: “This was a truly deplorable crime that must be terrifying for the victims. But the strength and evidence presented by CPS prevented them from having to relive their ordeal before a jury.
“No one should have the burden of dealing with what the victims went through.” The mother displayed great courage by doing everything she could in order to minimize the harm done to her children.