Aby man jailed for six years for rape

Barry Devanney, 49, of New Street, Aby, was convicted of a single charge of raping a woman in February 2020 after a four day trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

Prosecution barrister Andrew Vout KC told the court: "He is 49, he is not a man of previous good character, but most of that is old and irrelevant."

Mr Vout said the only relevant recent conviction was for common assault.

An impact statement from the victim, who can not be named to protect her identity, was passed to the sentencing judge after Devanney's conviction by the jury.

Mr Vout argued it was an aggravating feature that the victim had chosen to move to a different area.

John McNally, mitigating for Devanney, said he had been dealing with the death of his father.

"He is a man who is not good at coping, to put it bluntly," Mr McNally told the court.

"He realises he faces a custodial sentence, because of his nervous disposition he will find that a terrifying experience.

"In that sense it will be a real punishment."

Passing sentence Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Devanney his mental health difficulties did not reduce his culpability for the offence.

"I note that after the offence your psychologist was telling you to stop smoking cannabis, but you refused," Judge Sjolin Knight said.

Devanney must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and is disqualified from working with children.