A 22-year-old man has been jailed for 13 years for a series of sexual offences in January and July 2020.
Joshua Corless, from Widnes, raped a young woman on 11 January 2020 following a night out with friends in Ormskirk. He offered to take her home safely, but instead he took the opportunity to rape her in a clear breach of trust.
The woman reported this to the police, and he was arrested. He denied the rape throughout his police interview and leading up to the trial, claiming that it had been a consensual sexual encounter.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the North West worked closely with Lancashire Police to build a strong case against him and he eventually changed his plea to one of guilty following the first day of evidence, at the trial in September 2021.
The victim bravely supported this prosecution throughout and was able to give her evidence to the police by video. At trial, she attended the court in person, but the CPS had successfully applied for screens, so she did not have to see her attacker when giving evidence.
Whilst Corless was on police bail for raping the young woman, he committed further offences.
On 14th July 2020, Corless made arrangements to meet a 16-year old girl along with a male friend, in a wooded area near Widnes. Whilst there, Corless caused the girl to engage in sexual activity with his friend, without her consent. He had also filmed it. He then distributed this on the social media platform ‘Tik Tok’ to others. One of the recipients alerted the girl to the video and later contacted the police.
Corless was arrested and charged with taking and distributing indecent images of children and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. He was convicted after a trial on 10 February 2022.
The victim was video interviewed by Merseyside police and the CPS successfully applied for special measures to allow the girl to have her cross-examination evidence recorded, so she did not have to face her attacker in court as she gave her evidence.
In a Victim Personal Statement, the victim said that she has struggled with anxiety and sleeping since the incident. She added, “I feel on edge, I have avoided going outside and I flinch if someone comes too close to me”.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Brett Gerrity, a specialist lawyer with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit of CPS North West, said of the incident in Ormskirk: “Joshua Corless exploited a young woman in order to have sex with her when she was very clearly unable to give her consent. Showing no remorse, he then put the victim through the experience of giving evidence at a criminal trial, before entering his guilty plea.
“Six months later he committed further sexual offences against a different young woman and again, he showed no remorse and took the case to trial. He is clearly a dangerous predator and poses a risk to women.
“Both these incidents were extremely distressing for the women involved. They have shown great courage throughout the investigation and prosecution, which has enabled us to bring Corless to justice for his sickening actions.”
Senior Crown Prosecutor Simon Pover, a specialist lawyer with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit of CPS Mersey Cheshire, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim of this offending for having the courage to engage with the police and CPS to bring Corless to justice.
“He callously and cruelly orchestrated a horrific situation which he shared in the form of a TikTok video and via Snapchat. Some of the recipients of this material were alarmed and concerned for the young victim who was then supported in engaging with the police. That was exactly the right response and led to Corless being sent to prison, where he belongs. His actions showed a total lack of respect for the victim and objectified her for his own gratification.”
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