A man who sexually assaulted and tried to rape a woman has been jailed for eight and a half years by a judge at Hove Crown Court.
Judge David Rennie told Michael Schuchard, 63, that he had been cruel and cynical and may even have spiked the drink of the woman he dragged back to his van in May although this could not be proved.
Schuchard had denied the charges but was convicted by a jury although he was acquitted of rape despite trying to rape the 41-year-old woman in the back of his Ford Transit.
Tim Naik, prosecuting, said: “The offending was aggravated by the defendant’s use of drugs or alcohol.
“There was footage of her movements before her interaction with the defendant and then footage afterwards showing a deterioration.”
Robert Meikle, defending, said: “There’s no evidence that could lead the court to conclude that her drink had been spiked.”
Mr Meikle said that Schuchard, who was previously of good character, had bought the woman one glass of wine although she had been drinking before that point, he added.
Schuchard had never met the woman before he approached her on a Friday night out at the Duke of Wellington pub, in Brighton Road, Shoreham, on Friday 22 May.
The victim could not recall how she had got to the van, the court was told, and was not able to consent to sexual activity.
The next day the woman, whose identity is protected by law, reported what had happened in Meikle’s van in Dolphin Road, Shoreham, and the police started an investigation known as Operation Longview.
In a statement read to the court, she said that she had suffered physical pain for days after the attack and still suffered the mental and emotional effects including anxiety and depression.
She said that she had suffered panic attacks and struggled to sleep since Meikle targeted her and had to take a lot of time off work.
She was no longer able to trust people or to go out in the way that she had been able to do so previously.
Judge Rennie told Schuchard: “You realised what sort of a sorry state that she was in.”
He said that Schuchard had decided to show “superficial kindness and generosity” to win her trust but he added: “She was very drunk, barely able to stand and in real danger.”
“She has paid a shocking price … You dragged her back to your van. Her residual woman’s instincts for danger prompted her to try to pull away from you.”
This could be seen on camera footage, the judge said, adding that Schuchard took advantage of the woman “all for your own sick and twisted pleasure”.
She recalled his “body odour, missing teeth and dog’s breath”.
Judge Rennie said: “What a hideous thing to choose to do to a woman. She was in a vulnerable position … Your treatment of her that night was absolutely sickening.”
What made it worse, the judge said, was that he put her through the ordeal of a trial – “How cynical! How cruel! She emerges from this trial process with her head held high.”
The judge praised her courage, describing her as “a thoroughly decent woman who has did nothing wrong” while he was “a liar, a manipulator and a convicted sex offender”.
Judge Rennie jailed Schuchard, of Amber Close, Shoreham, for eight and a half years and ordered that he register as a sex offender for life.
Detective Constable Tia Grove said: “This was a horrifying ordeal for the victim who reported the experience to health professionals.
“I would like to commend her for her courage to report what happened to the police and to give evidence in court.
“We were determined to get justice for the victim in this case and Schuchard is now serving a significant custodial sentence.”
