A TEENAGER who raped a 13-year-old schoolgirl on waste ground under the M4 motorway after giving her drugs has been locked up.

Jacob Dallimore, 19, from Newport, attacked his victim in the city hours after he had offered her Xanax tablets earlier that day.

Cardiff Crown Court heard he “took advantage” of the girl who was “drowsy to the point of insensibility or stupor”.

The defendant was 16 at the time of the offence in 2019.

Dallimore, of Beaufort Road, St Julians, was convicted of rape in February by a jury following a trial.

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He had denied the offence.

Clare Wilks, prosecuting, read out a victim impact statement from the girl in which she said: “What has happened to me will stick with me for the rest of my life.

“I am proud I was able to speak out but it has come at a price.”

She was effectively defenceless at the time

The court was told the defendant had no previous convictions before the offence but since has convictions for public disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Nigel Fryer, mitigating, asked the judge to take into account the three-year delay in the case.

His barrister said: “If he had been charged at a much earlier time he may well have been dealt with through a different process in the youth court.

“Of course as an adult, he comes before the crown court.

“This offending took place when Mr Dallimore was 16.”

Mr Fryer added: “He is a young man who is going to have to face the future with this conviction hanging over him.

“He wants to show the world he is a changed man.”

Judge Richard Williams told Dallimore: “On the morning of the offence you provided Xannax to her which she then took.

“It is clear that this had a significant effect on her making her drowsy to the point of insensibility or stupor.

“In my judgement this made her particularly vulnerable.

“You took full advantage of her condition later to isolate her before raping her on that waste ground under the M4 viaduct in Newport.

“She made it clear to you that she didn’t want to have sex but she was effectively defenceless at that time.”

Dallimore was sent to a young offender institution for five years and told he will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

He will have to serve half of that sentence in custody before being released on licence and the time spent on remand will count towards it.

After sentencing him, Judge Williams told the victim: “I wish to express my admiration for such a brave person.”

He also expressed his “concern” about the lengthy delay in the case and demanded an explanation from the Crown Prosecution Service.