MARTIN HUME – PETERLEE, COUNTY DURHAM

❌MARTIN HUME – PETERLEE, COUNTY DURHAM❌

Martin Hume (34), of Gloucester Place, Peterlee, has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of rape. According to court reports, he ignored his victim’s repeated pleas to stop — during some of the assaults, she was in obvious pain and told him she did not want any sexual activity. Prosecutors said that in one chilling moment, when she realized he wasn’t listening, she became motionless as the abuse carried on.

During sentencing, the victim (accompanied by a family member) read out a powerful impact statement. She said what happened had “ruined” her life, describing her everyday existence as like “living in hell.” She admitted she’d feared bumping into him in public before the verdict, and that she still experiences intense emotional distress, but added that speaking out was the right thing to do: “No means no.”

Hume denied both rape charges at trial, but a jury convicted him on the fourth day of proceedings. His defence lawyer told the court that, despite the severity of the sentence, this was his first time receiving a custodial sentence. The lawyer said Hume, a trained welder, had never served time before, but had earned “trusted prisoner” status while on remand and worked as a wing cleaner.

The judge, Jo Kidd, ordered that Hume serves at least two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for release on licence. He’s also subject to an indefinite restraining order preventing any contact with the victim, and is on the Sex Offenders Register until a court decides otherwise.