'Predator' tried to rape woman with hammer threat
Cleveland PoliceA "predator" who lured a homeless woman in with the promise of food before trying to rape her by threatening her with a hammer has been jailed for 11 years.
Selvaratnam Nallathamby, a 56-year-old Sri Lankan national who has lived in the UK for years, appeared to be offering help to the vulnerable woman before he tried to attack her in Middlesbrough in October, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Recorder Paul Reid said Nallathamby, who had a history of violent and sexual offences, was an "unequivocal" danger to women, while his victim had been "shattered" by his actions.
Nallathamby, who was assisted in court by a Tamil interpreter, denied attempted rape but was found guilty by jurors.
Nallathamby offered the hungry woman food and she agreed to go back to his home, the judge said.
But once there he ordered her to perform a sex act upon him, which she refused, then produced a hammer and threatened to hit her with it unless she had sex with him, the court heard.
He grabbed at her, dragged her to the floor and tried to rip off her clothes, but she was able to escape and raise the alarm, the court heard.
'Poses harm risk'
In a statement read to the court, the victim said she had already been vulnerable but the attack had left her feeling even more unsafe.
She said it "destroyed any strength" she had left and she felt "completely broken".
Reid said Nallathamby had "shattered" the woman's life.
The court heard he was born in Sri Lanka but had lived in the UK "for a very substantial length of time", during which he had amassed 30 convictions.
They included for violence and sexual offences, such as groping a woman and exposing himself in public, the court heard.
Reid said his actions were "planned and predatory" and he had been assessed by the probation service as posing a serious risk of significant harm to women.
Concluding he was a "dangerous" offender whose risk was "unequivocal", the judge ruled he would have to serve a further five years on extended licence upon his release from prison.
