Soldier who raped stranger in ‘harrowing’ street attack jailed for nine years

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A soldier who tried to hide in a railway station cubicle after raping a stranger in a doorway in a ‘harrowing’ attack has been jailed for nine years.

Private John Harvey, 25, initially gave police a full confession after accosting and attacking the young woman as she walked through Shrewsbury town centre.

But he then forced her to ‘relive the worst moment of my life’ by pleading not guilty and making her give evidence at his nine-day trial.

In a victim impact statement read at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, the woman, who cannot be identified, said her 20-minute ordeal had left her with post-traumatic disorder. She said: ‘My home has become the only place I feel calm. Th