10 years’ jail for raping 14-year-old in field

A man has been jailed for 10 years for raping a 14-year-old girl in a field as she walked to her friend’s house.

Martin Stokes, 24, was convicted on Tuesday after a 17-day trial during which he called the girl a liar and claimed she was an enthusiastic consenting party.

Stokes was linked to the crime by DNA and by about 10 witnesses who saw him in the area at the time. He initially denied even knowing the girl but when the case came to trial for a second time he claimed he had consensual sex with her.