A pervert dressed in women's tights and boxer shorts tried to get into bed with a woman and rape her. But the woman kicked Mark Maddock in the chest and "screamed blue murder", causing Maddock, 47, to flee.
It was only later that the woman learned that he had been in the house with the woman for six hours before he struck and that he had with him toy handcuffs and a blindfold. There were also items of the woman's underwear found in the home with Maddock's DNA on them, LeicestershireLive reports.
Leicester Crown Court heard that Maddock had been seen standing outside the victim's home in the months leading up to the incident on Saturday, June 11, last year. He had even been challenged by the woman's neighbours on one occasion but lied and said he had got the wrong house.
Having studied CCTV from the area, Leicestershire Police detectives learned that on the night he entered her home, Maddock had gone into the woman's home at about 10.10pm on the Saturday evening, sneaking through the garden and in through an unlocked back door. The woman had fallen asleep in front of the television and did not notice Maddock creep inside, go upstairs and hide under a bed in the spare room.
She woke up on the sofa and went to bed at about 4.30am and went to go to sleep. Prosecutor Philip Gibbs explained what happened after she got into her bed.
He said: "She was confronted by this man in the doorway, wearing only tights and pants and nothing else. He asked her for sex and moved towards the bed.
"The complainant was able to kick him in the chest and was 'screaming blue murder', to use her expression. He was deterred from proceeding further and was chased from the house by the complainant, apologising as he fled."
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He said the woman "showed incredible fortitude" and had "been terrified she was about to be raped". After the incident, Maddock fled back to his home in Coleridge Drive, Enderby, where he was later arrested.
Maddock had denied the charge of trespass with intent. But he was found guilty by a jury.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday Steven Taylor, representing Maddock, said it was not clear what Maddock intended to do. He said Maddock had been a virgin until his 40s, when he started going to a massage parlour and having sex with prostitutes there.
Mr Taylor said that prostitutes at the massage parlour would encourage Maddock to put on women's tights. He said: "He fetishised that clothing because that was what they encouraged him to wear."
He added: "He has learning difficulties, which may have impacted on his decision-making. He's been a law-abiding citizen up until the age of 47 and it's extraordinary he would have committed an offence as serious as this."
During the sentencing hearing on Monday the victim entered the witness stand to read out her statement about how the incident had affected her. She described it as "the day my life changed forever".
She said: "During the incident I felt absolute terror. I believed from the defendant's actions and words that he was going to rape me.
"I can't explain the shock and fear I felt to open my eyes and see him standing in front of me, acting in that way." She said that after she chased him out and she was alone in the house she felt more "alone and vulnerable" than at any other stage of her life.
She said she continues to have terrifying nightmares, flashbacks and fears of being attacked. She said: "I don't like to go to sleep because I worry that when I open my eyes the defendant or someone else could be standing beside the bed."
She added that she often woke up in bed at around the time of night the attack took place and was scared by any noises in the night. Maddock, who is unemployed and received personal independence payments due to his mental and medical issues, was jailed for five years.
Recorder Adrian Reynolds said that considering Maddock's words "I want to have sex with you" it was impossible to conclude he did not intend to rape her. He said: "The offence you are convicted of is desperately serious.
"You clearly developed some sort of fixation with her. The intended offence carries life imprisonment. There's a significant degree of planning and the targeting of a vulnerable victim.
"This took place in the victim's own home and you intended to rape her. You have robbed her of her peace of mind."
