A Tidworth soldier raped a sleeping woman after offering to walk her home.
Gary Conibear was discharged from the army following the incident in June 2022 – which came after his arrest in relation to the reported sex attack.
Following a trial at Winchester Crown Court in July, the 33-year-old was found guilty of raping his victim following a night out in Tidworth.
The court heard how Conibear had met up with the woman on a night out with friends, where they played pool and drank together.
He later offered to walk her home and they both fell asleep, fully clothed on her bed. She awoke to find him raping her some time later.
The defendant, of Churchill Close, Tidworth, was jailed for seven years and six months.
Judge Rufus Taylor also imposed an indefinite restraining order preventing him from having direct or indirect contact with the woman.
In a powerful and moving personal statement, read to the court, the survivor said: “No words will ever truly capture how these last three years have broken, changed, and reshaped me.
“But I will try, because I need you to understand what was taken from me, what I’ve survived, and what I still carry every single day.
“When this happened to me, I didn’t just feel hurt, I felt ashamed. I blamed myself. I asked over and over, What did I do wrong? Why me? What haunts me the most, is how he did it without a flicker of remorse.
“The assault didn’t just happen in a moment. It echoed. It infected every part of my life.
“I stopped leaving my house. For 18 months, I was locked away from the world, gripped by fear, shame, and agoraphobia. I stopped seeing my friends. I stopped seeing my family. I stopped seeing me.
“I was exhausted by the weight of what had been done to me. I was living in a constant loop of fear, shame, and despair.
“There is no justice that can erase what happened. There is no sentence long enough that can give me back the years I’ve lost, the nights I’ve cried, the peace that was stolen from me.
“But I’m here. I am still standing, scarred, yes, but not silenced.
“All I ask is this: please see the pain. Please feel the weight of what I’ve been through. Because I carry it every single day in my mind, in my body, and in the way I now live my life.”
Detective Constable Sue Elway said: “I would like to recognise the courage of the survivor in this case, who has had to endure an unimaginable personal struggle in the wake of this ordeal.
“Despite this, she has managed to find the strength to work with us to help bring this offender to justice – having to go through two trials, after the first resulted in a hung jury.
“I would also like to recognise the support given to the survivor by Horizon victim and witness care who were there for her every step of the way.
“Conibear will now be deprived of liberty for a substantial period – I hope that he reflects upon his selfish and despicable actions and the harm he has caused.”
She added: “Consent is vital. It means that unless the other person freely agrees to a specific sexual act and they have the freedom and capacity to make that choice, you are committing a sexual offence.
“It must be given by choice and can be withdrawn at any time. Someone cannot consent if they are asleep, unconscious, under duress, or too intoxicated to make a choice.”
