Sex offender given longer term

A seven-year sentence given to a sex offender has been lengthened to ten years after a year-long struggle on the part of the female victim.

Josie Ottoway, 21, was raped nearby her student dormitory in February 2011 by a hooded stranger at gunpoint. The Loughborough University undergraduate studying international business was reportedly on her way back to her room from a friend’s house, which was ten minutes away.

The attacker ordered her to take off her clothes before he sexually assaulted her.

“Once someone points a gun in your face you just do as they say,” Josie said, recalling the incident. “I’m a strong person and know how to defend myself, but it didn’t cross my mind that I could fight back.”

The attacker, Adam Willis, was identified by police a few days later when CCTV images were linked to the semen found on the victim’s dress.

Willis’s initial prison term was lengthened when the case was referred to the appellate court by Attorney General Dominic Grieve earlier this year.

Police never found the weapon wielded by Willis, which he later claimed was a “toy.”

“I didn’t want to go through my life feeling like a victim,” Josie said. “We’re expected to hide away as if we’re in some way responsible.”

Josie chose not to hide her identity from the public saying she wanted to encourage more women to report attacks.