Attacker was arrested while asleep in hotel room

A sexual predator who targeted a woman during a work party at a Peterborough hotel has been jailed.

Matthew Revels, 42, who was arrested while asleep in his hotel room, was given a two-and-a-half year prison term for the sexual assault.

A court was told that Revels had preyed on the victim while she was on the dancefloor but at one point she had told him: “I know what you want and it’s not happening”.

However, after the bar closed, the group went back to a hotel room at about midnight for drinks.

The victim had a shot of Sambuca, but this resulted in her becoming unwell, so she went to the bathroom.

The court heard that Revels claimed he was going to check on the victim, but while inside the bathroom, he carried out a sexual assault on her.

After the assault, the victim struggled to breathe as a result of a panic attack, and an ambulance was called.

The distraught victim told medics what had happened, and officers arrested Revels, who was asleep in his hotel room.

At Huntingdon Law Courts, Revels, of Armagh Road, Newry, Northern Ireland, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison after previously pleading guilty to assault by penetration.

He was also handed a 10-year restraining order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Afterwards, DC Chris Enright, who investigated, said: “The victim was in a powerless state - alone in a place unfamiliar to her while being very unwell.

"She was in no state to consent to any sexual activity.

“And despite already being told earlier on in the evening that nothing was going to happen, Revels took it upon himself to take advantage of the victim and use sexual violence against her while she was at her most vulnerable.”

. If you or someone you love has been the victim of a serious sexual offence, there are support options available on Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s rape and sexual assault page.