'I was on a mission to stop this man' - BBC

paksijenong.blogspot.com

By Caroline Lowbridge

BBC News

Three women have spoken of their relief after the man who repeatedly raped and coercively controlled them was given a 32-year sentence.

Robert Parkin was investigated after his ex-girlfriend Nicola Green reported him to police, which encouraged the other two women to come forward.

They had all been in relationships with him, and wanted him jailed in order to stop him from harming any more women.

The judge praised the women for their "amazing courage".

Warning: Contains details some readers may find distressing

Parkin, from Derby, had denied all of the offences, which meant the women were forced to give evidence against him in court, relive the trauma of what had happened, and also be cross-examined by the defence barrister.

The judge said that at one point during the trial, jurors passed him a note saying they "found it distressing to hear the way the victims were being blamed by the defence".

Recorder Adrian Reynolds gave Parkin a custodial sentence of 24 years, with the maximum possible additional extended licence period of eight years.

"It gives me comfort knowing he's not on the streets hurting anyone else," said Nicola.

"I was on a mission to stop this man, for the right reasons though. It was never about me."

As a victim of sexual offences, Nicola is legally entitled to be anonymous.

However, she decided to waive her anonymity and speak about what happened in order to "encourage and empower other people to come forward".

"It's never too late to speak out," she said.

"For a long time I felt ashamed and embarrassed, and it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Nicola ended her relationship with Parkin in 2016 because of the physical abuse, but she was too scared to report him at the time.

"I didn't think anyone would believe me," she said.

She said Parkin had also "brainwashed" her into thinking the non-consensual sex was not rape, because they were in a relationship.

As well as raping and hitting her, Parkin racially abused Nicola and her mother.

He then stalked and harassed Nicola after they split up, bombarding her with text messages, phone calls, voicemails and emails.

"A lot of the stuff he wrote in the emails was admitting to what he did to me. He said I 'lay there like a dead dog'," she said.

Nicola reluctantly agreed to meet Parkin for his birthday in September 2016, and he raped her again that night.

"That night was the last time he raped me and it was horrible," she said.

"He took my tampon out, and I feel like he spiked me, but I can't prove it.

"I got away after that and shut my mouth."

'I'm going to report him'

However, towards the end of 2021, Nicola started to wonder if Parkin had done the same to other women, and started contacting some of his other ex-girlfriends.

One of them was a woman we're calling Becky, in order to protect her identity.

"She told me some awful things he did to her, and I thought 'I'm going to report him'," said Nicola.

"I never thought it would go to court. In a way I just wanted it to be on his record somewhere, because I had a feeling he was going to do it to someone else."

Becky had also ended her relationship with Parkin because of the abuse, but also felt too scared to report him to police at the time.

"I knew what he was doing to me was illegal but I didn't have the evidence, it was my word against his," said Becky.

"He's a dangerous guy and [I thought] if I went to the police and had him arrested and aggravated him and he got out it would be a very dangerous situation."

Becky told the BBC she changed her mind after Nicola reported him to police in February 2022, and Parkin himself posted about the investigation on social media.

'She's telling the truth'

"He was slating Nicola, saying she was lying," said Becky, who then discussed the investigation with another victim, who we're referring to as Charlotte.

"[Charlotte] asked me about the investigation and asked 'Do you believe it?' and I said 'I wasn't there but going off my own experience she's telling the truth'," said Becky.

"That's when she said what had been going on between her and Rob in her relationship."

Becky initially went to police to help Charlotte, because she had evidence to support the investigation on her phone.

"After speaking to the police, they said I may have a case myself," Becky said.

Becky said she was verbally abused every day of the relationship, and Parkin's volatile behaviour was exacerbated by his use of cocaine.

One of the coercive control charges included "persistent and unreasonable demands for sexual activity".

"If I didn't have sex with him he would kick off and smash the house up," said Becky.

"I would say 70% of the sex was not consensual. Basically, do you let him kick off and smash the house up, or have sex with him for a few minutes?"

'Getting worse and worse'

Becky said she felt "ecstatic" when Parkin was sentenced.

"This guy is getting worse and worse as he goes on, and I don't think he would have stopped until he had killed somebody. He was getting more confident over the years," she said.

As a condition of his licence, any woman Parkin forms a relationship with must be informed of his past.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for life.

Parkin was convicted by a jury of the following charges:

Four counts of rape, with those charges relating to multiple rapes
Six counts of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship
Stalking involving serious alarm or distress, in relation to Nicola Green
Two counts of assault by beating, in relation to two other victims

Charlotte said Parkin "love-bombed" her at the start of their relationship, saying he wanted to marry her, and also wanted to try for a baby with her very quickly.

He hid her contraceptive pills so she had to go to the doctor to get more, then take them secretly.

"I realised there was something dodgy going on when he said 'I can't wait until you're pregnant because I know you will never leave me'," said Charlotte.

"Luckily I didn't get pregnant, thank God."

His controlling behaviour towards Charlotte included asking her to send photos every day to make sure she wasn't wearing makeup, and to see what clothes she was wearing.

Charlotte feared Parkin would kill her one day, and the judge said this was "something I have no difficulty believing".

"I've had to move house really far away from where we live because I genuinely believe, if he hadn't been found guilty, he would have come for me," said Charlotte.

'We can all feel safe'

She said she was "shocked" but "very happy" with the sentence.

"The judge said it will be at least 16 years before he can apply for parole, so at least for 16 years minimum we can all feel safe," she said.

As the reports were made on separate dates by the three victims, they were initially investigated by separate detective constables.

They were then investigated as one investigation by Det Con Adam Redfern, and the judge has asked for him to be given a commendation for his work.

"I cannot praise the bravery of these three women enough, for initially reporting these traumatic incidents, and then subsequently being forced to relive that very trauma at court," Det Con Redfern said.

"I hope this case highlights how seriously we take allegations and how thoroughly we will investigate them. Violence and sexual violence does not have a place in our society and we will do all we can to ensure we bring perpetrators to justice."

If you've been affected by domestic abuse or controlling behaviour, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.