Rapist Elias Arberry, 25, handed life sentence
AS PoliceA man who admitted four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and wounding with intent has been given a life sentence.
Elias Arberry, 25, of Moorland Road, Taunton has to serve fifteen and a half years minimum of which about 10 must be spent in prison.
He assaulted the victim, causing serious injuries before raping her in May and has admitted seven offences.
She said: "I am extremely angry about what he did to me."
In an impact statement, the victim said: "It has impacted literally every aspect of my life and takes up most of my thoughts throughout the day, every day and then at night as well - I cannot get away from it.
"I feel I have really only scratched the surface of how this has affected me and how it will affect me probably for the rest of my life."
The victim's mother added: "Since that day at the start of May, I literally feel like I have been living a nightmare.
"You watch things on the news and you hear so much about the violence against women and girls, but you never think that sort of thing will happen to you or your family."
Officers conducted a 26-hour search for the defendant, who was found at a hotel in Weston-super-Mare.
Arberry was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Friday and will be registered on the sex offenders list for life.
He is also subject to a restraining order against the victim.
Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]