A PONTYPOOL man has been jailed for the rape and sexual assault of a woman while she was "comatose".

Neal Jones, 43, of Snatchwood Road, Abersychan, Pontypool, was sentenced on Friday at Cardiff Crown Court for rape and two counts of sexual assault of a woman in her 40s.

In May, Jones met his victim and the two engaged in drug-taking, drinking and consensual sexual activity.

The next day, she was browsing her phone and found an extremely graphic video of the defendant sexually assaulting her on more than one occasion while she was, in her words, "out of it".

The defendant is seen to slap her in the face, but she remains unconscious throughout and can be heard snoring.

The defendant can be seen to reposition the phone to get the footage.

At a later date, the defendant raped her while she was asleep.

In a police interview, in which he admitted to the rape, he said that “it was not fun, not a regular thing”.

He claimed to have filmed the incident “so they could watch it together”.

On June 1, the pair met up again and the next day the victim checked her phone once more to find another video of the defendant sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious.

This time she had been tied to a chair with ankle restraints.

A police officer, who was shown the footage after the incident was reported to the authorities, described it as “horrendous”.

Jones was stopped and arrested after travelling on the A1 in Northumberland. He was under the influence of cocaine at the time.

A quantity of Viagra and a pocket knife were found in his car.

More footage of the incidents involving the victim was found on the defendant’s phone, showing the same incidents but from different angles.

An impact statement from the victim was read to the court on her behalf.

It said: “My mental health and wellbeing spiralled out of control.

“I live in fear that he will come after me.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to stay in the area.

“I feel tired all the time. I feel like a shell of my former self.

“I have not been able to return to work and have begun to struggle with money. I feel trapped.”

In Mr Jones’ defence, it was stated that he had no previous convictions for sexual offences.

The defence said: “The defendant accepts his wrongdoing and the illegality of what he did.

“He has displayed remorse.”

Summing up, the judge said the filming of the incidents “added insult to injury”.

“To say the effect on the victim has been profound and long-lasting does it no justice at all,” he said.

“I have seen the recordings, it is clear to me the victim was comatose. She was unconscious.”

For the first charge of sexual assault, Mr Jones was given a sentence of four years in prison.

For the second charge of sexual assault, Mr Jones was given a sentence of five years and three months in prison. This is to run consecutively with the other sentences.

For the charge of rape, Mr Jones was given a sentence of six years and nine months. This is to run concurrently with the first sentence for sexual assault.

In total, Mr Jones’ sentence amounted to 12 years in prison. Two thirds of that time would have to be served before he became eligible for release on license.

As well as the custodial sentence, a restraining order was indefinitely imposed on Mr Jones.

He would also now have to register as a sex offender for an indefinite period and his mobile phone would be seized.