Downs Link sex attack: Christopher Cooper admits attempted rape

Christopher Cooper was riding his bicycle in the Horsham area when he carried out the sex attack.

He twisted the woman’s neck and told her to stop screaming as he removed her clothing and his own.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she was “absolutely terrified”.

She screamed out for help, but Cooper shouted at her to be quiet as he sexually assaulted her.

He was interrupted by witnesses before he could carry out the rape and was seen pulling up his trousers before fleeing.

Lewes Crown Court.

At Lewes Crown Court, Cooper admitted sexual assault, and attempted rape, and was jailed for six years.

Her Honour Judge Janet Waddicor found that Cooper was a “high risk” of committing a similar sex offence against other women, and added an extra three year period on his licence period for “dangerousness”.

Cooper was told he will not be automatically released half-way through his sentence, in the same way as most defendants, but will instead serve at least four years before he can be considered for parole.

The Downs Link former rail line is now a path popular with runners and cyclists near Christ's Hospital School, Horsham

Richard Hearnden, prosecuting, said the offence took place last October on the Downs Link, a former railway line, near Christ’s Hospital School, Horsham.

He said: “A man on a bicycle had stopped further up the path. Then suddenly he grabbed her from behind and rugby tackled her to the ground.

“He twisted her neck, she thought he was going to break it. She was screaming. He continued and pulled down her leggings and underwear. She was struggling as much as she could, but he told her to be quiet.”

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Cooper, 29, was found because of DNA on a face mask he had left at the scene.

At first he denied being present at the scene, but was picked out by witnesses at an identity parade.

In a victim statement, the woman said her world has changed, and said: “A shadow has always lurked every time I venture out of my front door.”

“I was absolutely terrified when I found myself on the ground, with my neck being twisted to stop me,” she said. “I felt, and was, completely powerless. I didn’t know if I was going to see another day.”

Christopher Cooper has been jailed for attempting to rape a woman near Christ's Hospital School in Horsham on a path called Downs Link

Andrew Turton, defending, said his client was homeless and living in a shipping container at the time.

Cooper, a tree surgeon, had been out drinking and had taken Diazepam the night before, Mr Turton said.

The barrister said his client was “shocked and frightened” to learn what he had done, and now feels “remorse” and “shame” for having attempted to rape the woman.

Judge Waddicor said the shocking crime took place on a path used by women and schoolgirls from the nearby Christ’s Hospital School.

She said: “It is the most dreaded experience, and there cannot be many women, younger or older, who have not feared at some point, if not every day of their lives, that when they are alone a stranger will attack them.”

Cooper, of no fixed address, is now behind bars.