PhD student raped woman he met on night out and took photos of her during attack

A PhD student has been jailed for nine years after he raped a woman he met on a night out – while taking multiple photos of her during the attack.

Dayan Garcia, 31, struck his victim twice to the head and then proceeded to rape her on the night of 29 April this year, a court heard.

The victim had found herself separated from her friends whilst out, and met Garcia in Mambo nightclub in Plymouth, Devon, and agreed to go back to his address at around 2am.

Back at his home, Garcia hit the victim's head twice after she resisted his advances and he went on to rape her.

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During a trial at Plymouth Crown Court, the jury heard how the victim suffered facial injuries and feared for her life.

It also came to light that Garcia had taken multiple photos of the victim during the attack, without her knowledge.

The victim managed to flee the scene with Garcia's phone, and fast tracked enquiries led to his identification and arrest on the evening of April 30 2022.

Garcia was quickly remanded the next day for two counts of rape and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

Prior to his trial, which began on 27 September, Garcia changed his plea to guilty to the ABH offence, but not guilty to the two counts of rape.

However, he was found guilty of both counts after a four-day trial and now faces nine years behind bars.

A statement from Devon and Cornwall Police after the case said: "Devon and Cornwall Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) welcome the custodial sentence of Dayan Garcia for the serious offences for which he stood trial.

"We would like to recognise the bravery of the victim in both coming forward to report these significantly traumatising offences and for providing detailed accounts of what happened, both at the time of the offence and during the trial.

"We would also like to thank the witnesses who gave supporting evidence in this case. Without the support of the general public and a willingness to attend court, these convictions would be more difficult to secure."