‘Controlling’ rapist strangled victim to unconsciousness before attacking her

The 24-year-old strangled his victim twice

A rapist strangled his victim until she was unconscious and then attacked her. Jacob Negus, 24, began speaking to a woman on a dating app and then met her the following day.

After a month of dating, Negus became controlling. He told the woman to remove men from her social media accounts or he would stop seeing her. The woman chose to end contact, but Negas later sent flowers and apologised. The pair were then on-and-off dating for a couple of months.

In 2023, at his then home in Maxey, near Peterborough, Negus became violent. On one occasion, he strangled the woman until she lost consciousness, leaving her with a burst blood vessel in her eye. When she regained consciousness, the victim realised she was being raped. When Negus saw she was awake, he pulled her hair, forced her to stand and strangled her again.

During their relationship, Negus also left bruises on the woman’s thighs after grabbing them, subjected her to verbal abuse and made threats to harm her. The woman later told a family member and reported the abuse to police.

On Thursday, June 25 at Cambridge Crown Court, Negus, of Leofric Close, Crowland, Lincolnshire, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was found guilty of rape, intentional strangulation and engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour in an intimate relationship.

DC Frankie Enticknap said: “This was a sustained and deeply traumatic campaign of abuse, where Negus used control, violence and intimidation against his victim.

“It takes a great deal of courage to come forward and report offences of this nature, and I would like to commend the victim for the strength she has shown throughout this investigation. We are committed to supporting victims of sexual offences and domestic abuse, and we will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.”