Horrified woman finds ropes tied to her bed and an armed burglar in the attic

A jealous ex-boyfriend broke into a woman's home armed with knives and cable ties and attached ropes to her bed before going to hide in the attic. The incident happened in Thringstone, near Coalville [1], in April, about a year after Simon Crawley and the victim had separated after 12 years together. In the months leading up to April he had sent threatening messages to the woman, saying he planned to harm her.

Then, on the evening of Sunday, April 23, the woman got to her house after driving her new boyfriend home when she noticed the back door was not closing property and the garden gate was open. Frightened, she phoned a friend and carefully searched the house, but no one was inside. As she looked around her garden she noticed a rabbit hutch and her lawnmower had been removed from the shed, and, as she approached, Crawley leapt out of the shed shouting.

The terrified woman ran back through the house and into the street, shouting for a neighbour to call the police, as Crawley chased her. Crawley had fled the area by the time Leicestershire Police [3] arrived in the village. At about 11pm the same day, the woman returned to the house with her new boyfriend and another friend.

On entering, she could smell cigarette smoke, and feared Crawley had returned. Upstairs, in her bedroom, several ropes had been tied to the wooden frame of her bed, and Crawley had urinated all over the bathroom. The sounds of footsteps were heard overhead, and the woman and the other two quickly wedged the access to the attic closed so Crawley could not escape.

He was yelling at them, shouting, "You're dead", as they called the police. When Crawley was removed from the attic by officers, he had two bags containing a roll of gaffer tape, two packs of cable ties, two Stanley knives, a multi-tool and a pair of scissors. A kitchen knife Crawley had brought to the house was found in the attic.

Crawley, who had pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary with intent to cause grievous bodily harm 10 weeks before a trial had been due to begin, appeared at Leicester Crown Court [4] for sentencing on Friday. Speaking about the victim, prosecutor Victoria Rose told the court: "She clearly struggled severely with the effect this had on her - the sense of constant fear, of looking over her shoulder. "She couldn't sleep in her bedroom anymore because of visions of the ropes, and there was a period when she was simply unable to remain at the address." Commenting on the factors that made the case particularly serious, Ms Rose said Crawley knew the victim lived alone in the house, and had taken items to harm her.

Judge Philip Head said the contents of Crawley's bags showed "an intent to cause grievous bodily harm - to cause really serious physical injury". Crawley, 34, of South Road, Chapel St Leonards, near Skegness, was represented in court by Tom Beardsworth, who said his client had no previous convictions and handed the judge a letter from Crawley, as well as references from Crawley's mother, his aunt and a family friend. Mr Beardsworth added that Crawley had pleaded guilty 10 weeks before the trial had been due to start.

However, Judge Head said that by not pleading guilty straight away, Crawley had forced his victim to fear "giving evidence about a terrifying experience". Sentencing Crawley to eight-and-a-half-years behind bars, Judge Head told him: "You had soiled her home, you demeaned her home and you had brought with you knives and ropes, then tied the ropes to the bed frame. There's a clear threat she would be restrained on her bed for some sort of sexual purpose.

"To their horror they heard you upstairs in the attic.

You subjected her and those with her to a sustained, terrifying experience."

An 11-year restraining order was also ordered by the judge, banning Crawley from Thringstone.

References

^ Coalville (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
^ Jury reaches verdict after tortured dad died with 196 knife wounds (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
^ Leicestershire Police (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
^ Leicester Crown Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)