Rhyce Longstaff, 31, was found guilty of three charges of rape after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, according to court proceedings. He was jailed on Friday, March 6, for 16 years with an extended six-year licence, as reported by the court. Evidence heard in court indicated that the incident occurred in the early hours of October 11, 2024.
Longstaff and a friend were in Birmingham city centre when they came across the victim and two of her friends, the court heard. The court heard that Longstaff and his friend lured the girl from the city centre to a property on Sutton Street in Aston, Birmingham. At the property, the 14-year-old victim drank alcohol and smoked cannabis, but it was not Longstaff who gave it to her, according to court testimony.
The specific person who provided the substances remains unknown. The girl passed out from the alcohol and cannabis in an upstairs bedroom, as stated in court. ' The court heard that Longstaff went looking for the girl in the bedroom where she was unconscious and repeatedly sexually attacked her.
The victim awoke to find Longstaff raping her, and he put his hand over her mouth to muffle her crying, according to court testimony. Judge Smith described the scene: 'The terror she must have felt to wake and find you raping her cannot be adequately described. ' The girl passed out again, and Longstaff returned to the bedroom and raped her on two more occasions, as per court testimony.
After the attacks, Longstaff left the house with the victim's phone to prevent her from calling for help, the court heard. The victim's phone was co-located with Longstaff's phone on two occasions in the hours that followed, but the victim's phone was never recovered, according to court evidence. The authorities have not disclosed how Longstaff was identified and arrested.
In a victim impact statement read in court, the girl described losing confidence, self-esteem, and no longer recognizing herself after the attack. She said she was too scared to go out and experienced 'terrible nightmares'. The victim described trying to kill herself because 'I could see it as the only way out'.
' The victim said it felt like a weight had been lifted after Longstaff was arrested and convicted, but it still haunted her. Birmingham Live reports that Longstaff has previous convictions including robbery, affray, and threatening someone with a knife. The legal status of Longstaff's friend, who was involved in luring the victim, is not known.
The specific evidence that led to Longstaff's conviction for three charges of rape has not been made public. Support and legal actions for the victim's recovery and well-being have not been detailed in court proceedings. Judge Smith's sentencing remarks highlighted the severity of the crimes against a vulnerable minor.