Indefinite sentence for rapist who threatened to set victim alight

Usman Butt was yesterday branded “ruthless and cruel” by Judge Peter Benson who ordered he should be imprisoned for public protection because of the high risk he posed particularly to women.

The judge, sitting at Bradford Crown Court, said Butt, of Harrow Street, Halifax, had set up a trap to lure the woman to another house in the town.

The court heard that the woman – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was apprehensive about getting into a car with Butt and another man.

However, she eventually went with them after Usman used his charm.

Butt – who has previous convictions for violence against females – grabbed the woman after she had been to the toilet and raped her despite her begging him to stop.

Afterwards he repeatedly hit her before going into the kitchen and picking up a bottle.

Prosecutor Matthew Bean said the bottle contained turpentine, but his victim believed it was petrol which Butt said he would pour over her and set alight.

“She was at this stage crying and begging to be allowed to leave,” said Mr Bean.

The other man was allowed to drive the woman a short distance away and she was later found distressed in the early hours by passers-by.

Butt, 23, admitted assaulting the woman during the incident last October, but he denied the rape charge and was convicted by a jury after a trial. The attack happened just over two weeks after he was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for unlawfully wounding a man.

The court also heard that the woman victim felt mentally and physically scarred by the experience.

Under the terms of his imprisonment, Butt will have to serve more than four years behind bars before he is considered for release.

He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.