A SOMERSET man has been jailed for five years for raping a woman he met online.

Malcolm Compton, 60, from Keynsham, had earlier been found guilty of rape following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court on January 28.

The jury heard how Compton, of Carpenters Lane, initially met his victim on a dating website in September 2020.

They had been communicating online for about a week before agreeing to meet in person.

Compton’s victim made it clear she was seeking companionship and that she just wanted to be friends.

But Compton ignored her wishes and tried to pressure her into sexual activity.

On Friday, September 11, Compton went on to rape her and his victim reported the offence to Wiltshire Police the following day.

Following the sentence, Detective Constable Jeremy Horner said: “Compton completely disregarded the feelings of his victim and exercised controlling behaviour over her from the moment they met before going on to carry out this despicable crime.

“I hope this sentence will bring some form of comfort to the survivor of Compton’s abuse who showed real bravery in reporting this crime.

“She displayed strength and dignity in the way she supported us in our investigation which eventually brought Compton to justice.”