A Petersfield man has today (Friday, 4 March) been jailed for eight years for raping a 30-year-old woman in August last year

Petru-Gabriel Dumea, aged 27, of Chapel Street, Petersfield has today (4 March) been sentenced to eight years in jail at Winchester Crown Court, after pleading guilty to rape at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that during the evening of Tuesday, 2 August 2021, a woman was out socialising at the Black Sheep public house in Petersfield when Dumea started talking to her in the smoking area of the pub.   

At around 11pm, the woman left the pub to go and find her husband. Dumea followed her and told her that her husband was in the kebab shop and offered to walk her there.

When they reached the kebab shop, instead of going inside, Dumea forced the woman into his home address that was nearby.

When inside, Dumea started to try to kiss her whilst telling her to go upstairs.

The woman refused and tried to push him away but Dumea forced her backwards onto the stairs and raped her.

A short time later, another man entered the property and confronted Dumea, enabling the woman to escape.

The following morning (Wednesday, 3 August), the woman reported the incident to the police and later that day Dumea was arrested and subsequently charged with one count of rape.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court today, Friday, 4 March, Dumea was sentenced to eight years in jail with a five year extended licence period. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The woman in this case, now 31, told the court how this crime had impacted her and what she had to say to the man who had done this to her:

“This crime has had an enormous detrimental effect on all parts of my life. On a personal level it has completely knocked my self-confidence. I doubt everything and everyone.

“I feel angry about what happened.

“As far as I’m concerned this has ruined my life.”

Rape has devastating consequences and we know the long term harm it causes to survivors and the impact it has on their rest of their life.

Detective Constable Jack Droy from Hampshire Constabulary’s Operation Amberstone team said “This was a premeditated attack on a woman who Dumea had befriended in order to gain her trust and carry out his callous attack.

“This was understandably an extremely traumatic ordeal for the woman and I cannot commend her enough for her bravery and courage in coming forward and telling us what happened, and for her strength throughout the criminal justice process.

“We know it’s incredibly difficult for people to report incidents of this nature but with this woman’s help we were able to secure a guilty plea and bring this man to justice.

“Our Operation Amberstone team is made up of specially trained officers who are dedicated to providing survivors of rape and sexual offences with the best help and support throughout the investigation and court process.   

“Rape investigations are some of the most complex cases we work on, and we continue to work hard in partnership with CPS Wessex to identify offenders and get justice for survivors.

 “I hope today’s sentence goes someway to giving the woman closure and reassures her, and our communities, that justice has been served.”

If you’ve been a victim, please report rape or sexual assault as soon as possible. Even if you’re not 100 per cent sure, we’d sooner hear from you so that we can make sure you’re safe. If you’re not ready to talk to the police just yet, that’s ok. There are a range of places to get support, advice and medical help.

You can speak to a number of organisations in confidence and what you tell them won’t be shared with the police unless you ask for it to be. For further information go to:  

 https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rsa/rape-and-sexual-assault/support-for-victims-of-rape-and-sexual-assault/