Dating website rapist Jason Lawrance found guilty of further sex attacks
A convicted serial rapist has been found guilty of further sex attacks on five women he met on an internet dating site.
Father-of-three Jason Lawrance contacted thousands of women on Match.com or its partner company Dating Direct between 2009 and 2014, attacking 13 of them to “satisfy a selfish sexual need”.
The 54-year-old, who was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years and six months in 2016 for sexually violating seven women, appeared emotionless as jurors at Nottingham Crown Court delivered the latest verdicts.
Despite offering no defence during his second trial, Lawrance denied seven counts of rape, one charge of sexual assault and a further charge of assault by penetration – claiming all sex had been consensual.
But he was found guilty of five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one charge of assault by penetration.
Jurors cleared Lawrance of two further charges of rape.
A jury panel of six men and six women were told of the former businessman’s convictions for rape, attempted rape and sexual assault in his previous trial at Derby Crown Court, in which a judge labelled the rapist as a “devious and manipulative… sexual predator”.
Five of Lawrance’s latest victims came forward after his “criminality filtered out into homes across the country” through news reports covering the trial.
Jurors in Nottingham were told that in July 2014, the former self-employed builder got one woman pregnant despite telling her he had had a vasectomy – something he later passed off as “just banter”.
Despite reassuring her repeatedly, the court heard how Lawrance, who used Match.com with profile names such as KeepItStraightToday and StraightMan_Looking, messaged her the following day to tell her: “I have a confession. I’m still fertile. Sorry.”
He also attacked another woman in late 2012 in her Northamptonshire home before “calmly” going upstairs to have a shower.
Lawrance had met the woman after she invited him round for a coffee – and despite telling him “No, I don’t want this”, he responded with “shut up… it’s going to happen anyway”.
Other women were attacked in Lawrance’s car or van, with one being pushed on a double bed in the back of his van after taking a drive to Bradgate Park, Leicestershire in January 2014.
The court was told another woman had a belt wrapped around her neck, in an area called Bluebell Woods in Dingley Dell, Market Harborough shortly after he joined Match.com in 2009.
Opening the case against Lawrance earlier in July, Clive Stockwell QC said: “Rape necessarily involves the exploitation of vulnerability, vulnerability exploited to satisfy a selfish sexual need.
“During this trial you will hear of the cruelty suffered by… vulnerable women, all exploited to satisfy a selfish sexual need.
“The selfish sexual needs of Jason Lawrance.”
In the previous trial in Derby, Judge Gregory Dickinson QC called for a review of internet dating safety measures after expressing concern that four of the victims had made complaints to Match.com before three other women were raped.
Upon hearing of his latest offences, Match.com said member safety is their “primary priority” – adding: “Match has a zero-tolerance policy for reports of serious offences and we encourage anyone who has felt exposed to unsafe behaviour, whether through our services or anywhere else, to speak to the police.”
In order to try to prevent similar attacks, the site introduced the “report a profile” feature and encourages all users to only message on its own platforms.
Lawrance, formerly of Liphook, Hampshire, was remanded back into custody by Mr Justice Jeremy Baker to be sentenced at the same court at a later date.
