A woman who raped by her husband on their wedding night has bravely spoken out about the horrific abuse she suffered.
Gareth Rainbow, 36, was jailed for raping his wife Kelly Penny, 36, after she gave evidence against him in court, reports Wales Online.
In February he was sentenced to 16 years for rape and sexual assault at Cardiff Crown Court.
Now his brave victim has waived her right to anonymity to speak out against domestic violence.
The pair had known each other for years but their relationship became romantic when Rainbow, who’s a mechanic, turned up to work on her car and Kelly thought it ‘must be fate.’
But after a whirlwind few months and a rushed engagement, Rainbow turned sinister on their wedding night.
‘I got a beautiful white gown and we invited 40 guests to our wedding day celebrations and 140 in the night,’ Kelly said.
But instead of being a fairytale, Rainbow drank heavily all day and then turned violent that night telling Kelly to ‘stop f***ing whining’.
In the years that followed Rainbow became more and more abusive and was convicted of ABH against Kelly in July 2015 and sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Upon his release, Rainbow bombarded his wife with 4000 messages in the space of just four months.
His behaviour then escalated and he turned up on his wife’s doorstep in April 2018 and launched a sexual attack on her that was so bad she passed out.
Rainbow told Kelly ‘it’s your duty to give me sex’ and poured himself a vodka.
Kelly reported the horrific attack to police but Rainbow denied the charges meaning Kelly had to give evidence at his trial.
‘I had no choice but to give evidence but I knew I had to do it. I just hoped the jury would believe me after all I had been through,’ she told Wales Online.
Describing Rainbow as ‘a real danger’, Judge Michael Fitton QC handed him a 16-year sentence, saying: ‘You are a profoundly self-centred man who has no respect for women and who represents a real danger with any woman with whom you are in a relationship with.’
For rape support call 1800 737 732 (Aus) or 0800 88 33 00 (NZ) or go to Reach Out.
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