It does not get any easier for men who think they can always have their way with women in whatever manner that pleases them. A 35-year-old man from Bournemouth, accused of sex assault known popularly as stealthing, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of the crime.
Lee Hogben was put behind bars for raping a woman in a hotel when he chose to remove a condom that he was using during the sex. According to the prosecuting lawyer of the victim, who explained that as her client was a sex worker, conditions of intercourse were agreed beforehand and advertised on her website where she specifically states online that protection must be used at all times during sex. Unfortunately, the two hours of Hogben humping her were futile when he left without paying after attacking her.
“Hogben went beyond what was consented to by removing the protection, which the complainant will say was a condition of sex. She repeatedly protested, ‘I don’t do that – please, no.’ She tried to wriggle away but he told her to stop. He told her he had beaten people up and robbed people,” the court heard from the prosecutor
When the victim reported the incident to the police, filing a complaint against her customer, Hogben sent threatening messages to the woman, stating that he would kill her grandparents and have her ‘head smashed in’. He was arrested and forensic tests taken perfectly matched his DNA.
Hogben was found guilty of rape and two counts of assault by trial and sentenced to 12 years. He plead guilty to threatening to destroy property, disclosing private photographs and making malicious communication to a second female victim.
Brothel-keeping laws are most commonly used against women working together in premises for safety forcing people to choose between working alone or breaking the law. According to a spokesperson for the English Collective of Prostitutes, at a time when unemployment, lowering wages, increased homelessness, and debts are forcing more women particularly mothers into prostitution the police are still persecuting and criminalizing women trying to earn a living.