Rapist jailed for 28 years after ‘opportunistic’ attacks

Chiron Hutchinson (20) was found guilty of raping two women and having sex with a girl (14)

Undated handout photo issued by Kent Police of Chiron Hutchinson, who has been handed a 28-year extended sentence for raping two women and having sex with a 14-year-old girl.  Photograph: PA Wire
Undated handout photo issued by Kent Police of Chiron Hutchinson, who has been handed a 28-year extended sentence for raping two women and having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Photograph: PA Wire

A “manipulative and deceitful” former public schoolboy turned sexual predator has been handed a 28-year extended sentence in a British court for raping two women and having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Chiron Hutchinson (20) was described as a "narcissist" and a "fantasist" who demonstrated a "deliberate pattern of behaviour" borne out of a "sense of entitlement" when he carried out the attacks in Kent last year, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Judge Mark Jonathan Dennis QC made the comments on Wednesday as he ordered the former St Bede’s School pupil to serve 20 years behind bars with a further eight years on licence — known as an extended sentence.

Hutchinson, who used to attend the public school in Hailsham, East Sussex, will have to serve at least a third of his custodial sentence before he is eligible to be considered for release.

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Judge Dennis branded him an "opportunist" who strived to "engineer situations" so he could be alone with, and take advantage of, young women demonstrating a "deliberate pattern of behaviour".

He said: “He forced himself upon them for his own sexual gratification with no regard for anyone but himself.”

The defendant, dressed in a grey suit, pale pink shirt and burgundy tie, sighed heavily and rubbed his chin as the judge started to speak but was motionless when the sentence was passed.

‘Abduction’

On October 2nd last year, Hutchinson raped a 17-year-old girl twice inside and outside his car in secluded woodland near Tunbridge Wells after meeting her in the town’s MooMoo nightclub. The judge said the ordeal could “only be described as abduction”.

Christopher May, prosecuting, said the victim had "little if any recollection of that other than her finding dirt in her underwear the following day".

Just six days later Hutchinson attacked a “very drunk” 24-year-old French woman after meeting her “by chance” walking back towards the same nightclub. He had just been rejected by another 17-year-old, the court heard.

He offered the 24-year-old a lift home but instead parked in woodland and raped her before driving back into town and leaving her “distraught”, the court heard.

A month earlier he “went out of his way” to meet a 14-year-old girl, when he was 19, and showed a “significant degree of planning”, Mr May said.

Hutchinson admitted two charges of sexual activity with her after striking up a conversation on Facebook, the court heard.

He offered the girl a lift from school and showed her his horses before going to the home he shared with his mother in Mount Pleasant, Uckfield, East Sussex.

Hutchinson plied her with "several alcoholic drinks" in his bedroom before hugging and kissing her and saying she was "sweet", Mr May said. He sexually assaulted her in his bedroom, and a few days later, the pair had unprotected sex in Calverley Park, Tunbridge Wells, before they were disturbed by a dog walker.

Hutchinson told her not to tell anyone his age when she spoke of seeing a doctor and getting a pregnancy test, boasting he “knew the law” because his aunt was a QC and one of the top lawyers in the country.

Mr May added: “The person he is referring to is a lawyer, not a QC, and is a family friend, not an aunt.”

When the girl’s family found out they were spending time together, Hutchinson “brazenly” reassured her father “they were just friends”.

Psychological trauma

Two of the victims had been virgins before the attacks. All of them experienced lasting psychological trauma, needing treatment for symptoms such as panic attacks and disturbed sleep, the court heard.

Judge Dennis said Hutchinson was “unabashed” when declaring during the trial he had watched the film Fifty Shades Of Grey while on remand just a few days before taking the stand and had “no empathy at all” with his victims.

When police searched his computer, material found showed an “unusual” interest in “force”, “rape-type” behaviour and “violent sex”. He tried to intimidate one of the victims, bullying her online, “referencing his money and power” in a bid to get her to withdraw statements, Mr May added.

Michael Haynes, defending, said Hutchinson made an "error of judgment" in one of the attacks, adding: "It's a fine line."

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Pledger, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Chiron Hutchinson is an aggressive, dangerous and predatory sex offender."

Hutchinson was originally accused of offences against a total of four women between July and October 2016. He was cleared of three other counts of rape, one attempted rape and six counts of sexual assault. - PA