A woman who was raped and beaten before being dumped in a lift died the day after testifying against her attacker, a court has been told. Dominik Szymanski had encountered his vulnerable victim in Swansea city centre and brought her back to his flat where he raped and attacked her before dragging her from the property half-naked and “hurling” her into the lift.
Details of the Attack
The 47-year-old defendant retained possession of the woman’s dog and made arrangements to sell it. Szymanski denied rape and assault, claiming no sexual activity occurred and no sexual activity could have occurred as he was incapable of maintaining an erection.
He was found guilty of rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a 10-day trial at Swansea Crown Court. The court was told that the day after the victim provided evidence and underwent cross-examination she was discovered dead. An inquest has yet to determine a cause of death, reports Wales Online.
Victim's Mother's Statement
The court was informed that the defendant and the complainant met on Swansea’s High Street on September 2 last year. Both had their dogs with them and they started chatting, drinking, and smoking cannabis before returning to Szymanski’s nearby flat. At the flat the defendant then inflicted violence upon his victim and raped her during the extended incident. He was later captured on CCTV in the block of flats dragging the “stupefied” woman from the flat and “hurling” her into a lift.
The court was told the woman suspected she had been “spiked”, but samples weren’t collected in time for testing. Szymanski held onto his victim’s dog and in the days following the incident, he planned to sell it, although the woman was eventually reunited with her pet.
In a statement read out in court by the victim’s mother, she detailed how her daughter was an animal enthusiast who adored her dog. She described seeing her daughter after the rape and theft of her cherished pet, looking “broken” and “in a state of despair”. She stated that it was only after the safe return of the dog that her daughter started to consider herself and what she had endured.
The mum revealed her daughter had strived to overcome her addiction issues and dreamt of travelling to far-off places, even creating a bucket list of life goals. The mother expressed that regardless of any court verdict, she believed Szymanski’s actions led her daughter back to drugs and ultimately to her death. She said: “In my eyes, his actions killed my child”.
Defendant's Background and Sentencing
Dominik Szymanski, from Matthew Street, Dyfatty, Swansea, had previously been found guilty by a jury of rape and assault causing actual bodily harm, and had admitted – a week into his trial – to theft when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He has prior convictions for battery and criminal damage – an assault on a former partner which involved him pushing his victim down steps after pleading with her to take him back, followed by an attack on her car – and a battery and an assault on a police officer which involved him repeatedly kicking a man as he lay on the ground and then shoving the constable who arrested him.
Dyfed Thomas, representing Szymanski, acknowledged that both parties had consumed alcohol and cannabis on the day in question, and he urged the court to conclude that alcohol hadn’t been used to facilitate the commission of the offences. He stated that while the complainant believed she had been “spiked”, the necessary samples had not been collected for testing to be conducted.
Judge's Remarks
Judge Geraint Walters described the facts of the case as “disturbing”. He said having heard all the evidence at trial he was convinced that Szymanski had viewed the woman as a “vulnerable individual who he could take advantage of”, and that he had resolved to have sex with her. The judge found the complainant to be a “most compelling and honest witness” despite her struggles over the years with alcohol and drugs, and expressed doubt about the veracity of anything the defendant had said in the witness box during the trial.
Judge Walters revealed that the victim was found dead the day after she had given evidence. He told the defendant: “I cannot say she took her own life as result of what you did. I cannot say she took her own life because of the experience she was subjected to – on your instructions – in the witness box. But the timing is particularly sad. What I can say is that what you did to her had a profound emotional effect on her.”
Szymanski was handed an extended 16-year sentence as a dangerous offender, consisting of 12 years in custody followed by a four-year licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial part of the sentence in prison before he can apply for release, but it will be up to the Parole Board to decide if he is safe to be released. He will be a registered sex offender for life.
