A woman who was raped multiple times as a teenager has described her attacker, John Tyler, as "a horrible predator" after he admitted the offences and had his existing prison sentence extended by seven years.
Tyler, 54, was convicted of four counts of raping the woman when she was 15 years old. She said she was threatened by Tyler, who was then in his 30s, and felt unable to report him to police at the time. More than two decades later, she found the courage to tell officers what had happened.
Tyler, now of HMP Wakefield, admitted four counts of rape on a girl under 16 and was handed a seven-year sentence. The woman was devastated to learn that he was already serving a prison sentence for raping another person.
Survivor speaks out
The woman, who wants to be known as a survivor and not a victim, told ChronicleLive: "He's just a predator, a horrible predator. I think he's a horrible man that should never ever be let out."
She added: "I have got mental health issues. I have night terrors and I'll never ever forget it. It's going to stay with me for the rest of my life."
The woman said that the first time she was raped by Tyler she was so vulnerable and shocked that she kept it to herself, and he went on to commit further rapes against her. She said that he made threats towards her and she was too scared to report him.
Reporting the abuse
The woman said a relative of hers, who saw how much she had been impacted, reported him to the police in 2024. She said she decided to tell officers everything as the thought of him raping somebody else taunted her.
She said she was initially scared that she wouldn't be believed but soon realised that wasn't the case. Tyler initially denied the four charges, and the woman was due to give evidence against him at Durham Crown Court.
She said: "I went to the trial and I was preparing to give my evidence from behind a screen and then the prosecutor came in and said 'He's changed his pleas to guilty'. I broke down when he said it, I just sobbed my heart out because it was over. I felt relieved that he had finally admitted it."
Sentencing and impact
Tyler, previously of Tow Law, County Durham, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was also handed a restraining order, a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period. The jail term will be added on top of the existing sentence he is currently serving for another rape, which is due to run until 2032.
The woman said: "I am so proud of myself. I do wish I did it earlier but I was so young and so naive and I didn't know. For the time he's locked up, I have saved someone else from being hurt."
She has urged others to report their attackers to the police, saying: "The police were absolutely amazing. They believed me from day one and did everything to protect me from him. They always put me at ease."
Following the sentencing hearing, Adam Boyle, who led the investigation for Durham Constabulary, said: "Tyler is a danger to women and girls and thanks to our courageous victim, will now remain behind bars. The victim showed true strength coming forward a second time and we want to remind other victims that it is never too late to report incidents so we can work to bring offenders to justice and protect the public."
