TWO teenagers who raped a female in Oswestry have been jailed for more than eight years each at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Harley King, 19 and Ben Jennings, 20, from Newcastle and Northumberland, respectively, were jailed for eight years and six months for two counts of rape apiece while King received a concurrent four-month sentence for filming the rape.

Jennings was also given six years for assault by penetration by Judge Laura Hobson but will also serve that concurrently.

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The incident happened in Oswestry in 2022 and both men were convicted by a jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court in June this year.

The court heard that their victim was considered a ‘vulnerable’ person who had ‘reluctantly’ agreed to have sex with King who called his friend Jennings to participate, without the victim’s consent.

The former filmed the incident.

In a victim impact statement, she said: “The impact this had had on me is detrimental to me emotionally, so that I couldn’t leave the house for months.

“I had nightmares, and struggle to trust. I started self-harming and developed body dysmorphia.

“It made my skin crawl to point of having panic attacks – I was made to feel disgusting.

“I now feel like I have the justice and the clarity I need to rebuild my life.”

In mitigation, Mark Styles – representing King – and Glenn Reardon, for Jennings, said their clients did not target her and highlighted their age – King was 17 years and 10 months old while Jennings had turned 18 two months previously – as a mitigating factor. They said they were considered trustworthy people by former employers and friends.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Hobson said the jury convicted them not just on the evidence of the witnesses but also on the strength of CCTV footage showing the pair celebrating after being asked to leave their victim’s room.

She said: “I heard the victim’s evidence and it’s clear to me that you were also convicted on the basis of CCTV footage which was so compelling to the jury.

“It showed you Ben Jennings at the door ready for sex and it shows staff knocking at the door after a possible complaint and it showed that you celebrated at your own rooms."

She added: “She was less capable of other young women for standing up for herself and this situation was engineered by you.

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“She stopped being a human being to you.”

Both sentences were reduced from 12 years because of their age and will be served at a young offender’s institution.

They will sign the sex offenders register for life and a lifelong restraining order barring them from any contact with the victim was also ordered.