Birmingham schoolgirl, 14, wakes to being raped by paedo who muffled her screams

Rhyce Longstaff was found guilty of three counts of rape after a trial and has been jailed for 16 years with an extended licence following a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court

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A Birmingham schoolgirl awoke to the horrifying ordeal of being raped by a stranger. The 14-year-old had lost consciousness from alcohol and cannabis in a property in Aston after being enticed there from the city centre by Rhyce Longstaff and his mate.

He sought her out in a bedroom where she had become unconscious and repeatedly sexually assaulted her. When she regained consciousness in terror the first time Longstaff placed his hand over her mouth to silence the sound of her weeping.

The girl was so traumatised by flashbacks she had since attempted to take her own life, a court heard, reports Birmingham Live. Longstaff was found guilty of three charges of rape after a trial. The 31-year-old, from Haydock Close, Hodge Hill, has previous convictions including robbery, affray and threatening someone with a knife.

At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, March 6, he was branded a ‘dangerous’ criminal and jailed for 16 years with an extended six-year licence.

Even his own barrister had nothing positive to say about him.

Longstaff was with a mate in Birmingham city centre in the early hours of October 11, 2024, when he encountered the girl and two of her friends.

He quickly invited them back to an address in Sutton Street, Aston.

Once there the girl consumed alcohol and smoked cannabis, albeit it was not Longstaff who provided it to her. She then lost consciousness in an upstairs bedroom.

Judge Andrew Smith KC told him: “You must have either followed her or gone looking for her and found her in a very vulnerable, unconscious state.

“Her vulnerability was increased by being uncertain as to where she was and being among a number of older male strangers.

“The terror she must have felt to wake and find you raping her cannot be adequately described.

“Your reaction to her waking was to put a hand across her mouth to silence any response, including her crying, and to tell her not to tell anyone as she would not be believed.”

The girl lost consciousness once more. Longstaff returned to the room and sexually assaulted her on two additional occasions.

He subsequently fled the property and seized her mobile phone to stop her from seeking assistance.

The device was tracked alongside his own handset twice in the following hours, though the victim’s phone was never found.

In her statement, the girl outlined how she had been stripped of her confidence and self-worth, no longer recognising the person she had become.

She detailed being too scared to venture outside whilst also enduring ‘terrible nightmares’.

The girl gave a harrowing account of how she attempted to take her own life because ‘I could see it as the only way out’.

Following Longstaff’s arrest and conviction, she described feeling as though a burden had been removed from her shoulders.

She said: “I was fine for a bit but then I felt low again because what happened just won’t leave my head.”

However, she finished by declaring her resolve that the attack would not ‘ruin my life’.

Longstaff appeared via video link from HMP Birmingham and was observed repeatedly burying his face in his hands during the proceedings. Judge Smith told him: “I identify no mitigation of note in your favour. In particular, you have demonstrated no remorse.”

Justin Hugheston-Roberts, defending, had nothing positive to say.

He simply requested the judge to consider a sentence less severe than life imprisonment and to pass a punishment that was as lenient as possible in line with his public duty.

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.