By Jon Slattery The Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, has won the right to name a 15-year-old boy who was jailed for life after brutally raping a middle-aged woman.
Court reporter Garry Willey successfully appealed for a Section 39 order not to be imposed at the sentencing of Raymond Stewart.
The rapist was just 14 when he smashed his way into the 45-year-old woman’s flat before savagely beating her and raping her at knife-point.
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Stewart, who had been on a drink and drugs binge, left the woman severely traumatised and with bite marks and serious bruising.
Willey wrote to Judge David Hodson at Newcastle Crown Court prior to sentencing, asking for the right to name Stewart.
He wrote: “Despite his young age, we should be allowed to name him on the grounds that the offence is so serious that the public interest demands it.”
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The judge agreed not to impose a Section 39 order, despite claims from Stewart’s defence team that naming him would harm his future rehabilitation and impact on his family.
Evening Chronicle editor Paul Robertson commented: “The savagery of Stewart’s attack was truly shocking. Garry did a fantastic job in preventing the Section 39 order being imposed.”
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