A married man, who used a toxic substance to subdue a woman in her home before raping her, began serving a six-year prison sentence yesterday.

Ze Menfeskiduse Selassie, 23, of Devonshire, was sentenced in the Supreme Court and cautioned to continue with sexual offence counselling by Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller.

After hearing the verdict, the victim profusely thanked the prosecutor.

Selassie was convicted of the rape of the 24-year-old Devonshire woman in the basement of her home around midnight of May 2 last year.

Using a knapkin filled with a toxic substance, Selassie subdued the victim and sexually assaulted her, severing the telephone lines upon leaving the premises.

The victim, too terrified to leave her home, remained barricaded in the basement for two hours waiting for her brother only leaving to get help when he did not show.

Selassie was arrested two days later based on the description given by the victim and confessed to the crime.

Crown counsel Peter Eccles told the court that a social inquiry stated that Selassie was described as a high-risk sex offender.

Selassie admitted he suffered from a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality.

The report also stated that Selassie committed acts of voyeurism as a teenager and had a record of night prowling offences for which he was placed on probation.

The rape took place while Selassie was on probation for previous sexual offences.

They included prowling at night at several females' residences and entering one of the premises without lawful excuse.

For these convictions he received two years' probation.

At that time, Selassie started counselling for alcohol and drug abuse but stopped due to a lack of funds.

The social inquiry further pointed out that Selassie had been sexually abused as a child.

Mr. Eccles said given the fact that Selassie was a high-risk sex offender, the nature of the offence and the significant psychological impact on the victim, should be strong factors in the sentencing of Selassie.

"It was a betrayal of trust,'' he said. "An underlying pathology would support that he needs treatment.'' The victim told Mr. Eccles that she had been having medical problems since the incident.

Suffering from anxiety and depression, she said she had to take prescription drugs for these problems.

She also stated that she lost her job due to the incident and had not been able to hold down another.

Rapist drugged his victim first She stated that she spent a significant amount of time at home and had suffered a significant weight gain because of the incident.

However, Selassie's lawyer, Richard Horseman, stressed that his client cooperated fully with Police.

"After an initial denial, Selassie gave a complete confession as well as a re-enactment with the Police photographer,'' he said. "The Police rated his cooperation on a scale of one to ten as an eight.'' Mr. Horseman said the social inquiry report showed Selassie had suffered sexual abuse as a child.

"In many of these cases, the perpetrator had been a victim himself in the past,'' he said.

He added that the parents suspected, but could not confirm, that Selassie had been sexually abused in his childhood years.

Mr. Horseman also stated that Selassie had volunteered to be part of a sexual offenders counselling programme and was already on the third phase of the programme.

"He has shown genuine remorse for his actions,'' he said.

Mr. Horseman also noted that the wounds inflicted on the victim were not physical, but psychological. He asked that the judge consider that Selassie was a young man, married and he had given the Police total cooperation.

However, Mr. Eccles argued that the victim's wounds may not have been physical, but the incident had a severe impact on her.

"Nothing will be the same again for the victim,'' he said. "The wounds heal, but the scars remain.'' Selassie gave an emotional apology to the victim and her family.

"I'd like to first apologise to . .., her family, my family and to the community,'' he said, "to anyone who is affected by my actions. I think about what she is going through every night. I have been taking advantage of the therapy and programmes offered to me, and I plan to continue to take advantage of these programmes. I'm just sorry.'' Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller took about a half hour before reaching her decision.

"I am taking in consideration his young age, his guilty plea, as well as the significant impact on the victim in sentencing,'' she said, before sentencing Selassie to six years in prison with time spent in custody to be taken into consideration.