A MAN has been sentenced to 12 years and ten months behind bars for raping a woman at Newcastle Central station in December last year.

Oliver Whittaker, 30, was handed the jail term at Newcastle Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to the crime. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

In the early hours of Sunday, December 3, Whittaker of Studley Terrace, Newcastle, had been in Middlesbrough drinking in the evening before returning to Newcastle at about 10pm. He was waiting in a taxi queue outside the station when he targeted the victim, a 34-year-old woman from Darlington, who had been separated from her partner. He led her from taxi queue into the a station car park where he raped her.

Following the incident, Whittaker walked off, but the victim raised the alarm and alerted rail staff, who chased Whittaker. He was detained by two taxi marshals nearby until police arrived.

After initially pleading not guilty, he changed his plea to guilty on February 20.