My boyfriend raped me as I slept & I only found out when I checked my doorbell cam – he pulled me around like a rag doll
STARING at the CCTV footage playing on her phone screen, mum-of-two Sarah Jones felt bile rise in her throat.
Her boyfriend of 19 months, Daniel Blight, 37, was throwing her around like a rag doll while she was passed out.
But what followed was much worse as Sarah, 39, saw the man she loved rape her while she was unconscious.
It confirmed Sarah’s worst suspicions. Just days earlier she’d caught a glimpse of a picture on Blight’s phone that showed him grinning in front of her naked private parts.
Sarah from Aberdare, South Wales, had no recollection of the photo being taken.
When she queried when the bizarre image had been taken, he brushed over her question, claiming he'd snapped it post-sex, the night before - but she felt gaslighted, certain that wasn't the case.
Waiving her right to anonymity to speak to Fabulous, Sarah says: “To see the man who I loved, and I thought loved me, attack me in such a brutal way was horrific.
“It was depraved, vile, sick and twisted.
"Although we'd had sex, I knew he hadn't taken any pictures," she says. "I felt confused and it made me feel really uneasy."
It was this unease which led to coffee shop worker Sarah, checking the Hive camera - which while focused on the front door also covered a section of the living room - the very next day when Blight was out of the house.
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“He wouldn’t have even considered I would have checked it,” she says. “But I felt so uncertain.”
So, starting from the beginning of the footage, she whizzed through until she hit midnight and saw something she didn’t recognise.
It was then she realised just how betrayed she’d been.
Because, as she slept peacefully on the sofa, seemingly safe in her own home, Blight sexually assaulted her twice and then raped her.
After Sarah woke, Blight stood there with his boxers around his ankles and they had consensual sex.
“It was depraved,” she says. “I felt so betrayed - he really is disgusting.”
Bravely recounting the video footage she witnessed of herself being raped, Sarah - who was in Swansea Crown Court in June this year to see him convicted of two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape - says: "For an hour Dan pulled me around like a rag doll, taking selfies in front of my privates and abusing me.
I couldn’t believe what I was watching. This was somebody I trusted. I was disgusted
Sarah Jones
"I was asleep in my own home, I should’ve been safe.
“But Dan was a monster.
"I watched Dan pull up my nightie and assault me. I looked like a dead body as he dragged me around. I had no idea how I stayed asleep..
“Then he took pictures in front of my privates. It was sickening.
“I couldn’t believe what I was watching. This was somebody I trusted. I was disgusted.
"It was such a massive abuse of trust. He was my partner and he claimed to love me."
Sarah, who met Blight in June 2021 on a dating website where the pair bonded over their love of indie music, told how she always suspected him of having a problem with sex.
Even though they weren’t intimate until two months into their relationship he would “look at porn online.”
“I caught him staring at a woman’s bum in tight shorts in the supermarket too and told him not to,” Sarah says.
She didn't immediately report him to the police after watching the CCTV because she was in shock.
How to report a sexual assault
- Contact a doctor or practice nurse at your GP surgery.
- Contact a voluntary organisation, such as , , , or .
- Call the 24-hour , on 0808 2000 247.
- Speak to the – you can call the helpline on 0808 500 2222 or use the online chat (both are free and are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year).
Instead, wanting to confront him to see what he had to say, she texted a clip of the video zoomed in of her with her eyes firmly shut to him and he soon admitted she was asleep.
"I ended the relationship which was really hard because I loved and trusted him and he begged me not to report him to the police," she says.
"That made me feel sorry for him, so I agreed. We had a good relationship up until then although Dan was always obsessed with sex.”
Despite his horrific actions, in December 2022 she got back together with him.
“He was really apologetic, said he had made a huge mistake and promised never to do it again… he told me he was getting therapy for his sex addiction,” she says.
But after waking to Blight pawing at her one night, Sarah ended things and reported his assaults.
“I realised he was sick and twisted,” she says.
In January 2023, Blight, 37, of Swansea, was arrested but pleaded not guilty and claimed he believed he had implied consent for sex with Sarah.
In June this year, during the trial, Blight’s barrister claimed the night was an “act of worship” towards Sarah and that he believed he had consent.
However, the jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of rape.
He was jailed for seven years with a 10-year restraining order imposed.
Sarah says: “Dan took advantage of me in the worst way as I slept.
“He’s nothing but a vile predator.
“Now I want others who have suffered abuse to speak out and know they will be believed and achieve justice.
“Dan was obsessed with sex. When we first met he admitted to having a high sex drive and that he watched porn, too.
“But as time went on his constant need for sex was exhausting.
"I just need to remember Dan was a total monster. I want other sexual offence survivors to realise they should never be ashamed - they are brave, like me.
“If I'm honest I'm still trying to fully process what happened.
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“It has affected my trust in everyone, and I feel so anxious and vulnerable. I used to be very sociable and enjoyed going out with friends, now I tend to avoid mixing with people.
“I'm worried about what the future may hold. How can I have trust in a future relationship? Invite someone into my house again?”
