Gunner, 29, jailed after he raped, spat on and strangled woman he met on Tinder in ‘stuff of nightmares’ attack
A GUNNER who raped, strangled and spat on a woman he met on Tinder in a "stuff of nightmares" attack has been jailed.
Twisted Sam Evans "destroyed" his victim's life following the "utterly savage" and prolonged ordeal.
The 29-year-old, who was part of 29 Commando, in the Royal Artillery Regiment, put a pillow over the woman's head, spat on her and strangled her.
He then raped and urinated on the victim - leaving her feeling "utterly humiliated" and terrified she wouldn't leave Evan's home alive.
The fiend has now been jailed for 14 years after he was convicted of rape, assault by penetration, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Linford said: "Your life continued with no more than a hangover. But hers was utterly devastated.
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"Everyone who knows the sober hard working you, knows a gentle, kind, considerate man.
"But that is incomprehensible when set alongside what you did that night through a combination of alcohol and sheer violent lust.
"It was an utterly savage attack, the stuff of nightmares."
Plymouth Crown Court heard how the pair met on Tinder and exchanged messages but did not meet until the day of the attack on July 3.
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Evans took the woman back to his flat where she told him "not to get any ideas" as he pulled a sex toy out while laughing.
The gunner then launched into the terrifying attack as the victim found herself "trapped" in the property.
During a lengthy ordeal, the woman was left under Evans' "domination and control" as he sought to degrade her.
In a powerful victim impact statement, she told how the "normal, positive and happy young woman" she was had gone to meet friends on the night she was attacked.
She added: "That version of myself never came home."
The woman told the court she was spat at, gagged, urinated on and strangled.
She said: "I cried and begged for it to stop, but I was taunted and laughed at. I was trapped in a permanent state of fear."
The woman said at some point she came round "confused and unable to move" and started panicking about what would happen after realising she was locked in Evans' flat with no way to call for help.
The victim said she also lost consciousness as she was strangled and believed she was dying.
She said: "I thought about my family and how I would never see them again.
"I did not think I would ever leave that room alive or if my body would be found - as no one knew where I was."
The woman said since the attack she has "lost faith in humanity" and still suffers from nightmares.
She said at her lowest, she "felt life was not worth living anymore" and revealed Evans has done "irreparable" damage to her life.
Evans, who denied seven charges, was described as a man of previous good character, who had no convictions and an impeccable military career.
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He was convicted of one count of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of intentional strangulation.
The gunner was cleared of a second count of rape and a third count of assault by penetration.
