Pembrokeshire: Benjamin Guiver jailed for 20 years for 'horrific' attack and sexual assault on woman in Goodwick

A man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for violently attacking, strangling and sexually assaulting a stranger in her own home.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered serious injuries in Goodwick, Pembrokeshireon the evening of May 24 this year.

Benjamin Guiver, 34, of Fishguard, was arrested not far from the house shortly after the brutal attack.

A relative of the victim, who arrived home during the attack, intervened and was also injured.

Dyfed-Powys Police praised the bravery of the victim, as well as the family member who intervened and chased Guiver out of the house.

Chief Inspector Matthew Briggs said the woman was “severely injured” and “incredibly upset”.

The victim told police she didn’t think she would survive the attack.

She said she fell asleep while watching TV and woke up to find a man in her living room.

He said his name was Benjamin and that he had come “to save her.”

The victim asked who he was, but he told her “don’t ask any questions or I will kill you.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the woman left the property but Guiver caught her, punched her and dragged her back inside by her hair.

At that time he sexually assaulted her.

‘I will be haunted for the rest of my life’

Police said Guiver had previously tried to enter another home nearby.

He was later charged with assault by penetration, grievous bodily harm with intent, strangulation with intent, trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, threatening to kill and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He pleaded guilty to all offenses in July and was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday.

In an impact statement, the woman said she was “a shell of her former self” and felt “lost, unsafe and tense”.

She said her life had been “turned upside down” and that she “no longer felt safe in (her) own home”.

“I desperately want to get back to some kind of normalcy in my life, but I know what happened will haunt me for the rest of my life,” she added.

Jessie Walling, from the CPS, said in a statement: “The physical and sexual violence inflicted on this woman by a complete stranger in her own home was appalling.”