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Man Jailed for Trying to Rape a Woman
27 July 2015, 12:16 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
A sex attacker has been jailed for trying to rape a woman at knifepoint in her own home.
Brian Jones, 43, who was punched in the face by his victim, confessed to his crime in a letter from prison after his arrest earlier this year.
Jones said he "just flipped" before forcing himself on the woman at a house in Hartlepool.
In his letter, 43-year-old Jones said: "I wish what I did never happened. I regret what I did."
His barrister said: "He has known since the time of his plea, he faces a substantial custodial sentence."
Teesside Crown Court heard how the attack ended when the woman punched Jones in the face and fled.
She escaped after banging on a downstairs window to alert passers-by, said prosecutor Shaun Dodds.
A man walking past heard her shouting "please help, call the police" and said she looked "frightened".
Jones, of Shrewsbury Street, Hartlepool, was jailed for four years after admitting attempted rape.
Judge Sean Morris also ordered that he should sign on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
Kate Dodds, mitigating, said Jones made candid admissions in an interview with a probation officer.
"To his credit, he acknowledges that it is no-one else's fault he is there, and there is no other course the court can take," she said.
