A RAPIST from Frenchay has been jailed for more than 19 years for a series of sex offences against four young women.
Kingsley Balkwill, of Cliff Court Drive, was found guilty of a total of 11 offences in two separate trials held last year.
He was jailed for 19-and-a-half years at Bristol Crown Court in late March, and put on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
Avon & Somerset police said Balkwill, aged 27, committed the offences – four rapes, three attempted rapes and four other sexual assaults – over a five-year period.
Police said he manipulated women by “emotionally and physically threatening them to get what he wanted”.
The judge who sentenced Balkwill told him he had a “wholly distorted and entitled view when it came to relationships” that he had “a complete right, whenever you wanted, to do whatever you wanted to do”.
All four women had statements read out in court about the effect Balkwill’s offending had on them.
One said: “I hope another girl does not have to go through the same experience.
“I also hope he has considered that the way he views women is wrong. He couldn’t grasp that what he wanted wasn’t always the right thing.
“There needs to be a consequence for treating someone like they don’t have the right to say no.”
Another said the distressing feelings linked to Balkwill’s sexual assault on her “take their toll on a daily basis”.
She said: “I still recoil at any unwanted physical touch and feel extremely uncomfortable around unfamiliar men or any conversation around rape.”
A third woman said Balkwill’s refusal to plead guilty to his offences had worsened the impact on her.
She said she had felt ashamed, exposed and vulnerable giving evidence but felt validated by the jury, saying: “They believed me, not you; they could see through you; they knew the truth.”
The fourth woman said even the guilty verdict against Balkwill did not bring a sense of relief, leaving her with “an indescribable feeling of emptiness”.
But she said: “Despite everything that I have gone through, I have realised I am not a victim of rape, I am a survivor.”
Detective constables Charlotte Malin, Matthew Beavis, Lesley Ball and Donna Norman, who led the investigations into Balkwill, afterwards praised the women, saying their bravery was “crucial in making sure a dangerous man is held accountable for his crimes and is taken off our streets”.
The detectives said: “We want this conviction to serve as a clear reminder that consent is fundamental, and no one has the right to violate another person’s autonomy.”
They encouraged victims of rape or sexual assault to contact sexual assault referral centre The Bridge at www.thebridgecanhelp.org.uk or 0117 342 6999.