A FATHER-TO-BE who “throttled” a woman in her own home before raping her has been jailed for nine years.

Daniel Kilgallon, 31, was convicted of rape and sexual assault by a jury at Bradford Crown Court last month.

He had pleaded guilty to causing his victim, who cannot be named, actual bodily harm part way through his trial, during which the jury was told Kilgallon had attacked the woman for sexual gratification.

Kilgallon, formerly of Old Lane, Drighlington, but now of St Leonard’s Close in Newton Abbott, Devon, was said to have forced his way into the woman’s home in June last year.

He grabbed her, put her to the floor, covered her mouth, and then struck her to the face before sexually assaulting and raping her.

Prosecutor David McGonigal told the court that in a victim impact statement, the woman said the attack had left her feeling “isolated” and suffering “considerable medical difficulties.”

She said the incident had caused her nightmares and led to her taking anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. She had moved house following the attack, but still carried a panic key with her.

Jai Patel, for Kilgallon, said his family and friends described him as a “soft, sensitive, kind, and caring man.”

He said family was “the most precious thing” to his client, who he said was due to soon become a father for the third time.

Mr Patel argued that only a “moderate” level of violence had been used in the attack, to which Judge Jonathan Rose replied: “He was throttling her.”

Judge Rose said it was evident that Kilgallon had “achieved a great deal through hard work and commitment”, and was a man of “no little ability.”

But he then told him: “You forsook all that is good about you to carry out this dreadful attack.”

He added that Kilgallon had entered the house "with one objective" in his mind.

On the victim, Judge Rose said: “She was clearly and obviously terrified that she was going to die.

"I reject any suggestion that the violence you used was limited. It is patently obvious there is not a shred of remorse about you.

“This was breaking into someone’s home in the early hours of the morning and then raping her.”

Judge Rose imposed an indefinite restraining order to prevent Kilgallon from contacting his victim, and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.