AN alcoholic who raped a disabled widow then tried to claim she seduced him has been jailed for life.
John Scanlon, 46, forced his way into the home of his 68-year-old victim who relied on a mobility scooter and walking aids to get around.
Despite her pleading for him to stop, Scanlon raped the terrified pensioner in her own bed then smoked one of her cigarettes.
Before leaving her accommodation in the Shard End area of Birmingham he stole the only £30 she had along with two mobile phones, cutting her off from friends and her doctors.
Scanlon, convicted of rape by a jury, had previously been jailed in 2013 for a sexual assault against a vulnerable woman in the supported accommodation where she lived.
Jailing him for life, with a minimum term of nine years, Judge Mark Wall QC said Scanlon was a danger to the public.
He said; "She was terrified, she was asking you to stop and telling you she was struggling to breathe.
"Her pleas for mercy were entirely ignored by you.
"When you finished you dressed her and took her to the living room where you helped yourself to one of her cigarettes.
"You took the only £30 she had on her at the time along with her mobile phones.
"She explained the importance of those phones but you ignored her pleas and thought only of yourself.
"You asserted she was not only willing to have sex with you but that she instigated it.
"That picture was completely false as was the suggestion she had enticed you into having sex with her on previous occasions."
The jury in his trial heard Scanlon had met his victim on previous occasions and exchanged pleasantries.
Suffering from arthritis, asthma and a blood disorder, the pensioner needed a mobility scooter or walking frame to get around.
She had been out on February 4 and was returning home when Scanlon grabbed her from behind and forced her into her bedroom.
After stripping her clothes Scanlon carried out the twisted attack.
The judge told him: "You targeted her. You and she had met around the block of flats and exchanged what appeared to be pleasantries.
"You must have known about her vulnerabilities, no doubt that was an attraction for you.
"The physical injuries were as nothing compared to the psychological effects."
During his sentencing hearing it was heard the victim had been left psychologically scarred.
She initially changed the bed, which she had shared with her husband before his death, before finally moving home in a bid forget the incident.
In a victim statement she said she was too scared to leave home alone.
Judge Wall said; "What you have done to her is to take her confidence away.
"Her life has been completely changed for the worse by your one act of sexual violence upon her."
The judge said Scanlon's previous offence in 2013, where he was invited into the flat of a woman who he then sexually assaulted, was evidence of the danger he posed to the public.
Judge Wall said; "The facts of that case and this leave me in no doubt you are a dangerous offender.
"You have committed two serious sex offences in a relatively short space of time.
"The sentence of 42 months did not deter you from further offending.
"Indeed it was a springboard for a more serious offence.
"The serious nature of the offence compiled with the danger posed to the public means I must pass a sentence of life imprisonment."
Scanlon was told he would only be released when he no longer posed a risk to the public.
He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
See More: Birmingham, Featured, John Scanlon, Rape
