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20-year-old Ipswich man jailed over string of rapes and sex offences committed while he was a teenager against seven girls




A 20-year-old has been jailed over a string of rapes and sexual assaults committed against seven girls while he was still a teenager.

Marcus Lucas, of Sidegate Avenue, Ipswich, was found guilty of 16 offences at trial in May – after pleading guilty to six additional charges.

He appeared before Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing today, where Judge Emma Peters described him as a dangerous offender, who was arrested repeatedly between 2018 and 2020 after girls accused him of coercing them into sex acts.

At Ipswich Crown Court (pictured) today, Judge Emma Peters described Marcus Lucas as a dangerous offender
At Ipswich Crown Court (pictured) today, Judge Emma Peters described Marcus Lucas as a dangerous offender

His offending did not let up between the arrests – and Lucas actually spent his sixteenth birthday in jail after one girl made allegations against him.

Judge Peters said: “Any one of those arrests should have been the shot across the bow that you needed to take a long, hard look at yourself and how you treated girls.

“But none of those arrests had any effect – and, worse, your offending actually escalated, and got more serious.”

Lucas’ victims were aged between 12 and 17, and the defendant himself was aged between 14 and 16 at the time.

In May, a jury found him guilty on nine counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and three counts of assault by penetration.

By that point, Lucas had already entered guilty pleas to five charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child, as well as a single charge of assault by penetration.

In a letter to the judge – read in court today – the defendant said he had examined his own behaviour, noting that the last offence took place in 2018.

In his statement, Lucas said: “The man you see here today is not the same as the boy who committed these crimes. Since my last arrest, I believe I've matured and become a better person.”

Judge Peters noted that Lucas’ youth at the time of the offending had to be factored into sentencing, and she expressed hope that he could rehabilitate himself in prison.

However, experts – including a psychiatrist – had identified a pattern of dangerous behaviour and thinking, which, the judge said, had to be taken into account at sentencing.

In a victim impact statement, the mother of one of Lucas’ victims said her daughter had been “destroyed” by his actions.

Ultimately, the defendant was handed a jail sentence of six-and-a-half years, plus a five-year licence period to start upon release.

In addition, he has been made subject to a restraining order for 10 years, forbidding him from contacting any of his victims or attending their home addresses.

He will be made to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.