Middlesbrough woman carried knife because a man had threatened to rape her, court heard

A woman told police she carried a knife because she feared a rape attack.

Tanya Thorpe, 33, from Middlesbrough, said she carried the small kitchen knife because a man had threatened to rape her.

The knife fell out of her clothing when she was involved in a scuffle with a group of youths in Redcar, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh said Thorpe was walking along a public footpath in Redcar at 9.45pm on Friday, October 17, when she chased a group of youths into the front garden of a house in Rushpool Close.

There was an exchange of words and she chased one youth into a paved garage area, and she was subsequently arrested.

Thorpe told police: “They called me a smackhead and a scruffy cow.”

One of the lads chased her and she dropped the knife.

She said that they attacked her, and she carried the knife because a man had threatened to rape her.

Miss Haigh said that Thorpe had previous convictions for violence.

Amy Dixon, defending, said Thorpe had received threats from two groups of young men for a considerable period of time.

Thorpe accepted that when she left home she had a small kitchen knife.

She was subjected to abuse by the young men who attacked her, and she was punched and kicked.

The knife fell out of her pocket and she ran off, and one of the men chased her with the knife, the court heard.

Miss Dixon told the judge: “The pre-sentence report says that she is a vulnerable lady with some mental health difficulties, which contributed to her having the knife.

“She is now addressing her problems and working closely with the Probation service. I would ask that you suspend any period of imprisonment and allow her to continue the work with the Probation service.”

Judge Howard Crowson told Thorpe: “You know, because you have been to prison, that courts regard people who carry knives as a serious matter.

“The danger is that when you carry a knife you use it.”

Thorpe, of Crescent Road, Middlesbrough, was given a 20 weeks jail sentence suspended for 12 months with supervision after she pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.

The judge added: “I am very much encouraged by the things I read from the probation report. Keep it up, or will meet again.”