Chichester Man Jailed For Abusing And Controlling Five Women

Chichester man George de Bathe has been jailed for abusing and controlling five women, including multiple rapes.

Between 2015 and 2019, de Bathe, 25, of North Mead in Chichester, subjected the victims to a catalogue of physical, sexual and psychological violence.

All of the victims are now women in their 20s, but were in their mid to late teens at the time of the offending.

De Bathe sought to control their actions during separate relationships, from who they could see and when, to the clothes they could wear.

He would use violence and threats to exert control over them, including threats with a knife and assaults so severe they would lose consciousness.

Some victims were stopped from going to work, had their movements tracked through their mobile phones and locked in his car while he drove dangerously.

Four of the victims reported being raped or sexually assaulted by him, some on multiple occasions.

In April, 2018, one of the victims reported to Sussex Police she had been abused by de Bathe over a period of several months.

She also contacted multiple women connected with de Bathe, to warn them of his behaviour and see if they had had similar experiences.

De Bathe was arrested and bailed under strict conditions while evidence was gathered.

Police made contact with the other women named by the initial victim and, over the course of the investigation, four additional victims were identified.

In January, 2024, following a complex investigation, de Bathe was charged with six counts of rape, eight counts of actual bodily harm, five counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of false imprisonment and one count of making threats to kill.

On Tuesday, 29 April, following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, de Bathe was found guilty of all charges except one count of actual bodily harm, of which he was found not guilty.

He was remanded in custody.

At the same court on Friday (11 July), he was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with 17 to be spent in custody.