A “highly dangerous” serving prisoner has been jailed for life after admitting he kidnapped and raped a woman in South Wales in the 1990s.

Jason Pettit, 49, was in jail when he admitted to police he abducted a woman in the town of Brecon in 1996 and held her in a house where he raped her.

The victim did not report what happened to police out of fear of what Pettit, whom police called “highly dangerous”, might do to her.

Detective Constable Adam Clark of Dyfed-Powys Police, who started searching for the victim, said officers had to approach her “extremely carefully and sensitively”.

Their priority, he said, was “to put the victim first and ensure the right support was in place for her, as it wasn’t clear what the offender’s motives were in suddenly admitting to these offences”.

The woman, whom social services confirmed was vulnerable due to learning difficulties and health issues, confirmed to detectives she was raped on several occasions between 20 and 30 years ago but had never reported it to police.

“It was clear that the victim was apprehensive about speaking to us, but she confirmed that she had been raped and kept locked in a house, which she never reported through fear of the offender,” Det Con Clark said.

Pettit was charged with rape, false imprisonment and indecent assault and pleaded guilty at Merthyr Crown Court where he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of seven years.

Det Con Clark said: “Pettit is a highly dangerous man, who not only caused physical harm to the victim, but decades of emotional trauma.

“We are pleased with the sentence he has received and hope it will go some way to assure the victim that justice has been served after all these years.

“It is completely understandable that victims feel apprehensive about approaching police to disclose offences, however we would like to assure that there are many support services that can help you through the investigation and criminal justice process.

“I would like to thank the victim in this case for having the strength to talk about incidents that happened over 20 years ago. Her courage has helped to keep a dangerous offender in prison for a significant length of time.”

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