A MAN who raped an 18-year-old woman as she slept and then put a knife to her throat was tonight beginning a five-year prison sentence.

John Bisson, 24, of Sage Walk, Blackbird Leys, was convicted of rape by a majority verdict of 10 to two jurors at Oxford Crown Court.

He admitted having sex with her but denied it was rape. He admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the incidents on June 4.

Summing up the prosecution case to the jury, Judge Anthony King said: “The defendant had sexual intercourse with (the victim) without her consent while she was befuddled by drink and asleep.

“When she accused him of raping her, he then held a knife to her neck, causing a small cut.”

The judge said the victim, who cannot be named, became aware that her shorts and leggings had been removed as she lay face down and Bisson was on top of her.

When she asked what he was doing, the defendant stopped, the court heard.

As the victim accused him of rape, Bisson grabbed a kitchen knife and put it to her throat., Judge King said.

Bisson wept as he was sentenced to five years in jail for the rape and 18 months for the ABH, to run concurrently. He was acquitted of a separate charge of assault by beating.