August 2019

Paedophile who blindfolded and raped four-year-old girl is brutally beaten up by cellmate in revenge attack

A twisted paedophile locked up for raping a blindfolded four-year-old girl has been battered by his cellmate in a grisly revenge beating.

Jonathan Byram, 50, was being held behind bars while awaiting sentence for his horrific crime when he was jumped.

A mug shot taken after the assault shows nasty gashes on the sex attacker’s face and swelling above his right eye. 

Byram was jailed at Leeds Crown Court for 11 years last week after pleading guilty to rape.

During the sentencing, his barrister Ketherine Robinson revealed the violence inflicted on his client. 

She said: ‘He is struggling in prison. He has been assaulted by his cell mate. Others might think that is what he rightly deserves and he accepts that.’

The sentencing was briefly disrupted after an outburst from a man in the public gallery as the details of the offence were outlined in court.

Security staff were called into court after the man shouted: ‘You better give him life or else I will kill him.’

Rupert Doswell, prosecuting, told the court how the 50-year-old preyed upon his victim.

Police were contacted when she told a relative about what had happened.

The girl gave a description of a tie used to blindfold her during the assault and a tie matching the description was found in Byram’s home.

Byram, from Dewsbury, pleaded guilty to rape at an earlier hearing. He has previous convictions for arson, child cruelty and assault.

Ms Robinson, mitigating, told the court: ‘The best mitigation that this defendant has is his plea.’

She added: ‘He has a genuine appreciation of the harm that he has caused.’

Byram was told he must serve a custodial sentence of ten years followed by an extended licence period one of year.

He must also go on the sex offender register for life.

Judge Neil Clark told Byram: ‘The true effect of this type of behaviour is the psychological impact.

‘You can offer no explanation for what happened. There must have been some sexual motivation for happened.’