A WOMAN who saw her rapist jailed for seven years appealed last night for other possible victims to come forward.

The 36-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, believed her attacker, John Ellison, could have killed her during the assault at her home, last November.

Former Scots Guard Ellison, 32, from Sunniside, near Tow Law, County Durham, wept on Thursday when a jury at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of raping and indecently assaulting the woman.

During the attack, which left Ms A with more than 20 bruises, Ellison boasted that he had raped in the past.

She said: "If he has, then I hope the girls will come forward and report him. He should not get away with it, and they have nothing to fear."

Ms A said juries in rape cases should be told about a defendant's court record.

According to Vera Baird, Redcar and Cleveland MP and human rights barrister, a criminal justice White Paper in July is likely to contain reforms on mentioning previous convictions.

Ms A said: "While he was assaulting me he told me he had raped before, but I was not allowed to say it in my evidence.

"It meant that the jury did not know what he was really like. The law protects men like him too much."

After the case, The Northern Echo revealed that Ellison had once won £65,000 compensation from the Ministry of Defence after being wrongfully convicted of raping a woman soldier.

On the day he received the pay-out, Ellison physically assaulted a 19-year-old girl in Crook, County Durham.

The following year, he was jailed for two months for indecently assaulting a girl under 16 in a Plymouth hotel room.

Last year, he was cleared by a jury of attempting to rape a 23-year-old women in Tow Law.

His record includes 40 other convictions dating back to 1982, many involving violence and public order offences.

Ms A said: "I was shell-shocked when I read of his past. I hadn't a clue.

"He was so polite and plausible. I thought I could judge people, but I was completely wrong about him.

"Now, I think he saw me as a challenge and planned it all. I also think he thought I was younger.

"I was having a drink with a friend and he approached us. I was wary at first, but he seemed all right. We came back for a drink and he even offered to take my dog for a walk.

"When he came back in I was on the phone to my mother and he just snapped. I couldn't believe it.

"I really thought I was going to die. He had a belt round my neck and he was pulling it tighter and tighter.

"I pleaded with him, begged him, anything to make him stop. I believe he wanted to kill me.

"In court, he was smartly dressed and very polite. I was worried that they would believe him and not me, and he would get away with it.

"When I heard the verdict I knew I had done the right thing.

"Bishop Auckland police have been absolutely brilliant. The past six months have been hell, but I have come through it with their help. They were with me all the way.

"The only thing I am disappointed in is the sentence. He should have got life. I do not want him to come out of prison, ever.