Paedophile tried to set himself on fire as he faced jail for raping girl, 11


A paedophile who raped a number of young girls tried to set himself on fire before he was jailed, his ex-girlfriend has claimed.
Stuart Wainman, 49, from Birmingham was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after being found guilty of two charges of rape of a child under 13, five charges of rape and two counts of sexually assaulting a child.
The trial, which took a week, forced his victims to relive their torment at his hands, bravely giving evidence via video link and behind screens.
His former partner, who says Wainman beat her so badly she was left with broken bones and mental health issues, has said he also tried to slit his own throat twice.
Joanne, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, claims the suicide bid was witnessed by children in a public park.
She says she regrets he failed in the numerous attempts to end his own life, but said she believes the violent alcoholic, who used to down two litres of vodka a day, will try again in prison.
After his sentence was handed down, Joanne said Wainman was a ‘monster’ who pushed her to a nervous breakdown.
‘He was violent and a bully,’ she said. ‘He was a crackpot – but I don’t think he had a screw so loose he didn’t know what he was doing. ‘He used to really lay into me. In all honesty, I’d like to kill him myself.’
Joanne added: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he topped himself, I’d be over the moon if he topped himself. Then again, I’d like to see him suffer.’
She said she and Wainman first met through a friend, but the relationship soon descended into violence and she was ‘too scared to leave’. ‘He hit me, he kicked me, he head-butted me,’ Joanne said.
‘Once he held a knife to my throat. I’ve suffered a broken nose and black eyes.’ In another controlling measure, Wainman self-harmed when she attempted to leave, Joanne said.
Police were aware of the domestic violence and were frequently called to the property, she claimed. ‘He cut his wrists, he slit his throat. He was vile. He even set himself alight in the back of a police car. Somehow, he had a lighter and set himself on fire,’ she added.
‘I was always scared, but I also thought he would kill himself and didn’t want that on my conscience. ‘He did have a drink problem, but, in all fairness, so did I, but not to anything near that extent. He was drinking all the time – two litres of vodka was easy.
‘I was very scared of him. My grandmother died and I went up there. When I got back, he accused me of smelling as if I’d had sex, and held a knife to my throat.’ She said that since he was jailed she is no longer scared and added he is ‘somewhere where he can’t hurt me any more’.
Joanne said she suffered physical abuse at the hands of Wainman
One of vile Wainman’s child victims was only 11-years-old when she was first raped and remains psychologically scarred by the abuse she endured. It was only last year that she confided in her boyfriend about what happened and Wainman was arrested.
After he was sentenced, the victim said: ‘The abuse was regular, painful and scary. And afterwards he was smiling, as if it was a bit of fun.
‘He acted normal, he acted as if something normal had happened. ‘I always believed he was going to get away with it. I always believed no-one would believe me. I’m glad he’s been punished.’
Another of his victims, who was only 12 when the abuse began, said: ‘I suffer from anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
‘I could never concentrate at school. In life, I’ve never been able to get what I wanted to get – and I wanted to be a nurse.
‘I can’t remember much about what happened, I’ve blocked it out. I only remember being frightened and the feeling in my chest. ‘I said in my witness statement that he robbed me of my childhood, and that is what he did.