The victim’s suffering was ‘like a living hell’ and she now ‘constantly feared for her safety’
Nigel Bull, pictured outside Hull Crown Court during the first trial(Image: Hull Live)
A serial sex offender who told police “please get a lie detector test” – in a doomed bid to talk his way out of trouble – has been jailed for a total of 20 years. The suffering that the victim was caused was “like a living hell” and she now “constantly feared for her safety” after what happened to her, a court heard.
Nigel Bull, 55, of Patrington Haven, near Withernsea, denied a series of sexual offences but, after a trial at Hull Crown Court that finished on September 10, 2024, he was convicted by a jury of two offences involving engaging in sexual activity with the victim. The verdicts, both by a majority of 10 to two, came after six hours and 48 minutes of deliberations.
The jury was later discharged after it was unable to reach verdicts on three charges of rape and another of sexual assault. The case resurfaced at Grimsby Crown Court in February this year when a retrial was held on the remaining matters.
At the second trial, Bull was convicted of two offences of raping the woman and another of sexually assaulting her. He was cleared of another rape offence on the direction of the judge.
The court heard that, during his police interview, Bull told officers: “Please get a lie detector test. One thing I aren’t is a f***ing rapist. I am struggling to defend myself.
“Please get a lie detector test. I am telling you the truth. That’s disgusting what you have read out to me so far. I am being portrayed as a bad person.
“I don’t know what to say. I am in shock.” He claimed that there was no sexual contact between him and the victim.
Prosecutor Katherine Robinson told the first trial that lie detector tests were not part of the justice system in the United Kingdom. “It is a set routine that we don’t use lie detector tests in this country so it would not be admissible,” she said.
At a sentencing hearing before Grimsby Crown Court, the victim told how she “constantly feared for her safety” after the years of sexual violence and that, every time she saw a similar car to the one Bull drove, she panicked.
The woman told of the anxiety, depression and flashbacks that she suffered every day. “After he abused me, he would tell me not to say anything and no one would believe me,” she said.
“I am now unable to move on and it has impacted on my relationship.”
She added that her boyfriend had been “extremely supportive and understanding”. The victim had given up her job but hoped to return to work one day, despite having to live with the ordeal for the rest of her life.
Judge Richard Woolfall said that “it was like a living hell” for the woman. “She should be celebrated for the courage she has shown,” he said.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Bull “continued to deny” his guilt. He was in poor health and had mobility issues, as well as suffering from anxiety and depression.
Miss Scott said at the second trial that Bull claimed that he was the victim of a conspiracy against him. She told the jury during her defence closing speech that Bull claimed that the allegations against him had been made up.
Bull will have to register as a sex offender for life. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, banning him from contact with any female under 18 years.
Following Bull’s sentencing, officer in the case, Detective Constable Rebecca Davison, from Humberside Police’s Protecting Vulnerable People unit said: “I would first like to commend the victim and their admirable courage and bravery in coming forward, and their patience throughout the entire judicial process.
“Bull is a calculated abuser who refused to take responsibility for his horrific crimes. Instead, he forced his victim to endure the trauma of two separate trials, weaponising the legal system in a final desperate attempt to exert control, making his victim relieve their ordeal twice over.
“I know that the result at court will not take away the trauma and fear suffered by the person he abused, but I hope it brings a sense of justice that he is going to be in jailed for his crimes. We take all reports of rape and sexual offences extremely seriously, and we will do everything we can to seek justice for victims and hold those responsible for these detestable crimes to account.
“You are in control, and it is completely up to you who you talk to and what help you get, but just know that there is a wide range of independent and criminal support out there. If you have been a victim of a sexual offence, I urge you please to tell someone.”
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