Chichester man convicted of rapes and abuse involving five women

A Chichester man who abused and controlled five women, including multiple rapes, has been convicted at court.

Between 2015 and 2019, George de Bathe, 25, of North Mead in Chichester, subjected the victims to a catalogue of physical, sexual and psychological violence.

All of the victims are now women in their 20s, but were in their mid to late teens at the time of the offending.

De Bathe sought to control their actions during separate relationships, from who they could see and when, to the clothes they could wear.

He would use violence and threats to exert control over them, including threats with a knife and assaults so severe they would lose consciousness.

Some victims were stopped from going to work, had their movements tracked through their mobile phones and locked in his car while he drove dangerously.

Four of the victims reported being raped or sexually assaulted by him, some on multiple occasions.

In April, 2018, one of the victims reported to Sussex Police she had been abused by de Bathe over a period of several months.

She also contacted multiple women connected with de Bathe, to warn them of his behaviour and see if they had had similar experiences.

De Bathe was arrested and bailed under strict conditions while evidence was gathered.

Police made contact with the other women named by the initial victim and, over the course of the investigation, four additional victims were identified.

In January, 2024, following a complex investigation, de Bathe was charged with six counts of rape, eight counts of actual bodily harm, five counts of coercive and controlling behaviour, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of false imprisonment and one count of making threats to kill. He was released on bail.

On Tuesday (29 April), following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, de Bathe was found guilty of all charges except one count of actual bodily harm, of which he was found not guilty.

He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 11 July.

Officer in Charge of the case Detective Constable Jon Petroulas said: “George de Bathe has shown a clear pattern of manipulating women, before revealing his violent, controlling and sexually abusive tendencies.

“Each of these women’s lives was made a misery by de Bathe, and they must live with the trauma of his crimes.

“They have shown incredible courage to share their experiences with Sussex Police and support what has been a long and complex investigation through to its conclusion.

Deputy Officer in Charge, Detective Constable Maddie Ursell, said: “This case is another reminder of the importance of schemes such as Clare’s Law, which allows the police to disclose if a new partner has a violent criminal history.

“Sussex Police is a leading force in Clare’s Law disclosures, providing potentially life-saving information quicker than ever before. For more information, visit Request information under Clare's Law: Make a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application | Sussex Police”

Karen Cushing from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “George De Bathe subjected these women to significant pressure and manipulation, often threatening them and, on occasions, following through on those threats with physical violence.

“None of us can imagine the terror they experienced as a result of his controlling and coercive behaviour, ensuring that once he had cut them off from those closest to them, he could then dictate every part of their lives and even depriving them of sleep.

“The appalling impact that he had on the victims was clear from both their testimony and from those who were closest to them, who all talked about the changes in the behaviour they had seen in their loved ones.

“We would like to thank the victims in this case for speaking out. Despite claiming to one woman that the police couldn’t touch him and that we would never prosecute him, with their evidence, we were able to build a strong and compelling case against De Bathe to bring him to justice on behalf of the women that he tried so hard to manipulate and control.”