POLICE and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez has praised the victim of a former Devon & Cornwall Police officer who has been sentenced to eight years in prison for raping the woman in his home.

Stuart Mines, aged 49, attacked the victim after inviting her over for Sunday lunch in October 2022.

Despite her repeatedly telling him ‘no’, he raped her in his bedroom.

Mines, of Chudleigh, denied the charge of rape but was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Exeter Crown Court in February. Following his conviction, he was dismissed from Devon & Cornwall Police.

Mines was this week sentenced to eight years in prison.

He will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life and is subject to an order preventing him from contacting the victim.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: ‘Police officers who abuse their position of trust to commit such despicable crimes are a disgrace to the force and the Chief Constable will continue to use the full force of the law to bring them to justice.

‘I would like to thank the victim who found the strength to report this man when her faith in policing had been abused and destroyed.

‘Many women who experience sexual violence are unable to or don’t want to report to police, and I hope this significant sentence will give reassurance that people who commit such vile acts can and will be caught and severely punished.

‘The hard work of the police officers who brought Mines to justice is a credit to our force and will send a message to all victims of rape and serious sexual offences that they will always be believed.

‘Violence against women and girls is an epidemic in our society and I am committed to identifying radical solutions to stamp out such abhorrent behaviour and keep people safe in homes and on the streets of Devon and Cornwall.’