A couple has been jailed after a man raped an unconscious woman while his partner filmed it.
Their victim only found out what had happened when one of the pair blackmailed her by sending her the footage and demanding £5,000.
Indre Bruziene, 40, and her partner Vasile Radacanu, 33, invited the woman to their address in Sheerness, Kent on September 18, 2020.
They downed alcoholic drinks together at the property, causing the victim to become intoxicated.
Radacanu then raped her during which she was, at one point, unconscious.
Bruziene filmed the incident throughout, first from through a window and later from inside the home.
Radacanu clearly was aware he was being recorded as he made gestures towards the camera on several occasions.
The victim then woke up in her own bed the next morning with no recollection of what had happened to her.
In March 2021, she received a call from Bruziene accusing her of breaking up her family before sending her the clip of the rape.
She asked the woman for £5,000 and claimed that if she did not pay her she would send the video to the victim’s husband.
The victim refused to pay the sum of money and told her family about the ordeal before calling the police.
Radacanu, from Romania, and Bruziene, from Lithuania, were both arrested the next day.
Their phones were seized by investigators and Radacanu was later charged with two rapes, attempted rape and two sexual assaults.
Bruziene was charged with blackmail.
The pair pleaded not guilty at Maidstone Crown Court but were convicted of these on January 28, 2025, following a trial.
Radacanu was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison on Thursday, and Bruziene was jailed for three years and three months.
Detective Constable Hollie Brown said: ‘The criminal actions of Radacanu and Bruziene were unspeakably vile as they took advantage of a vulnerable victim who was not aware of what was happening to her.
‘As soon as the victim received the video of her abuse from Bruziene she showed great courage in disclosing her ordeal to her family and then contacting the police.
‘Detectives then swiftly secured the offenders phones and they have now, quite rightly, been brought to justice.’