civil servant pretended to be a ‘knight in shining armour’ before subjecting a woman to a horrific sex attack.
Mark Scully, 37, assaulted the petite blonde businesswoman after escorting her from a late-night train when she missed her stop.
The 29-year-old victim feared for her life when the Ministry of Defence official hurled her to the ground in woodland and grabbed her by the throat.
She managed to escape only by biting the former Territorial Army captain and bomb disposal officer on the hand before running for help at a nearby house.
Last night Scully, who advised Nato chiefs in war zones, was starting a jail sentence of five years and four months after a jury convicted him of sexual assault.
Judge Peter Moss told the father of one, whose wife Polly is pregnant with his second child, that he was previously a man of ‘impeccable character’. But his victim had suffered a life-changing ordeal from which she would never fully recover.
The judge told Guildford Crown Court that Scully used his ‘charm’ to take advantage of her trust and led her to a secluded spot.
He added: ‘You were a high- flying civil servant with a bright future. But you have destroyed all that.’ The attack took place after Scully met the woman on a train from London’s Waterloo Station to Woking in Surrey.
The attack took place after Scully met the young woman on a train from London's Waterloo Station to Woking in Surrey. She fell asleep on the last service home in the early hours of July 27 last year, the day of the Olympic opening ceremony, and missed her stop in Weybridge
She fell asleep on the last service home in the early hours of July 27 last year, the day of the Olympic opening ceremony, and missed her stop in Weybridge.
Scully, who had been drinking with colleagues in a wine bar, asked other passengers to help her off the train and said he would escort her to a taxi.
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But shortly after guiding her from the station, he launched a ferocious sexual attack.
The victim said that as he attacked her, he told her not to struggle but to ‘enjoy it’.
In a statement to police, she said: ‘I will never get over what happened that night and I will always bear the scars.’
Last night Scully, who advised Nato chiefs in warzones, was starting a five year four month jail sentence after a jury convicted him of sexual assault at Guildford Crown Court (pictured)
Speaking about how Scully targeted his victim, prosecutor Ruby Selva said: ‘To passengers on the train he appeared as a knight in shining armour, but in reality he was anything but.
‘This was a predatory attack. The defendant had earlier spied her on the train – alone and vulnerable through drink – and had taken his opportunity.’
Scully was arrested at his home in Pirbright, Surrey, by police officers who traced the taxi he used to flee the scene.
He was convicted of sexual assault after a nine-day trial. He was cleared of attempted rape and a second sexual offence.