A drug dealer who subjected a vulnerable woman to violence, sinister threats and repeated rape after he took over her home for his illicit enterprise has been jailed.

Jayden Stewart was said to have "exploited and controlled" his victim so he could trade in crack cocaine and heroin.

As well as sexually abusing and assaulting her, the "aggressive and dominant" 24-year-old threatened to throw acid over her face.

But despite her genuine fear, the woman plucked up enough courage to alert police.

This led to Stewart's arrest, the discovery of his drugs haul in a toilet cistern and his eventual conviction at trial on four charges of rape, two of assault by beating and one of criminal damage to a phone.

He was acquitted of possessing a bladed article - a machete - and a charge of holding a person in slavery was left on the court file.

Stewart, from Canning Town in east London, had previously admitted two offences of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

However, at his sentencing hearing, Maidstone Crown Court was told that since his trial in February last year, he had chillingly expressed his desire for revenge on his victim.

He had also threatened to "make real" his acid attack on his release from prison.

The court heard Stewart had initially been invited to stay with the woman at her home in Chatham in July 2023.

But prosecutor Simon Connelly said he soon refused to leave and, in what is commonly known as "cuckooing", took over the property as he traded drugs through a county line known as 'Nino'.

Numerous phone messages retrieved by police after his arrest indicated it was an operation he ran on his own, and in a video recording he could be heard referring to those he had recruited as his "worker bees".

His abuse of the woman included grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against a wall, delivering what she described as a "massive slap" to her face, and using force in his sexual demands.

He also referred to her as being "his girl" and, as well as making acid threats, warned he would "shank" her.

Detailing the "degrading and humiliating" ordeal she suffered at Stewart's hand, Mr Connolly told the court: "He was manipulating her with violence and sexual abuse, and controlling her so he could use her home for this drugs operation.

"He was taking advantage of her and certainly cuckooing her home...He was sexually abusing her as a means to exploit and control her for what seemed to be his primary concern, his drug dealing."

So fearful was the victim that she remained scared of Stewart even when officers had arrived in response to her call reporting she had been assaulted.

In her victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she had had to divulge what were "the worst things to have ever happened" to her.

"He took advantage of me as a vulnerable woman, not only emotionally and physically but financially as well..”

"He took advantage of me as a vulnerable woman, not only emotionally and physically but financially as well. He took advantage of my kind nature," she revealed.

"He also made threats towards me and those included pouring acid in my face. I believed those threats to be true. I genuinely thought he could hurt me in this way and I was scared.

"Having the threat of having acid in my face has caused me to constantly look over my shoulder, wondering if this could happen. I can't move on with my life."

Stewart's stash of drugs found in the toilet cistern comprised of 92 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin with a street value of £2,700

Ahead of sentencing, reports to assess any danger Stewart posed had been ordered.

It was on his return on Wednesday (January 22) to learn his fate that the court heard that as well as expressing his plans for revenge, he had also failed to demonstrate any insight into his offending or acknowledged any wrongdoing in respect of the multiple rapes.

Furthermore, one report author detailed how the defendant had "made it clear" he intended to carry on committing crime.

Nick Robinson, defending, said Stewart had had "a really shocking" upbringing in which he was subjected to physical abuse by his mother before being "bounced around" in the care system.

The court also heard that during his time in custody he had been subjected to "oppressive" behaviour which led to prison officers being suspended.

On sentencing, Judge Julian Smith said he accepted Stewart was "a young man from a troubled and troubling background".

But describing his criminal conduct as "controlling, aggressive and manipulative", he added it was necessary to impose a 16-year extended sentence that would protect the public from a significant risk of harm.

This comprises of 12 years' imprisonment, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole and will only be freed if it is deemed safe to do so.

Once he is released he will then have four years added to his licence period, and will also be subject to an indefinite restraining order.

Stewart, who had sat in the dock for most of the hearing with his hands in his sweatshirt and his hood up, thanked the judge at its conclusion.

He has shown no remorse for his actions or empathy towards the woman he targeted

Investigating officer Detective Constable Bindiya Patel said: “This criminal travelled to Chatham to deal cocaine and heroin, and whilst there subjected a vulnerable woman to a series of rapes and assaults.

“Throughout this investigation, he has shown no remorse for his actions or empathy towards the woman he targeted.

“He denied the charges involving the victim and put her through the ordeal of a trial, forcing her to relive what had happened to her.

“I would like to commend the victim for her courage in reporting this man and assisting our investigation to ensure he is held responsible for his crimes.”