Pervert paramedic who told colleagues he was gay before abusing them jailed for 12 years

Christopher Bridger preyed on the women by telling them he was gay, then raped one of them and sexually abused the other two.

The 25-year-old from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was found guilty of one count of rape and four other sexual assault charges after a 12-day trial at Guilford Crown Court, Surrey on 30 July.

Sentencing him, Mr Recorder Mark Milliken-Smith said: "These were wicked, mean and utterly cowardly offences which have and will have serious consequences on these young women and those around them for a very long time.

"In each case the young woman in question believed you were gay. You told everyone you were gay. They never contemplated you presented a danger to them.

"They trusted you in situations they would not have allowed heterosexual men.

"You took advantage of that belief."

Bridger's first victim was a fellow student paramedic at St George's University, whom he told he was gay.

After drinking at a party in September 2008, he walked her back to her halls where he raped her and broke down in tears afterwards saying "I just want to like girls".

His other victims were co-workers at South East Coast Ambulance Service, where he began working in 2010.

A lesbian colleague told the jury how Bridger came up to her hotel room after she got extremely intoxicated at a staff Christmas party in December 2011.

She had been arguing with her girlfriend, who started recording her drunken conversation on her mobile phone.

On that recording, Bridger was heard coming into the room and ask the woman for a hug and a kiss, which she obliged to, thinking he was gay.

Afterwards, Bridger climbed into bed between his victim and her partner, she said.

The woman awoke to find him sexually assaulting her and pleasuring himself as her girlfriend lay asleep next to them.

Bridger's victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, felt "disbelief, self-doubt, guilt, shame and a very real sense of betrayal by someone they trusted", prosecutor Caroline Carberry said.

The judge also told him he would spend three years on prison licence after the end of his custody spell.

A South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: "We welcome the length of the sentence given in this case which reflects the severity of the crimes committed.

"When these serious allegations came to light, we suspended Mr Bridger in October 2012 and, following a thorough investigation, he was dismissed in July 2013."