I used txt trap to snare my rapist

DETERMINED Kelly Turner turned detective to nail the monster who raped her - by trapping him into a dramatic text message confession.

It took four months for brave nurse Kelly to summon the courage to tell police of her traumatic rape ordeal at the hands of brutal fiancé Luke Ward.

But, with all the forensic evidence long gone, cops held little hope of a conviction. It was just her word against his.

'I pretended to be his friend and asked why he raped me'

Fighting back tears, and fearlessly waiving her right to anonymity, Kelly told us: "I knew a confession was the only thing that would bring him to justice - and I was the only person that could get that out of him.

"I was determined to stop him doing it again to somebody else so I texted him, pretending to be his friend again. Eventually I asked him why he raped me."

Kelly was astonished when 23-year-old Ward then replied with a series of messages from his mobile admitting everything. One damning text, in his own abbreviated slang style, bragged:

"Ye I did rape u, cse ur fit and I cudant resist. Cse I wanted sex wiv u, u turn me on."

Kelly, 25, said: "When I read that I felt sick, but elated at the same time because I now had the evidence the police needed."

And last week at Hull Crown Court a jury found tattooed Ward guilty of rape plus making threats to kill.

The judge adjourned sentence but vicious Ward is now in prison facing years behind bars.

Relieved, softly-spoken Kelly recalled how she first dated Ward when she was 18. They drifted apart but five years later, in March 2007, they rekindled their romance.

At first potato picker Ward, of Driffield, Yorkshire, seemed kind and caring.

In August he proposed. "He made me feel safe and we were really, really happy," said Kelly.

Sick

"He was a fun-loving bloke and really sweet too, the kind of man who cuddled you while watching movies. But after we moved in together he lost his job and his personality changed.

"We started rowing. He wasn't looking for a new job and I was sick of his laziness. Once, when I said I wanted us to split up, Luke threw a baseball bat through our bedroom window.

"Another time he hurled the sofa across the living room. I was scared he might hit me but I never believed he could rape me.

"Then in the first week of February last year I came home late after spending time with my dad. Luke was furious and accused me of cheating. As he went up to bed he said, 'Come with me!' but I said no and watched some TV downstairs.

"When I did go to bed he made it clear he wanted sex. I told him I didn't want to. That's when he grabbed me and turned me onto my back. Then he ripped off my shorts, pinned my hands over my head and raped me.

"I was screaming at him to stop, and shouting out 'Somebody help me!' in the hope that the neighbours would hear.

"But Luke said, 'Shut up or I'll kill you!'

"I was head-butting him and trying to kick him off me. I was crying my eyes out and my throat was raw with shouting. It was like a bad dream.

"It felt like a lifetime but I think it was about 20 minutes. Then I went to grab my phone and cried, 'I'm going to call the police - you're a rapist!'

"But Luke just replied, 'You're my fiancée, it ISN'T rape!' then got up and went for a cigarette as though nothing had happened.

"Shaking, I wrapped myself up in my duvet and cried all night. I was in shock, I was engaged to this man and he'd just raped me. He'd been vicious and brutal and I was really hurting.

'I felt sick when he finally admitted it - but elated too'

Ashamed

"I was suicidal, I felt like slitting my wrists. I felt ashamed. And no matter how much I washed myself I felt dirty.

"I should have gone to the police straight away but Luke had made me think they wouldn't believe me, I doubted myself."

After Kelly left Ward there were several violent outbursts in which he threatened her with a knife but she eventually confided in a friend, told the cops and set up her DIY mantrap.

"I'm proud that I finally managed to get the evidence for the police," she said.

"Now I feel safe for the first time in over a year. I hope he gets a long sentence.

"Knowing he's finally behind bars, where he belongs, means I can now at last get on with the rest of my life."

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