'I was determined he wouldn't rape me': Brave dance student, 22, who screamed and fought off sex attacker urges other victims to do the same
- Nicola Thompson was grabbed while on a street in St Helens, Merseyside
- She screamed and struggled until cocaine-user Mark Trim let go
- Trim, 36, was a 'predatory offender with a warped sexual appetite'
- Judge jailed father-of-one for five years at Liverpool Crown Court
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER PUBLISHED: 14:57 GMT, 28 October 2013 | UPDATED: 16:29 GMT, 28 October 2013
A dance student who fought off a sex attacker as he tried to drag her into his car declared: 'I was determined he wouldn’t rape me.'Nicola Thompson has decided to waive her anonymity to speak out about how she was nearly hauled off the streets by Mark Trim.The 36-year-old was jailed for five years and three months earlier this month for the attempted kidnap which he gave up after Miss Thompson, 22, screamed and struggled against him.
Courage: Dance student Nicola Thompson, left, summoned all her strength to fight off attacker Mark Trim, right, who tried to grab her off a street in St Helens, Merseyside, on May 3, this year, Liverpool Crown Court heard
She said: 'I wanted to speak out to show other women they should fight back. If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else, or even a child.'I found it natural to fight back. He’s a disgusting man and it shows how his twisted brain works.'
Miss Thompson was walking along a street in St Helens when she saw Trim blocking her path and was then dragged off towards his car.She said: 'He grabbed me by the upper arms. I screamed and he tried to drag me into the car and I was trying to fight him off.'In the melee, Trim pulled the dancer’s T-shirt around her neck, but he was spooked by her constant screaming and left his victim sprawled on the pavement as he sped off in his Golf GTi.
Caged: Mark Trim - described as a 'predatory offender with a warped sexual appetite' - was jailed for five years at Liverpool Crown Court, pictured, for the attack on May 3
Quick-thinking Nicola managed to remember the last three digits of her attacker’s car registration plate which helped police to catch him.She added: 'I feel relieved Trim is locked up. If any other woman is in that position, make as much noise as possible to get someone’s attention.'It has affected me though. I’m a lot more cautious now and I panic when I’m out and about alone. After it happened, I couldn’t speak. I was in shock.'
Cocaine-user Trim has a previous conviction for jumping out of a bush naked apart from a pair of trainers in March 2011 when he tried to drag a 19-year-old woman into an alleyway.The father-of-one harboured disturbing fantasies about non-consensual sex with women and was 'prone to stress', a court heard. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court described Trim, who admitted attempted kidnap and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence on May 3, as a 'predatory offender with a warped sexual appetite'.
A dance student who fought off a sex attacker as he tried to drag her into his car declared: 'I was determined he wouldn’t rape me.'Nicola Thompson has decided to waive her anonymity to speak out about how she was nearly hauled off the streets by Mark Trim.The 36-year-old was jailed for five years and three months earlier this month for the attempted kidnap which he gave up after Miss Thompson, 22, screamed and struggled against him.
Courage: Dance student Nicola Thompson, left, summoned all her strength to fight off attacker Mark Trim, right, who tried to grab her off a street in St Helens, Merseyside, on May 3, this year, Liverpool Crown Court heard
She said: 'I wanted to speak out to show other women they should fight back. If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else, or even a child.'I found it natural to fight back. He’s a disgusting man and it shows how his twisted brain works.'
Miss Thompson was walking along a street in St Helens when she saw Trim blocking her path and was then dragged off towards his car.She said: 'He grabbed me by the upper arms. I screamed and he tried to drag me into the car and I was trying to fight him off.'In the melee, Trim pulled the dancer’s T-shirt around her neck, but he was spooked by her constant screaming and left his victim sprawled on the pavement as he sped off in his Golf GTi.
Caged: Mark Trim - described as a 'predatory offender with a warped sexual appetite' - was jailed for five years at Liverpool Crown Court, pictured, for the attack on May 3
Quick-thinking Nicola managed to remember the last three digits of her attacker’s car registration plate which helped police to catch him.She added: 'I feel relieved Trim is locked up. If any other woman is in that position, make as much noise as possible to get someone’s attention.'It has affected me though. I’m a lot more cautious now and I panic when I’m out and about alone. After it happened, I couldn’t speak. I was in shock.'
Cocaine-user Trim has a previous conviction for jumping out of a bush naked apart from a pair of trainers in March 2011 when he tried to drag a 19-year-old woman into an alleyway.The father-of-one harboured disturbing fantasies about non-consensual sex with women and was 'prone to stress', a court heard. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court described Trim, who admitted attempted kidnap and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence on May 3, as a 'predatory offender with a warped sexual appetite'.
