Ex-prison guard armed with ‘rapist’s toolkit’ attacked prostitute who feared she would be killed

A weapon-obsessed ex-prison guard armed with ‘a rapist’s toolkit’ attacked a prostitute at gunpoint in a seaside Airbnb.

Richard Scaife, 46, was carrying an imitation handgun, a bayonet, pierced condom, expired HMP identification badge and gaffer tape, when he was arrested by armed police.

Officers then found strips of duct tape stuck to the inside of his jacket after he raped the sex worker twice at an Airbnb in Folkestone, Kent, last November.

Richard Scaife, 46, was carrying an imitation handgun, a bayonet, pierced condom, expired HMP identification badge and gaffer tape, when he was arrested by armed police

He was arrested after raping a sex worker twice at an Airbnb in Folkestone, Kent, last November

A huge arsenal of weapons was discovered stockpiled at Scaife’s home in Dover, around eight miles away from the Airbnb, shortly after his arrest.

Officers uncovered six machetes, fourteen lock-knives, a samurai sword, eight ball-bearing pistols, air rifles plus nunchucks and knuckle-dusters among the haul.

At Canterbury Crown Court, Scaife denied any wrongdoing but jurors unanimously convicted him of two counts of rape on Tuesday following a trial.

Scaife’s victim told jurors he locked the door and grabbed her by the throat after arriving at her property smelling of alcohol the afternoon of November 5, 2021.

She told police in a recorded interview played to jurors she thought she was going to be killed during the terrifying ordeal.

The woman said: ‘He pulled out the gun, I was terrified, but I didn’t show him. Inside, I thought “I’m going to die, this is my last day”, “maybe he killed someone before” – all of this [was going] through my mind.

‘I have known many working girls who have been killed, I said “are you going to kill me?”

‘All that was going through my mind was “am I going to die”.

The victim told police in a recorded interview played to jurors she thought she was going to be killed during the terrifying ordeal

Officers uncovered six machetes, fourteen lock-knives, a samurai sword, eight ball-bearing pistols, air rifles plus nunchucks and knuckle-dusters at his home

‘I was thinking of my son, I was thinking “I love you”, this is going to be my last day, then I thought I have to be strong.’

She told how she tried to diffuse Scaife’s rage during the sex attack and managed to calmly talk him down, while also plotting her escape.

After the double rape Scaife said he had problems in his romantic life, then asked if she wanted to form a relationship and be friends, the victim added.

The woman told police: ‘He said “I have been seeing working girls for 20 years, they just take my money, they rip me off, they take everything away from me”.

‘He broke down, he kneeled on the floor crying and I was hugging him, I said “you can talk to me honey”, and he said he really wanted to be friends with me.

‘I thought maybe he was going to kidnap me and use me as a sex slave in his apartment.

Scaife was arrested an hour after the attack, equipped with his ‘rapist’s toolkit’, prosecutors said

‘He said he wanted to do bad things, “I wanted to do bad, I was expecting a bad girl but you are not a bad girl”.’

She eventually managed to alert her landlord and convince Scaife to leave, as another customer was waiting outside and her phone was repeatedly going off.

After she called 999 Scaife was arrested an hour later, equipped with his ‘rapist’s toolkit’, prosecutors said.

Daniel Stevenson, prosecuting, said: ‘He [Scaife] had weapons both in his car and on his person, he had an expired prison guard’s identification badge.

‘He had strips of duct tape ready and cut, stuck to the inside of his jacket, ready to place over the woman’s mouth if he needed to subdue her.

‘He had a condom with a hole in it. He brought with him an air pistol which had the appearance of a handgun.

‘We say there is no good reason why he would have an identification card that resembles that of a police officer.’

Scaife claimed weapons police seized from his home were for legitimate purposes – such as airsoft and martial arts

Giving evidence, Scaife argued the duct tape was for ‘fixing the window of my car’, his victim was setting him up for unknown reasons and he forgot his expired prison ID was even inside his wallet, he claimed.

He also told jurors he was taking the air gun and bayonet found inside his car to the nearby Folkestone Angling shop for a refund at the time of his arrest.

But the shop owner told the court it had not stocked either item for more than a decade and they would not have provided a refund in any case.

Scaife claimed weapons police seized from his home were for legitimate purposes – such as airsoft and martial arts.

The arsenal also included wooden coshes, metal asps, foam batons, nun chucks and knuckle-dusters. 

Scaife was unanimously convicted of two counts of rape, possessing an imitation firearm to cause fear of violence and carrying a bladed article.

He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced in July at the same court.