A FORMER Premier League star has been jailed for 16 years after raping two women in separate sex attacks.
Nathan Ashton, who played for Fulham and Charlton, attacked the first victim after driving her to remote countryside.
The 37-year-old ordered her into the back seat where he raped her before telling the woman: “You’ll live”.
Ashton then targeted his second victim eight years later while she slept in a friend’s bed.
The former footballer has now been jailed for 16 years after being convicted of the two rapes.
In powerful victim impact statements, one of Ashton’s victims told how she will never be free from the “impact” of the attack.
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She added: “Because of what he chose to do to me, I have feared men ever since – and always will.
“The feelings I hold for him are disgust and hatred. I think he is a vile human being.”
The second woman told how she now suffers from panic attacks as she revealed the “far-reaching and devastating impact” on her life.
Reading Crown Court was told the first attack took place in 2015 when Ashton drove his victim out of the city centre in to the countryside.
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The following day, the woman went to a sexual health clinic and told a worker what had happened.
She waited five years before bravely coming forward to police as she feared no one would believe her.
The second attack unfolded in February last year when the victim woke to find former England youth player Ashton on top of her.
She begged the fiend to stop repeatedly but he carried on the horrific attack.
Sentencing, Judge Mathew Turner said: “You used your physical strength to do what you wanted, with no empathy or compassion for your victims.
“You are manipulative and focused on yourself and your own sexual satisfaction.”
Ashton began his footballing career at Charlton Athletic’s youth team in 2005 before being signed for Fulham two years later.
He played on the wing for the Premier League club before moving to Crystal Palace on loan for a season.
In 2008, Ashton joined Wycombe Wanderers but left shortly after for a stint at AFC Wimbledon.
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He hung up his boots in 2014 after a season at Isthmian League Division One North club Tilbury.
In 2016, Ashton was jailed for 15 years over his role in armed robberies at bookies across the South East.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
