A GIRLS’ night out ended in terror when rapist Rasuljon Kuchkarov targeted a complete stranger as she tried to find a taxi in Bournemouth town centre.

Kuchkarov, 22, from Uzbekistan, pounced after his victim spurned his advances in the early hours of July 12 last year.

After reliving her terrifying ordeal in court on Friday, his victim said: "I'm shocked and disappointed; he should have got longer. Unfortunately this sentence doesn't send out a strong message to other sex attackers."

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was wearing fancy dress when he struck up a conversation with her in Westover Road.

Unknown to Kuchkarov, who was living in Exeter Road, Bournemouth, he was being captured on CCTV as he followed the woman, just seconds before he struck near the Pavilion.

Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown, Carolyn Brandford-Wood said Kuchkarov had overpowered his victim after punching her in the face “firmly and very forcibly” and raped her as she lay on the ground.

“She tried to push him away, using her arms and legs, and tried to cry out but he put a hand across her face.”

Kuchkarov ran off leaving his stunned victim to pick up her scattered possessions and make her way home where her partner called the police.

The woman was treated at Poole hospital for facial injuries and underwent a full forensic examination.

Kuchkarov was arrested on July 14 after a former employer recognised him from the incriminating CCTV footage.

During interview he insisted that his victim had been lying and that she had consented to sex but later changed his story and pleaded guilty to rape.

Defending, Fern Russell stressed that her client had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was a man of previous good character.

She submitted “a bundle” of references and two letters from Kuchkarov; to his victim and Judge Samuel Wiggs, adding: “He has been chastened by this experience.”

Sentencing Kuchkarov, Judge Wiggs told him: “It is almost impossible to think of anything more frightening than what happened to this woman that night.

“She was going about her own business after a night out when you targeted her.

“You followed her, you attacked her violently, ripping her clothing from her.

“You raped her and injured her, causing long-lasting effects.

“You lied to the police.”

Kuchkarov will be a registered sex offender for life.

Paying tribute to his victim’s courage, investigating officer DS Lindsay Brake said: “This was a very serious, and thankfully uncommon, attack on a woman making her way home alone after an evening out with friends. The excellent town centre CCTV, along with the co-operation of local retailers, led us to identifying the man responsible.”

• See Saturday's Echo for Julie Magee's interview with Kuchkarov's victim.