A YOUNG Carlisle man has pleaded guilty to an offence of rape.

Ryan Neale, 23, who appeared before the city’s crown court via a video link from a prison, formally entered his guilty plea to the offence, which he committed on October 14 last year. Defence barrister Kim Whittlestone said that at the time, Neale appeared to have an issue with drugs and alcohol.

The defendant, of Lingmoor Way, Carlisle, originally also faced additional charges, including blackmail and witness intimidation.

But after legal discussions, the prosecution accepted the defendant’s plea to the rape allegation alone as has been outlined in the victim's statement.

Judge Nicholas Barker agreed that that a background pre-sentence Probation Service report should be prepared on the defendant before he is sentenced.

This must address the issue of whether or not Neale should be classed as a "dangerous offender", said Judge Barker as he set the sentence date as September 8.

He told Neale: “You have pleaded guilty to this count of rape and that satisfies the prosecution such that they no longer seek a trial on the other counts. So sentence will be on September 8 when the court will consider all the material on that day.”

Neale was remanded in custody.