A teenage rapist who tied up and held a knife to the neck of a 15-year-old schoolgirl has had an appeal against his sentence dismissed.

Jason Bailey, formerly of Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft, appealed against his eight-year sentence for rape and assault.

A hearing at the Court of Appeal's Criminal Division on Thursday, October 31, saw Bailey's appeal dismissed and his original sentence upheld.

After a trial at Ipswich Crown Court in January earlier this year, the then-18-year-old was unanimously convicted by jurors of raping and assaulting the teenager.

On March 29, judge David Goodin described Bailey as "dangerous" and sentenced him to eight years detention in a young offenders' institution, as well as imposing an extended licence period of two years.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offender's register indefinitely.

Bailey denied the charge against him and, during the trial, he claimed the pair had consensual sex.

He also claimed the girl told him she was 17.

However, the court heard the schoolgirl had originally visited a bedsit in Lowestoft on September 9 2018 expecting to meet a girl she had been in contact with over Facebook.

Nicola May, prosecuting, claimed after the attack, Bailey told the girl: "Now we've had sex you are my girlfriend."

The alleged victim told him she hadn't consented to having sex with him and that she wasn't his girlfriend. He then allegedly threatened to kill her if she told anyone what had happened.

The court heard that after the alleged rape the girl told her mother what had allegedly happened and the police were called.

She was medically examined and was found to have bruising on both sides of her neck and her wrists.

Bailey was arrested on suspicion of rape and claimed there had been play fighting between him and the alleged victim and he had asked her to stop because she was being too rough.