A TEENAGE cross-dresser from North Yorkshire who broke into a woman's home and raped her has had his "manifestly excessive" jail term reduced by Appeal Court judges.

On the night of the attack early last year, Ian Edward Cavanagh's terrified victim awoke to find him sitting on her bed. He then lay on top of her and raped her, said Mr Justice McCombe.

Five months later, the traumatised woman said she still felt "awful", suffered nightmares, was sometimes sick when she ate and had "crying days", the judge added.

Up to four months after the offence, she believed she would have to go to court as Cavanagh indicated he was going to deny the charge, claiming she had agreed to have sex with him.

Cavanagh, now 20, of Strawberry Dale Avenue, Harrogate, eventually pleaded guilty to rape at York Crown Court on October 22 last year. On January 24, he was sent to a young offenders' institute for eight-and-a-half years.

But Appeal Court judges reduced that to six years after accepting that his term was too high when compared with guideline cases.

Mr Justice McCombe, who was sitting with Judge Peter Beaumont, said that, after taking down his own trousers, Cavanagh had forcibly removed the woman's clothing.

Her ordeal ended when she managed to escape from her bedroom and persuaded him to leave, the judge said.

The shocked woman abandoned a telephone call the next evening to the police to tell them what had happened after becoming frightened when she heard a noise in her flat, Mr Justice McCombe added.

She eventually confided what had happened to her employer four days later and Cavanagh was arrested, the judge continued.

He said Cavanagh told police he was a drug user with both heterosexual and homosexual feelings. He admitted exposing himself while wearing women's clothing and felt "disgusted and remorseful."

But pre-sentence reports on him revealed he had tried to minimise both his offence and the effect on his victim, Mr Justice McCombe said.

He added that the report concluded that Cavanagh's sexuality meant he posed a significant risk to himself and the public, particularly vulnerable women.

He agreed with the sentencing judge who described his rape of "a vulnerable lady with traumatic effects" as "a truly dreadful offence."

But Mr Justice McCombe said that, despite the aggravating features of the case, which included the woman's age and light build, previous sentencing guidelines showed his jail term was too long.

Concluding, the judge made it clear that allowing Callaghan's appeal did not mean the court was minimising the seriousness of the offence. "But the court has to abide by consistency of sentencing," he said.

Updated: 09:52 Saturday, July 26, 2003