TWO friends who were convicted of rape following a sex attack on an intoxicated teenage girl have been jailed.

A jury found Mark Gallagher and Scott Duggan guilty last month of raping the girl, who had been on a three-day drink and drugs binge, in Cockfield, County Durham, in December 2009.

The pair appeared at Teesside Crown Court yesterday for sentencing. The court heard that Gallagher, 19, of Wellgarth, in Evenwood, County Durham, had sex with the girl, while Duggan, 20, of Bridge Street, Bishop Auckland, shouted encouragement to him and filmed the incident on his mobile phone.

A villager found the victim, 18, who had been taking the drug mephedrone and was hallucinating, half naked in the street.

The defendants fled the scene when police arrived.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said: “The crown would say, although it is at your honour’s discretion, that it could be seen as a sustained attack because it wasn’t something that lasted a couple of seconds as far as the complainant is concerned.”

Gallagher was described as an immature and easily-led young man, who had no previous sexual experience before the incident.

Scott Smith, mitigating for Duggan, said it was an unusual set of circumstances and many of the issues relating to Gallagher were also attached to Duggan.

Judge Howard Crowson imposed six years in a young offenders’ institution for Gallagher and five years for Duggan.

Passing sentence, he said: “Mark Gallagher I am satisfied you wouldn’t have done this without encouragement from Scott Duggan. Most of what was said during the incident that followed was recorded on a mobile phone.

“Anyone listening to that footage will know that she had no idea what was happening.

“She can be heard saying ‘take me home’ and her voice is clearly affected by the drink and drugs she had consumed.

“She has suffered substantially as a result of that night and remains anxious of repercussions from it.

“One of you was physically acting while the other was encouraging.

“Scott Duggan you should receive a lesser sentence... but I take the view that your encouragement in this case essentially caused the offence.”