A 40-YEAR-OLD man supplied ecstasy at a nightclub to a woman who was later raped by another man, a court heard.

Paul Blackman, of Cressfield, South Ashford, was told by a judge that the incident demonstrated the dangers of taking the drug.

Judge Adele Williams at first jailed the 40-year-old married father for 15 months, but reduced the sentence to eight months after being referred to authorities on similar cases.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Blackman gave one tablet to the woman at Pipers nightclub in Folkestone for no payment at her request.

The woman was found by police later that evening after she had suffered a sex attack.

She had no memory of taking the drug. It was not known whether anybody had been charged over the rape.

Blackman admitted supplying the ecstasy tablet and possessing cannabis.

Dominic Webber, defending, said six months to two years’ imprisonment was considered to be the appropriate sentence for social supply of small amounts of the drug.

The prosecution case, he said, was on the basis that Blackman could not be said to be a dealer in the accepted sense of the word.

“He has been on the receiving end of how it feels when an allegation of rape has been made,” he said. “He has expressed genuine remorse for what he did. He realises he was foolish.

Judge Williams said the woman was raped while under the influence of ecstasy.

“She named you as the person who supplied the tablet to her,” she told Blackman. “Of course, you are not responsible for her after she took the tablet and left the nightclub.

"What happened is merely an illustration that this drug can have harmful consequences. Of course, I don’t sentence you for those consequences.”

The judge said of the offence: “At your age you should have known better. It is one thing to possess the drug for your own consumption. It is another to supply it to someone else.”