Marcus Allyn Keith Martin has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping and kidnapping a British backpacker and forcing her to drive through outback Queensland at gunpoint for weeks on end.

Key points: Defence lawyer Joshua Trevino described the pair's drug-fueled relationship as "dysfunctional"

Defence lawyer Joshua Trevino described the pair's drug-fueled relationship as "dysfunctional" Prosecutor Nathan Crane said Martin had a "desire to control and isolate the victim"

Prosecutor Nathan Crane said Martin had a "desire to control and isolate the victim" Martin was arrested after staff at a petrol station in Mitchell called police concerned about the woman

The Cairns District Court heard the man met the then-22-year-old backpacker — who cannot be named for legal reasons — at a dance party at Kuranda in the Far North Queensland rainforest in January 2017.

Martin, 25, appeared via video link in the Cairns District Court, after last October pleading guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty over the one-month ordeal.

He watched the proceedings from a Brisbane prison, dressed in a white T-shirt, his face covered in tattoos and hands clasped for the entire three-hour sentencing.

In handing down sentence on Tuesday afternoon, Judge Dean Morzone declared Martin a serious violent offender, meaning he must serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court the couple "immediately" formed an intimate relationship but within two weeks, Martin turned violent, routinely "beating" her, raping her and cut up her British passport before embarking on a "harrowing" 1,600-kilometre road trip in an attempt to "isolate" her.

Martin's lawyer Joshua Trevino told the court the pair were in a "dysfunctional relationship" and that they were using drugs together.

The court heard the pair lived in Cairns for a few weeks, moving frequently between different hotel rooms and caravan parks.

The British woman was rescued after driving away from a Mitchell petrol station without paying for fuel. ( Instagram )

Mr Crane said on one occasion, Martin demanded to go through the victim's phone, accused her of being unfaithful and "gouged her eyes" with his thumbs and on another occasion, choked her with her own handbag.

"He threw away her birth control pills so she would never leave him because she would have his child," Mr Crane said.

Mr Crane said Martin's jealousy and "desire to control and isolate the victim" led to the road trip from Cairns to Mitchell in south-west Queensland, with Martin often forcing her to drive at gunpoint.

"She feared she would be murdered," Mr Crane said.

"She tried to get the attention of other road users as they would drive along and also other service station customers to no avail."

Sorry, this video has expired CCTV of the British backpacker before she was rescued.

The woman was rescued after driving off without paying for fuel from a petrol station in Mitchell, east of Charleville in south-west Queensland.

Staff at the petrol station called police with concerns about the woman.

The court heard Martin was found hiding in the back of the four wheel drive when officers caught up with the pair and has been in custody since he was arrested in the outback.

Mr Trevino told the court his client "didn't have the greatest start in life".

"He suffered significant physical abuse at the hands of his mother's successive boyfriends," Mr Trevino said.

He also detailed Martin's drug use, saying Martin and the victim "lived life in the fast lane together".

Mr Trevino said both were using methylamphetamine during the short period they were together.

The four wheel drive pulled over by police at Mitchell in March 2017. Martin was hiding in the back. ( ABC News: Jonathan Hair )

He said his client was "paranoid and psychotic" while on drugs and disputed the suggestion Martin's victim was not aware of where they were going on the road trip.

"Mr Martin says they had a plan to drive south," Mr Trevino said.

"It was a highly dysfunctional relationship, but they were boyfriend and girlfriend and they had a plan to … find some work, perhaps at a cattle station."

'Good prospects of rehabilitation'

Judge Morzone said his sentence was intended to punish "to a just extent in all of the circumstances" and allow for rehabilitation.

"It must stop you from behaving like this again. It must also send a message to others to stop them.

"I've looked carefully through the psychological report and it does reveal … good prospects of rehabilitation.

"But that requires much self-examination, determination and hard work in your part to engage in appropriate treatment."

He said Martin's risk of reoffending was "moderate to high" while continuing to use methylamphetamine.