UK "Night Stalker" rapist convicted

[Libby]

I thought I'd already posted this, but it's not showing up. I won't post details, because it's a horrifying case involving abuse of elderly people. The number of cases may never be known.

https://www.bbc.co.uk...london-12803014

[Earthnut]

Thank God he was caught.

[Libby]

He would have been caught years earlier, except for a blunder by the police. Years before, DNA taken from a man with a similar name, and which didn't match the forensics, was mistakenly attributed to the rapist - so he was ruled out as a suspect at that time.

He's been given four life sentences plus concurrent eight-year sentences for seven indecent assaults, and concurrent six-year sentences for 18 burglaries and attempted burglaries.

Because of the way that UK law works, life doesn't necessarily mean life. The judge has to specify a minimum sentence to be served before parole can be considered and in this case the minimum sentence is 27 years, but as he has already spent 16 months in custody awaiting trial, he will be able to apply for parole after 25 years and eight months in jail. He's 53 now, so he'll be 79 years old before he can apply.

Given that one of his defence strategies was to allege that his semen was planted at the crime scenes by his ex-wife, he'll have to do a heck of a lot of rehabilitation before he'll be released. In some ways, I hope he does get released when he's very old. He'll be protected while in prison, but maybe he deserves to spend a bit of time on the outside, in an old people's home when he's frail and vulnerable and in fear of someone breaking in while he's alone in bed.