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| DNA proof snares rapist after
decade |
Sex offender convicted for early
1990s assaults
TWO rapes and an indecent assault committed more than 10 years
ago have finally been solved following DNA research.
Paul Thomas (pictured), 37, of Chantry Close, Maida Vale, was convicted
of the three offences at Snaresbrook Crown Court
Thomas’s attacking spree began in January 1993, when he assaulted
a woman at the Sir George Robey pub in Seven Sisters Road, Holloway.
A 26-year-old woman got off a bus and went into the pub to use the
toilet. She asked a man sitting at the bar who directed her downstairs.
But it led to a room where she was pushed to the ground and attacked.
Thomas next struck in May 1993, at an event in Clissold Park, Stoke
Newington, where he enticed a woman waiting to go to the toilet
to his flat.
Thomas invited her into an alleyway to smoke cannabis and tried
to rape her and threatened her with a knife before letting her leave.
His last attack was in October 1994 near Oxford Street.
Thomas spotted a 19-year-old woman leaving Oxford Circus Underground
station looking for a night bus. Again he offered her some cannabis
and raped her in an alleyway.
He was not found but the incidents were re-investigated by the Cold
Case Rape Investigation Team which created a DNA profile of the
attacker.
It was matched with the National DNA Database with Thomas, who was
already on the list.
He was arrested at his Maida Vale flat in November 2004.
Detective Sergeant Jackie Murphy said: “Paul Thomas is a predatory
and violent rapist who preyed on vulnerable women.
“His conviction today means that the streets of London are
a safer place.
“It is testament to the bravery and determination of the women
who came forward and gave their evidence. I realised how traumatic
this has been, however, they have been supported throughout this
investigation by specially trained officers.”
She added: “Rape is a cowardly and distasteful crime. The police
will do everything in are power to bring people like Paul Thomas
to justice.”
He is to reappear at Snaresbrook on October 13 for sentencing. |
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