Legal News
13 years in jail for man convicted of historical rape charges (11 February 2016)
Date: 11/02/2016
A man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, after being convicted of historical sex offences involving rape and attempted rape, dating back to 1994.
Russell Chandler, 41, was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court to a total of 13 years imprisonment for the rape of one woman and the attempted rape of another woman in Mill Hill, northwest London, between 9 and11 May 1994.
Both victims were attacked in the evening as they walked home alone – one from Mill Hill Station and the other from Copthall Leisure Centre.
At the time of the attacks, DNA was taken from the crime scenes. This was added to a national database following the creation of the Metropolitan Police's Sapphire Cold Case Team in 2002 – the sample provided a match when Chandler was arrested in June 2015. The police then re-opened the 1994 case.
Chandler was sentenced to 13 years for the rape and nine-and-a-half years for the attempted rape, to run concurrently.
After sentencing, CPS London reviewing lawyer, Kay Scudder, said:
“Russell Chandler may have thought he had got away with these terrible crimes, but he has now been convicted.
“He pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting the two women – but was not prepared to admit that he had raped one of them and attempted to rape the other.
“We were determined that he would be held responsible for the full extent of his crimes and proceeded with the case to trial.
“More than 20 years after their terrifying ordeals, the victims showed great bravery in giving evidence against their attacker in court.
“I would like to thank them for their support of the prosecution – and I hope that they finally feel that they have some sense of justice.”
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