Man Jailed for 1986 Rape

A man's been jailed for a rape that took place 24 years ago

Paul James Dyne from Kingston Road in New Malden, Surrey has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the rape of a woman in 1986.  He has also been put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Officers from Kent Police's Cold Case Investigation Team reinvestigated the incident and charged Dyne in December last year. Dyne pleaded guilty before Maidstone Crown Court on Friday 14 May.

Paul James Dyne, previously from Deal, was identified following developments within forensic science.  DNA taken at the time of the incident was re examined and was identified as a one in a billion match with Dyne's profile.

In February 1986, a young woman aged just 18, went to buy milk at a local shop around 7.30pm.  She recalls passing a man as she walked along College Road in Deal, before feeling a gloved hand over her mouth and was then dragged across the road to waste ground in Ark Lane. The man threatened the woman and told her he had a knife, before covering her eyes with a scarf and then raped her.

Dyne left the woman on the waste ground before making his escape. Distraught from her horrific ordeal, she made her way home where her father called police.

Officers investigated the incident but no-one was charged until December last year. Officers arrested Dyne at his home address in Surrey on 22 December 2009 and he was charged later that same day.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Withers said: 'In 1986 a young woman's life was changed dramatically by this horrific unprovoked attack. Twenty four years have passed since then and she has lived with this every day. We hope today with the conviction of Dyne for this terrible crime she is now able in some way to move on with her life.'

Investigating officers determined that at the time of the incident Dyne had been living with family in College Road, the route the woman had taken before he grabbed her and took her into Ark Lane. He had also been working at a factory next to the waste ground.


Forensic Science Service Specialist Advisor Andy Douglas said: 'Advances in DNA allows police to revisit unsolved cases and look for opportunities to apply new techniques to old cases. It demonstrates how far science has brought us in the last 20 years. It has allowed the Forensic Science Service to support Kent Police in bringing an offender to justice.'

Upon sentencing, His Honour Judge Statman said: 'This must be every woman's worst nightmare. You have terrified this woman and shown no mercy. The police caught up with you 24 years later when you probably thought you had got away with it.'

HH Judge Statman went on to praise the work of the Cold Case Team and its work for the community and victims of crime.