Man Convicted over 1989 Rape
25 October 2010, 14:44 | Updated: 25 October 2010, 16:48
57 year old Stanley Alan Daniels, formerly of Blackbull Road, Folkestone, has been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment today (25 October 2010) for the rape of a woman in Sandgate near Hythe Kent, in 1989, which the Judge described as a “wicked and terrible offence”.
Officers from the Cold Case Investigation Team of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, starting re-investigating this Cold Case stranger rape in 2009 and samples taken from the victim back in 1989 were re-examined by the Forensic Science Service to see if new developments in DNA technology could give them any new leads in the case. The FSS were able to obtain a strong DNA profile, which was a one in a billion match with Stanley Daniels. This was linked to another crime scene, where Daniels had been identified as the offender. Daniels was arrested and subsequently charged with rape in April this year.
Daniels pleaded guilty before Maidstone Crown Court today before he was due to go on trial for this crime.
He was already serving a nine-year prison sentence for rape and was jailed for a further six years.
In the early hours of 20 October 1989, an 18 year old woman was walking on the promenade on Sandgate Esplanade when a man wearing a balaclava approached her, threatened her with a knife and then pulled her to the ground near the sea wall and raped her. The man, now known to be Daniels, then got up and ran away, and the victim ran to a nearby phone box where she dialled 999 to report that she had been raped.
Police were able to establish that at the time of this offence Daniels was living in Folkestone and working as a fisherman.
Upon sentencing His Honour Judge Griffiths-Jones said:
“You subjected your victim to a terrifying and horrific ordeal and she has had to live with the experience and the effects ever since. Only now can she get any comfort in the fact that you have been brought to justice.
“The victim has given a harrowing account of the long term effects your actions had on her. It has taken her years to feel safe and to walk out on her own again. She has suffered a heightened paranoia, constantly looking over her shoulder for the man who raped her.”
The court also heard from a letter Daniels had written to the Judge where he expressed remorse for what he had done. In an extract from the letter he said: “I stand before you a complete disgrace, ashamed of what I did back in 1989…. I now realise the lady needs and deserves closure. The lady is completely innocent in all of this and is in no way to blame for this offence which I did for my own gratification.”
After sentencing, Detective Inspector Dave Withers from the Cold Case Investigation Team said:
"In 1989 a young woman's life was changed dramatically by this horrific unprovoked attack. Twenty one years have passed since then and she has lived with this every day. The damage done to a young woman's confidence and self-esteem by an attack like this cannot be underestimated. This is tribute to the victim's strength of character that she has been willing to support this prosecution and been prepared to give evidence even after all this time.
"We hope today, with the conviction of Daniels for this terrible crime, she is now able in some way to move on with her life.
"We have a duty to give justice to the victims of attacks like this one. For many years the victims may be looking over their shoulder wondering if the person walking past them in the street or standing next to them in the supermarket queue could be their attacker. And it could be the person responsible might still be offending and we need to protect the public.
"We don't contact a victim or a victim's family until we have identified an offender. We wouldn't want to raise their hopes unnecessarily or to resurrect old memories for no reason.
"It is not easy to go back to someone after 20 years and for them to have to relive the fear of something they might have put to the back of their minds for a long time. But the support we can give victims now is much better than what was offered many years ago.
"Just because something could not be detected 15 or 20 years ago doesn't mean it can't be detected now. Nearly all of our cold cases are solved due to advances in forensic science."
"It is really rewarding for the whole team when we get a success like this one today."
Hear an interview with DI Withers
Crown Prosecutor, Simon Ringrose, from the CPS, said of the conviction today:
"In 2009 this case was reviewed by the Cold Case Team from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate and forensic samples taken in 1989 were located and re-examined using current more advanced DNA profiling techniques. These tests produced a DNA profile and the probability of this profile coming from somebody other than Daniels was 1 in 1 billion. This evidence and the statements of the victim and other witnesses allowed the prosecution to put together a compelling case.
“When faced with this evidence, Stanley Daniels had little alternative but to plead guilty to the charge of rape 21 years after he committed this terrible crime.
“The victim has shown great courage and determination in supporting the prosecution and it is gratifying that she is saved the burden of reliving her ordeal at a trial.
“We hope Daniels conviction reassures the public that we continue to vigorously address rape cases through the joined up approach of Kent Police, the CPS and the Forensic Science Service.”
Andy Douglas, Specialist Advisor for the Forensic Science Service said:
“Advances in DNA technology pioneered by the Forensic Science Service enabled us to look again at the materials we had retained from the original investigation.
“Kent Police has been dogged in its determination to bring sexual offenders to justice, no matter how long ago their crimes were committed. We have worked closely with Kent Police throughout the investigative process to provide them with new evidence and it is very satisfying that we have been able to help in bringing closure to the victim in this case."