An Indonesian man has been convicted of 159 sexual offences and found guilty of luring 48 men from outside Manchester clubs to his flat, where he drugged, assaulted, and filmed the attacks.
Reynhard Sinaga, 36, targeted at least 190 victims and he has been found guilty of 136 counts of rape, eight counts of attempted rape, 14 counts of sexual assault, and one count of assault by penetration across four separate trials. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Sinaga was “the most prolific rapist in British legal history”.
Previously, Sinaga’s identity was kept from the public but the press embargo has been revoked at a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Monday 6th January 2020.
The judge ruled his life sentence must include a minimum of 30 years in jail. The post-graduate student was already serving life for the offences that he was convicted of in two earlier trials, which took place in summer 2018 and last spring.
Manchester police stated that they are still uncovering the identities of the remaining 70 victims; whoever believes they may have been abused by Sinaga should come forward.
“Sinaga is an evil, serial sexual predator who has preyed upon young men who wanted nothing more than a good night out with their friends,” said Judge Suzanne Goddard QC. “In my judgment, you are a highly dangerous, cunning, and deceitful individual who will never be safe to be released.”
Sinaga would wait for men leaving nightclubs and bars before leading them to his flat in Montana House, Princess Street, by offering them a drink or to call a taxi. He then drugged his victims with GHB, a date rape drug, before assaulting them while they were unconscious, leading the victims to forget the event when they woke up. Many of the victims were unaware they had been raped until they were contacted by police.
Assistant Chief Constable Mabbs Hussain said, “the information and evidence we are going through is largely from trophies that he’s collected from the victims of his crimes.”
Investigators have traced dozens of victims from the videos using clues found in Sinaga’s Manchester flat, such as stolen phones, ID cards and watches. Lisa Waters, of the St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester, where victims receive support, said some men found this “very difficult to process”, with some experiencing mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.
Sinaga pleaded not guilty and claimed all the sexual activities were consensual in which each man had agreed to being filmed while pretending to be asleep.
While studying for a PhD at the University of Leeds, he carried out his attacks over several years but was caught in June 2017 when one victim, who regained consciousness while being assaulted, fought Sinaga off and called the police. Police found hundreds of hours of footage when they seized Sinaga’s phone, leading to the launch of the largest rape inquiry in British history.
Judge Goddard added that Sinaga had shown “not a jot of remorse” and at times appeared to be “actually enjoying the trial process”. His trials took place across 18 months at Manchester Crown Court, resulting in unanimous guilty verdicts on all charges.
His convictions relate to crimes he committed from January 2015 to June 2017, but police believe he began offending years earlier. A statement from Vice-Chancellor Dame Nancy Rothwell, said the news was “profoundly distressing” and her thoughts are with all those affected.
Greater Manchester Police have appealed to anyone who believes they might have been attacked by Sinaga to report information online or call its police line on 0800 092 0410 from inside the UK or 0207 158 0124 from abroad.
Source: BBC News
Image: BBC News