Admin l Friday, April 29, 2017
LONDON, England – A man, Anthony James Roberts, 41 has been sentenced for life for raping an elderly woman in the street of Balham, London.
The Holmbury Court, SW17, had admitted to raping the 81-year-old woman in a vicious attack in Balham. But Roberts was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, 28 April to three life sentences for kidnap, and two counts of rape.
These will all be served concurrently. He had earlier pleaded guilty to kidnap and two counts of rape when he appeared at the same court on Friday, 10 March. The court heard how on Friday, 10 February Roberts had targeted his elderly victim, who had been sitting next to him on a bus.
When she got off the bus, at around 20:30hrs, he followed her to Balham High Road. He then approached her from behind and threatened her, telling her he had a knife and would kill her if she made any noise.
He then took her to a secluded area where he raped her. He also took most of her clothing before letting her go. The victim returned home very distressed and told a family member what had happened .
She later required hospital treatment for the injuries she had sustained during the attack. When the incident was reported to police and an immediate investigation began by detectives from the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command .
Officers identified Roberts after a local officer had spotted him in the area; further evidence was obtained by CCTV and Oyster Card enquires. As a result detectives went to Roberts’ home the day following the attack and he was arrested.
Clothing that matched those worn by the attacker was seized and found to have been recently washed. He was taken into custody and charged on Sunday, 12 February with two counts of rape and one count of kidnap/falsely imprisoning a person with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Detective Inspector Melissa Laremore, from SOECA, said: “Roberts is a very dangerous offender who subjected the elderly victim to a vicious rape. Women and the wider public are safer now that he is facing life imprisonment.
“I would like to pay tribute to the victim who has been extremely brave in assisting officers and providing descriptions of her attacker and the ordeal she went through, which helped us identify Roberts within days of the attack. The trauma will undoubtedly stay with her, but I hope that she takes some comfort now that her attacker is off the streets.
“Attacks of this horrific nature are extremely rare but when they do happen, we are committed to catching the perpetrator and bringing them to justice.”
