University of Leeds student branded "the most prolific rapist in British legal history" handed life sentence

Tuesday, 7 January 2020 11:37

A University of Leeds student has been handed a life sentence after being found guilty of committing 159 sexual offences, including 136 rapes.

Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was found guilty of luring 48 men from outside Manchester clubs to his flat, where he drugged and assaulted them.

Reporting restrictions were lifted at a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, meaning the defendant could be identified for the first time.

Police say they have evidence Sinaga targeted at least 190 victims, with the Crown Prosecution Service describing the student as "the most prolific rapist in British legal history".

The Indonesian national - who was studying for a PHD at the University of Leeds - carried out the attacks over the course of several years, targeting men outside nightclubs and luring them back to his flat by offering them drinks and a warm place to wait for a taxi.

Once back to his flat, Sinaga would drug and assault his victims, filming each assault, amounting to hundreds of hours of footage.

However, in spite of the damning evidence against him, he denied the charges, claiming all sexual activity was consensual and each man had agreed to being filmed while pretending to be asleep – a defence labelled by Judge Suzanne Goddard as “ludicrous”.

In sentencing, Sinaga was handed a life sentence, with Judge Goddard stipulating that at least 30 years of the sentence must be spent in jail.

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