Van rapist jailed after 18 years

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A stall holder who raped a woman 18 years ago as she tried on a pair of jeans in a south Wales market has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Sukhdarshan Singh, 52, from Wolverhampton, followed the woman into his van after offering her the opportunity to try the jeans on.

He could not be traced after the attack in Bridgend but his DNA was found.

Cardiff Crown court heard he was finally arrested when a routine DNA swab linked him to the attack.

It followed his arrest for drink-driving and detectives were able to match his profile to that of the woman's attacker.

He pushed her down on a pile of clothes, pinned her down and raped her Prosecuter Martin Kelly

Singh, from Bilstown, Wolverhampton, initially denied the rape allegation but changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial.

Prosecutor Martin Kelly told Cardiff Crown Court: "The woman had chosen a size 10 pair of jeans but was not sure if they would fit.

"So Singh offered to let her use his van to try them on.

"She went in - and so did Singh.

"He pushed her down on a pile of clothes, pinned her down and raped her."

The court heard when Singh had finished with the woman he said: "Stay here, I have another friend."

The effect of your crime was to cause her to feel so bad about herself that she contemplated suicide Judge William Gaskell

The court heard how the woman, who was 59 at the time of the offence, struggled to lead a normal life after the attack.

The mother-of-nine had blamed the unsolved rape with difficulties she had with her marriage and the recent death of her husband.

Mr Kelly said: "She was married at 17 and had never slept with another man apart from Singh."

Judge William Gaskell jailed Singh for four-and-a-half years and ordered him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

He said: "The effect of your crime was to cause her to feel so bad about herself that she contemplated suicide.

"Your crime devastated her relationship with her husband and their sexual relationship was permanently damaged.

"You caused her family huge distress.

"She believes her husband died as a result of the stress bought into their relationship by the rape."

Family pain

Speaking after the sentencing the woman's daughter criticised the length of the sentence.

She said: "I just wish my father had been here to see him go to prison.

"It is impossible to tell how much damage Singh has done to our family.

"My mother will continue to suffer the pain from that crime."

Singh was bought to justice as a result of South Wales Police's involvement in Operation Moscow, which links sex offenders to historic DNA samples.

The ongoing operation is led by Detective Chief Inspector Paul Bethell who said: "We will continue our work into historic offences of this nature and bring these men to justice."