'Worst rapist' in UK history jailed for life for offences against 48 men
The “worst known sex offender in the country’s history” has been jailed for life for drugging and assaulting 48 men.
Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday and must serve at least 30 years in prison.
He has now been found guilty of 159 offences across four separate trials, including 136 anal rapes he filmed on two mobile phones.
The Indonesian student, who is already serving a life sentence at HMP Manchester, saw his minimum term increased to 30 years for crimes committed between January 2015 and June 2017.
It was the largest prosecution of its kind by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in history.
North West deputy chief crown prosecutor Ian Rushton said: “Reynhard Sinaga is the most prolific rapist in British legal history.
“His extreme sense of sexual entitlement almost defies belief and he would no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally had he not been caught.
“Sinaga’s unthreatening demeanour duped these young men – many of whom thanked him for his kindness in offering them a place to stay – into thinking this monster was a Good Samaritan.”
Locating victims
Sinaga would approach intoxicated young men in central Manchester and lure them to his flat in Princess Street – strategically located near the city’s nightlife hotspots.
He would spike them with sedatives – which the CPS said was probably a GHB-laced shot – and make them unconscious before filming himself raping them.
In many cases, the rape was carried out repeatedly for hours.
He would keep men’s belongings as “trophies” and search for them on Facebook, and once texted a friend about a victim: “He was straight in 2014. 2015 is his breakthrough to the gay world hahaha.”
Another said: “Take a sip of my secret poison, I’ll make you fall in love.”
He is believed to have attacked “scores more men” since he arrived in the UK in 2007, the CPS said, making him the “worst known sex offender in the country’s history”.
Investigation launched
Most of his victims were unaware what happened to them until one man woke up while Sinaga was raping him.
The man, an 18-year-old, fought Sinaga off and took his white iPhone 4.
Greater Manchester Police examined the the phone, which has 3.29 terabytes of extremely graphic material – the same as 250 DVDs or 300,000 photos.
The material included sexual assaults, one of which lasted for eight hours.
If the victims roused, Sinaga would snatch away his phone or push them back to the floor to continue the assault.
The human geography student claimed the victims, who were both heterosexual and gay, were actually enjoying acting out his “sexual fantasy” of playing dead during sex.
But juries across four trials at Manchester Crown Court have rejected his defence, described by Mr Rushton as “ludicrous”.
He said: “The issue for us as prosecutors was largely one of proving a lack of consent. Our case essentially rested on the evidence Sinaga himself had provided through his videos, photos and keeping of trophies. This involved analysing hours of distressing and graphic recordings.
“Despite the weight of evidence showing victims unresponsive, snoring and even vomiting, Sinaga tried to persuade four juries his actions amounted to consensual sex.
“I am pleased we have been able to overcome this ludicrous defence and achieve unanimous guilty verdicts on all 159 charges we have brought.”
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The CPS had to split the trial into four due to the number of victims.
Mr Rushton added that “once back at his flat, he used victims as objects purely for his own gratification – then appears to have derived further twisted pleasure from re-watching his films in court and putting victims through the trauma of giving evidence.
“I would like to pay tribute and express my gratitude to all of these men for their incredible resilience, bravery and strength in helping us bring these harrowing cases to court.
“They have suffered severe and life-changing psychological trauma but should feel very proud that thanks to them this highly dangerous predator may never walk our streets again.
“We hope this will at least bring them some comfort as they come to terms with what has happened and move on with their lives.”
Investigation continues
Mr Rushton said: “Working closely with Greater Manchester Police from the offset, we have now charged every victim’s case referred to us that met our evidential test and have set out the appropriate charges before four juries.
“Thanks to these efforts the offender has been handed one of the strongest ever sentences in a non-homicide case, concluding this prosecution phase.
“With a police investigation still ongoing, we will keep the matter under review. If any more files are referred to us we will consider them under the Code for Crown Prosecutors, as with all cases.”
Anyone affected by the case, or who believes they have been a victim of Sinaga, can call Greater Manchester Police on either 0800 056 0154 for support or 0800 092 0410 for police.
