Man, 63, jailed for 1980 Wycombe rape (From This Is Local London)

Man, 63, jailed for 1980 Wycombe rape

1:23pm Monday 19th October 2009 in

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A 63-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for eight years after raping and threatening to kill a young woman on her way home from a night out in 1980.

Geoffrey Stoneham left his 17-year-old victim a “quivering wreck” after he and another man raped her in Micklefield Road.

The father-of-three, of Alamein Road, Swanscombe, Kent, pleaded guilty to the offence on what was meant to be the first day of a trial – having denied it when he first appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court last December.

Both he and another man, who has not been caught, attacked their victim and raped her.

Samples were taken from the girl following the attack – but tests were only able to confirm the blood group of her attacker.

It was not until 2007 when the samples were analysed again – with a DNA profile being taken.

It matched Stoneham's DNA – and the court was told the chances of the DNA coming from someone else were “in the order of one in a billion”.

Alan Blake, prosecuting, told the court the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was walking along Micklefield Road alone on April 25 1980, having been to the cinema with her boyfriend.

He said: “As she passed the entrance to the railway embankment, a man walked out in front of her.

“He grabbed her from behind and put his hand over her mouth and threw her on a grassy bank.

“He released his grip on her mouth. She screamed again and he told her he had a knife.

“He ordered her to walk up a hill. She felt a pointed instrument in her back, which she believed was a knife.

“At that point they were joined by a second male. He told her: 'Don't worry, I'm not going to help you'.

“She was ordered to lie on her stomach and to put her coat over her head so she wouldn't see her attackers.”

Both men took it in turns to rape her, and she was then told to stay where she was for five minutes.

Mr Blake said: “They threatened to kill her if she moved.”

The court heard Stoneham has 32 previous convictions for 65 offences, dating back to 1959, including two of a sexual nature.

In a statement read to the court, the victim's sister said the young woman “changed overnight” following the attack.

It said: “She always needed someone to go with her when she went out. There was always someone with her at her house.

“When she had children she couldn't face taking them to the park.”

Nicola Cafferkey, defending, said: “He's taken responsibility, albeit at a very late stage, for his offending behaviour.

“In cases of this nature, it's very rare people actually enter a guilty plea.”

Passing sentence, Judge Seddon Cripps said: “This, it seems to me, was a terrifying attack on a young female.

“You left her a quivering wreck on the ground and told her you would try and kill her. I am sure she believed you and she has suffered ever since.”

Stoneham must also remain on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.