Jail for rapist

Haci Tasan, 31, a Turkish asylum seeker of no fixed address, fled the country after carrying out the sickening assaults last year.

Harrow Crown Court heard Tasan first struck on April 4, 2004, as his elderly victim walked to work in Langhedge Lane at about 5am.

The attack prompted a £10,000 reward for information and an appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch UK.

But eight months later, on December 23, Tasan struck again, targeting a 19-year-old woman as she walked home along Fore Street at the junction with Alpha Road at about 3am.

Tasan grabbed her by the throat and dragged her into a service road behind a row of shops where she was assaulted.

Her ordeal lasted 30 minutes before she managed to raise the alarm.

Tasan had been living in a council flat less than half-a-mile away from the scene of the attacks.

Afterwards, he fled to Switzerland, but police tracked him down, and with the help of Swiss police, Tasan was extradited to the UK to face trial.

Tasan admitted both attacks during a court appearance in September.

Imposing her sentence on Friday, Judge Susan Tapping said: "The circumstances of these attacks clearly demonstrate you had begun a campaign of rape that would not stop unless you were identified.

"You have committed the most serious and appalling offences."

DI Lloyd Gardener, who led the investigation for Operation Sapphire at Winchmore Hill police station, said: "Haci Tasan generated fear in the community following these horrific attacks.

"The two women involved were incredibly brave and continue to recover from their terrible ordeal.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their tremendous help. Their response was amazing, and I have no doubt Tasan would have gone on to attack using even more violence if he had not been caught.

"I hope today's sentence goes some way to providing some closure to the victims and their families."