From The Times
Man arrested over ‘Night Stalker’ sex attacks on elderly
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent, and Anil Dawar
Police last night arrested a man aged 52 as part of a 19-year hunt for the “Night Stalker”, one of Britain’s most prolific sexual predators.
Detectives have been pursuing a man they believe is responsible for at least 108 attacks on elderly people in their homes, including four rapes and 24 sexual assaults — but say that the figure may be closer to 200.
The man was arrested in Shirley, southeast London, early yesterday. He is thought to have been questioned some years ago and then eliminated from the inquiry. He was named locally last night as Delroy Grant, a full-time carer who lives with his wheelchair-bound wife and their two teenage sons, in Brockley.
Neighbours said that the arrested man was a caring husband and father. “He was a diamond character. He always spent his time looking after his wife,” said one. “I would chat with him at the barbecues, and he was just a very nice, normal guy.”
Residents in the cul-de-sac where the man lived described his wife, who is a Jehovah’s Witness and suffers from multiple sclerosis, as a deeply religious woman. They said he was a keen air-rifle shooter, who used glass bottles for target practice in his garden.
They recalled seeing him driving in and out of the cul-de-sac in the early hours in his silver people carrier but did not think anything of it, as his days were taken up looking after his wife.
His three-storey terraced mews house was cordoned off last night.
Police sources said that the Night Stalker, who is believed to be of Caribbean extraction, had become “blasé”, committing up to five attacks in one night. He first struck in 1990 but stopped from October 1992 to 1996 and again between August 1999 and October 2002. The attacks have taken place in South London areas including Dulwich, Orpington, Norwood, Downham, Lee, West Wickham and Bickley. His victims ranged in age from 68 to 93. Most were female, although he has also attacked ten men and sexually assaulted one of them.
The Metropolitan Police put 29 detectives on the case, codenamed Operation Minstead, and £40,000 was offered for information leading to a conviction. They speculated that the attacks might have been triggered by childhood sex abuse by an elderly relative or family friend. He is thought to be a “gerontophile” — someone who enjoys sexual activity with the elderly.
The attacker is said to have behaved in an “almost childlike manner” when spoken to firmly by his victims. When women asked what he was doing and suggested that his mother would be upset by his crimes, he would flee.
Despite this, police say that he carefully selected his victims, choosing women on their own, and entered their homes in the early hours. In each case he removed glass from a ground-floor window and cut off the telephone and electricity before beginning the attack. Wearing a balaclava, he would wake his targets by whispering to them and shining a torch in their face during his assaults. Although he is thought never to have deliberately killed anyone, several frail and distraught victims died subsequently.
Investigators drew up a list of 21,500 suspects and began asking men for DNA samples. The manhunt has cost in the region of £20 million. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We can confirm a 52-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning in a pre-planned operation. He is currently in custody at a London police station.”
Man arrested over ‘Night Stalker’ sex attacks on elderly
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent, and Anil Dawar
Police last night arrested a man aged 52 as part of a 19-year hunt for the “Night Stalker”, one of Britain’s most prolific sexual predators.
Detectives have been pursuing a man they believe is responsible for at least 108 attacks on elderly people in their homes, including four rapes and 24 sexual assaults — but say that the figure may be closer to 200.
The man was arrested in Shirley, southeast London, early yesterday. He is thought to have been questioned some years ago and then eliminated from the inquiry. He was named locally last night as Delroy Grant, a full-time carer who lives with his wheelchair-bound wife and their two teenage sons, in Brockley.
Neighbours said that the arrested man was a caring husband and father. “He was a diamond character. He always spent his time looking after his wife,” said one. “I would chat with him at the barbecues, and he was just a very nice, normal guy.”
Residents in the cul-de-sac where the man lived described his wife, who is a Jehovah’s Witness and suffers from multiple sclerosis, as a deeply religious woman. They said he was a keen air-rifle shooter, who used glass bottles for target practice in his garden.
They recalled seeing him driving in and out of the cul-de-sac in the early hours in his silver people carrier but did not think anything of it, as his days were taken up looking after his wife.
His three-storey terraced mews house was cordoned off last night.
Police sources said that the Night Stalker, who is believed to be of Caribbean extraction, had become “blasé”, committing up to five attacks in one night. He first struck in 1990 but stopped from October 1992 to 1996 and again between August 1999 and October 2002. The attacks have taken place in South London areas including Dulwich, Orpington, Norwood, Downham, Lee, West Wickham and Bickley. His victims ranged in age from 68 to 93. Most were female, although he has also attacked ten men and sexually assaulted one of them.
The Metropolitan Police put 29 detectives on the case, codenamed Operation Minstead, and £40,000 was offered for information leading to a conviction. They speculated that the attacks might have been triggered by childhood sex abuse by an elderly relative or family friend. He is thought to be a “gerontophile” — someone who enjoys sexual activity with the elderly.
The attacker is said to have behaved in an “almost childlike manner” when spoken to firmly by his victims. When women asked what he was doing and suggested that his mother would be upset by his crimes, he would flee.
Despite this, police say that he carefully selected his victims, choosing women on their own, and entered their homes in the early hours. In each case he removed glass from a ground-floor window and cut off the telephone and electricity before beginning the attack. Wearing a balaclava, he would wake his targets by whispering to them and shining a torch in their face during his assaults. Although he is thought never to have deliberately killed anyone, several frail and distraught victims died subsequently.
Investigators drew up a list of 21,500 suspects and began asking men for DNA samples. The manhunt has cost in the region of £20 million. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We can confirm a 52-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning in a pre-planned operation. He is currently in custody at a London police station.”
No comments:
Post a Comment