A serial rapist and burglar who sexually assaulted elderly men and women for 17 years has been sentenced to die in prison - a sentence which replaces the actual death penalty.
Delroy Grant, 53, dubbed The Night Stalker, stalked elderly men and women in south London, Surrey and Kent before breaking into their homes, raping and sexually assaulting them and stealing items such as money.
At Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, Grant was convicted of 29 charges against 18 victims between October 1992 and November 2009. But police fear the true number of victims is much higher - possibly as many as 500.
He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years before he has any chance of parole, but the judge warned him it's most likely he'll be behind bars until he's dead. This means that Grant would have been hanged if Britain still had hanging (and there are campaigns underway to bring it back).
During sentencing, one of those at the packed court was an 85 year old victim of Grant.
The woman, of Shirley, south London, said the ordeal forced her to move out of her home of more than 60 years and sell many of her most treasured possessions.
She said she had never recovered from the 2002 attack, adding: ‘It still feels so recent. I just felt that I didn’t know why he wanted to do these things. It has changed my life.
‘If I go out I like to be home before dark. I do a lot of locking and bolting and take excessive precautions really, now that I am in a flat.’
The judge paid tribute to her ‘courageous’ testimony. Relatives of those attacked by Grant sobbed and held their heads in their hands as statements by his victims, seven of whom have since died, were read out at Woolwich Crown Court.
As each of the 29 guilty verdicts were read out, Grant stared at the floor shaking his head.
Grant gained entry to the homes of his victims from the side or the rear, either through open windows or by removing a window pane entirely. He had been known to use tools stolen from the victim's own garden shed to remove the window beading. He ripped out the telephone wires, either before entering the property, or after gaining access. He then disabled the lights either by switching off the electricity at the meter or by unscrewing lightbulbs from their sockets.
He then approached his victim, shining a torch in his or her eyes. Often his first words were to demand sex. However, he had been known to spend hours in victims’ homes either before or without assaulting them.
Many were already in poor health, some suffering from mental illness or arthritis, and one woman had returned from hospital only the previous day.
During the trial, when it was pointed out to Grant that traces of his semen and saliva were found at many of the crime scenes, Grant told the court that they were planted there by his former wife as some sort of revenge against him.
Judge Peter Rook said the rapist’s ‘utter depravity knows no bounds’ and that his offending ‘is in a league of its own’
Grant’s barrister, Courtenay Griffiths QC, offered no mitigation for his ‘perverse, disgusting and uniquely revolting’ crimes.
Grant, a Jehovah's Witness of Honor Oak, south-east London, was a full-time carer for his wheelchair-bound second wife Jennifer. The Londoner was arrested in November 2009 after a massive surveillance operation.
Grey-haired and frail, 85-year-old victim of the Night Stalker faces him in court as he is jailed for 'utterly depraved' sex attacks
By Chris Greenwood
25th March 2011
Daily Mail
'Utterly depraved': Delroy Grant, 53, has been sentenced to serve at least 27 years, but will almost certainly die behind bars for his sickening crimes
An elderly victim of ‘Night Stalker’ Delroy Grant faced him across a packed courtroom yesterday as she told how he had ruined her life.
It came as the sex attacker, believed to be behind 500 crimes, was jailed for at least 27 years and warned he could die behind bars.
Looking directly at him, Grant’s 85-year-old victim said the ordeal forced her to move out of her home of more than 60 years and sell many of her most treasured possessions.
She said she had never recovered from the 2002 attack, adding: ‘It still feels so recent. I just felt that I didn’t know why he wanted to do these things. It has changed my life.
‘If I go out I like to be home before dark. I do a lot of locking and bolting and take excessive precautions really, now that I am in a flat.’
In a statement after the attack, the spinster, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she would ‘never forget completely’ what happened and often asks herself: ‘Why me?’
She said: ‘I have found that time is not a great healer. I certainly haven’t got back my peace of mind. Nobody can guarantee it won’t happen again.’
Grant, 53, was yesterday ordered to serve four life sentences for a campaign of terror that spanned 17 years.
The former minicab driver and one-time Jehovah’s Witness will stay in prison for at least 27 years.
Judge Peter Rook said the rapist’s ‘utter depravity knows no bounds’ and that his offending ‘is in a league of its own’.
Mask of respectability: Delroy Grant on his wedding day to second wife Jennifer
Pervert: A crowbar which Grant had used to enter a house was found in the boot of the Zafira in which he was driving when he was caught
He said Grant subjected his victims to ‘humiliating and degrading’ attacks that robbed them of their ‘winter years’.
And he added: ‘I have no doubt you are a very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and of causing incalculable harm to people.
‘It will be a matter for the Parole Board if you will ever be released and it may be that you will never be.’
Grant, who raped and sexually assaulted women and men in their 70s and 80s after stalking them and breaking into their homes at night, was convicted of 29 charges against 18 victims between October 1992 and November 2009.
But police fear the true number of victims is much higher.
His unprecedented crime spree left thousands of elderly people living in fear in South East London, Kent and Surrey.
Charm itself: An artist's impression of Grant's ex-wife Janet Watson giving evidence in court as he looks on from the dock
Probe: DCI Colin Sutton, left, cracked the case in just 17 days after being drafted in following years of blunders. Right, Grant's ex-wife Janet Watson arrives at court to give evidence
The judge said: ‘It’s hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have inspired in your victims in their beds.’
The trial heard that the woman who gave evidence ‘wrestled’ with Grant as he sexually assaulted her during an hour-long ordeal at her three-bedroom home in Shirley, South London. It ended with him stealing £15 and kissing her on the cheek.
The judge paid tribute to her ‘courageous’ testimony. Relatives of those attacked by Grant sobbed and held their heads in their hands as statements by his victims, seven of whom have since died, were read out at Woolwich Crown Court.
Many were already in poor health, some suffering from mental illness or arthritis, and one woman had returned from hospital only the previous day.
Car: Grant's silver Vauxhall Zafira which he was driving around in when he was caught in November 2009
Victims said they withdrew from active social lives and were left feeling alone and vulnerable.
One said: ‘Since the attack I feel like an old lady when before I didn’t.’
But the daughter of a woman attacked aged 82, who died two years later, said she had been determined not to be driven out of her home by the ‘wretched’ man.
She told the court: ‘She refused to be considered a victim. She was a very strong character. But she thought about it every day.’
Grant’s barrister, Courtenay Griffiths QC, offered no mitigation for his ‘perverse, disgusting and uniquely revolting’ crimes.
Grant, of Honor Oak, south-east London, was a full-time carer for his wheelchair-bound second wife Jennifer. He was arrested in November 2009 after a massive surveillance operation.
Detectives admitted basic errors meant he should have been caught a decade earlier. The investigation is estimated to have cost more than £10million.
dailymail.co.uk
Delroy Grant, 53, dubbed The Night Stalker, stalked elderly men and women in south London, Surrey and Kent before breaking into their homes, raping and sexually assaulting them and stealing items such as money.
At Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, Grant was convicted of 29 charges against 18 victims between October 1992 and November 2009. But police fear the true number of victims is much higher - possibly as many as 500.
He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years before he has any chance of parole, but the judge warned him it's most likely he'll be behind bars until he's dead. This means that Grant would have been hanged if Britain still had hanging (and there are campaigns underway to bring it back).
During sentencing, one of those at the packed court was an 85 year old victim of Grant.
The woman, of Shirley, south London, said the ordeal forced her to move out of her home of more than 60 years and sell many of her most treasured possessions.
She said she had never recovered from the 2002 attack, adding: ‘It still feels so recent. I just felt that I didn’t know why he wanted to do these things. It has changed my life.
‘If I go out I like to be home before dark. I do a lot of locking and bolting and take excessive precautions really, now that I am in a flat.’
The judge paid tribute to her ‘courageous’ testimony. Relatives of those attacked by Grant sobbed and held their heads in their hands as statements by his victims, seven of whom have since died, were read out at Woolwich Crown Court.
As each of the 29 guilty verdicts were read out, Grant stared at the floor shaking his head.
Grant gained entry to the homes of his victims from the side or the rear, either through open windows or by removing a window pane entirely. He had been known to use tools stolen from the victim's own garden shed to remove the window beading. He ripped out the telephone wires, either before entering the property, or after gaining access. He then disabled the lights either by switching off the electricity at the meter or by unscrewing lightbulbs from their sockets.
He then approached his victim, shining a torch in his or her eyes. Often his first words were to demand sex. However, he had been known to spend hours in victims’ homes either before or without assaulting them.
Many were already in poor health, some suffering from mental illness or arthritis, and one woman had returned from hospital only the previous day.
During the trial, when it was pointed out to Grant that traces of his semen and saliva were found at many of the crime scenes, Grant told the court that they were planted there by his former wife as some sort of revenge against him.
Judge Peter Rook said the rapist’s ‘utter depravity knows no bounds’ and that his offending ‘is in a league of its own’
Grant’s barrister, Courtenay Griffiths QC, offered no mitigation for his ‘perverse, disgusting and uniquely revolting’ crimes.
Grant, a Jehovah's Witness of Honor Oak, south-east London, was a full-time carer for his wheelchair-bound second wife Jennifer. The Londoner was arrested in November 2009 after a massive surveillance operation.
Grey-haired and frail, 85-year-old victim of the Night Stalker faces him in court as he is jailed for 'utterly depraved' sex attacks
By Chris Greenwood
25th March 2011
Daily Mail
'Utterly depraved': Delroy Grant, 53, has been sentenced to serve at least 27 years, but will almost certainly die behind bars for his sickening crimes
An elderly victim of ‘Night Stalker’ Delroy Grant faced him across a packed courtroom yesterday as she told how he had ruined her life.
It came as the sex attacker, believed to be behind 500 crimes, was jailed for at least 27 years and warned he could die behind bars.
Looking directly at him, Grant’s 85-year-old victim said the ordeal forced her to move out of her home of more than 60 years and sell many of her most treasured possessions.
She said she had never recovered from the 2002 attack, adding: ‘It still feels so recent. I just felt that I didn’t know why he wanted to do these things. It has changed my life.
‘If I go out I like to be home before dark. I do a lot of locking and bolting and take excessive precautions really, now that I am in a flat.’
In a statement after the attack, the spinster, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she would ‘never forget completely’ what happened and often asks herself: ‘Why me?’
She said: ‘I have found that time is not a great healer. I certainly haven’t got back my peace of mind. Nobody can guarantee it won’t happen again.’
Grant, 53, was yesterday ordered to serve four life sentences for a campaign of terror that spanned 17 years.
The former minicab driver and one-time Jehovah’s Witness will stay in prison for at least 27 years.
Judge Peter Rook said the rapist’s ‘utter depravity knows no bounds’ and that his offending ‘is in a league of its own’.
Mask of respectability: Delroy Grant on his wedding day to second wife Jennifer
Pervert: A crowbar which Grant had used to enter a house was found in the boot of the Zafira in which he was driving when he was caught
He said Grant subjected his victims to ‘humiliating and degrading’ attacks that robbed them of their ‘winter years’.
And he added: ‘I have no doubt you are a very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and of causing incalculable harm to people.
‘It will be a matter for the Parole Board if you will ever be released and it may be that you will never be.’
Grant, who raped and sexually assaulted women and men in their 70s and 80s after stalking them and breaking into their homes at night, was convicted of 29 charges against 18 victims between October 1992 and November 2009.
But police fear the true number of victims is much higher.
His unprecedented crime spree left thousands of elderly people living in fear in South East London, Kent and Surrey.
Charm itself: An artist's impression of Grant's ex-wife Janet Watson giving evidence in court as he looks on from the dock
Probe: DCI Colin Sutton, left, cracked the case in just 17 days after being drafted in following years of blunders. Right, Grant's ex-wife Janet Watson arrives at court to give evidence
The judge said: ‘It’s hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have inspired in your victims in their beds.’
The trial heard that the woman who gave evidence ‘wrestled’ with Grant as he sexually assaulted her during an hour-long ordeal at her three-bedroom home in Shirley, South London. It ended with him stealing £15 and kissing her on the cheek.
The judge paid tribute to her ‘courageous’ testimony. Relatives of those attacked by Grant sobbed and held their heads in their hands as statements by his victims, seven of whom have since died, were read out at Woolwich Crown Court.
Many were already in poor health, some suffering from mental illness or arthritis, and one woman had returned from hospital only the previous day.
Car: Grant's silver Vauxhall Zafira which he was driving around in when he was caught in November 2009
Victims said they withdrew from active social lives and were left feeling alone and vulnerable.
One said: ‘Since the attack I feel like an old lady when before I didn’t.’
But the daughter of a woman attacked aged 82, who died two years later, said she had been determined not to be driven out of her home by the ‘wretched’ man.
She told the court: ‘She refused to be considered a victim. She was a very strong character. But she thought about it every day.’
Grant’s barrister, Courtenay Griffiths QC, offered no mitigation for his ‘perverse, disgusting and uniquely revolting’ crimes.
Grant, of Honor Oak, south-east London, was a full-time carer for his wheelchair-bound second wife Jennifer. He was arrested in November 2009 after a massive surveillance operation.
Detectives admitted basic errors meant he should have been caught a decade earlier. The investigation is estimated to have cost more than £10million.
dailymail.co.uk
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