A sex attacker who stalked a young woman walking alone in a remote spot on the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire was finally jailed on Friday, January 6, 2023, after a Cold Case Review.
Darren Andrews was sentenced to three years and nine months – more than 16 years after the offence in which the brave victim managed to fight him off.
The 48-year-old was caught when modern techniques matched his DNA with that found on the victim’s tracksuit bottoms.
Prosecutor Henry James told Luton Crown Court: “The case is a rare and frightening stranger attack.”
He said the victim, who was aged 25 at the time, was staying with a friend on July 1, 2006. It had been a hot day day and at 9pm, when it was still light, she went out for a walk alone on Dunstable Downs.
She was wearing a track suit and was listening to her iPod. After passing two teenage girls and a group of boys playing football she walked up the hill and passed Andrews, then aged 32, who was heading in the opposite direction.
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At a metal gate she stopped to take in the 360 degree view before walking further on to a more remote spot.
She stopped a second time to admire the surroundings and saw Andrews a few metres behind the gate.
The prosecutor said she walked on, but then felt a hand around her mouth.
“She was pulled to the ground. He was behind her. She twisted onto her back and saw the man who had followed her.
“She kicked out and screamed. He dropped down on top of her and her ear phones popped out.
“He used his right hand to try to pull her track suit trousers down and pulled her across the ground by her ankles. She was kicking and screaming. He grabbed her again, but he seemed to have given up, turned and ran back,” he said.
Mr James said: “Had she not fought back it seems likely a far more serious offence would have been committed.”
The victim called her friend and the police were contacted. Despite officers combing the area there was no trace of Andrews.
Mr James said DNA taken from the waistband of her tracksuit trousers did not match with the database at the time.
A match was made in 2020 following a cold case review. Andrews had been living a short distance from the scene of the attack at the time. He had been working as a gardener for his uncle.
When questioned, he said he had been a victim of sexual abuse himself and wouldn’t have done it to anyone else.
Andrews, of High Street North, Dunstable, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
In a victim statement the woman said: “I tried to keep kicking and resisting and telling him to get off. For the last 16 years I have had to deal with the consequences.”
She said she had felt scared and powerless when he grabbed her.
“Over the years I have lived with the fear of being grabbed from behind.
“He stole freedom and peace of mind from me and that has never come back” she said.
Defending, Alesdair King said Andrews had no recollection of the offence. He said no weapon had been used, but Andrew accepted the psychological harm that had been caused to the victim.
He said he agreed Andrews had stalked the woman, but said the offence took place over a relatively short period.
Jailing him, Recorder Andrew Johnson said: “It was the targeting of a vulnerable person who was by herself.
He went on: “The impact on her is entirely understandable. It was a stranger attack on a lone woman who has an expectation, as we all do, to go out and about in public and be safe.
“You made sure she was in a remote location before you pounced. It was a stranger attack on a lone woman who is entitled to be safe from predators. A predator is what you were.
The judge praised the police, saying: “The offence occurred approaching 17 years ago. That is not a result of a delay in the judicial process.
“This is an example of commendable police persistence. Through the use of DNA developments an offender not identified at the time is identified many years on.
Andrews must register as a sex offender indefinitely and was given a restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.
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After the case Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “This was a predatory attack by a man who preyed on a lone woman.
“Andrews was able to continue living his life for years while his victim suffered from the lasting effects and ongoing anxiety. He thought he was above the law, but this case proves we will leave no stone unturned in pursuing perpetrators – no matter when the crime took place.
“I commend the victim for her bravery throughout the case, and having to relive this so many years later.
“This is the latest successful conviction under Operation Painter and our specialist detectives will continue to utilise scientific advancements and developments in forensic science to review historic cases such as this and ensure sexual predators are brought to justice.”
