LONDON (AP) — A man described as “the most prolific rapist in British legal history” has been sentenced to life in prison with a possible release after 30 years following his conviction for sexual offenses against 48 men.
Authorities said the evidence against 36-year-old Reynhard Sinaga indicates he had many more victims, with roughly 195 men apparently having been filmed while being abused when they were in his apartment. Many were unconscious at the time.
Judge Suzanne Goddard said in Manchester Crown Court the true number of Sinaga's victims may never be known.
“You are an evil serial sexual predator who has preyed upon young men who came into the city center wanting nothing more than a good night out with their friends," she said. “One of your victims described you as a monster. The scale and enormity of your offending confirms this as an accurate description."
She said the courts had rarely if ever seen such a prolonged “campaign of rape." Reporting restrictions that had prevented the publication of Sinaga's name were lifted Monday.
Prosecutors say Sinaga had a non-threatening manner. He befriended young men, including many who were intoxicated after a night out, and offered them a place to stay at his apartment. He filmed many of the forced sexual encounters.
Prosecutor Ian Rushton said many victims initially thanked Sinaga for offering them accommodation.
“But once back at his flat, he used victims as objects purely for his own gratification," Rushton said.
Sinaga arrived in Britain from his native Indonesia on a student visa in 2007. He received two degrees in sociology and planning from the University of Manchester and was studying for his PhD at the University of Leeds when he was suspended following his arrest in 2017.
His thesis was called: “Sexuality and everyday transnationalism. South Asian gay and bisexual men in Manchester."
His Manchester church offered a statement in support of his character that did not seem to sway the judge.
“It is almost beyond belief that someone who could profess some Christian faith could at the same time have been committing such wicked and evil crimes," she said.
I am a full-time tv anchor and a full-time parent to a 17-month-old, who currently has no playdates, no playground visits, and no grandparents around to babysit since they’re out of town — activities that would normally break up the day. It’s exhausting and chaotic, but today, I’m going to focus on something else, something incredibly special.
The automaker revealed that it will be able to produce 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days. The ventilators' design has been simplified by the private medical company Airon for easy set-up and quick usage in emergency settings.
After Josh Berg a 37-year-old Long Island resident spent a few days experiencing typical coronavirus symptoms like a high fever, slight chest pains, and terrible aches, he thought he was rounding the corner, only to be hit by what he called a second wave.
Cheddar's Michelle Castillo has lived in New York for over a decade, and has never seen the streets so deserted. Normally you can barely squeeze through the sidewalks of Times Square, but now city sanitation workers call it a ghost town. Restaurants in NoHo are shuttered, with one resident saying it feels like a street from another planet.
Sabine Altendorf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warned that while so far the impact of the rapidly evolving crisis on food supply has been limited, it could change drastically.
Puzzle sales have surged since more people are staying indoors, and Filip Francke, CEO of jigsaw puzzle maker Ravensburger North America, told Cheddar Wednesday that the company has seen holiday-like figures.
Stocks are sinking again on Wall Street as more signs piled up of the economic and physical pain being caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Retired NASCAR driver Danica Patrick had to race back to the U.S. as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread. As the brand ambassador for, and investor in, Beam CBD, Patrick suggested cannabidiol products may be able help during this stressful time.
As some see promising returns from California’s early shelter in place orders, Governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday a growing number of cases and hospitalizations in the state as a record number of Californians file for unemployment.
Parsing the data from around the world is showing a stark difference in how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting mortality and socioeconomic suffering along gender lines.
