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.
The Vancouver Film School announced on Cheddar Monday that it is launching a program for augmented reality and virtual reality, betting big that AR and VR will be the next disruptive force in entertainment. Christopher Ian Bennett, Executive Producer for the Vancouver Film School, said the 10-month diploma program launching in 2019 will make VFS "one of the first and only schools in the world that offers this for augmented reality and virtual reality design and development."
President Trump lauded his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires as "extraordinary" after the two sides agreed to a pause in tariff increases for 90 days. But Hagar Chemali, CEO of Greenwich Media Strategies, said investors shouldn't start the ticker tape parade just yet.
Uber is sniffing around a possible acquisition of either Lime or Bird, the leaders in the growing e-scooter rental market, according to a report in The Information. One of the reporters who broke that story told Cheddar on Monday that there is a "growing realization" among ride-hailing companies that bike and scooters will continue to be a significant part of the urban mobility landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 3, 2018.
The Angad Arts Hotel is a boutique hotel in the Arts District of St. Louis and features a slate of rooms colored to compliment guests' moods ー green for rejuvenation, yellow for happiness, red for passion, blue for tranquility.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
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