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.
Guimar Vaca Sittic and Borja Moreno De Los Rios, co-founders and co-CEOs of blue-collar job platform Merlin, said they were frustrated that most job platforms seemed tailored to skilled labor positions. With Merlin, hourly workers can now search for positions in their fields.
Comedian and DJ Cipha Sounds, host of truTV's "Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks", said the show will combine stand-up comedy with over-dramatized reenactments of comedians' jokes. It's a way to connect with an at-home audience that doesn't get the intimacy of a live performance.
Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at the Washington Post and former New York Times public editor, said that the anonymous op-ed that has roiled the Trump administration was not the most honorable way for a staff member to air grievances with the president.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Adi Biran, CEO of Splacer, said that where Airbnb fills a need for short-term housing options, her company offers short-term rentals of almost every other space. Splacer rents unique spaces, for a couple of days or a couple of hours, that can be used for things like churches, galleries, and distilleries.
Social live-streaming is today where social media was in the mid-2000s. At least that's what 21st Century Fox is betting. The CEO of Caffeine, which just took a $100 million investment from the media giant, is looking toward the future of the industry.
A week after failing to make the cut for San Francisco's scooter permits, Spin is undeterred. The Bay Area start-up is "used to competition in this space," said head of public policy Brian Kyuhoon No.
Jennifer Smith of the Wall Street Journal reports on a theory that autonomous trucks could come to market before passenger cars and obliterate an industry in the process.
Champion, the apparel company that has regained life as a cool-kid staple, is partnering with eSports teams. Champion's president of sports apparel John Fryer called gaming a "global phenomenon."
Todd Martin, the CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, said he sees a possibility for an upset in the men's semifinal, but Serena Williams has it all but wrapped up on the women's side.
