RAPIST JAILED FOR NINE YEARS
A CRUEL rapist was finally brought to justice on Tuesday more than four and a half years after terrorising a foreign student in a Bournemouth hotel car park.Carl Luck, 26, was jailed for nine years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life after being convicted of raping and robbing the 20-year-old woman in the early hours of May 14, 1999.
Sentencing Luck, of Malvern Court, Somerford, Christchurch, Judge Roger Jarvis said: "It was the wretched misfortune of your victim that her path should cross with yours." "You took an opportunity to be alone with this slightly-built woman and forced yourself on her.
Using your strength and putting her in fear of the consequences of shouting out you raped her and robbed her.
"So sudden and violent was your attack that she feared that she would be stabbed.
"Years later, when your involvement was established by DNA you said that the evidence was incorrect and then invented a tissue of lies which resulted in this young woman having to come back to this country.
"This horrific incident has had a profound impact on her; she is still afraid of going out in the dark and has had to have professional help.
Rape is a dreadful offence and, in my view, this is a bad example of this wretched crime." Bournemouth Crown Court had heard how Luck had finally been arrested after detectives matched vital DNA evidence found on his victim with an updated database.
Forensic scientist Jennifer Lewis described the chances of the DNA match belonging to another man as "smaller than one in a million".
CCTV footage showed Luck running away from the Queen's Hotel with the student's handbag containing a camera, two credit cards and £25.
After first denying having sexual intercourse with the student, Luck claimed she had consented and "come on" to him.
His victim told jurors: "I was so afraid he might have a knife or that he might try to strangle me or kill me that I didn't dare scream." After reliving her ordeal a second time in court, the woman flew back to Sweden before learning jurors had returned two guilty verdicts and Luck was safely behind bars.
Judge Jarvis told him he would serve two-thirds of his sentence before being considered for parole.
