FRANK WATSON OF BOREHAMWOOD SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS FOR DOUBLE RAPE AFTER DNA EVIDENCE REVEAL

In October 2011, Frank Watson, 47, of Gibbon Close, Borehamwood, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a double rape conviction. Watson was only linked to the offences after his arrest earlier this year on unrelated charges involving child and animal pornography. His DNA was identified as a perfect match to samples from the 1991 and 1997 rape cases.

During sentencing, Mr. Recorder Brian O’Neill QC stated, "You have shown not a shred of remorse for your actions and there is little, if anything, which amounts to mitigation in your case. These were truly dreadful crimes and the only sentence that is appropriate to pass upon you is a very lengthy sentence of imprisonment."

The court heard that Watson first attacked a 22-year-old woman as she walked home from Potters Bar railway station just after midnight on September 13, 1991. The second assault involved an 18-year-old woman seen walking through Aberford Park in Borehamwood in the early hours of August 21, 1997. Both victims were pulled to the ground, threatened with stabbing, stripped, raped, and fled from the scene. The judge commented, “The effect upon the first victim, and upon her family, was devastating. She describes how this attack was to change her life forever.” He added that the second victim found her experience to be “equally considerable and devastating.”

Watson’s link to the crimes emerged only in April of this year, after his arrest on charges related to child and animal pornography. Authorities discovered 136 disturbing images of children and 54 images involving animals on his two computers. Among the child images, five were classified as level four — the second most serious grade on a five-point scale.

Watson denied two counts of rape but was convicted after a five-day trial. He initially claimed he had not had sex with anyone other than his wife since their marriage in 1988, but later altered his account, claiming both women had consented. He also admitted to making six counts of possessing indecent images of children and two counts of possessing extreme pornography, asserting that the child images were sent to him by an online contact. He stated he sought out bestiality images out of 'curiosity.'

His defense lawyer, Robin du Preez, revealed that Watson, who suffers from Perth’s disease, had been effectively abandoned by his family, including his wife of 23 years, since his arrest. Watson will be on the sex offenders register for life and is banned from working with children. Outside court, Det. Const. Danny Maiden expressed, “I hope this result gives some sense of closure to the victims who have had to live with this horrifying ordeal for many years.”