HACI TASAN

A man who caused widespread fear in the community after raping a teenager and a 64-year-old grandmother in Edmonton has been given a 14-year prison sentence.

Haci Tasan, aged 31, a Turkish asylum seeker with no fixed address, was responsible for two brutal assaults last year.

The first attack occurred on April 4, 2004, when he targeted an elderly woman walking to work in Langhedge Lane around 5am, prompting a £10,000 reward and a broadcast appeal on BBC's Crimewatch UK.

The second assault happened eight months later, on December 23, when he attacked a 19-year-old woman as she returned home along Fore Street at about 3am.

Tasan grabbed her by the throat, dragged her into a service road, and subjected her to a 30-minute ordeal before she was able to raise the alarm.

Tasan had been living in a nearby council flat and fled the country after the attacks, going to Switzerland.

Police tracked him down with Swiss assistance, and he was extradited to the UK, where he admitted both offences during his court appearance in September.

Judge Susan Tapping sentenced him to 14 years, stating: "The circumstances of these attacks clearly demonstrate you had begun a campaign of rape that would not stop unless you were identified.

You have committed the most serious and appalling offences." DI Lloyd Gardener, who led the investigation, said: "Haci Tasan generated fear in the community following these horrific attacks.

The two women involved were incredibly brave and continue to recover from their terrible ordeal.

I would like to thank the community for their tremendous help.

Their response was amazing, and I have no doubt Tasan would have gone on to attack using even more violence if he had not been caught.

I hope today’s sentence goes some way to providing some closure to the victims and their families."