PAUL ROBSON'S HORRIFIC CRIMES IN LANCASTER, MORECAMBE, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, AND READING LEAD TO LIFE SENTENCE

In a chilling case that has shocked multiple communities, Paul Robson, a 35-year-old man with a long and disturbing history of sexual violence, was sentenced to life imprisonment following a brutal attack on a woman just three weeks after his release from prison. The incident took place in Newcastle upon Tyne, where Robson had been residing in a bail hostel after serving time for previous offenses.

The assault occurred at the home of a 23-year-old woman, whom Robson targeted by entering through a cat flap while she was sleeping alone. During the attack, he held a knife to her throat, subjecting her to a terrifying ordeal that left her traumatized. The court heard that Robson had a notorious history of violent sexual offenses spanning over 16 years, involving victims as young as eight years old and adult women alike. His criminal record includes multiple convictions for attacks in Lancaster, Morecambe, and Reading, highlighting a pattern of predatory behavior.

Judge Harold Wilson at Oxford Crown Court described Robson as a “menace to females,” emphasizing the danger he posed to the community. Robson’s criminal history includes a 42-month sentence in 1988 at Lancaster Crown Court for assaulting a 12-year-old girl with a knife. After his release in 1990, he abducted and assaulted an eight-year-old girl in Morecambe, resulting in an eight-year prison term at Preston Crown Court. Following his release after serving five years, Robson moved to Reading, where he attacked a 31-year-old woman, dragging her off the street while she was walking with her young sister, leading to a five-year sentence in June 1996.

The recent case involved Robson breaking into his victim’s house in March, where he restrained her by binding her hands behind her back, placed a pillowcase over her head, and subjected her to prolonged sexual assaults. Throughout the ordeal, he held a knife at her throat and repeatedly threatened to kill her. Joan Butler QC, representing the prosecution, described the attack as “the stuff of nightmares,” underscoring the severity and brutality of the crime.

Robson was apprehended the following day on a canal bank in Oxfordshire, where DNA evidence linked him to the assault. He eventually confessed to the crimes, further confirming his guilt. During the sentencing hearing, Robson admitted to two charges of attempted rape and two counts of indecent assault.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Harold Wilson declared that Robson should not be eligible for parole for at least nine years. He stated, “You have destroyed or seriously damaged the lives of children and women by subjecting them to degrading sexual humiliations from which ordinary decent people recoil. The time has come when the community must be properly protected from you and this requires that you be imprisoned for life.”

Robson received two life sentences for attempted rape, along with an additional eight years for each of the indecent assault charges. The judge emphasized that Robson must remain in prison for as long as he remains a threat to women and children, or until he becomes so aged and weakened that he no longer poses a danger. The court’s decision reflects the gravity of his crimes and the need for ongoing protection of the public from his predatory behavior.