2009: Violent Bolton rapist is jailed

2009: VIOLENT BOLTON RAPIST IS JAILED

A violent sex offender has been sentenced to an extended period of imprisonment after subjecting a woman to a traumatic attack.

Steven Strong, aged 43, threatened his victim with remarks like: "I'll show you what a real man can do and I'll get what I want.

I'll let you go when I am ready and you'll be lucky if I let you go at all." He also attempted to assault another woman, who escaped unhurt.

The court handed him an indeterminate sentence, meaning his release will depend on assessments of his ongoing threat to the public.

The judge at Bolton Crown Court ordered a minimum term of eight and a half years.

Strong, from Union Road, Salford, faced charges including rape, kidnapping, and the intent to commit a sexual offence.

The first assault on April 11 involved a 23-year-old woman at her flat on Bradford Street, Bolton, where Strong showed up asking for a cigarette, then persuaded her to accompany him to the shop.

When she declined, he forcibly took her outside, dragging her to a wooded area between Dorset Street and St Peter's Way.

There, he held her by the throat, threw her to the ground, made threats to kill her, punched her, stole her mobile, and raped her.

The second incident on June 26, 2008, saw Strong approach a 27-year-old sex worker on Breightmet Street around 11:15 p.m.

They agreed on a fee, but as they went behind a building on Clive Street, he began attacking her, hitting her repeatedly.

He dragged her through a parking lot, but she managed to fight back and escape before calling police.

Strong was detained that same night with her coat and phone in his possession.

Bolton CID's Det Const Tammy Wood described him as a violent sexual predator who uses women for sexual satisfaction and emphasized that his imprisonment makes the streets safer for everyone.