London Sex Offender Winston Thomas Sentenced After Faking Mental Illness

LONDON SEX OFFENDER WINSTON THOMAS SENTENCED AFTER FAKING MENTAL ILLNESS

TABLE SEX attacker Winston Thomas, who fooled five psychiatrists into thinking he was mad in order to be sent to hospital rather than prison, was jailed for nine years at the Old Bailey yesterday.

The jury took less than an hour to find him guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Judge Brian Capstick told him he had committed 'atrocious' crimes against women and then misled doctors to avoid punishment.

Thomas, 47, dubbed the bus stop rapist because of the north London locations he chose, was trapped by WPC Veneta Aldous after a string of sex attacks in a four-week period around Christmas, 1988.

The following year, he appeared at the Old Bailey and admitted two rapes, three assaults, and two robberies, involving six women.

After reading medical reports describing Thomas as a dangerous schizophrenic, Mr Justice Nolan -- who had been considering a 15-year jail sentence -- imposed a hospital order.

He said then: 'I have no hesitation in accepting medical evidence that you were mentally ill when you committed the crimes and are still mentally ill and represent a great danger to the public.' Sentencing yesterday, Judge Capstick told Thomas: 'I have to bear in mind what you would have received and what you did to avoid receiving that sentence.' During original assessment interviews with five psychiatrists, Thomas shook and shuffled and talked about the madness which ran in his family and how he had been treated for mental illness in Jamaica.

As a result, the five variously diagnosed schizophrenia or psychotic illness.

Once in hospital, however, Thomas displayed no further symptoms.

Later, he admitted to a Mental Health Review Tribunal that he had never been mentally ill and had lied repeatedly.