Darrel Rose, a violent serial rapist who controlled and tortured his victims in London, has received a theoretical life sentence.
38-year-old Rose, already in prison for rape, sexual assault, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm since 2017 over an incident in which his victim was badly beaten with an iron and table leg, and threatened with a pot of searing hot oil, and shorn of her hair with a beard trimmer, was convicted of crimes against two further victims at Croydon Crown Court on Monday — although he refused to leave his cell for his sentencing.
Judge Deborah Charles denounced Rose as “sadistic”, controlling his victims, one aged just 18 when the abuse began, over a period of six years through a combination of intimidation and outright violence, according to a MyLondon court report.
He threatened that he had called “Somali men” on one of the women prior to violating her with a wine bottle, and also threatened to burn down her parents’ home and showed her images of a battered male who resembled her brother, in addition to sharing intimate images of her online.
On some occasions, he used weapons such as knives and hammers to terrorise his victims, while on others he would beat them bloody with his bare hands or random implements, in one instance repeatedly striking one of the women with her own laptop with such force that it was rendered inoperable.
Rose also controlled the victims’ bank accounts, social media, and social lives, verbally abused them, and made them perform painful and degrading acts such as sleeping naked in a plastic box.
A psychologist in prison said the rapist regarded women as “chattels to [use] as he felt fit” and indulged in “obsessive revenge fantasies”.
“I remain of the view that there is a significant risk of this defendant committing specific offences and there remains a danger to the public, a risk that is likely to carry on long into the future. I am satisfied that his offences are so serious that a life sentence is required,” said Judge Charles — although as is usually the case with British “life” sentence it is unlikely he will actually spend the rest of his life behind bars, being eligible for release after a minimum term of 18 years.
Prior to the rape convictions, Rose had already piled up “a number” of earlier convictions for battery and assault against women between 2009 and 2017, strangling the victims on “several” occasions”, according to MyLondon.