Serial rapist given 12th life sentence

Longmire was given 11 life sentences in 1988

A prolific offender who raped a woman in her Sheffield home in front of her young daughter 29 years ago has been given a 12th life sentence.

Andrew Longmire, 54, from Bolton, was given 11 life sentences in 1988 after he was convicted of 11 rapes.

A cold case review by South Yorkshire Police linked him to the 1981 attack, which he admitted at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday.

Det Sgt Ian Harding described Longmire as "every woman's worst nightmare".

Longmire's victim, who was in court with her daughter, said: "He's too dangerous to be let out. You don't want that to happen to anyone else."

Longmire, who appeared by video link from Whitemoor maximum security prison in Cambridgeshire, was given the life sentence with a minimum of two years by Judge Alan Goldsack QC after admitting the rape.

Det Sgt Ian Harding, who led the Sheffield case - part of a wider cold case review operation by South Yorkshire Police - said Longmire had already been given 11 life sentences with a minimum of 20 years for his earlier crimes in the 1980s, mainly carried out in the Greater Manchester area.

Longmire raped his 26-year-old victim at her home in the Sharrow area of Sheffield on 7 September, 1981.

Her daughter hid as he threatened her mother with a screwdriver and carried out the attack.

During the cold case review, DNA from the crime scene matched that of Longmire's which was stored on the national database.

During sentencing, Judge Goldsack told Longmire the attack was a "dreadful offence".

Det Sgt Harding told the BBC: "The offence of rape is always horrific for the victims, however this is made even worse by the fact that this lady was in her home and she had a three-year-old child who witnessed the attack.

"This man's history shows him to be every woman's worst nightmare. He is a horrific and utterly prolific offender."

He added that Longmire had been technically eligible for parole.

"The police have proceeded with this matter with that in mind and the consideration of his victim seeking justice," he added.

Longmire was sought by police in the 1980s over the 11 rapes. During the hunt for him he evaded police at Leeds railway station and went on to shoot at two officers when he was finally arrested in Bebington, Merseyside, in 1988.

The officers were not injured and Longmire was later convicted of their attempted murder.