Rapist convicted of 2006 attack after DNA match

Kennedy Jimmy was arrested in November 2022 after a DNA match was found

A rapist has been convicted of an attack on a teenage girl in 2006 after a DNA breakthrough.

A jury found Kennedy Jimmy, 44, guilty of rape following a five-day trial at Luton Crown Court.

In October 2006, when he was 25, Jimmy, of Wessex Court, Sunny Bank, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, attacked his victim in the back of a car in a supermarket car park in Shefford.

He was arrested in November 2022 after a DNA match was found during a review of rape and sexual assault cases by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

Victim's courage

"Jimmy was able to carry on living his life while the victim endured the long-term trauma of rape," said Det Con Rhian Batterham-Jones.

"However, he couldn't escape his despicable crime forever and justice has finally prevailed.

"This case shows our commitment to pursuing those who commit violence and sexual offences against women - no matter how much time has passed, and I commend the victim's courage in reliving this ordeal nearly 20 years later.

"I am pleased that because of the advances in forensic science, we have been able to put another sexual predator behind bars, where he belongs."

Jimmy is due to be sentenced on 23 December.