'Dangerous predator' Phillip Blackwell admits raping women

Phillip Blackwell will be sentenced on 27 July

A "dangerous and manipulative predator" who raped women over three decades has pleaded guilty to a range of sexual offences.

Phillip Blackwell attacked young women from behind who were walking alone in the early hours and would rape them or subject them to other sexual offences.

The 55-year-old assaulted women in Birmingham, Nuneaton and Cornwall between 1997 and 2019.

He will be sentenced on 27 July.

Blackwell, of Launceston, Cornwall, appeared before Warwick Crown Court on Thursday, where restrictions on reporting proceedings were lifted.

Det Ch Insp Caroline Corfield, from Warwickshire Police, said: "Blackwell offended on a huge scale.

"It is clear he is a dangerous and manipulative sexual predator who has caused untold misery to his victims for the purpose of his own sexual gratification."

Four women were attacked in Birmingham in 1997 and 1998 and one woman in Nuneaton in May 1998.

On 28 February, Blackwell pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, five counts of indecent assault and one count of false imprisonment.

Following the pleas, Warwickshire Police investigated a string of sexual offences against four women in Cornwall.

Blackwell then appeared in court in May where he pleaded guilty to a further 20 sexual offences, including nine counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration and three counts of voyeurism. These offences were committed against three women between 2005 and 2019.

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He also pleaded guilty to one count of taking indecent photographs of a child and a count of voyeurism in relation to the same child.

Blackwell auditioned for the X Factor in 2008, and performed a rendition of Spandau Ballet's song Gold for judges Cheryl, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh.

Karen Hackett, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Blackwell is a prolific sex offender who committed 31 sexual offences against nine victims over 22 years while maintaining a veneer of respectability in the communities in which he lived.

"His victims have all suffered life-changing consequences due to his crimes."