Ron Evans: 'Clifton Rapist' jailed for sexual assault

Convicted murderer Ronald Evans has been jailed for sexually assaulting a woman

A convicted murderer, dubbed the 'Clifton Rapist', has been jailed for four years for sexually assaulting a woman while out on licence.

Ron Evans, 82, befriended the woman at a community centre in Wembley, London, and assaulted her after inviting her to his flat in July 2022.

He was found guilty on Monday and sentenced at the Old Bailey earlier.

Evans spent more than 50 years in jail for murdering Kathleen Heathcote in 1964 and multiple Bristol sex attacks.

One of Britain's longest-serving prisoners, he was released by the parole board in 2018 and moved to London a year later.

Evans had been volunteering at the community centre where he met the woman he would go on to assault, the court was told.

When she phoned him the following day to confront him he told her "this kind of talk will get me in trouble," before hanging up.

• How 'Clifton Rapist' Ron Evans was caught in police honeytrap

Judge Vanessa Francis said it would be for the parole board to decide when it was safe to release Evans.

She told him: "The sheer length of time you remained in custody speaks volumes as to the parole board's view of the risk you posed.

Ron Evans committed a series of sexual offences in Bristol in the 1970s

"It is apparent from your actions towards (the victim) that time has done nothing to change the fact you are a sexual predator.

"You sought out a new victim that was vulnerable who you knew you could manipulate."

'You manipulated her'

She described the defendant, who appeared by video link from Pentonville jail, as "intelligent and manipulative".

The judge also ordered the victim to be paid compensation.

The court was told how the victim had become involved with the community centre after suffering from domestic violence and the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.

But prosecutor Lauren Sales said that as a result of the sexual assault, the victim had stopped visiting the centre and suffered "ongoing trauma".

Earlier in mitigation, Afzal Anwar had suggested that Evans had been helping people in the community in a "positive way".

But the judge told Evans: "It is apparent to me that you manipulated (her) obvious vulnerabilities and cultivated her friendship so when the chance presented itself you could pursue sexual contact."

Evans was given the name the Clifton Rapist after committing a string of sex attacks in Bristol during the 1970s

Pragati Patel, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Ron Evans presented himself as a harmless pensioner volunteering in his local community.

"But in reality, and despite his age, he was still very much a deviant sexual predator waiting for his next opportunity.

"The prosecution case included strong witness testimony and we were also able to tell the jury about some of Evans' previous predatory behaviour towards women through bad character evidence made admissible in court."

Evans was found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault in relation to another complainant in the trial at Harrow Crown Court.

At the age of 22 Evans was convicted of the sexually motivated murder of Ms Heathcote, a 21-year-old shop worker who went missing in Nottinghamshire in 1964.

He was jailed for life but served only 11 years before being released on licence in 1975 and moved to Bristol where he went on to commit a series of sex attacks which he was convicted of and jailed for a further 39 years.

Between 1977 to 1979 seven women were sexually assaulted in the Clifton, Redland and Westbury Park areas of the city.

After mounting public pressure, Avon and Somerset Police launched an undercover operation in January 1979, which had young female officers and male officers setting 'honeytraps' for the attacker.

In March that year, police officer Michelle Leonard was grabbed by a man who told her "Don't scream or I'll kill you".

Her assailant turned out to be Evans, who went on to admit five attacks.