Rapist arrested 47 years after attacking 11-year-old girl

A woman whose rapist was arrested almost 50 years after she was attacked as she walked home from working with the Girl Guides has said she is “still going through hell”.

Denis Coles, 73, was charged with rape but was found unfit to plead at his trial due to cognitive impairment, meaning he has difficulty processing and understanding information.

A jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard a trial of the facts and found that Coles raped the girl in the city in 1977.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke imposed a two-year supervision order and he must also sign the sex offenders register.

Coles, who now lives in a care home in Rumney, Cardiff, was 26 at the time of the attack.

South Wales Police reopened the cold case in 2019, using new DNA techniques to re-examine samples that pointed to Coles.

In a written statement from the victim, who cannot be named, she said it was “the most traumatic night of my life” and that her childhood had been taken away from her “in the blink of an eye.”

She added: “To me, Denis Coles knew exactly what he was doing that night, waiting at the top of the hill for his victim to pass by. Unfortunately, that victim was me.”

A trial on the facts means that the jury can only find the person guilty of the act, rather than of a criminal offence.

The court heard the victim was usually accompanied by her mother for the short walk home from Girl Guides, but on this day her younger brother was ill so she was alone.

On the way, a man on a bicycle stopped her and asked her the time, before dragging her and raping her.

After the attack, Coles ordered him to count to 50 before moving as he walked away.

She then ran home and told her mother what had happened and a local man was arrested but was found not guilty when the case came to court.

Speaking after the case, the victim said she was “blown away” that police had arrested her attacker after all these years.

“For anyone who thinks they’ve achieved something, the DNA and technology today is absolutely incredible,” she said.

She added that while she understood why Coles could not be convicted, the outcome meant she had not received justice.

“I didn’t expect anything more to tell you the truth, but I don’t think the justice I deserved is what I deserved.”

She said the trial meant “reliving a nightmare” but that it now meant she was looking forward to a “bright” future.

“I just keep going. I have to… I’m a stronger person, thank God.”

Judge Lloyd-Clarke said semen found on recordings taken from the victim’s clothing had been matched to the defendant’s DNA and there was “at least a billion-to-one probability of a match”.

She added: “There is no doubt that if the defendant had been fit to plead, even at his age, he would have been sentenced to a very heavy prison term.

“There can only be great sympathy for (the victim), she was the victim of a horrific crime at a very young age.”

In handing Coles the surveillance order, she said: “I have taken into account that other people live and work in the care home and there may be children present who visit other residents.

“I am therefore satisfied that the defendant requires supervision by the probation service.”