July 2023

Rapist serving 3 life sentences jailed for another 9 years for rape of teenage girl 36 years ago

A rapist already serving three life sentences has been slapped with another nine years for the “cruel and vicious” rape of a schoolgirl 36 years ago.

Patrick Simms, 58, was locked up for three rapes he committed in Hackney in 1993 and 1999, but in 2019 a woman came forward to report that he had also raped her in 1987, when she was just 15.

On Thursday (July 20), he was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to nine years, with an extended licence of eight years, three months after he was found guilty at the same court after a fortnight-long trial.

The victim did not report the rape at the time, feeling it would be shameful for her and her family. Four years ago, when she reported it to police, she explained she had met the then-22-year-old Simms at a Hackney leisure centre.

He had offered her a lift, taken her back to his home on the Holly Street Estate in Hackney, and brutally raped her.

The victim said in a statement: “As my daughter was reaching the age of 16 and the #metoo campaign began, I felt more compelled to find out where this person was who had violated me at such a young age. I couldn’t bear the fact that this could happen to my daughter too. I was really anxious about that.

“This person cannot be trusted to live amongst us in society, he was a danger to women from a young age and always will be in my opinion. He hurt me in the most cruel and vicious way and I will never be rid of the memory of him raping me. But by seeking justice for what he did I can allow myself closure… I can feel proud of the strength, courage and patience it has taken to get me through the three years of this whole legal process, and 35 years of holding on to a very painful memory. I can now try to let that go because I’ve been heard and justice has been served.”