September 2011

Soldier jailed after rape victim left samples of DNA in her attacker’s car

A brave and quick thinking teenage rape victim helped police trap a serial sex attacker by spitting in his car and leaving a strand of hair hidden in the vehicle.

The girl yanked out strands of her hair and pushed them down the seat of soldier Jonathan Haynes’ car. She also spat in the vehicle to make sure traces of her DNA could be found.

Haynes was jailed indefinitely for raping three teenagers and trying to abduct two schoolgirls.

He raped two of the teenagers after seizing them from the streets of a market town in Wiltshire and bundling them into his car. Haynes, a lance corporal with the Royal Logistic Corps, attacked the third teenager after breaking into a university halls of residence.

Haynes tried to grab the two 14-year-old schoolgirls from a country lane.

Following the sentencing, police said they believed Haynes, 30, could be responsible for more attacks and appealed for any other potential victims to come forward.

Haynes was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection and ordered to serve at least 11 years’ imprisonment but warned he may never be released. Judge Neil Ford QC, the Recorder of Bristol, called him a “clever and cunning predator”.

A jury at Bristol crown court was told that Haynes, who was based at a barracks near Chippenham, Wiltshire, planned his attacks meticulously.

The first kidnap and rape happened in September 2009 in Chippenham as the 16-year-old victim made her way home from a night out.

Just 13 days later he raped an 18-year-old student after forcing entry to her halls of residence in Pontypridd, south Wales.

The following February, he attempted to snatch the two schoolgirls late at night from a country lane near Chippenham.

Weeks later Haynes kidnapped an 18-year-old girl off the streets of Chippenham and repeatedly raped her. She had the presence of mind to yank out strands of her own hair and leave them in the car and spit in the seat – something she had seen on television crime shows.

Speaking outside court when Haynes was convicted last month, she said: “I thought there’s going to be an investigation and I wanted to help.

“When I was in the car I pulled out some of my own hair and I made sure I spat on the seat, so if it was ever found there was proof I had been in the car.

“It still surprises me now, it sounds silly, but I have always been a fan of CSI programmes. I’ve watched so many of them, I know what to do and how things work.”

She said it was terrible to see Haynes in court lying about his offences. “It was horrible and as I stood there I was thinking how someone could make up such detailed lies.

“I’m just disgusted by him. For a human being to have any thoughts like that, to do something to someone … it’s horrible.

“I am so relieved that it is over. It has felt like a very long time that this has gone on for. A huge weight has been lifted.”

Following the hearing the victim of the first attack, who asked to be known by the pseudonym of Abbi, said she felt guilty that she had not been able to help the police prevent further assaults.

She said: “I just want girls, not just young girls but girls of all ages, to be aware of the sort of people that are out there.

“I thought I was safe, only seconds away from my house. I learnt the hard way, I wouldn’t want anyone else to.

“It’s harder to trust men, just because of one sick individual, which is sad.

“I felt really bad when I’d heard someone else had been attacked, I blamed myself for not being able to give more information to help catch him.

“But anyone that goes to the police is doing their bit. It is hard but it’s worth it in the end.”

Forensic analysis of Haynes’ laptop seized from his room at the barracks showed he carried out hundreds of searches on the internet for information relating to the attacks. He would even search for the names of his victims on social networking sites such as Facebook and Friends Reunited.

Haynes, from Northampton, was found guilty of rape, kidnap and attempted kidnap. He was also charged with child pornography offences but the crown decided not to proceed with the prosecution.Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Bob Hamlin, of Wiltshire police, said there could be many more victims and his team were now examining other unsolved cases in the area.

He said: “We are investigating more cases that are unsolved but it is hard to put a figure on just how many more offences this dangerous man could have committed.

“He is one of the most evil men I’ve dealt with in 32 years of work. The horror the victims suffered can never be forgotten.”

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed Haynes is no longer a serving soldier.