Vile serial rapist filmed himself abusing unconscious women at 'after-parties'
Serial rapist Craig France deliberately preyed on women late at night, enticing them to "after-parties" at his house before filming himself abusing the women who were unconscious.
The chilling and disturbing details of France's case will be featured in a two-part episode of Channel 4's 24 Hours In Police Custody on Sunday and Monday, titled The Nightclub Predator. The Peterborough rapist, now 34, was jailed for 10 years and seven months in March this year after admitting rape and filming victims without their knowledge.
France would lure women to his residence and, once there, would give his victims more drink before perpetrating horrendous sexual offences against them, reports the Express.
He recorded himself assaulting his victims while they were incapacitated or asleep, with former concerns raised that he might have used drugs on them. It was reported that he used hidden cameras and amassed thousands of vile photographs and videos of these disturbing offences.
France's sinister behaviour was uncovered in August last year when a woman reported he had raped her two years earlier, and she had become aware that he had videotaped the incident. The survivor described being given a shot of "Sambuca" by France in his garden, after which her memory lapsed until awakening in his bed, instinctively feeling that something was amiss.
In a painstaking task, officers sifted through over 6,000 disturbing images and videos depicting several anonymous women who were stealthily recorded at France's home from March 2022 to September 2023. During his trial, it brought to light the shocking video evidence of the victim being raped by France, where she appeared entirely "lifeless".
The deeply disturbing footage exhibited France lifting the debilitated victim, who couldn't stand up, before letting her drop into a hot tub, and afterwards, he dragged her across concrete flooring.
Three other victims were discovered through the videos and images. Their dismay upon realising they had been covertly recorded was palpable, with one expressing that France had "taken her dignity" and another voiced her feeling "disgusted".
In one instance, the video caught France violating a victim while she was asleep on his sofa, and in a separate instance, he was seen filming an oblivious woman's body indecently in close range. Additionally, police came across footage displaying France stark naked during daylight hours at a roadside in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
At his sentence earlier this year, Judge Mr Justice Mark Bishop said: "The nature of those offences show you were predatory towards those women and, when they were incapacitated, you filmed them. Your comments showed no understanding of consent and you are on a journey of further understand of consent. You are misogynistic about women which is deeply unattractive and concerning.
"You accept you became obsessed with recording social activities, that developed into recording your sexual activities. You have an attraction to risky behaviour and I judge that in this case a sense of sexual entitlement, coupled with taking risks and poor self-esteem, is a toxic risk.
"You have not offended since being in a new relationship. That demonstrates the risk that is posed when a relationship ends. This is extraordinary behaviour to engage at the age of 33. You are a risk to society."
DCI Helen Tebbit spoke of France's case being aired on 24 Hours in Police Custody and said: "Firstly, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to the victims, who, despite their ordeals, supported the investigation and bravely shared their stories on 24 Hours in Police Custody.
"This programme will show that sexual predators can cleverly disguise their depraved behaviours - victims may not realise they are being groomed.
"France portrayed himself as everyone's best friend – caring, fun, and provided what his victims thought was a safe place to party. But in reality, he preyed on young women who had barely entered adulthood for his own sexual gratification."
DCI Tebbit added that due to the nature of France's offending and the amount of footage obtained, it is possible that there are further victims. Tebbit encourages anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence to contact them on 101 or via their web chat on the police website. You can find this here.
24 Hours in Police Custody: The Nightclub Predator will be aired on Channel 4 on Sunday and Monday at 9pm.
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