EXCLUSIVE: Romanian rapist 'could strike again' as he gets secret home to protect rights
THE family of an 89-year-old woman sexually assaulted by a fugitive Romanian rapist have revealed that British authorities missed five chances to deport him.
Now they say the victim is living in fear because when he is released from prison they will not be told where he is living to protect his rights and he could return to strike again.
Stefan Motoaca Dumitru fled his homeland after being convicted of raping a child.
Once in Britain he was arrested five times, for an alleged undisclosed offence, for alleged GBH, for two alleged attempted rapes and for allegedly breaking a woman’s nose in an unprovoked street attack.
Had officers looked at his criminal record and identity documents, they would have discovered Dumitru, 30, should have been sent back to Romania.
Instead he was never charged and remained free to batter and sexually assault the pensioner at her home in Levenshulme, Manchester, in April, 2010.
Why are no proper border checks made to stop criminals entering Britain or checks on their identity done once they are here? My mum suffered at the hands of one such criminal – a devastating attack from which she has never recovered
Dumitru was jailed for 14 years in November that year for attempted rape and burglary but will be eligible for early release in two years, having served half his sentence.
To make matters worse, probation chiefs have told the victim’s family they will not be told where he will be rehoused because it is “a breach of the offender’s data protection rights”.
The woman’s son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Why are no proper border checks made to stop criminals entering Britain or checks on their identity done once they are here? My mum suffered at the hands of one such criminal – a devastating attack from which she has never recovered.”
The probation office has told the family they will not be entitled to know whether Dumitru keeps officials informed of his whereabouts upon release. Deportation would not be possible until appeal procedures had been exhausted.
The woman’s son added: “The victims of this extremely dangerous criminal won’t be allowed to know if he moves in next door.” Dumitru arrived in the UK in 2008 and was arrested for the first time later that year in Manchester. The other arrests were in Liverpool. The case has striking similarities with that of Arnis Zalkalns, who murdered 14-year-old schoolgirl Alice Gross in west London last summer despite being convicted for killing his wife back in Latvia.
The Metropolitan Police failed to look into his background in 2009 when he was held on suspicion of assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Former probation union chief Harry Fletcher yesterday called for tighter controls on those entering Britain amid fears that hundreds of foreign criminals are here already.
He said: “This is a horrifying case but, unfortunately, far from an isolated one. The information I have is that there are an estimated 300-500 criminals in Britain, mostly from eastern Europe.
“The police have no idea where these people are. The system needs to be tightened dramatically.”
The Home Office said: “We do not comment on individual cases.”
