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Reynhard Sinaga: Prolific rapist should 'never be released', says Attorney General as he reviews sentence

A prolific rapist who was jailed for a minimum of 30 years has had his sentence referred for being unduly lenient by the Attorney General who said he should never be released.

Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was found guilty of 136 counts of rape and sentenced on 6 January to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years at Manchester Crown Court.

His case was referred by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to the Attorney General, who has now referred Sinaga's sentence to the Court of Appeal for being too lenient.

The Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, thinks a "whole life order" should be considered for the rapist, meaning his crimes are so serious he will never be released from prison.

Mr Cox said: "Sinaga carried out an egregious number of attacks, over a prolonged period of time causing substantial pain and psychological suffering to his victims.

"It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence."

Sinaga, the most prolific rapist in British legal history, was found guilty of rape and sexual assaults against 48 men over a 10 year period.

Police believe the student, who is originally from Indonesia, may have assaulted more than 190.

Sinaga arrived in the UK in 2007 to study a master's degree at Manchester University and then a PhD in human geography at Leeds University.

He lived alone in a flat in central Manchester, in an area busy with pubs and clubs frequented by students which the CPS described as a "strategically located" base for his offending.

Sinaga would prey upon men who were young, drunk and alone and offer them a drink or a place to charge their mobile phone in his nearby flat.

He would then give them a drink laced with gamma hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB and the "date-rape drug" and rape them.

All but a few of Sinaga's victims were white, heterosexual men with an average age of 21.

Many of them did not know they had been raped when they woke up and only found out when police contacted them.

Sinaga's offending was eventually discovered in June 2017 when a victim woke up mid-attack and called the police.

Officers who searched his flat found days' worth of footage that Sinaga had recorded of him carrying out the attacks.

The court heard how Sinaga routinely copied his victims' Facebook profiles and stole their photos. The prosecution said there was evidence he was collating or cataloguing his victims.

Sinaga's final sentencing was an accumulation of four criminal trials at Manchester Crown Court over the past two years, involving nearly 160 counts of rape and sexual assault against 48 men.

The rapist pleaded not guilty throughout, claiming the attacks were consensual.

Sinaga was handed two life sentences at the first three trials and another - with a minimum term of 30 years - on 6 January, which is what the Attorney General has said is too lenient.

:: Do you believe you have been a victim or been affected by this case? If so, contact the police on 0800 092 0410 (UK calls) or 020 7158 0124 (international calls).

If you wish to seek support from specialists, contact: 0800 056 0154 (UK calls) / 020 7158 0011 (international calls).