Man admits raping teenager 24 years ago

A rapist pleaded guilty today to a horrific sex attack on an 18-year-old woman on waste ground 24 years ago.

Samples taken at the time were re-examined following advances in DNA technology and helped cold case detectives strike a one-in-a-billion match with 45-year-old Paul Dyne's profile last year.

Dyne, of Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, pleaded guilty to raping the teenager when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent Police said.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went out to buy milk in February 1986 in Deal, Kent, when she felt a gloved hand placed over her mouth at around 7.30pm.

She was dragged across College Road to waste ground in Ark Lane where Dyne told her he had a knife before covering her eyes with a scarf and raping her.

Dyne left the woman on the waste ground before escaping, while the distressed teenager made her way home where her father called the police.

Officers investigated the attack but no-one was charged until last year. Dyne was held at his home on December 22 and was charged later the same day.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Withers, of Kent Police, said following today's hearing: "In 1986 a young woman's life was changed dramatically by this horrific, unprovoked attack.

"Twenty four years have passed since then and she has lived with this every day.

"We hope today, with the conviction of Dyne for this terrible crime, she is now able in some way to move on with her life."

Investigators found that at the time of the incident, Dyne was living with family in College Road, the route the woman had taken before he grabbed her. He had also been working at a factory near the site.

Forensic Science Service specialist Andy Douglas said: "Advances in DNA allow the Forensic Science Service to revisit unsolved cases and look for opportunities to apply new techniques to old cases.

"It demonstrates how far science has brought us in the last 20 years. It has allowed the Forensic Science Service to support Kent Police in bringing an offender to justice."

Dyne will be sentenced on June 10.