London man punched girl heading to work, dragged her in alley and raped her

Rapist Melbourne Thompson, 41, of Eltham, was convicted of rape and robbery at the Old Bailey after he followed a woman heading to work and punched her in the head

A attacker struck a woman in the head, claimed he was armed with a gun and hauled her down an alley before raping her. Melbourne Thompson, 41, of Eltham, stalked the victim-survivor as she made her way to work at about 7am on Sunday (April 12) to carry out the “unimaginably distressing” sexual assault.

When she attempted to cry out for help he silenced her by covering her mouth and pulled her into a side alleyway off Minard Road, Catford, and orally raped her. He then stole her phone from her jacket pocket. It was a bus driver who called 999 after the victim boarded his bus on Brownhill Road and told him she’d been robbed.

The stolen phone was discovered four minutes from Thompson’s home. He was a registered sex offender, convicted in 2005 of indecent assault on a woman two years earlier, and the attack in Catford matched his previous offending pattern.

Thompson was arrested on Tuesday (April 28), and charged to appear at Bromley Magistrates’ Court the next day when he was remanded in custody, reports MyLondon. Following this, officers have been working to identify whether Thompson could be responsible for other sexual assaults.

While no offences have been identified so far, officers believe there may be more victim-survivors who are yet to come forward. Thompson was convicted of rape, and robbery at the Old Bailey on Friday (October 9).

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the same court on Friday (December 4). This comes after a “monster” police officer who raped a woman was told “get off me” 300 times during a horrifying assault that lasted 82 minutes, the Daily Star previously reported.

Ryan Theaker has now been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. The former Merseyside Police constable was covertly recorded by his victim following a night out, evidence which later played a crucial role in his conviction.

The 30-year-old received his sentence at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday (October 8). The courageous victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, read a heartfelt statement in court, reportedly telling Theaker “monsters never win”.

Evidence presented in court revealed that during the attack, the victim told the ex-police officer “get off me” 300 times.

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