A child rapist was caught after a passing police officer noticed his distinctive walk.
Shane Nash, 39, was with two friends in Nottingham in January when he was spotted by an officer travelling in a marked patrol car. The officer recognised his gait from CCTV footage that captured part of the attack he was being sought in connection with.
Two days earlier, Nash had raped a teenage girl after grabbing her in a dark alleyway near Park Vale school in Rise Park, a north Nottingham suburb. He taped her mouth and bound her wrists and told her: “Be quiet or I’ll stab you,” Nottingham crown court heard. He was jailed for life on Thursday and will serve a minimum of 15 years.
The victim had gone out of the house in the evening to walk a friend to a bus stop, the prosecution said. Parts of the attack were captured on CCTV and footage of the attacker was later shared in a high-profile media appeal.
“After viewing the footage the previous day, the officer’s eye was immediately drawn to Nash’s distinctive walking style and his high, square shoulders,” Nottinghamshire police said.
Noticing that his clothing was also similar to that of the suspect, she and her colleague immediately turned around and asked Nash to stop. It soon became clear he was also wearing the same clothes and distinctive grey trainers he was wearing at the time of the attack.
Officers searched his bag and uncovered a black beanie hat and red sleeping bag referred to by the victim.
Nash was arrested on suspicion of rape but denied the allegations against him – even when confronted with irrefutable DNA evidence linking him to the crime. He kept up this pretence until his second court appearance in March, when he pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one of attempted rape.
DI Craig Hall, who led the investigation for Nottinghamshire police, said: “This was a horrific crime that shocked and appalled the local community. The victim in this case was simply walking home as she was grabbed and attacked.
“Nash’s behaviour, by contrast, has been appalling throughout. He has shown absolutely no remorse for what he did and continued to deny the offence even when presented with incontrovertible evidence of his guilt. He will now spend a very considerable amount of time in jail, thanks in no small part to some excellent police work by the arresting officer and her colleague.”
