Jail For Rapist Who Threatened To Kill Toddlers

A rapist who attacked two young women has been jailed for life, with the judge saying he has rarely been so shocked by the "depths of depravity and sheer wickedness" involved in the case.

Paul Eames, 40, approached the women - then aged 20 and 23 - in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in September last year while they were looking after five young children.

Prosecutor Gordon Stables told the court that Eames had threatened to kill the children if the women did not go with him to an isolated part of nearby woodlands.

"Once there, the victims were subjected to a series of rapes and sexual assaults which took place in front of the children," Mr Stables said.

When one of the women told Eames they had children with them, he replied: "Just go or I'll kill your kids. Hurry up or I'll kill your kids. I'll kill your kids. I'll stab your kids."

One-legged Eames then threatened to come after the pair if they told anyone what had happened.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Michael Murphy QC said: "Despite having sat in criminal courts for just over 30 years... I still find cases that come along from time to time that shock me to the core.

"This is one of them because of the depths of depravity and sheer wickedness involved in the case.

"What you did to these innocent young women in front of children is among the most depraved and most perverted behaviour I have ever come across.

"It reads like a horror story."

Judge Murphy said Eames, who carried out the attack on his 40th birthday, would be eligible for parole in 10-and-a-half years, although he expressed doubt that the parole board would approve his release.

In a victim impact statement, one of the women said: "This man has ruined my life."

The court was told Eames has 93 previous convictions, including charges relating to a 2009 incident in which he held a seven-year-old girl and woman hostage.