Locations
South Downs Drive, Hale, Greater Manchester, WA14
Description
A man sleeping rough in the woods punched and kicked a woman before dragging her into his tent and raping her.
Homeless Daniel Woolf, 36, was described by police as a predatory offender after he was handed a 19-year jail sentence.
The woman was held in the tent by Woolf for hours.
A court heard Woolf, who has a previous conviction for sexual assault, approached the woman at 1am at Altrincham train station on October 15 last year.
He had been living in a tent in woods off South Downs Drive in Hale at the time.
Police said Woolf led the woman away from the station before dragging her into the tent.
Screaming, she tried to run away but he threw her into a bush before punching and kicking her until she went back inside the tent.
Woolf then pushed the terrified woman to the ground and raped her.
After an ordeal lasting hours, the woman, aged in her 30s, managed to escape to a nearby shop where the alarm was raised.
Police were called and Woolf was arrested.
At Minshull Street Crown Court he was convicted by a jury after a trial.
He was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment and assault and was locked up for 19 years.
Det Con Helen Bagnall praised the womans bravery and said Woolf preyed on the fact she didnt know the area.
She said: The woman was obviously terrified when Woolf dragged her into a tent and raped her. What she has been through is horrendous.
She was extremely brave managing to alert a shop worker and I want to thank them in turn for contacting us so we could apprehend Woolf.
He preyed on the fact the woman didnt really know the area and used that to his advantage to inflict his horrific assault where not only did he rape her, but he held her in a tent for hours.