The UK’s most prolific serial rapist has been jailed for life after drugging at least 48 men and filming himself sexually violating them while they were unconscious in his city centre apartment.
Police have linked Reynhard Sinaga to more than 190 potential victims in total – 70 of whom they have not yet been able to identify.
The 36-year-old churchgoer went out in the early hours of the morning, hunting for lone, drunk young men around nightclubs near his flat in Manchester.
The slightly-built Indonesian student posed as a Good Samaritan who offered them a floor to sleep on or promised them more drink, Manchester Crown Court heard.
His victims – who were mainly heterosexual – had little or no memory of the hours that followed as Sinaga filmed the assaults on his mobile phone, and they later left the apartment unaware they had been violated.
One said Sinaga was “really nice” and “looked after him” after he lost his friends and his phone battery had ran out.
Another thought the defendant had acted as a Good Samaritan after Sinaga said he looked after him when he found him lying on the ground near a hotel.
The rapist was caught when one of the men regained consciousness and fought him off before he went to the police and, crucially, handed in Sinaga’s phone.
One complainant was sitting on the kerbside after the battery on his mobile phone was drained and he was approached by Sinaga. The defendant invited him to his apartment to charge the device but instead went on to drug and sexually violate him on camera.
On Monday, Sinaga was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 30 years in custody before he can be considered for parole.
Judge Suzanne Goddard QC told the court his total number of potential victims was 195.
Details of the case – the UK’s largest ever rape prosecution – can be made public after reporting restrictions were lifted following the end of four trials.
Sinaga claimed the men consented to being recorded playing a sex game in which they pretended to be dead to fulfil his fantasies – a defence labelled “preposterous” by prosecutor Iain Simkin as jurors saw footage of some victims snoring.
He was found guilty of a total of 159 offences committed between January 2015 and May 2017 – 136 counts of rape, 13 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration.
Many of the complainants had earlier been to the city centre nightclubs Factory and Fifth Avenue.
Sinaga’s apartment, situated next to Factory in Princess Street, provided a perfect vantage point from which to identify his targets.
It is thought he laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy.
Overdoses of the odourless, colourless substance can kill, the court heard, but it was a risk that Sinaga was prepared to take with complete strangers to satisfy his perverted desires.
Sinaga kept “trophies” of his crimes, such as watches and wallets.
He also downloaded social media pages from some of some of his victims, gleaned from personal identification they were carrying, and took still photographs of many of them while they were naked or semi-naked.
The court heard that none of the victims – many in their late teens or early 20s – wanted to know details of what had happened to them when traced by police and some have chosen not to tell their family or close friends of the trauma.
Two of the victims, of whom 45 were heterosexual and 26 were students, attempted to commit suicide as a result of severe depression.
Sinaga tested negative for HIV after he was arrested.
Jurors had to watch the mobile phone footage as Sinaga persisted with his defence and all were later uniquely offered counselling.
Last June, Sinaga was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years for the convictions from his first two trials.
Reporting restrictions were put in place to avoid prejudice to subsequent trials and to avoid the possibility of potential victims and witnesses being deterred from giving evidence or coming forward.
Ian Rushton, north west deputy chief Crown prosecutor, said: “Reynhard Sinaga is the most prolific rapist in British legal history.
“His extreme sense of sexual entitlement almost defies belief and he would no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally had he not been caught.
“Sinaga’s unthreatening demeanour duped these young men – many of whom thanked him for his kindness in offering them a place to stay – into thinking this monster was a Good Samaritan.
“But once back at his flat he used victims as objects purely for his own gratification – then appears to have derived further twisted pleasure from re-watching his films in court and putting victims through the trauma of giving evidence.”
A number of personal statements were read out in court from victims of offences which Sinaga was convicted of in the third and fourth trials.
One said: “That night was just like any night out with my mates. What I didn’t know was that there was a monster lurking in the background waiting to take advantage of my drunken state.
“I want Sinaga to acknowledge what he has done to me and show some remorse but I doubt that will ever happen.”
Another victim said: “I genuinely thought he had helped me. How wrong could I be?
“The day I gave evidence was the hardest day of my life.
“I have a message to you, Sinaga. I am not going to let your ruin my life. I am going to fulfil my career plans and live a happy, content life.”
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Sinaga should contact Greater Manchester Police or specialist support agencies on:
– Support Line: 0800 056 0154 (calls made from within the UK)/0207 158 0011 (international calls)
– Police Line: 0800 092 0410 (calls made from within the UK)/0207 158 0124 (international calls)
- Rape Crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence - 0808 802 9999
- Survivors UK offers support for men and boys - 0203 598 3898