The nine men all Hampshire women should avoid

While most are currently in prison, not all of them have received life sentences meaning some will be free to roam the streets once they are released.

In the year to the end of March 2020, 58,856 cases of rape were recorded by police forces in England and Wales.

But only a tiny amount of these resulted in prosecutions - just 2,102, compared with 3,043 in the previous 12 months.

The maximum sentence for rape in England and Wales is life but the average sentence is nine years, according to the Justice Minister Robert Buckland.

Here, we take a look at some of the men across the county who are serving time for awful crimes. 

Robert Gordon

Rapist Robert Gordon is a man with a violent past who has committed more than 50 offences.

As well as carrying out a rape in Basingstoke’s War Memorial Park, in July 1981, he previously served four years for the rape of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in 1982.

Gordon, of Gainsborough Road, Black Dam, Basingstoke, was convicted by a jury of rape, indecent assault and making threats to kill, relating to the July 1981 attack.

The victim had been walking her dogs through the park when she was approached by Gordon, who asked her for directions before kicking her legs from under her, forcing her to the ground, punching her and banging her head on the ground.

He raped her at knifepoint, ignoring her pleas and cries for help and telling her he would kill her if she did not keep quiet.

Gordon who has a long list of previous offences – 13 convictions for 55 offences, including burglary, theft, assault and actual bodily harm prior to 1981- was jailed for nine years in 2013.

Aaron Bremner

Serial offender Aaron Bremner was jailed for 16 years in 2013 after he raped a stranger in a sustained and terrifying attack.

Bremner subjected his victim to a horrifying ordeal in her own car after she kindly offered him a lift.

Southampton Crown Court heard Bremner threatened to stab his terrified victim, and said he would set the car on fire with her locked in the boot if she screamed.

Bremner, who has 31 previous convictions for 101 offences, was described by Judge Derwen Hope as “extremely dangerous”.

When the woman told Bremner to get out of the car, he became aggressive and forced her to drive to a remote country lane in Wootton St Lawrence, where he subjected her to a sustained and terrifying assault, sexually assaulting her several times and raping her twice.

Romeo Cummins

Romeo Cummins, 47, of Fountains Close, Popley, was originally sentenced to 13 years in prison at Winchester Crown Court in August, after pleading guilty to 16 counts of rape, one sexual assault and five drugs offences.

But his sentence was increased to life in 2016 after being referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General's Office, due to the lenience of the sentence.

Cummins admitted the sexual offences against five women, who he targeted between 2013 and 2016 in north Hampshire.

The offending came to light in February 2016 when officers arrested Cummins after he was stopped and searched in Aldershot.

He was found in possession of drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin, and sleeping tablets and prescription medicine.

When officers examined his phone, they found more than one hundred videos which contained footage of the sexual offences.

Peter Alan Watch

Peter Alan Watch, 26, assaulted two women, raped one and subjected another to a sordid sex attack after meeting them online.

Watch was convicted of rape, a sexual assault, harassment and two counts of assault, occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was originally convicted of five offences at Winchester Crown Court and jailed for 12 years in 15 with an extended four-year licence period.

But senior judges said the jail term was too tough on Watch, of Amesbury Road, Weyhill, and cut it by a year.

Jason Lawrance

Father-of-three Jason Lawrance, from Liphook, Hampshire, was jailed for life in 2016 after committing sex attacks against seven women he met through a dating website.

Sentencing the 50-year-old for attacking all seven women, Judge Gregory Dickinson QC told him: "I am convinced that you are devious, manipulative, and highly dangerous to women.

"In my judgment, these offences taken together - so many victims, the trail of terror and agony for which you are responsible - mean that the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for life is fully justified."

He was also convicted by a jury at Derby Crown Court of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape two further victims.

Krystian Kwarta

Krystian Kwarta, aged 20 of Keyhaven Road, Milford-on-Sea, was jailed for eight years in 2020 with an additional four years on licence following an assault on a 21-year-old victim as she walked to work.

Police launched an investigation after a woman reported that a man unknown to her grabbed her from behind and raped her in the perimeter of West Quay shopping centre.

Jozef Janczura

Jozef Janczura, 34, dragged his 18-year-old victim into Riverside Park before strangling and raping her on December 2, 2018.

He was found guilty of rape and causing actual bodily harm following a trial at Southampton Crown Court.

Now Janczura was given a 20-year extended sentence in 2020. The sentence consists of a 14-year determinate prison sentence, with a six-year extended licence period.

Steven Ward

Steven Ward, 43, from Fareham was found guilty of 15 counts of rape, five counts of sexual activity with a child, and one sexual assault between 2006 and 2017.

Portsmouth Crown Court was told that the offences were committed against three girls over the course of 11 years.

Ward, of Chartwell Close, Fareham, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child.

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2020 for the 15 counts of rape, five counts of sexual activity with a child and one sexual assault between 2006 and 2017.

Paul Taylor

A sexual predator and killer convicted of a 1979 murder was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years.

Former builder Paul Taylor, 60, was convicted in 2012 of the murder of Sally McGrath, from Peterborough, after escaping justice for more than 30 years.

Miss McGrath, 22, was found naked except for a pair of boots and partially buried in woodland at Castor Hanglands, to the west of Peterborough, on March 1, 1980.

Taylor, of Valentine Close, Fareham, was also found guilty of three rapes, an attempted rape and a serious sexual offence.

• To speak to Rape Crisis national freephone helpline, call 0808 802 9999 (12-2.30pm and 7-9.30pm every day of the year)