Date rape drugs, hundreds of hours of videos of his assault, and 159 counts of sex offences with 48 victims- an openly gay man has been convicted for his offences. He preyed on men outside clubs in the early hours of the morning, luring them into his apartment and drugging them. He was given a sentence that includes a minimum 30 years in jail.
During the hearing, the judge said he was a dangerous man who will be a threat to people. The reporting restriction was lifted during the hearing in the Manchester Crown Court on Monday, which meant that Reynhard Sinaga can be identified for the first time. The police said that the evidence proved that he targeted at least 190 men. The Crown Prosecution called him the "most prolific rapist in the British history".
Sexual entitlement and trophies- Reynhard Sinaga's collection of victims
The convict was brought to light after an 18-year-old victim woke up while he was being assaulted. The victim fought him off and was able to grab Sinaga's phone before rushing out of the apartment.
He filed a case against him and the evidence was the phone filled with 3.29 terabytes of graphic material which is the equivalent to 250 DVDs. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said that his victims who were unsuspecting students and mostly heterosexual men were seen snoring in the videos while some even vomited while the assault took place.
Sinaga is an Indonesian who moved to UK for studies
Sinaga is an Indonesian who moved to the UK for his master's which he completed from Manchester University. He was pursuing his doctoral degree with the thesis titled "Sexuality and everyday transnationalism among South Asian gay and bisexual men in Manchester". Sinaga belonged to a Catholic family. St Chrysostom's Church, a Church of England church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition provided the court with character reference because he was a part of the congregation.
One of the earliest accounts of Sinaga's offence occurred during the 2015 New Year's Day. The victim woke up the next day covered in his own vomit, not remembering what had happened. Among the 190 victims who were assaulted and raped by Sinaga, 48 of them were named. Sinaga had recorded the assaults which he said was consensual but was proved false. The videos he recorded as trophies of his encounter showed the drugged men snoring while he assaulted them.
Victims finding it difficult to comprehend what they went through
The victim statement read out in court during the hearing said that one of the victims felt like he had destroyed a part of his life while another said that he hoped Sinaga would stay in prison. Many were unaware of the assault they had endured until the police had contacted them. The St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Center's Lisa Waters said that the victims were finding it difficult to comprehend what they had gone through. Some of them are experiencing suicidal thoughts and mental health issues because of Sinaga.
Sinaga is convicted for 136 counts of rape, 14 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of attempted rape and one count of assault by penetration.
'Pleasure in targeting heterosexual men'
One of his victims said he was a monster, and rightly so believes Judge Goddard. With the enormity and scale of his actions, the description was accurate. He did not show any remorse during the trial process that happened for a span of 2 years with various counts of accusations placed against him. It is believed that the man started his assault in 2005 but the ones that came into the light were the ones that began in 2015.
Ian Rushton from the CPS told the media that Sinaga was seen to have an extreme sense of sexual entitlement which almost defies belief and 'he would no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally had he not been caught.' Rushton also said that he had "a particular pleasure in preying on heterosexual men".
The CCTV footage that was taken from Sinaga's apartment block showed him rushing to lure the men from the clubs. He is being convicted of his crimes that occurred between the years 2015 and 2017. The case has opened up the loophole in the toughness of the control of the GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) a class C drug. People found in possession of this can be imprisoned for up to two years in the UK.
