DALE HUTCHESON OF REDCAR JAILLED FOR 15 YEARS FOR SERIAL RAPE AND SEXUAL OFFENCES

In July 2017, Dale Hutcheson, 29, from Redcar, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of multiple serious sexual offences, including the rape of a schoolgirl and assaults on two women.

Hutcheson was described in court as a cruel, heartless predator who took pleasure in violating innocent victims, with a judge calling him a "cruel and debasing pervert". The court heard that in 2007, he entered a home uninvited while a young girl was grieving the loss of a family member, and raped her. Recorder Nicholas Barker stated, "You raped her, taking advantage of your greater size and her vulnerability," adding that she was home alone at the time.

The judge emphasized that it was her first sexual experience and noted the profound and lasting impact on her life—she suffered night terrors, fear of men, and fear of being alone at home. The court heard she only reported the incident after being provoked by Hutcheson in 2015, when he taunted her, saying she "asked for it" and that "no one would believe her."

Hutcheson was 19 at the time of the rape, which occurred shortly after he had served a prison sentence for two sexual assaults on a 15-year-old girl at a Redcar bus stop in 2005.

Further crimes occurred in October of the previous year, when Hutcheson, after a binge of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, attacked two women. He forcibly kissed one woman in the toilets of Redcar Working Men’s Club and made suggestive comments, displaying high sexual drive and determination to engage in sexual acts. Later, he exposed himself to another woman and subsequently, at a different residence, bluntly asked for sex. When refused, he assaulted her sexually and insulted her during the attack. The victims reported suffering from anxiety, emotional troubles, social difficulties, and personality changes as a result of his actions.

Recognized as a dangerous offender, Hutcheson was sentenced to 18 years in prison—specifically, a 15-year term with a minimum of two-thirds served, plus an additional three years’ extended license. He was also placed under an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, prohibiting him from unsupervised contact with minors under 16, from living with or staying in the same home as underage girls, or from forming any relationships or friendships with females without police disclosure.

Hutcheson, of Broxa Close, Redcar, was convicted after a jury trial in May of rape, attempted rape, two sexual assaults, and exposure. He continues to deny the offences and has indicated plans to appeal his conviction. He was acquitted of other charges, including one count of rape and exposure.

Previously, in 2008, Hutcheson was sentenced to four years for wounding with intent after stabbing a woman’s leg.

He remains on the sex offenders’ register for life.