PAUL SHAKESPEARE SENTENCED IN GLOUCESTER FOR COLD CASE RAPE IN CARLISLE
Paul Shakespeare, 66, of Scaleby Close, Upperby in Carlisle, appeared before Gloucester Crown Court to be sentenced on charges of rape and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.A pensioner has been imprisoned for the sexual assault of a teenage dog walker over 30 years ago, following a breakthrough in DNA evidence.
Shakespeare, described as predatory, faced a judge who told him he was presented with a "belated day of reckoning" as he was sentenced to nine years in prison for attacking an 18-year-old woman.
Court records detailed how his victim was targeted while walking her dog along Honeybourne Line in Cheltenham in April 1990.
According to the court, the teenage victim was approached by Shakespeare, who threatened her with a wooden stick fitted with a protruded nail.
He then dragged her into nearby bushes and forced a "terrifying" rape upon her, leaving her in a state of paralysis out of fear.
The court heard Shakespeare had threatened to kill her if she reported the assault and then fled the scene.
Despite obtaining full DNA evidence, and despite numerous public appeals—including a Crimewatch reconstruction in 2008—Shakespeare evaded justice for decades until a DNA match was made following his arrest for a separate incident in August last year.
The victim shared her devastating experience in court, revealing that she had struggled with her trauma for years, even attempting suicide to cope with the pain.
She stated, "It was the most scared I have ever been.
I did not know if I would live or die." Judge Michael Cullum commented during sentencing, "Today is a belated reckoning—some 30 years later.
Any young woman would be traumatised for life by what you did.
I am so relieved this day has finally come for the victim.
Thirty years she has been denied justice and lived daily with the nightmare you inflicted." He emphasized that the case was planned violence: "You were walking around waiting for a victim.
When you found her, you threatened and frightened her into compliance, then violated her in broad daylight while walking her dog." The judge highlighted the brutality of the attack, stating, "She was stripped of her clothing and dignity, and you attacked her with full knowledge she was in a vulnerable state." Shakespeare had used a sharpened stick with a nail for his weapon and had targeted multiple women in the area before choosing his victim.
The court noted that the victim’s trauma led her to attempt to end her life and caused her lifelong emotional scars.
She shared that living with the memories was a daily struggle, recalling nightmares, panic attacks, and feelings of being broken and damaged.
Despite her resilience, she said, "It does not get easier.
Still after time had passed I felt dirty and unworthy and thought about what happened every day." The victim also recounted how she participated in the Crimewatch appeal in 2008, which unfortunately yielded no results, until last year when she was finally informed that her attacker had been identified.
She expressed her ongoing pain, saying, "Being raped will haunt me for the rest of my life.
It was the most scared I have ever been.
I did not know if I would live or die, petrified wondering if this man was going to kill me.
I cannot ever forgive and certainly can never forget.
If I could erase my memory, I would." The victim criticized Shakespeare's prolonged evasion of justice, stating, "He never came forward and left me broken and unable to cope for many years.
I only hope he is remorseful—not just for me, but for his family." Shakespeare, appearing via video link from Carlisle, accepted he would serve at least two-thirds of his nine-year sentence but would remain on the sex offenders register for life.
His defense acknowledged his "started to show remorse" for his actions and praised his guilty plea for avoiding a trial.
Detective Constable Simone Bowley, involved in the case, commended the victim's bravery: "Her courage has been phenomenal from the day this horrific crime happened to today.
She waited over 30 years for justice, and her cooperation has been invaluable in the case’s review and reopening." Closing, she added, "This was a deeply horrifying incident that impacted not only the victim but the wider community, as people feared during that time.
I am glad the day of justice has finally arrived."
