A CONVICTED child killer dubbed the Beast of Wombwell has been found guilty of the rape and false imprisonment of a teenager in the 1970s.
Peter Pickering, 80, lured the woman, now in her 60s, into his van before driving to a secluded spot and raping her.
He was found guilty following a week-long trial at Leeds Crown Court. The jury took just two hours to return guilty verdicts.
The attack happened weeks before Pickering raped and killed 14-year-old Shirley Boldy as she walked to Wombwell High School.
Pickering has been held in secure mental hospitals since 1972 after admitting her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Leeds Crown Court was told Pickering had lured his then 18-year-old victim into his van as she walked to work near Stocksbridge.
He drove her to a secluded spot where he ‘went berserk.’ He switched from being amiable and pleasant to acting like a ‘mad man’, handcuffing her, burning her breasts with cigarettes and saying ‘I suppose I’m going to have to kill you now’.
The woman did not tell anyone about what had happened to her and the allegations only came to light when police looked through Pickering’s medical records.
When the woman was contacted by an officer, she said: “Is it about Peter?”
The woman said she did not think she would have been believed if she had reported the rape at the time.
Pickering, who did not give evidence at his trial, is due to be sentenced at a later date.
The judge, Mr Justice Goss, said he needed new reports on the defendant’s mental state to be prepared.
Pickering’s barrister, Sasha Wass QC, asked the judge if her client could be sentenced in Reading or Swindon - closer to Thornford Park Hospital, in Berkshire, where he is being held.
Senior investigating officer Det Supt Nick Wallen said: “We are delighted he has been brought to justice for an offence he committed more than 46 years ago.
“His victim has had to live a lifetime of knowing that Pickering, while not at large, had not answered for the dreadful and terrifying ordeal he put her through.
“Pickering was convicted following a methodical police investigation which saw us locate and examine lock-up units he rented in which we found significant amounts of material related to this case.
“This material proved to be a key factor in helping officers identify and contact his victim to begin the process of both investigating this offence and seeking the justice she has been entitled to for many years.
“I hope that the conviction of Pickering will be of some comfort to the victim who has lived with the impact of his crime for the majority of her life.”
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APPEARING in court via video-link, Peter Pickering looked how you might expect an 80-year-old man to look.
Wearing a dark jumper and light coat, if he wasn’t sitting in the dock, he could easily pass for a someone’s grandfather.
His grey hair is thinning on the top, and he leaned on a walking stick - at times he appeared to cover his face.
Yet this is no ordinary 80-year-old.
Pickering has committed despicable and horrific crimes against women and children and was branded a dangerous predator by prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC.
In her closing speech, she told how Pickering’s victim had got on with her life following the attack. She managed to have a successful life but never told a soul how she had been tortured, raped and degraded by Pickering when she was just 18, burying the memories for more than 45 years.
Ms Colborne said: “She said ‘is it about Peter’ because this has been with her since she talked her way out of being killed by Peter Pickering all those years ago.”
Hopefully the guilty verdicts will bring her some closure.
Pickering, on the other hand, showed no remorse for his crimes against his victim, now in her 60s, by denying the charges, forcing her to relive the ordeal and then offering no defence in court.
The fact that he chose not to give evidence himself meant certain questions could not be put to him.
Ms Colborne said: “Why has he not given evidence? Because he knows he has no defence and cannot give evidence without saying so.”
Despite his barrister’s plea for the jury to consider his mental state and return a not guilty verdict, it’s now likely that Pickering will die in custody - either in a secure mental hospital or in prison.
