A 60-year-old man from Willesden who raped a woman in Acton Park in 2004 has been been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison following his capture.
Adrian Satchwell was charged with the crime after Met Police used DNA evidence to build a case against him.
Satchwell was sentenced on 29 March 2023 at Isleworth Crown Court after being previously found guilty of rape following a trial.
At around 1:00am on 4 July 2004, Satchwell attacked and raped a woman in Acton Park. Another man with Satchwell remains unidentified.
The victim reported the incident after it happened to police who have been investigating the case for many years. A DNA profile of the attacker was obtained but previously there was no matching identity on the national police data base.
In 2017, Satchwell was arrested in connection with a sexual assault investigation and as his DNA was taken and matched the sample collected in 2004.
The Met’s Cold Case team assisted and reviewed the investigatio. A series of further tests were undertaken to see if the second suspect could be identified which proved negative.
Satchwell was charged with two counts of rape in August 2021 following an investigation process that was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Detective Sergeant Susan Phillips led the investigation. She said: “Despite there being a 19 year gap between the rape and today’s outcome, the Met has not given up and remained dedicated to putting the man responsible for this horrifying attack behind bars. Satchwell is a violent, predatory rapist and it is a relief to know he will spend many years in prison. What he did to the victim had a profound and lasting impact on her life. He has shown no remorse.
“I was determined to get justice for the victim who has remained stoic over the past 19 years. Her dedication and commitment to the investigation and throughout the trial has led to today’s outcome. She is an incredibly brave woman.”
During an impact statement read out in court, the victim said:
“Before this happened to me I had a lot of self-confidence. I would go out with friends but since this has happened I have found that I am a lot more restrictive with what I do. At the time I became a lot more withdrawn, not talking to anyone and devoid of emotion.
“To this day, I find that I am still anxious, I suffer from panic attacks, chest pains and shaking. I walk around in a constant state of hypervigilance.
“I am so grateful for the tenacity of DS Susan Phillips, to purse and delve in to this case and to not let it go. The other police officers and barrister at court made me feel so comfortable and I am so grateful. There have been so many difficult stages along the way, but they have just made it so much more comfortable.
“I am relieved to have had what happened to me validated by the jury. That man is disgusting, he disgusts me that he lied and made up different stories along the way to try and avoid what he did to me.”
