Teenager jailed after raping two strangers, one in Alexandra Park
Dylan McDonald has been sentenced to life with a minimum of ten years to serve - Credit: Archant
One victim wrote, ‘it wasn’t just a crime against me, it was a crime against everyone in the park’
A teenager has been jailed for life after attacking, raping and robbing two strangers.
Dylan McDonald, 19, of St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of ten years at Wood Green Crown Court today.
He attacked one woman in the afternoon in the scenic grounds of Alexandra Park.
The court heard devastating witness statements from the women he raped.
One victim, a woman in her early 30s, used to regularly walk and run to relax, but she said, “after the attack, I could not bear to go out on my own.”
She went for a walk in the park grounds at Alexandra Palace around 4pm on March 14.
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McDonald cycled towards her, producing a 30cm knife.
He grabbed her and demanded her rucksack. Terrified, she struggled to remove her rucksack and McDonald became impatient and stabbed her in the leg.
As she lay injured, he dragged her into the undergrowth and raped her twice at knifepoint.
She had been preparing for a promotion, but after the attack, she dropped her application.
“Now I’m scared to apply for leadership schemes, even though it’s irrational.”
She had been preparing to buy a house with her partner, but these plans were dropped.
She said: “I can see the strain on the people who love me...
Before the attack, “my partner told me that two of my defining characteristics were my confidence and independence”.
Finally starting to enjoy running and walking again, the victim added: “It wasn’t just a crime against me, it was a crime against everyone in the park.”
McDonald attacked another woman on March 11 in Southey Road, Tottenham
He held a knife against her, forcing her to a nearby stairwell where he stole her two mobile phones, camera and watch.
He then demanded sex and raped her twice. McDonald then repeatedly punched her in the face before fleeing the scene.
The victim said she still had bruises on her face when she went back to work.
She said: “Nobody could have expected this walking home in the sunshine.”
McDonald, his hair cropped short, stared straight ahead in court.
He refused to cooperate with psychiatrists interviewing him or the investigators.
Judge Joanna Greenberg said: “For reasons that are a complete mystery you decided to attack these two women.”
But she took into account his youth and lack of previous convictions when sentencing him.
McDonald faced a week-long trial before being found guilty on July 26.
Speaking outside the court, Detective Inspector Mark Rogers said that although he had been with the Metropolitan Police for 16 years, it was “very rare to see a case like this with this level of violence”.
He said: “McDonald has shown no remorse and targeted lone females going about their daily lives. It must be noted that stranger rapes are extremely rare and with the strength and determination of the two women this dangerous individual has been brought to justice.”
