Blantyre man hid rape secret for 20 years

Aug 5 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A RAPIST lorry driver from Lanarkshire who hid his secret for more than 20 years was finally snared last month.

Leslie Marshall continued to live his life in Blantyre for years, knowing he and an accomplice had abducted and brutally raped a woman near Burnley in 1989.

The pervert had managed to avoid justice for two decades, keeping his secret from his family and friends

However, he was finally undone after his arrest for a minor driving offence set in place a chain of events that culminated in his conviction for rape.

Last week, Marshall (51) of Stonefield Road, pleaded guilty to raping the 22-year-old woman in a car parked in a country lane in Lancashire when he appeared at an English court.

He was caught by the police cold case team after his DNA was taken following a separate minor incident last July.

A haulage driver, Marshall was one of a number of drivers arrested for fiddling his tachograph, which tracks the lorry’s movements when it is on the move.

During the police investigation, DNA was taken from the Blantyre father.

This sample subsequently matched up with DNA information from the 1989 investigation into the rape of the woman in Burnley.

He was arrested in October last year.

Burnley Crown Court heard last week how Marshall cornered his victim as she walked home from a friend’s house in the early hours of January 18 that year.

Twisted Marshall, acting with another unknown man, forced her into a car.

She was then driven to a secluded location in the Robin House Lane area of Briercliffe, Burnley, where Marshall and his accomplice subjected her to a sustained sexual assault.

She was then left in the country lane in complete darkness, but she was able to see the lights of a nearby house and raise the alarm.

The attack was the subject of an intensive police investigation at the time but no-one was apprehended.

The Forensic Science Service (FSS) obtained a number of DNA samples, but there was no match and the case was closed.

However, officers from Lancashire Police’s cold case investigation team embarked on a re-investigation of the case in 2008.

Scientists were able to go back and re-analyse slides retained from the original investigation.

A male profile was obtained and loaded onto the National DNA Database, which was not introduced until 1995.

Last year, the profile was matched to Marshall following his tachograph offence.

Detective Constable Lisa Baxter, from the cold case investigation team, said last week:

“I am extremely pleased with the result, not only for the investigation team, but, more importantly, for the victim in this case.

“It has been an extremely traumatic time for her.

“However, she was determined her attacker should face justice and was fully supportive of the police investigation.

“We were able to bring Marshall to justice as a result of a DNA match on the National DNA Database.

“The value of being able to take a DNA sample and being able to run it through the database is particularly evident in this case.

“Leslie Marshall is clearly a dangerous individual and the public needs to be protected from him.

“This case should send a clear warning to offenders, despite the passage of time we never give up hope of bringing offenders to justice.

“We constantly review older cases and we will catch up with offenders and they will be brought before the courts for punishment.”

Marshall was granted bail and will be sentenced on August 24.

In a statement made by his barrister after his conviction, the Blantyre man said he would aid any police investigation to identify and bring the second attacker to justice.