‘Manipulative’ predator given life sentence over multiple rapes, assaults and coercive behaviour

A sexual predator who raped two women and subjected three other victims to a plethora of sickening crimes has been given a life sentence.

Andrew Woodhouse, aged 48, committed a catalogue of horrific abuse against the five victims – including rape, blackmail, sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

He also repeatedly engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour and was found in possession of extreme pornography.

Nottingham Crown Court heard his offending spanned a 20-year period up to his arrest in 2021 and came to light after his victims bravely reported his crimes.

He denied the majority of allegations but was found guilty of numerous offences – including four rapes – following a trial.

Jurors heard Woodhouse, of Cranmer Street, Long Eaton, was arrested in October 2020 after a woman reported she was raped by him more than once in 2019.

The woman reported he had also become fixated with an older woman, who he bombarded with thousands of sickening sexual messages over several years.

When the older woman ignored his messages, Woodhouse blackmailed her by superimposing her face onto images of nude women and threatened to share them online.

He even threatened to put the forged images on lampposts in the woman’s neighbourhood if she didn’t do what he said, with the trial hearing the threats left her “shaking like a leaf”.

During the investigation, evidence of a second rape victim was uncovered. Detectives contacted the woman and she confirmed Woodhouse had raped her in 2001, adding there had been other occasions when he’d been violent towards her.

Meanwhile, another woman was identified and reported Woodhouse had repeatedly subjected her to controlling and coercive behaviour between 2020 and 2021.

The trial heard around the same time, Woodhouse groomed a young girl before sexually abusing her and promising her treats, such as sweets, if she complied with his depraved requests. 

As part of the investigation, detectives seized his devices and found extreme pornography – including a number of bestiality videos – on his mobile phone.

Jurors found him guilty of four rapes, indecent assault, three counts of engaging in controlling / coercive behaviour, two counts of assaulting a girl by touching, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and two counts of causing a child to watch images of sexual activity.

Woodhouse had previously admitted four counts of blackmail and one count of possession of extreme pornography.

He was sentenced for all 20 offences on Friday (7 June) and given a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 18 years and 329 days.

In passing sentence, Judge Julie Warburton told Woodhouse he was an “incredibly manipulative and predatory offender” and that “your chickens have now finally come home to roost”.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Stacey Lamb, who led the investigation, said:

“Andrew Woodhouse’s offending took place over a 20 year period and his abuse has had a profound impact upon his victims.

“The evidence they provided was absolutely crucial to the success of the prosecution and I would like to pay tribute to their extraordinary courage and bravery throughout the investigation.

“Their courage has prevented others being subjected to further harm, and although his actions will always remain with them, I do hope that this sentence can bring them a sense of closure.

“Nottinghamshire Police’s Public protection teams work every day to investigate cases of rape and sexual abuse in order to ensure offenders are held to account and their victims are offered the support they need.

“We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to contact the police. We will listen carefully to you, we will investigate and we will do everything we can to get justice for you.”

Information on how to make a report can be found at: Contact us | Nottinghamshire Police.