Craig France Jailed for Rape and Voyeurism

A depraved sexual predator who raped a woman and secretly filmed others in his Peterborough home has been jailed for over 10 years.

Craig France, 33, targeted young women at nightclubs, plying them with alcohol before taking them to his property where he had set up hidden cameras. France recorded himself carrying out sexual acts on some of his victims while they were unconscious or sleeping.

France was arrested in September last year and initially denied the crimes but pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault, three counts of voyeurism, and exposure at a hearing last month. During the investigation, police identified four victims, but it's believed there could be more.

France's offending came to light in August 2023 after a woman reported being raped by him two years prior, revealing he had filmed the assault. The victim had been given a shot of Sambuca by France while they were in his garden and woke up in his bed with no recollection of what had happened.

Officers trawled through over 6,000 disturbing images and videos of several unidentified women secretly filmed at his home between March 2022 and September 2023. They also found the video showing the victim being raped by France while she appeared lifeless.

The video showed France carrying the victim, who was unable to stand, before dropping her in a hot tub and then dragging her on a concrete floor. A further three victims were identified from the videos and images, who were distraught to learn they had unknowingly been filmed.

On one occasion, France can be seen sexually assaulting a victim as she lay asleep on his sofa, and on another, he filmed an unsuspecting woman's body in a sexual manner, close-up. Officers also found a clip where France was seen naked in daylight at a roadside in the Broxbourne area of Hertfordshire.

At Cambridge Crown Court today (Monday, 31 March), France, of Hammonds Drive, Fengate, Peterborough, was sentenced to 10 years and seven months in prison. He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).