Horrific historical sexual assault.

Raymond Ellis, from Bristol, formerly of Sheffield, was sentenced to five years in prison at Bristol Crown Court on May 13, 2020, for an indecent assault that occurred over 30 years ago.

The court heard how, in the assault close to midnight on March 15, 1987, the 17-year-old survivor was walking home from a night out with friends when she became aware of someone behind her. She started running, but one of her shoes came off. She saw her pursuer pick it up and then struck her on the head, grabbed her, and dragged her along a nearby passage towards Earl Marshall School Fields, at the rear of Skinnerthorpe Road in Sheffield.

The attacker removed an item of the victim's clothing to tie her feet together and forced her to perform a sexual act. He then made her lay face down and fled. The victim was able to escape to a nearby telephone box and call the police.

Despite an extensive investigation involving numerous forensic submissions, the attacker was never identified. However, advancements in forensic science led to further submissions that resulted in a match to Ellis. A mixed DNA profile was obtained from the outer sleeve of the woman's leather jacket she was wearing at the time of the assault. Ellis was arrested in August 2019.

In an interview, the 60-year-old Ellis claimed he had memory loss due to a brain injury sustained in 1997 when he was attacked with pickaxe handles by poachers on a salmon farm in Scotland. He made no comment to any questions, including where he was at the time of the assault.

Dave Stopford, head of the Major Incident Review Team at South Yorkshire Police, said: "This was a horrific attack on a 17-year-old girl as she made her way home from a night out. The victim has had to live with this for the past 33 years not knowing who her attacker was. We thank the victim for her patience and resilience during this difficult investigation in which she had to re-live a traumatic incident. She has shown immense courage, patience and trust in us to do so. The attack has significantly impacted on her life ever since. This conviction today has provided some closure to the victim, but continues to have serious consequences for her."

Stopford continued, "Ellis was obviously surprised when he was arrested for this offence, having thought that he had evaded being caught. The reinvestigation using scientific techniques that were not available in 1987 should send out a message that anyone who has committed such offences is never safe from prosecution. The review team at South Yorkshire Police prioritize undetected historic sexual offences and are currently reviewing hundreds of cases."

Investigating Officer Rachel Morton said, "I would also like to thank the scientists involved, whose work is invaluable in these historic cases, and without them this perpetrator may never have been brought to justice for this crime."