By day, Jagath Arachchige was a charming and highly professional accountant. But by night, he transformed into a sexual predator, preying on vulnerable women leaving Bristol nightclubs. He would target these women, posing as a taxi driver in his blue Honda Accord, and exploit their trust to carry out his sinister plans.

In one instance, he kidnapped a woman for five hours, taking her to a secluded spot and sexually assaulting her. Just 15 hours later, he kidnapped a second woman, but she managed to escape his clutches before he could harm her.

The 44-year-old, who resided on Eighth Avenue in Filton, denied any wrongdoing. However, a jury at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty of kidnap and sexual assault, as well as kidnap with intent to commit a sex offence, in December 2017.

Judge Mark Horton sentenced him to a 16-year extended sentence, comprising 12 years in custody and a four-year extended license. He declared Arachchige a dangerous offender, stating: "It is clear that while you present to the world as an engaging, charming, and able accountant with an apparent calm and quiet manner, this mask perfectly concealed the callous and deliberate deception and manipulative skills of a predatory sexual offender."

The judge imposed a lifetime ban on Arachchige working with children and vulnerable adults and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life. He commended the police investigation and stated: "I also wish to comment that in this case, both of the victims were in no way careless in their behavior. Both sought what they reasonably believed were a lawful taxi driver providing them with security to get themselves home. Their trust and the steps they had taken were deliberately exploited in a planned way by this defendant."

The court heard that Arachchige had turned to extramarital websites after intimacy in his marriage declined. In November 2017, police found him in his car at a known sex spot with an intoxicated student. They removed her from his car and warned him about his actions.

Two weeks later, Arachchige picked up a young woman who had left a Bristol nightclub. Instead of taking her home, he kidnapped her for five hours, taking her to a sex spot and even booking a motel room. The assault culminated in him groping her chest and attempting to touch her intimately under her clothes. When the woman threatened to call her mother, who she claimed was a police officer, Arachchige took her home.

Just 15 hours later, Arachchige struck again. He picked up another woman who believed he was a taxi driver and detained her in his car. However, she managed to escape his car without being assaulted.

Richard Posner, the prosecutor, read impact statements from both women, who described their struggles with anxiety and trust issues after their ordeals. One victim stated: "I feel it is going to stay with me for the rest of my life."

Robert Morgan-Jones, Arachchige's defense attorney, argued that his client's actions were driven by his marital problems and his feeling of rejection. He stated: "Intimate relations with his wife ceased. He was isolated and alone in the relationship, feeling very much rejected with his sexual and emotional needs not being dealt with."