Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 3

Episode
To Catch A Rapist
Broadcast Info
2023 (59 mins)
Description
A young woman arrives at a police station to report that she has been raped. She was attacked by a stranger at a derelict house in the early hours of the morning. The victim agrees to undergo a forensic examination at a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to recover potentially critical evidence that could help identify her unknown attacker. "Our crime scene is the person, and evidence will naturally leave. So if you imagine if it’s on your skin, it might get rubbed off or washed off. So as time goes on, our ability to take evidence from certain areas diminishes" says SARC manager, Natalie Lynch. A hunt for the unknown attacker ensues. The police search the road where the alleged rape occurred and recover a doorbell video recording of the victim walking down the road at the time she says the attack took place. The footage shows an unknown male in a hi vis jacket walking in front of the victim. Both victim and suspect walk out of shot of the doorbell camera without any interaction, however, there is muffled audio of a conversation between the two of them off camera. The audio is sent off for digital forensic enhancement. While the forensics team await the results from the audio, a suspect is identified in a derelict house - matching the description given by the victim. He is arrested and taken into custody. Inspector Scott Shaw from the Public Protection Unit leads the investigation. "Stranger rapists are some of the most dangerous individuals in society. That’s an individual who has targeted somebody from emotions of wanting to control, for the thrill, perhaps, that they get from attacking somebody that’s a complete stranger to them. Identifying and bringing him into custody is an absolute priority because he’s not going to stop, he’s going to carry on offending" - says DI Scott Shaw. The suspected attacker is brought into custody to be interviewed. Detectives are shocked to discover he is a convicted rapist who was imprisoned in 2012 for the rape of a child under the age of 16 and released on license in 2015. His license conditions expired just over a year ago. Police use CCTV to track the attacker’s movements the night of the rape, revealing the horrifying picture of a convicted rapist following multiple women over the night in question before targeting the victim. In police interview the suspect denies all allegations, but the enhanced doorbell recording supports the victim’s testimony and reveals the terrible truth of what happened.
Genre
Criminology; Policing; Forensics

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 3". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/245535 (Accessed 12 Jun 2025)