Exeter rapist's sentence upheld

A Polish court has upheld a sentence given to a man convicted of a brutal rape in Exeter.

Execter Crown Court found Jakub Tomczak, 24, guilty of rape and causing grievous bodily harm. The attack was in July 2006.

In January 2008 he was given two life sentences to be served in Poland.

Poland's Supreme Court agreed that Tomczak should serve a minimum of nine years before being considered for parole.

Brain damage

Under Polish law all cases involving Polish nationals convicted abroad are reconsidered by a Polish court once they are repatriated.

Tomczak's 48-year-old victim was found naked and unconscious in Redlands Close in the Whipton area of Exeter.

She had suffered a skull fracture and brain damage in the attack and her injuries were so severe she was left with no memory of what had happened.

Mr Tomczak, a law student, had been on a night out in the city, and his movements were tracked by CCTV camera.

After the attack, he returned to Poland where, four months later, he voluntarily gave a DNA sample to local police at the request of UK officers.

The sample was analysed in the UK, where it matched the DNA profile taken from semen found on the victim.

Mr Tomczak was brought back to the UK to face trial under a European arrest warrant, before being repatriated to Poland after his conviction.

He had denied the attack, saying he had gone home after becoming separated from friends.

Link