Sick serial rapist who struck in Lancashire and was sentenced to 13 life terms makes new attempt to win freedom

A serial rapist who terrorised women in Lancashire and across the north of England has made a new attempt to win his freedom after being sentenced to 13 life sentences for his heinous crimes.

Andrew Barlow, formerly Andrew Longmire, was released last year after serving 34 years in prison, but found himself back in prison just six weeks later. The sex offender, now 67, was taken by police to a parole board home on March 6 last year following his release.

However, his freedom was short-lived as he breached licence conditions and had behavioural problems. A subsequent assessment found that Barlow posed an uncontrollable risk in the community.

READ MORE:

Barlow, from Bolton, has now appealed against his re-arrest. A decision on whether he should be released will be announced next week. His possible release has sparked outrage among victims and their families, who have campaigned for his continued detention with the support of veteran MP Graham Stringer.

The relative of one of his victims told MEN: “Last Wednesday there was a hearing on his parole last year after he was free for just six weeks for breaching some of the 32 conditions imposed on him for parole. He is a dangerous rapist who has not changed in my eyes.”

A Parole Board spokesman said: “An appeal against his return to prison was heard on 19 June and a decision will be announced by Wednesday next week.”

Barlow’s release was delayed after then-Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision. Mr Raab described Barlow’s offences as “despicable” and said in January 2023: “My thoughts are with the victims of Andrew Barlow, whose despicable crimes have destroyed the lives of dozens of women.”

“Protecting the public is my top priority, which is why I’ve asked the Parole Board to reconsider its release decision. I’m also overhauling the parole system to keep inmates who pose a danger to the public off our streets.”

Following Barlow’s swift return to prison in April 2023, Mr Stringer said: “This is extraordinary. I think this is another failure of the parole board to use common sense and protect the public from a very dangerous man.”

“You were warned by me and the victims. This is institutional failure of the highest order.”

A relative of a woman Barlow raped in her own home in Greater Manchester in 1987 said in May last year, after the MEN broke the news of his return to prison: “I accepted it in January and decided to get on with my life when Barlow was released – now that animal is back in our lives. We told the authorities but they didn’t listen.”

“Someone must be held accountable. That means all the victims and their families will have to go through the ordeal again, as we did in January when we tried in vain to prevent his release. We told the authorities he was too high a risk and we were proven right.

“I want to sit down with someone from the parole board in person and tell them what happened to our family because of Barlow – not send an email like I had to do in January.”

The daughter of a woman whose mother was raped by Barlow in Greater Manchester in the early 1980s, said: “I was shocked to hear he had been recalled so quickly. But then when I thought about how evil and twisted he was when he committed his crimes, it didn’t surprise me.

“When the victim support worker told me that I got goosebumps all over my body and tears welled up in my eyes, I thought, who did he attack this time? The officer told me that he didn’t hurt anyone, but his behavior resulted in an immediate transfer to prison. I’m just glad he was being watched so closely because his behavior, whatever it was, could have escalated.”

Barlow was sentenced to 11 life sentences in 1988 for the rape of 11 women and a further 56 years for other offences. He received two further life sentences in 2010 and 2017 following rapes he committed in 1981 and 1982 that were linked to him through advances in DNA technology. Because he had already exceeded his original 20-year sentence from 1988, only two more years were added to his sentence in each case.

He was nicknamed the “Coronation Street Rapist” because most of his victims were attacked in their own terraced houses in the north of England – the majority lived in Greater Manchester. Two of the attacks took place in the street.

He also went on strike in Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire in the early 1980s and again from August 1987 until January 1988, when he was arrested. Barlow is banned from entering Greater Manchester and in summarising the decision to release him the Parole Board stated that he was subject to conditions which must be strictly adhered to.

Under the terms of the license, he would have to meet requirements to reside at a specific address, be of good behavior, disclose developing relationships and report for supervision or other appointments as needed. In addition, he must undergo an enhanced form of supervision or monitoring, including drug testing, check-in hours, GPS tracking, lie detector tests and a set curfew.

Barlow had to adhere to further established restrictions on contacts, activities, residence and an exclusion zone to avoid contact with victims. He also had to adhere to certain restrictions on the use of electronic technology and continue to work on eliminating certain risk areas in the community.

Last year, after Barlow’s dismissal, a Justice Department spokesman said: “Protecting the public is our top priority. That is why offenders are subject to strict conditions and if they breach these, we will not hesitate to take them back into custody.”

In a statement, the Justice Department added: “Andrew Longmire is being taken into custody today after violating the terms of his parole. His release will be determined by the parole board. He has not been charged with any crimes.”

“Our Victims and Prisoners Bill includes plans to reform the parole process. This includes giving ministers the power to prevent the release of the most dangerous offenders, including murderers, rapists and terrorists.”