Sick serial rapist who struck in Stoke-on-Trent makes new attempt to escape

A serial rapist who attacked a defenceless woman in Stoke-on-Trent in a horrific series of sex crimes that shocked the country is making a new attempt to win his freedom.

Andrew Barlow, formerly Andrew Longmire, was sentenced to 13 life sentences and spent 34 years behind bars. The criminal was released last year but ended up back behind bars just six weeks later for violating his parole and conduct.

At the time, the risk he posed was deemed unmanageable. Barlow has now appealed against his re-prisonment. A decision on whether he should be released will be announced next week.

The news sparked outrage among the victims and their families, who campaigned tirelessly to keep him in jail. Balow terrorised women in five counties in the 1980s, including Staffordshire and Cheshire. He committed one of his crimes in Fenton in 1988 and another in Crewe in 1984.

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Speaking to MEN, a relative of one of his victims expressed his concerns, saying: “Last Wednesday he had a hearing on his parole last year after he was out for just six weeks for breaching some of the 32 conditions imposed on him. He is a dangerous rapist who has not changed in my eyes.”

Meanwhile, a representative of the Parole Board confirmed: “An appeal against his return to prison was heard on 19 June and a decision will be announced by Wednesday next week.”

As the MEN previously pointed out, Barlow’s release was postponed after Dominic Raab, then Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision.

Mr Raab, who described Barlow’s actions as “despicable”, commented 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 have asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision to release him, and I am overhauling the parole system to keep prisoners who pose a danger to the public off our streets.”

After Barlow’s swift re-incarceration in April 2023, long-serving Manchester MP Graham 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. They were warned by me and the victims. This is institutional failure of the highest order.”

After his return to custody was first reported, a family member of a woman who attacked Barlow in her own home in Greater Manchester in 1987 said in May last year: “I accepted it in January and decided to get on with my life when Barlow was released – now this animal is back in our lives. We told the authorities but they didn’t listen.”

A relative of the victim added: “Someone must be held accountable. This means that all 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 that he was too high a risk and we were proven right.”

She also stressed her desire to speak directly to someone from the parole board, saying: “I want to sit down in person with someone from the parole board and tell them what happened to our family because of Barlow – not send an email like I had to do in January.”

A daughter whose grandmother was a victim of Barlow’s crimes in the early 1980s expressed shock at the news of his dismissal, saying: “I was shocked to hear that he was being dismissed so soon. But then when I think about how evil and depraved he was when he committed his crimes, I’m not surprised.”

When she learned of the situation, she described the emotional moment: “When the victim support worker told me, I got goosebumps all over my body and then my eyes swelled with tears. I thought, who did he attack this time? The officer told me he didn’t hurt anyone, but his behavior would have resulted in an immediate transfer to prison. I’m just glad he was being monitored so closely because his behavior, whatever it was, could have escalated.”

Barlow was sentenced to 11 life sentences in 1988 for raping 11 women, and had been sentenced to a further 56 years for other crimes. He received two more life sentences in 2010 and 2017 for rapes committed in 1981 and 1982, which were traced to him through advances in DNA technology.

Since he had already served the original 20-year prison sentence from 1988, his sentence was only extended by two years each time.

He was nicknamed the “Coronation Street Rapist” because most of his victims were attacked in their own terraced houses in the north of England, with the majority living in Greater Manchester. Two of the attacks occurred on the street.

He also targeted victims in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire and South Yorkshire in the early 1980s and again from August 1987 until his arrest in January 1988.

Barlow is banned from entering Greater Manchester and, according to the Parole Board’s summary of the decision to release him, will be subject to strict licensing conditions.

As part of these license conditions, he must meet requirements such as living at a certain address, being of good behavior, disclosing any developing relationships, and reporting for supervision or other appointments as required. In addition, he must undergo enhanced supervision or monitoring measures, including drug testing, check-in hours, GPS tracking, lie detector tests, and adhering to a specific curfew.

Barlow was bound by several restrictions on contact, activities and residence and had an exclusion zone established to prevent contact with victims. He was also required to adhere to certain restrictions on the use of electronic technology and to continue to care for identified risk areas within 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 them, we will not hesitate to take them back into custody.”

The Justice Department further announced: “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.”

In addition, the Ministry of Justice stated: “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.”

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