DNA breakthrough: Rapist jailed 18 years after attack on 14-year-old girl

A rapist was sentenced to 18 years in prison after raping a teenager – a DNA test led to his conviction. Donald Kargbo-Reffell raped the 14-year-old girl in Bedford in March 2006.

He was arrested and forensic evidence was secured, but police said the techniques available at the time were insufficient to charge him. The case was reopened as part of Operation Painter, an investigation by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit into non-recent sexual offences, using new technology and forensic testing.

Kargbo-Reffell, who was 37 at the time of the crime, is already serving a 12-year prison sentence for a rape he committed in 1999, which was also solved using improved scientific methods. In the most recent case, Kargbo-Reffell persuaded the girl to go with him to a friend’s apartment and plied her with alcohol before raping her.

Kargbo-Reffell, now 55, was found guilty at Luton Crown Court in February and sentenced to 19 years in prison on Thursday, June 6. He faces deportation after his sentence expires.

He was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and is prohibited from having contact with children under 18. The judge praised the courage of the woman he attacked.

In a statement to the court, she said: “His actions have had a massive impact on my life, destroying my mental and physical health. He has destroyed my reputation, the trust I have in other people, relationships with family members and partners, and he has robbed me of the last part of my childhood that I should have been able to enjoy as a young teenager as I grew up.”

Detective Superintendent Emma Pitts, Head of Public Protection at Bedfordshire Police, said: “I am delighted that Kargbo-Reffell has been convicted for this predatory and calculated attack. He knew exactly what he was doing: he targeted a vulnerable girl and believed he would get away with it.

“The way we respond has really evolved since that attack, both in terms of improved technology and the way we deal with this type of sexual abuse. No one deserves to suffer and I hope this case shows that we will leave no stone unturned to get justice for victims. I hope it sends the message that we will always continue to stand by victims and that we are here for you when you are ready to report.”