Man jailed 35 years after Totterdown rape

A mystery rape case left unsolved for 35 years has finally ended in prison for a 62-year-old man who was traced using modern DNA evidence.

A 22-year-old woman was grabbed off her bike as she rode along Wells Road in Totterdown in July 1981 and raped by Stephen McCafferty who was sitting drunk in his car on a side road.

McCafferty, jailed for four years and eight months on Friday, put his socks on his hands on the night of the attack to cover his victim’s screams as he subjected her to what police called a “horrific” attack which included threats to kill her.

The cold case was left unsolved until last year when police linked DNA found on the victim’s clothing to that recovered from the scene of a burglary in Long Ashton in 1999.

The DNA had no match in the police database. But traditional house-to-house enquiries threw up McCafferty’s name. He gave a DNA sample at his home in Norwich, before driving to Bristol to confess.

In police interview he said that at the time he expected to be caught for what he did. He told officers in Bristol: “I’m not thinking now ‘I’ve been caught, what a shame’. I seriously am sorry for what I did. I’m seriously sorry that she’s suffered all these years. To me it’s like killing her.”

In response to Friday’s sentencing, his victim said: “I had completely given up any hope that the person who did this to me would ever be caught but thanks to the persistence of the police he was.  

“Even after so many years the effects of what happened still remain, but a conviction is be of some relief.”

The court heard how McCafferty, who has two children, had sat in his car after a drunken row with his wife. He followed the victim as she passed on her bike shortly after midnight before grabbing her and dragging into a nearby front garden and threatening to kill her if she did not let him raper her.

After sentencing him, the judge said: “You will now pay the price for what the 28-year-old you did all those years ago.”

Speaking outside court after the hearing, Detective Sergeant Pete Frake of Avon and Somerset’s Major Crime Review Team said: “The impact of this crime on the victim’s life has been immense, as 35 years on she still lives in fear and doesn’t like to go out alone.

“Her bravery is inspiring and we appreciate all the support she’s given us throughout the re-investigation of this case.

“It’s also important to recognise the lives of Stephen McCafferty’s family have been ruined as his confession to this crime came completely out of the blue. He’s been able to keep his offending a secret from everyone around him for all those years.”

The Bridge Sexual Assault Referral Centre provides medical care and emotional and practical support to anyone affected by rape and sexual assault. www.thebridgecanhelp.org.uk

Read more: The Bristol police cracking cold cases