Dangerous predator on 'Monkey Dust' forced his way into woman's home and then tried to rape her

A predator who forced his way into a woman's home before trying to rape her was branded as being 'every woman's worst nightmare'. Darren Roche was jailed for life following the terrifying attack at a flat in Manchester city centre.

Roche, 37, fuelled by a cocktail of drugs including 'Monkey Dust', a version of the synthetic cannabinoid Spice, had been released from prison just weeks earlier after being previously being locked up for sexual assault.

Manchester Crown Court heard that two days before the attempted rape, Roche had grabbed hold of a woman on the street before she was able to get away. "In short, Mr Roche, you are every woman's worst nightmare," Judge Sarah Johnston told him, describing him as a 'dangerous' criminal who poses a 'continuing risk to the public'.

READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community

Prosecutors told how Roche had previously been sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in an alleyway in Middleton in October 2020. He was released on licence in May last year and was ordered to report to 'approved premises', where he would be living following his release.

But instead Roche returned to his vagrant lifestyle and taking drugs. The probation service immediately reported him, but he was then free to commit more sexual offences against two women.

The first incident occurred when a woman was walking along the street on Plymouth Grove on a Wednesday morning in June last year. Roche approached and asked her 'where Manchester was', prosecutor Robert Smith said.

He asked if he could walk with her but she refused, telling Roche she was meeting a friend. Shortly after, Roche grabbed her arm with a strong grip and threatened to punch her.

He