Man who raped three women in matter of hours on streets behind Manchester Piccadilly jailed for life

A crack fuelled rapist who attacked four women over the space of a few hours treated his victims ‘like pieces of meat’ and 'less than human'.

Stuart Thomson has been jailed for life for a ‘campaign of rape’ committed in Manchester city centre. The 34-year-old went out armed with a knife and targeted sex workers on the streets behind Piccadilly station, after using crack cocaine.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Thomson approached the women and discussed sexual services for payment, before producing a knife and raping them. He raped three women, and attempted to rape a fourth.

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One woman managed to get away after Thomson had brandished his knife. The attacks all occurred within a three hour period on the night of January 30 last year.

Thomson, who was living in a hostel at the time, robbed his final victim of her handbag, leaving her without a mobile phone to raise the alarm. “You treated each of these women like pieces of meat, as less than human,” Judge Hilary Manley told Thomson.

“Your contempt for each of them was plainly evident throughout the trial and particularly when you gave evidence. I am wholly satisfied that you deliberately targeted sex workers as your victims, because you knew that you could get them isolated and alone in a quiet location in order to rape them, and also because you were cynically confident that they would be less likely to go to the police, and that even if they did find the courage and strength to do so, that they would be less likely to be believed.”

The judge said Thomson had committed sexual