EXCLUSIVE – Notorious sex predator dubbed the ‘Notting Hill Rapist’ who violently attacked string of ‘career women’ in the 1980s before he was jailed for life is denied parole ‘for the protection of the public’
- Sex predator known as ‘Notting Hill Rapist’ is denied parole for public protection
- Anthony Maclean, 66, was jailed for life in 1989 after targeting ‘career women’
A notorious sex predator known as the ‘Notting Hill Rapist’ for committing a series of violent attacks in the heart of the fashionable neighborhood has been refused parole because he continues to put himself in ‘risky situations’.
Anthony Maclean, now 66, was jailed for life in 1989 after being found guilty of a string of rapes and sex assaults against ‘career women’ he targeted in the West London district.
The body builder and prolific burglar sparked one of the capital’s biggest manhunts during his reign of terror from 1982 to 1987, with victims ranging from a peer’s daughter to a stockbroker.
He stalked the up-and-coming old ‘racecourse’ area of Notting Hill, nowadays known for its famous streets such as Ladbroke Grove and Portobello Road, with its iconic market.
The 1999 film ‘Notting Hill’ made the area a must-see as the glamorous location for the movie of the same name starring Hugh Grant as the bookshop owner who meets a famous American actress played by Julia Roberts.
Anthony Maclean, known as the Notting Hill Rapist, was denied parole for public protection
Maclean, a prolific burglar, focused on basement and ground-floor flats, which he would watch for days before breaking in just before his victim returned from work.
He would then unscrew the hall light so that the woman would be left in the dark when she returned from work. Maclean would then pounce, sometimes holding a knife and putting a hood over their head.
Maclean would gag, blindfold and bind the terrified victim. He promised to just burgle the house, but would rape or sexually assault the woman before fleeing into the night.
The masked rapist evaded hundreds of police and undercover detectives assigned to the case and was only caught when a lone policeman followed a hunch that linked Maclean to his victims via DNA.
He was sentenced to life at the Old Bailey on April 13, 1989 for attacking seven women over a five-year period. Maclean was 32 years old at the time and was given a minimum term of 12-years which expired in March 2000.
Maclean has so far spent an additional 23-years in jail for the protection of the public. This was his 12th review by the Parole Board and he was given the news of his rejection for release earlier this week (26/6).
A summary of the decision by the three-person parole panel states: ‘Mr Maclean had believed it was acceptable to use aggression and he had been aroused by aspects of violence and humiliation.
‘He had experienced difficulties in managing extremes of emotion-his feelings of suspicion and anger had fuelled a sense of grievance.
‘He had led an unhelpful way of life, associating with people who demonstrated anti-social behaviours, acting impulsively at times, and giving insufficient thought to the consequences of his actions for victims.’
The Parole Board said that Mclean had undertaken accredited sex offender programmes and had been moved to an open jail between 2017 and 2019. He was subsequently transferred back to closed conditions. No reasons were given.
Maclean had been returned to an open jail and ‘since May 2021, Mr Maclean had successfully completed temporary releases from prison.’
The board continued: ‘His behaviour had generally been good. Mr Maclean had worked one-to-one with a psychologist and with a mentor.
‘He had also completed a preparatory course which focused on living independently in the community.’
But it warned: ‘His probation officer remained concerned about how Mr MacLean reacted to challenge and whether he would disclose readily enough some of the risky situations he appeared to put himself in.’
It concluded: ‘After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the other evidence presented at the hearings, the panel was satisfied that Mr Maclean’s continued imprisonment remained necessary for the protection of the public and in consequence of this decision, Mr Maclean will remain in open conditions.’
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ‘“We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Anthony Maclean following an oral hearing.
‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.’
The first attack attributed to the Notting Hill Rapist occurred late at night on August 12, 1982 when a female solicitor who had been out with friends returned to her home where she lived alone in Clarendon Road, Notting Hill.
She tried the light but it did not work. Seconds later she was grabbed from behind, pulled further into the property and sexually assaulted. Heroically she fought back and kicked the man between the legs. He fled.
Two further attacks – the first just 100-yards from the Clarendon Road attack – led police to believe they were hunting a serial sex attack. In both incidents, the victims fought back after being sexually assaulted. The attacker fled.
The attacks were getting more violent and in late December 1982 a Middle Eastern woman was brutally beaten and forced to perform a brutal sex act in flat Ladbroke Grove. She had a sharp knife forced into her mouth. That was the last attack for three months.
Despite increased patrols and undercover operations the sadist remained free. Mclean was biding his time and struck on April 22, 1983 using the same method of entry and attack on a woman in Lansdowne Road. For the first time he committed rape.
The press dubbed the attacker the Notting Hill Rapist after this assault and the story became front page news as the police floundered in their attempts to apprehend him.
Women in the neighborhood lived in mortal fear and security firms did a thriving trade in secure door locks and burglar alarms.
Then, inexplicitly, the attacks stopped and over the years the fear began to fade.
On the May 4, 1987, the nightmare returned in a horrific fashion when a solicitor was attacked after she returned to her Lansdowne Road flat.
The woman tried to halt the attack by saying that she had the AIDS virus, but chillingly, her attacker said: ‘I have too, I’ll take the chance.’
The next day one paper stated on its front page: ‘The Mass Rapist is Back!’ At his trial, it emerged that Maclean had been in jail for burglary when the attacks temporarily stopped.
At his trial , Mr Maclean was labelled a ‘total menace’ and a ‘sex maniac’
Maclean is believed to have tried more attacks, but the area was swamped by police and he was thwarted twice, once being grabbed by the leg by a pursuing officer before escaping.
Maclean was finally nailed due to a hunch of a local beat constable, PC Graham Hamilton. He believed Mclean fitted all the criteria, but a test of his DNA against crime scene evidence did not match.
In February 1987, Maclean provided a second blood sample after being interviewed. Amazingly, this matched the crime scene sample. The results of the first had been wrongly transcribed.
At trial an expert said the chances of the sample belonging to anyone else was three million to one. Maclean was convicted of rape, attempted rape, robbery and burglary.
City of London Recorder Sir James Miskin, QC, told him: ‘You are a total menace to women, and these three rapes were absolutely foul.’
Detective Chief Superintendent Hutchinson, who led the hunt, said at the time: ‘I am absolutely delighted this sex maniac has been taken off the streets.
‘While casing places, he saw the girls and realised how easy it would be for him to rape them. When we kept watch, we found girls undressing in front of their windows, Maclean would have seen the same and he was tempted.’ the chance”.
Maclean is likely to be eligible for another parole hearing next year because of delays in getting his 12th review heard due to ill-health.
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