JUSTICE caught up with a serial rapist who abducted a teenage girl on her way home from a night out 26 years ago.

The 18-year-old woman had been dropped off in St Michaels Road, Tilehurst, by a taxi and was walking the rest of the way home when Jimmy Dyer leaped out and grabbed her, dragged her into a nearby garden, punched her and raped her.

But after a cold case review found DNA evidence which linked the crime to Dyer, who was 28 at the time of the attack in 1988, he admitted one count of rape at Reading Crown Court in September.

Rachel Drake, prosecuting, told the same court on today it was “shocking” to read that even 26 years after the attack the victim is still suffering psychological effects.

She added: “Her statement outlines the devastating effect of this offence upon her, both at the time in 1988 when it occurred and the consequence of it being brought back to the forefront of her mind as a result of the cold case review and these proceedings.”

The court heard that Dyer, now 54, had a string of previous convictions for sexual crimes including indecent exposure, sex with an underage girl and raping a 16-year-old, for which he was jailed for seven years in 1992.

Wearing a grey suit and white shirt Dyer spoke only to confirm his name. He held his head in his hands as his 13 previous convictions were read out at the hearing.

However, Alesdair King, defending, told the court that Dyer, of St Georges Street, Northampton, was so deeply ashamed of his behaviour that he changed his name from Gary to Jimmy.

He said: “Mr Dyer says it was about taking power, taking control, about taking a person’s freedom. At the time he only sought personal gratification.

“Mr Dyer recognises now he is not in a position of power. He is essentially in a position of submission.”

But Judge Johannah Cutts, QC, stressed despite Dyer’s early guilty plea and commitment to engage with any treatment the severity of the attack and his criminal record meant a lengthy jail term was her only option.

Jailing Dyer for eight years Judge Cutts said: “This was a vulnerable 18-year-old girl. What you did has had a lasting and devastating impact on her life.

“This was not an isolated incident of sexual violence. There is a degree of abduction, also of violence beyond what was necessary and you caused severe psychological harm.”

She also paid tribute to the victim’s courage for coming forward and added: “I commend her for her courage and hope in some way she can find some way to move forward with her life.”