Darlington rape victim sees justice served after 25 years (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Darlington rape victim sees justice served after 25 years

8:00am Saturday 28th April 2012 in News

A WOMAN who was raped more than 25 years ago saw her attacker jailed for eight years yesterday, and said she hopes her case will help other victims.

Joy Smith, from Darlington, waived her right to anonymity after the jailing of Alexander McGuire, 61, at Reading Crown Court.

He escaped justice for a quarter of a century after he was wrongly found innocent when he stood trial.

However, forensic evidence was re-examined using new techniques and revealed a DNA profile that matched McGuire’s.

He pleaded guilty to the 1986 rape in March after detectives concluded the likelihood they had got the wrong man was one in a billion.

The court heard that he targeted the married mother-ofthree while she was at work at a branch of McDonald’s in Windsor, Berkshire, in November 1986.

Mrs Smith was on a late shift and went down to the restaurant’s lower area at about 9pm to use the toilet.

As she emerged from the cubicle, she was confronted by McGuire, who told her he had a knife and raped her.

He was arrested some months after the attack, but found not guilty on the orders of the judge. The verdict came despite evidence from his victim, then 29, who picked him out in an identity parade.

Years later, her ordeal was reinvestigated by Thames Valley Polices major crime review squad.

Using methods of DNA The Weekend is about to get a whole lot better FROM next week, The Northern Echo’s Saturday issue will be expanding into the biggest, brightest package ever published in the paper’s 141-year history.

We are delighted to announce that a great new property pull-out called Weekend Homes will be added to the paper. It is a must for anyone looking for North-East properties to buy, rent or bid for in auctions.

Chris Lloyd’s ever-popular Echo Memories local history supplement will move from its regular Wednesday slot to be added to the Saturday package as Weekend Memories.

Sport is comprehensively covered from the professional ranks right down to the grassroots, with a 16-page Weekend Sport pull-out and a 16-page Local Heroes supplement.

In addition, there is the usual 48-page Weekend Magazine, featuring the week’s TV guide, celebrity features and a focus on health, beauty, food, gardening, and travel.

On top of our unique mix of local, regional and national news, it will be a superb combination, catering for all interests.

Due to the significant additional investment being made in the paper, the price of The Northern Echo on Saturdays will rise to 80p, but we are confident that it will continue to be the bestvalue newspaper for the people of the North-East and North Yorkshire.

‘NO STIGMA’: Joy Smith and her husband, Colin, outside court Picture: KATIE HODGE analysis that were not available to the original investigation team, they were able to pin the crime on McGuire.

Officers applied to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consent for the case to be reinvestigated.

McGuire was arrested at his home in Greyhound View, Sandy, Bedfordshire, in July last year and the original trial verdict was quashed in December.

Mrs Smith, 53, who attended court for the hearing, wept as McGuire was jailed.

Standing outside court alongside her husband and her eldest son, she said: “It has just been a shadow hanging over me, constantly there when you go out, the fear that something will happen.

“I could not get past it, I could not get on with my life.

It was always there.

“But I felt today like I let go of it, hopefully, and put it behind me as best I can.”

Explaining her decision to waive her right to anonymity, she said: “I want other women to realise being raped is nothing to be ashamed of – they need to come forward.

“I have spent too many years being ashamed but I want people to know there’s no stigma."