A man who raped a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint in Dorchester in December 2019 has been jailed for 15 years.

Adrian Cordery, aged 33 and of Dorchester, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court to be sentenced on 3 November 2020. He was previously found guilty of the rape following a trial at the same court.

As well as being sentenced to 15 years in prison, Cordery will also be subject to an extended licence period of a further eight years.

At around 9.20pm on Thursday 5 December 2019 the victim was walking along Barnes Way by St Osmund’s School when she was approached by the defendant, who took her forcibly onto the school playing field, where he carried out the sexual assault. Cordery produced a knife and told the victim to do as she was told and she wouldn’t get hurt.

Detectives from Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) were supported by the National Crime Agency as they carried out enquiries into the incident and obtained a DNA profile for the offender but it was not a match for anyone on the police database.

Extensive CCTV enquiries resulted in officers identifying a man who appeared to be following the victim on the night of the attack and a local officer named him as Cordery.

Cordery voluntarily gave a DNA sample and on Monday 10 February 2020 detectives were notified that his sample was a match to the offender profile they had obtained.

Cordery was arrested on Tuesday 11 February 2020 following a search, having made off from officers who tried to stop him near Dorchester the previous evening.

Following the sentence hearing, the father of the victim said in a statement, “This last 11 months has been a horrendous ordeal for our daughter and our family. I am grateful that it has finally come to an end.

“We would like to thank the members of Dorset Police, especially the members of the Major Crime Investigation Team. I would also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and the barrister who presented my daughter’s case, along with the judge for his consideration.

“This has been a difficult case considering our daughter’s age and I would like to offer my thanks to the public, especially those who came forward, that helped the police to bring the culprit to justice.

“My daughter is an amazing, beautiful, caring and kind young lady who has been through the worst ordeal that anyone can suffer. She has shown strength and resilience that I will always admire in her. Although this has been a horrific experience, she shows that good can always come from the worst circumstances. I have struggled to come to terms with this, but even I can see small shoots of hope. This has affected her wellbeing beyond understanding.

“This is a time when she should be enjoying a new chapter in her life but Cordery has taken that away from her. She will carry the mental and physical scars for the rest of her life and, as a father, I can only hope that she can put this behind her and can start to rebuild her life.”

Detective Inspector Wayne Seymour, of MCIT, said, “I continue to be amazed by the bravery and maturity shown by the young victim in this case throughout the past 11 months in the face of all that she has been through. Her courage helped to secure the conviction of Adrian Cordery for his evil crime.

“This was a complex and wide-ranging investigation and I would like to thank all those in the Force, as well as the local community and members of the public, for their support.

“This case shows that we will do all we can do bring dangerous offenders like Cordery to justice and I hope it helps to give anyone else unfortunate enough to be a victim of a sexual offence the confidence to come forward and report it to us.”