Chilling footage shows knife-wielding rapist minutes before he brutally attacked female student after breaking into her flat during burglary – as he’s jailed for 20 years

• Courtney Adams, 32, broke into flat in Cavendish Place, Manchester
• Detective Inspector Kat McKeown described case as ‘one of the worst’

Chilling footage shows a knife-wielding rapist moments before he broke into a flat and brutally attacked a teenage female student. 

Hooded and gloved Courtney Adams, 32, was caught clambering over a metal gate carrying a carrier bag after he broke into an apartment in Greater Western Street, Manchester, armed with a crowbar. 

Moments later, he broke into a flat a 20-minute walk away in Cavendish Place where the sleeping 19-year-old student awoke to find Adams hovering over her holding a knife to her face.

He then demanded she handed over cash, thrust her against a wall and got her into a headlock in a sickening attack despite her handing over £400. 

Manchester Crown Court heard Adams ransacked the room for more money and told her she would have to ‘use her body if she did not prove she had any cash’, reported the Manchester Evening News, and angrily told her he would ‘f*** her’.

Courtney Adams, 32, has been jailed for 20 years with a further five years on license after being convicted of raping a teenage female student 

The masked Adams then raped her multiple times before apologising when he discovered she was a virgin, saying her first time should not have been with him.  

He was put behind bars for 20 years with a further five years on license following a sentencing hearing on August 31 at the same court. 

The sick monster marched the teen to a cash machine following the horrific ordeal and demanded she took out £1,000 despite her only being able to withdraw a maximum of £250.

He then took her back to her room through a window before leaving with some of her belongings and cash. 

Earlier that evening, Adams – who had taken heroin, cannabis and crack cocaine – broke into another home.

The victim heard him break in and fled to her neighbours for help. While she was gone, Adams tore through her home and stole debit cards and numerous bags.

 He left no DNA or bodily-fluids at the scenes.

Detective Inspector Kat McKeown has revealed how Greater Manchester Police’s extensive investigation brought down a serial predator – and put him behind bars.

Chilling footage captured the rapist holding a carrier bag after he left an apartment he had broken into earlier that night

Hooded and gloved Adams scales the metal gate following the burglary. The victim had caught him in her home before fleeing to her neighbours to get help

‘This was a series of offences increasing in seriousness over a period of 15 hours,’ she said.

‘There was the attempted theft of a bike, entering a student flat when she was present, and burglary after the victim ran away from the room. He then entered another student flat, stealing property, robbing her, strangling her and raping her, then taking her to a cash point at knifepoint. This was a massive increase in seriousness over a short amount of time.’

It quickly became clear that the suspect was a prolific burglar due to his movements and knowledge of the area on CCTV footage that had been quickly gathered, she said.

‘We deal with rapes on a daily basis, but I have never seen it where somebody has come into the room at night, this is the first case I’ve dealt with in 20 years for someone to do that on a first sex offence,’ DI McKeown said.

‘That tells me he was a sex offender – but he was a burglar first and foremost.

‘So how do you find someone like that? We went to the neighbourhood bobby, who had six years experience and knowledge of the local area.

‘He suggested a potential suspect in Adams.’

From the information received from the local police officer and his experience of him, namely that Adam’s was local to the area, and a prolific burglar – suspected of previous sex offences – Adams was raised as a suspect.

Officers went to his home address in Hulme, but he wasn’t there.

‘He knew we were looking for him,’ DI McKeown said.

A number of CCTV appeals were then urgently issued to the press to find him.

The inspector said: ‘We would not usually issue a picture of the suspect or name them, but the risk to the public was really high.

Adams – who had taken heroin, cannabis and crack cocaine – tore through the home while she was gone and stole debit cards and numerous bags

‘We put out a picture of him in the press at that point, saying we wanted to speak to him about the rape.’

Whilst the appeals were underway, Adams was linked to a burglary in south Manchester, one occurring just an hour before the rape on November 29 last year. With a similar modus operandi, the offender had broken in through the ground floor bedroom window of student accommodation.

Officers also went on to find receipts which revealed the bank card from the first burglary had been used fraudulently – and they were outside the flat where the second burglary – and the rape – occurred.

Adams was arrested five days later and interviewed by the police. He claimed he didn’t remember where he was at the time of the offence.

Officers now had their hands on his mobile phone, unlocking evidence which placed him at the scene of both burglaries and the rape. Cell site analysis showed he was also at the attempted theft of a bicycle outside Manchester Business School the day before.

‘Because of that we got the charges, and because of the risk he posed he was remanded in custody,’ DI McKeown said.

Now the officers had enough evidence to charge, they had to prepare for the impending trial.

‘For six months we collected as much evidence and coincidences as we could, because there was a lack of “golden nuggets” or DNA, we had to rely on circumstantial evidence,’ she explained.

He then calmly walks off holding onto the bag. Moments later, he broke into the teen student’s flat where he raped her after demanding she handed over cash

 ‘Some of these included the jeans he wore for the theft were the same jeans he wore for the burglary, which was caught on CCTV.

‘His phone made a call after the rape, we called that person, carried out a warrant and found a camera which was the same make and model which was stolen during the burglary and rape.

‘The victim also identified him at the ID parade and was 80% sure. And so we ask the jury to consider the cell site analysis, and whether if it was the right place at the right time, or if he wasn’t responsible, then it was an unfortunate set of circumstances.’

The detectives continued working to gather as much evidence as possible, and it was a week before the trial began that they finally obtained a DNA profile matching Adams’.

‘He didn’t ejaculate, so we had to look at touch DNA evidence and if it had transferred,’ the DI said.

‘We went through everything. We were able to find the DNA on a pair of knickers she put on after the rape. But we had to make sure we had enough evidence to convict without the DNA.’

The trial lasted seven days, during which Adams maintained his not guilty plea. He claimed that the police planted evidence at the scene, that they had a ‘vendetta’ against him.

He also claimed that a ‘long-lost family member’ – one who he couldn’t provide details for – was the real criminal.

He was found unanimously guilty of a string of offences – attempted theft, theft, burglary, rape, robbery, suffocation and strangulation – after jurors deliberated for just over an hour. He has since accepted full responsibility for his actions.

Speaking of the impact of the case on the young rape victim, she said: ‘The victim was amazing throughout, she helped us so much. We just didn’t give up. She got justice for us by helping us so we needed to get justice for her.

‘We don’t deal with jobs like this everyday, so when a job shocks us, it’s because it’s genuinely a horrific one. This is one of the worst I have ever done.’

Adams will serve two thirds of the jail term in prison before being considered for release by the Parole Board.

DI McKeown added: ‘It’s difficult to convey just how traumatising this attack was for the victim. She was subjected to a harrowing ordeal by Adams who invaded her home where she should have felt safe and subjected her to a heinous and violent sexual assault.

‘She was a young student and should have been enjoying living and studying in Manchester, but Adams took this from her and she will bear the psychological scars for the rest of her life.’

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