Marian Feraru

Marian Feraru, aged 25 from Scunthorpe, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for committing two rapes and additional related offences against women in the town. The first incident occurred on 31 October 2021, when Feraru approached a woman on Teale Street. After she rejected his advances, he raped her. At the time, his DNA was not on the police database, and with no prior record, he was not identified immediately.

Five months later, on 27 March 2022, Feraru struck again in Memorial Gardens, Scunthorpe. He approached another woman, placed a cord around her neck, and assaulted her after she refused his advances. The attack was interrupted when a passer-by confronted him, causing him to flee the scene. Following this second assault, police arrested Feraru and matched his DNA to the earlier rape, linking him definitively to both crimes.

At Grimsby Crown Court in September 2022, Feraru was convicted after a week-long trial of two counts of rape, theft, false imprisonment, and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was acquitted of one count of attempted rape. On Monday, 24 October 2022, the same court imposed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 11 years and 172 days before he can be considered for parole. Feraru, residing at Sheffield Street West in Scunthorpe, will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life and subjected to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.

Detective Inspector Sam Chester of Humberside Police described Feraru as 'undoubtedly a sexual predator who put these women through untold distress and suffering for his own perverse needs'. He praised the victims' courage in coming forward, stating, 'I hope the outcome will offer his victims some comfort in knowing that, by having the courage and strength to come forward, they will now stop anybody else coming to harm at the hands of this man.' The case was reported by BBC News, highlighting the role of DNA evidence in securing justice after the second attack.