Geoffrey Collett

Geoffrey Collett, a serial rapist from Coventry, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2011 for multiple sexual offences committed against vulnerable victims, including a young girl and an adult woman. His crimes spanned several decades, beginning in the 1990s, and involved acts of rape and indecent assault that profoundly impacted his victims' lives.

The first reported incident occurred in the 1990s when Collett raped a woman on more than one occasion. According to court proceedings at Warwick Crown Court, Collett claimed the encounters were consensual and expressed surprise when the woman filed complaints against him years later. Despite his denials, the jury found him guilty of the charges related to these assaults.

• In October 2010, a young woman came forward to report that Collett had raped her when she was approximately 11 years old. The assault took place at her home in Leamington Spa, where Collett followed her upstairs into her bedroom. Deeming her bed too small, he took her to a nearby room and raped her, warning her not to tell anyone.
• By the time this abuse was reported nearly a decade later, Collett had already been imprisoned for 30 months for raping an 18-year-old woman shortly after the birth of her child, during a visit where he brought flowers.

Collett denied all charges of rape and indecent assault but was convicted by a jury at Warwick Crown Court in 2011. He was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment at HMP Rye Hill, a privately run facility in Warwickshire near Rugby. One victim described the lasting trauma, stating that being raped by Collett left her with 'feelings of being dirty and tainted.' Another young victim noted that the abuse had robbed her of her childhood, as reported in the Coventry Evening Telegraph from 2011.

While serving his sentence, Collett, aged 60, died on 3 December 2025 at an outside hospital. His death is under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, with the cause to be determined by the coroner. A spokesman for HMP Rye Hill confirmed to CoventryLive: “Mr Geoffrey Collett passed away at an outside hospital on December 3, 2025. As with all deaths in custody, this will be investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. His cause of death will be for the coroner to determine.” The case highlights the long-term pursuit of justice for historical sexual offences in the UK.