Man left rape victim for dead in brutal, premeditated attack, court told

Anthony Dealey was arrested after the victim, aged in her 30s, was found face down in a residential street on November 26 last year.

A jury heard that DNA found on the victim's clothes were "more than a billion times" more likely to be that of the 42-year-old defendant than anyone else.

The prosecution said the woman was subjected to enough significant pressure on her neck to endanger her life during the attack - which left her in a "wretched and pitiful state".

It is alleged the victim was raped, assaulted and robbed of money from a handbag she was carrying during the incident on Queens Avenue in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

Dealey had told police he had been out that night after visiting his brother before returning home to bed with his wife.

Derby Crown Court heard Dealey had an "unusual interest" in reports about the attack and had spoken about it "inappropriately" in phone conversations.

The woman described her attacker to an artists trained by the FBI and came up with a white man in a grey hooded top with part of his face covered, in what the prosecution described as a "sinister image".

Addressing the jury panel on Monday, prosecutor Gordon Aspden said: "The subject matter of the trial you are about to deal with is disturbing and extremely unpleasant."

Opening the Crown's case against Dealey, Mr Aspden said: "Where was this defendant? Was he at home in bed asleep at 3.40am as you might have expected?

"The answer to that members of the jury is no, he was not. He was out and about on foot stalking the silent streets of the town.

"Unbeknown to (the victim) by now, she was being watched."

Mr Aspden continued: "She turned her head briefly but did not recognise him. He was a complete stranger.

"It is the Crown's case that the man who was watching her and following her was Anthony Dealey.

"Suddenly (the victim) heard footsteps and deep breathing very close behind her. Moments later, she was violently attacked."

Describing the attack, Mr Aspden told jurors: "He subjected her to what can only be described as a brutal sexual attack.

"He had his hands around her throat, stifling her cries.

"It was a deliberate and premeditated attack of strangulation. She was convinced she was going to die."

Addressing the events after the attack, Mr Aspden said: "The aftermath of this rape was an obscene spectacle.

"He left her for dead in that wretched and pitiful state.

"There was no attempt to help her, no attempt to revive her and no attempt to summon assistance - even anonymously."

Speaking of the DNA matches, Mr Aspden continued: "A fingerprint expert compared prints with an unidentified male found on the handbag. They matched.

"It was a billion times more likely that the mixture of DNA found on the waistband had come from this defendant and (the victim) rather than someone else.

"There is overwhelming fingerprint and DNA evidence that this defendant had attacked (the victim)."

Dealey, of Erewash Square, Ilkeston, denies attempted murder, rape, assault by penetration and robbery.

The trial continues.