Rapist who repeatedly attacked two women and brutally beat them set to spend at least 20 years behind bars

Curtis Hendrickson was given life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years at Stafford Crown Court on Friday, March 22 after pleading guilty to 11 rapes and a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, involving two victims at addresses in Birmingham.

In the case at Birmingham Crown Court in September, those in attendance heard how the 34-year-old from Erdington had moved from one vulnerable victim to another in a matter of days, subjecting them to brutal assaults and appalling sexual abuse.

The court heard how Hendrickson had put a knife to the throat of his first victim where he threatened to kill her after she had tried to signal for help at a fast food restaurant.

He was arrested after a second victim contacted police when she walked into a petrol station badly injured and wrapped only in a curtain on Christmas Day.

West Midlands Police said that when they took Hendrickson into custody, he accepted sexual intercourse with the two women, but claimed it was consensual.

He initially pleaded not guilty at Birmingham Crown Court, but changed his pleas to guilty to all offences during his trial and was also convicted of failing to comply with the sex offenders register.

His offences were all in the space of a few weeks between November and December, 2022, with both being vulnerable women who had problems with homelessness and accommodation.

Hendrickson befriended the first victim after he tried to retrieve her mobile phone from a group who had stolen it from her, and also told her he was 'part of a Newtown gang'.

Afterwards, they went back to his address where he raped her.

On December 15, 2022, the woman was able to report Hendrickson's abuse to staff at her supported living accommodation but by the time police arrived, he had gone.

He had then moved on to a second victim who walked into a garage in the early hours of Christmas Day 2022 dressed only in a curtain and badly injured, having been beaten so hard with a broom stick that it snapped.

She called 999 and told officers she had been raped on a number of occasions, with Hendrickson being arrested on Boxing Day, December 26.

Robert Mackinnon, adult abuse investigation officer at Public Protection, said: “Hendrickson is a brutal rapist who showed total disregard for the two vulnerable women he targeted.

"He raped them both on a number of occasions and assaulted one so viciously that the broom handle broke when he beat her.

“We are delighted with the sentence. Hendrickson will serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars which will give him plenty of time to reflect on what he has done and the terrible impact of his crimes.

“I must praise the bravery of the two women who reported these crimes and for giving evidence in court which help to convict him.

"We hope the women’s bravery encourages others subjected to sexual abuse and rape to come forward. We are here to help and listen.”