Brave victim of 1977 Leeds student-halls rape tells court: 'It's like a horror film on repeat'
Student attacked in her own bed on her first night at university reveals a life of torment.
A new student who was raped by a masked intruder in Leeds has told how she has spent almost half a century haunted daily by the memories of that night.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was attacked by David Sharp who broke into her halls-of-residence room in the early hours of October 2, 1977.
She had only moved in the previous day, excited at the prospect of starting her new life in West Yorkshire.
Sharp was jailed this morning after a DNA breakthrough in 2023 allowed police to finally identify him. He denied wrongdoing but the overwhelming scientific evidence proved his downfall.
In a statement, written by the victim and read to the court by prosecutor Jayne Beckett, said: “I was just 18-years-old when I arrived in Leeds. My heart aches for that young woman.
“It was to be the start of being independent, I had such enormous hope and potential. It was all stolen from me that night.
“I was frozen in absolute terror. It was my worst nightmare and I thought I was going to die that night.
“It was not sex, it was a violent abusive act.
“I was plunged into darkness, desperation and wilderness.
“Even to this day I constantly check doors and windows are locked and secured to ensure me and my family are safe.
“There’s not a day passes when it does not run through my mind like a horror film on repeat.”
The young woman had been dropped off at the Leeds student halls on the night of October 1, 1977 after being driven by her parents from their home in the south of England.
Having gone to bed at 11pm, she was woken abruptly by the sound of her bedroom window being put through at around 3am.
Sharp, who was only 17 himself at the time and wearing a face covering, then climbed through, before raping her.
He was disturbed by a noise and fled through the front door as the woman was left in tears.
She raised the alarm with her halls neighbour and they called the police from a nearby payphone.
Despite efforts by detectives, the case went cold.
Swabs taken from the victim were kept and stored for almost 50 years, until modern DNA-testing technology allowed detectives to make progress in 2023.
Samples re-tested returned a partial match to an existing male on the police database.
They obtained samples from the man’s male relatives and finally had a breakthrough with Sharp’s DNA proving an exact match.
He was arrested from his home in Copland Meadows in Totnes, Devon.
The court heard that he had not lived far from the halls of residence in Leeds at the time of the rape.
He was also known to ride motorbikes in the 70s, with the victim telling police at the time that her attacker had been wearing motorbike-type clothing.
Sharp denied he was responsible but could “not account” for his DNA.