Dunstable man jailed for 16 years for kidnap and sexual assault of teen girls over 20 years ago

A man from Dunstable who kidnapped and seriously sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Harpenden over 20 years ago has been jailed for 16 years.

Alec Housden, 60, of Kingsbury Gardens, was arrested on March 22 after police matched his DNA to the crimes. He was charged with the kidnap and indecent assault of a female on April 7, 2002 and the kidnap and indecent assault of a female on June 19, 2002, both in Piggottshill Lane in Harpenden.

Jailing him at St Alban's Crown Court today (December 19), Judge Francis Sheridan described the attacks on the two girls as ‘terrifying’ and said Housden’s behaviour “can only be described as monstrous.”

On April 7, 2002, the 16-year-old victim was walking along Piggotshill Lane when Housden grabbed her, dragged her into a nearby wood and sexually assaulted her before forcing her to perform sexual acts.

Two months later, a 17-year-old girl was walking along Wheathampstead Road, when he forced her into a car and drove down Piggotshill Lane, sexually assaulting her and also forcing her to perform sexual acts in the woods.

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “We knew the same man was responsible for both these sexual assaults through DNA evidence but we needed to find him, and frustratingly he was not on the national database.”

She explained: “These women, who are now aged in their 30s, went through an unimaginable experience which has blighted their lives and they have never had closure on their horrific ordeal, so we were determined, despite the time that had passed, to find the man responsible.

“I’m sure Housden thought he’d got away with it. These two brave women are pleased that he has finally been sentenced for his crimes.”

On the 20th anniversary of the offences, detectives worked with Crimestoppers to offer up to £10,000 for anonymous information leading to the arrest of the attacker.

Housden pleaded not guilty to the offences in April this year, but changed his plea to guilty a month later, in May 2023. He was charged with a third kidnap of a 12-year-old girl in 2004, which he denied. No further action was taken.

DI Jenkins added: “Legally, offences can only be sentenced under the guidelines that were in force at the time. If he was being sentenced today – over 20 years later – he would have been charged with different offences and would therefore have received a lengthier sentence.

“We regularly review cold cases, particularly serious sexual offences and murders, so if people have offended years ago, you never know when there may be a knock on the door.”

The women Housden attacked read impactive statements in court about the effects of their ‘terrifying’ ordeals in 2002.

The first, Miss D, said: “Your actions, Mr Housden, left a lasting scar, a dark matter, a tumour in the deepest recesses of my mind, that no matter how much I tried to move on, it remains and always will.”

The second, Miss B, said: “I never want to be described as a victim, I never want that moment in my life to define me, even though it does. I have lived with what happened to me in 2002 for over 20 years and I have pulled myself up from the darkest rock bottom.”

His Honourable Judge Sheridan told Housden: “DNA will follow you” and said the police investigating team "were a credit to the Chief Constable”.