“Jekyll and Hyde” character jailed for more than 40 years for violent sexual offences

A man described in court as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who left victims feeling “helpless and trapped” has been jailed. 

Following a trial, Ian Hamilton, 63, from Dover, was found guilty of rapes and indecent assaults against 11 different women and girls over a 23-year period between 1976 and 1999. The women gave strikingly similar accounts of his violent sexual behaviour, some of which took place while they were asleep.

Today, he was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to 42 years and one month imprisonment, with an additional two years on extended licence.

When he was arrested in early 2024, search terms were found on his laptop that were similar to the attacks that the victims had described. The CPS took the decision to charge the case when three victims had come forward and, after Hamilton was remanded into custody, other victims came forward, saying they felt safe enough to speak up now that he was in prison. 

In addition to the sexual attacks Hamilton committed, he was also frequently violent. He fractured one woman’s leg, going on to refracture it as soon as the plaster was removed. Another woman’s cheekbone was cracked when he punched her in the face, and another was left with a scar after Hamilton bit her nose. He also fractured the eye socket of the boyfriend of one of the victims.

Susanna Mitchell from the CPS said: “Ian Hamilton is a violent sexual offender who has now been brought to justice for appalling attacks on women and girls over more than 20 years. 

“Described by one of the victims as a 'Jekyll and Hyde' character, he would find women and girls who were generally much younger than him and he thought would be less likely to fight back.

“The attacks he subjected these women and girls to were horrific with one describing how she ‘felt completely beaten down and powerless’ and another saying she felt ‘helpless and trapped’. 

“Some of the victims described how they were forced to have sex with him when he demanded it, saying they had no way of fighting him off and were too scared to refuse, as he threatened one woman with a knife and beat others. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service is determined to bring violent sexual offenders like Hamilton to justice and I hope that this verdict gives some comfort to all the women in this case who have been through terrible ordeals.”