An Indonesian doctorate student is now being shamed as the “world’s worst rapist” after being convicted of 159 sex-related offenses in the U.K.
Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years for his crimes — which included 136 rapes — against 48 men over a period of two-and-a-half years.
Identified for the first time on Monday, Sinaga was already serving life with a minimum of 20 years for offenses he was found guilty of in two earlier trials.
Aside from 136 counts of rape, he was convicted of eight counts of attempted rape, 14 counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration, the BBC reported.
Sinaga reportedly lured his victims from Manchester clubs to his apartment, where he drugged and assaulted them.
He also filmed the attacks on his victims, many of whom woke up with no recollection of the events.
The Crown Prosecution Service described Sinaga as “the most prolific rapist in British legal history.”
“In my judgment you are a highly dangerous, cunning and deceitful individual who will never be safe to be released,” Judge Suzanne Goddard QC told Sinaga.
Following Sinaga’s sentencing, Greater Manchester police opened a major incident hotline to welcome further reports. They believe the Ph.D. student assaulted at least 195 men over a longer period, according to The Guardian.
So far, the incident room has received a “very positive response.” Approximately 30 calls had reportedly been made, but it’s unclear how many came from potential victims.
Sinaga arrived in Britain at the age of 24 on a student visa in 2007. He was reportedly funded by his father, a property tycoon.
The doctorate student lived in an apartment close to Manchester’s gay village. He was reluctant to return home as his parents — who did not know that he was gay — wanted him to marry and raise a family.
“My impression is that the family found him not normal but he never told them that he was gay,” a former friend told the Daily Mail. “He used to change his hair and clothes to go home.”
Sinaga completed two master’s degrees at Manchester University. He then enrolled for a Ph.D. in geography at Leeds University, working on a thesis titled “Sexuality and everyday transnationalism: South Asian gay and bisexual men in Manchester.”
Sinaga was raised as a Catholic and remained a devout Christian while staying in Manchester. He attended St. John’s and St. Chrysostom’s, a liberal Anglican church in Rusholme, where he made friends with two older gay men he calls his “gay parents.”
The churchgoing student targeted heterosexual men. In an online conversation, he revealed the method he used to prey on his victims.
“F****** hell, black magic potion,” Sinaga wrote. “Manchester is a magical city. City of gay romance, city of gay love.
“Take a sip of my secret poison. It’ll make you fall in love. One drop should be enough.”
Sinaga’s conviction reportedly came as a shock to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country where homosexuality is generally frowned upon and remains illegal in certain areas.
Indonesian students in the U.K. have also commented on the news, expressing shame over Sinaga’s actions and concerns for their own academic careers.
“First of all he’s an Indonesian, and an Indonesian Ph.D. student,” a 30-year-old Indonesian Ph.D. student from the University of Lancaster told The Jakarta Post.
“It’s not easy to get into a Ph.D. program in the UK as an Indonesian, and we Ph.D. students have worked hard to make Indonesia proud and a case like this seems to undo all that hard work.”
Feature Images via Greater Manchester Police / Crown Prosecution Service
