The Cambridge Rapist

Between October 1974 and June 1975, small time burglar Peter Cook turned to something more sinister. This 2010 documentary about the so-called Cambridge Rapist speaks to a number of people who were affected by his short but shocking campaign at the time including students and police officers.

Cook was an unlikely suspect not because he was married but because the victims thought he was considerably younger than his 47 years. At that time the county of Cambridgeshire had a population of less than one million, and as the city is dominated by the University, it was inevitable and then some that he would be brought to book. He nearly came unstuck early on when one of the women he attacked got the better of him. It was established that he rode a bicycle and wore a disguise. He was caught virtually in flagrante delicto disguised as a woman.

The programme follows Cook past his trial and conviction to his death from natural causes in his prison cell at the age of 75. He had applied for parole, but thankfully a press campaign kept him behind bars.