Student rapist, 26, jailed after four-year spree of attacks on multiple women

Alex Patel-Wills, 26, of Grove Road in Barnet, raped and sexually assaulted five women, including four fellow students

A rapist university student has been jailed for 25 years after a series of vile attacks.

Alex Patel-Wills, 26, of Grove Road in Barnet, raped and sexually assaulted five women, including four fellow students. The investigation was opened after a woman reported being raped in Brighton on October 31, 2021. He was arrested on suspicion of rape shortly after.

The investigation found four more victims, between 2018 and 2021. Another woman reported being raped and sexually abused by him numerous times in Brighton between 2018 and 2019. At around the same time, a woman was raped by Patel-Wills at in London while in a vulnerable state. Two more women then came forward and said he'd raped them in 2020.

In May 2020, Patel-Wills sexually assaulted a woman at a property on campus and, four months later, raped another woman at his home in Brighton. He was charged with five counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration, and remanded in custody, MyLondon reports.

At Lewes Crown Court, the jury found Patel-Wills guilty of offences against all the victims. This included four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault by penetration. He was found not guilty of one count of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

Patel-Wills will spend 19 years in prison, with six years on extended licence.

Detective Constable Vicki Blythe said: "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to these brave women for reporting Alex Patel-Wills' crimes to the police and helping us put him behind bars.

"Every perpetrator brought to justice makes Sussex a safer place for women and girls, and we will continue to work hard to prevent offending, hold offenders to account and support victims.

"Sussex Police is committed to supporting victims of sexual offending and doing all we can to secure the justice they deserve. If you are a victim of sexual offending, please report to us in confidence online, via 101 or by calling 999 in an emergency."