Chichester man found guilty of raping two women

Ion Gheorghe Tanasie, 40, of Pound Farm Road, Chichester, was convicted after a jury reached its verdict at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, February 24.

Detectives have condemned him for the attacks, which happened in public, and praised the bravery of his victims in coming forward to support a prosecution against him.

Sussex Police reported that the first incident occurred on the evening of July 24 last year, when Tanasie raped a woman within the grounds of St Paul’s Church.

Police said, following the ordeal, the victim was able to make her way back towards the town centre, where she bumped into some friends who reported it to police.

From examination of the woman’s clothes, Tanasie was nominated as the suspect. While there was no trace of him on the UK DNA database, he was identified through checks with Interpol.

As enquiries continued, police received a report of another rape on the evening of 19 September last year in The Hornet.