Serial sex attacker known as 'Coronation Street rapist' to be released from jail

03 February 2023 , 12:19

920     0

Andrew Barlow, also known as Andrew Longmire, from Bolton (Image: MEN MEDIA)

A serial rapist is being released from prison despite an appeal from the justice secretary for him to be kept behind bars.

The Parole Board rejected an application from Dominic Raab to cancel the scheduled release of Andrew Barlow.

He was known as the “Coronation Street rapist” because his victims lived in terraced houses in the north of England in the 1980s.

He broke into their homes and threatened them with weapons before assaulting them.

One woman was attacked as her terrified three-year-old daughter hid behind a settee.

Inside UK 'Hannibal Lecter' underground glass cell housing 'Brain Eater' killer

Barlow, formerly called Longmire, was locked up in October 1988 and went on to be sentenced to 13 life terms for 11 rapes, three attempted rapes, indecent assault and using a firearm to resist arrest.

Two of the attacks took place in the street.

Andrew Barlow, formerly known as Andrew Longmire (MEN MEDIA)

Between 1981 and 1988 he went on two separate campaigns of terror, raping women in five different counties.

The first was between 1981 and 1984 and the second between August 1987 and his arrest in January 1988, when he opened fire with a shotgun as two police officers detained him.

He would spend days carrying out reconnaissance on his victims' homes so he could attack women alone, preying upon teenagers and young mothers.

After spending more than 34 years in jail, the Parole Board decided in December that Barlow could be released.

Barlow, who lived in Bolton and Oldham, was a Category A prisoner until this was downgraded to B in 2010.

It has since rejected an application to reconsider from Mr Raab, who said the panel had “failed to take proper account of the evidence regarding risk and in particular the expert psychology evidence”.

But their decision may be challenged through an appeal to the High Court.

A Ministry of Justice representative says the case “emphasises the need for reform of the parole system” and “ministerial oversight of the most serious cases”.

'How I survived as innocent man in prison for rape I didn't commit for 17 years'

Paul Byrne