A woman in her 80s has been left living in permanent fear after a 'dangerous and violent sexual predator' with a long history of targeting women forced his way in her Helston home with what the judge described as a 'rape kit.'

Judge Simon Carr said he gave serious consideration to sentencing David Brown to life in prison, but the details of the offence did not meet the threshold.

However, 71-year-old Brown was sentenced to 21 years – including 13 years in custody and eight on extended licence.

It is after he was found guilty by a jury at Truro Crown Court of false imprisonment with intent to commit a sexual offence, along with suffocation.

Judge Carr said he was sure that had it not been for the intervention of a neighbour then a sexual assault would have subsequently taken place, and he commended the neighbour for their actions in preventing this.

He said Brown’s victim, a woman in her 80s who lived alone, had been left terrified by what happened on March 19 this year.

“You knocked and she answered, assuming it was a parcel being delivered. You forced your way in to the house and she retreated to the kitchen, trying to get to the back door which she knew was her only way of escape.

“She tried to scream out until you put your hand over her face, suffocating her,” said Judge Carr.

He added that intervention by the neighbour “undoubtedly saved her,” and said items found with Brown at the time of his arrest “can only be described as a rape kit.”

“The effect upon the woman has been devastating. She lives alone and now lives in permanent fear of someone like you coming to her house again,” he said.

The judge said Brown showed 'not one iota of remorse' (Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)

Judge Carr told Brown: “You are 71. You show not one iota of remorse for what you did; I don’t think you’re capable of it.”

He described Brown as a “dangerous and violent sexual predator” since he was 19, who had targeted women in their homes and continued to pose a high risk to society.

The court was told Brown was convicted of his first offence in 1971 and this was followed by repeated offending throughout his lifetime.

In September 1980 he was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary with intent to commit rape and unlawful wounding, when he posed as a door-to-door salesman and entered with a knife.

In 1999 he was convicted of burglary, robbery and indecent assault on a woman in a car, with further offending in 2003, 2006 and between 2008 and 2011, when he committed six breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

In 2013 he pushed a woman to the ground in her own home and punched her to the head. He was found to have rope and a lock knife on him and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, with four years extended licence.

His defence barrister said it was fair to say that, with the exception of his childhood, Brown had “always lived an unstable and unhappy life,” which included two years being homeless.

Since being in prison on remand, Brown had been a polite prisoner who worked in the workshop in the morning, and the prison library in the afternoon.

“He seeks to make an apology to the complainant if he frightened her, but protests that he intended to carry out any attack,” added the barrister.

Brown, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 21 years, including 13 years in custody, of which he must serve two thirds before he is eligible to appear before the parole board. However, he was warned by the judge: “I would imagine you will serve the entirety of that sentence.”

The remaining eight years will be served on extended licence in the community.

Detective Constable Julian Evans, who led the police investigation, said after the sentencing: “The sentence of David Brown reflects the severity of his crime.

“This outcome has been a massive team effort with the victim’s welfare at the heart of the investigation.

“This was an isolated incident and Devon and Cornwall remains a safe place to live and visit.”