Trafford: Serial rapist attacked woman in graveyard

Oliver Wolstenholme, 38, raped three women in Trafford over the last decade and was brought before Bolton Crown Court for sentencing this week.

The defendant looked on from a prison booth as the court heard about the sickening attacks carried out on his victims.

Judge Tom Gilbart said: “Your treatment of some victims was such that rape became a systematic punishment.”

The court heard from Ben Lawrence, prosecuting, how Wolstenholme, now of HMP Wakefield, faced 19 charges in total.

These included 16 counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of voyeurism, involving three victims over six years from 2012 to 2018.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

With the first victim, he had continued to forcibly have sex with her when she had made clear that she did not want to do so, while there were times when he would rape her twice over the course of a weekend.

After raping her he followed her when she tried to walk home and then Wolstenholme, from Wythenshawe, went to hospital and made her lie to protect him.

He assaulted her again, using “rape as a punishment” after falsely accusing her of kissing a friend of his, while on a later occasion he raped her at knifepoint.

Wolstenholme’s final assault on this victim took place at a graveyard late at night.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Gilbart said: “You were quite determined to obtain sexual gratification whenever you wished, irrespective of any of the surrounding circumstances or the desires of anyone else.”

Wolstenholme assaulted his second victim, starting with a rape in a hotel after she had already made it clear she did not want to have sex with him.

He raped her on “seven or eight occasions” using pressure and coercion.

The 38-year-old then moved on to his third and final victim who described him as “causing havoc in her life”, raping and assaulting her on several occasions.

In a moment that Judge Gilbart said “crystalises the evidence of your cruelty and manipulation”, Wolstenholme filmed a sexual encounter between them which he then used to blackmail her.

Wolstenholme, who appeared before the court via video link from prison, was already serving a sentence handed down in 2021 for a series of rapes and sexual assaults against teenaged girls.

Neil Usher, defending, had previously told the court that Wolstenholme had a history of mental health difficulties and that over time he had come to express a degree of remorse for his actions.

Wolstenholme had previously said that something “does not click right” inside his mind.

But Judge Gilbart said that given the seriousness of his crimes any mitigation that could be made on Wolstenholme’s behalf was strictly limited.

He said that the defendant’s actions were “grossly serious and worrying matters committed by a man who presents a substantial risk to others".

Judge Gilbart sentenced Wolstenholme to 29 years and nine months in prison with an eight year extended licence period.

Detective Constable Sardar of Greater Manchester Police's Longsight Challenger Unit said: “First of all I would like to commend the bravery of the victims in coming forward and reporting what happened to them.

"Thanks to their actions, a coercive and violent sexual predator will now serve an extended sentence behind bars.

"This sentence will hopefully bring some closure to the victims who can now move on with their lives.

“I also want to thank the hard work of the joint investigation teams in Longsight and Stretford Police Station, who devoted long hours to compile the case against Wolstenholme to ensure he received a long jail sentence for his deplorable crimes.

"Wolstenholme is a danger to women and girls, he groomed and degraded his victims and was emotionally and physically abusive.

"The sentence reflects the horror of what we put his victims through and I hope the community is reassured to know he has been removed from our streets.

“If you have been affected by the details of this case, I would urge you to please come forward and inform police of what has happened to you.

“We treat every allegation seriously, sensitively and will do our utmost to investigate every crime of this nature to bring offenders to justice.”