16/07/10…Thame murderer guilty of rape

A convicted murderer, originally from Thame, has pleaded guilty to raping a 15 year-old girl from Maidenhead.

Ronald Cheshire, who has long standing links with Thame, was already serving a prison sentence for the murder and rape of a 17 year-old girl from Bledlow Ridge in 1987.

He pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court to one count of rape, one count of kidnap, and one count of false imprisonment.

The following background information is courtesy of Mix 96:

In May 1980, two 15-year-old girls were walking in Switchback Road North, Maidenhead. They were approached by Cheshire, who was driving a car. He tried to grab both girls, one girl escaped but her friend was taken away and seriously sexually assaulted.

Officers from the Major Crime Review Team, working with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Forensic Science Service, uncovered new forensic evidence, which led to the arrest and charge of Cheshire on the 7th of April 2010.

Detective Superintendant Barry Halliday said ?Cheshire?s guilty plea shows he knew the evidence against him was too strong to dispute.

?This result shows that Thames Valley Police remain committed to the careful review and re-investigation of unsolved historic serious sexual assault and homicide cases. Offender?s who think they have got away with a crime years or even decades later, should be aware the MCRT will be doing their utmost to bring them to justice and solve crime.

?I hope that today?s result will give victims of serious sexual crime the confidence to report incidents, the confidence that they will be investigated fully, and the confidence that Thames Valley Police will work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice. This applies to offences both historic and current.

Cheshire will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court in September.