James Bodenham, a convicted child rapist, is once again incarcerated, this time for failing to comply with the sex offenders register requirements. Bodenham had previously been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for raping an 11-year-old girl in Addiscombe in March 2014.
The victim’s parents contacted the police on March 1, 2014, when their daughter was late returning from visiting a relative. Upon her arrival, she informed officers that she had been sexually assaulted by a man she had met earlier that day. Detectives quickly identified a man matching the description provided by the girl on CCTV footage and circulated his image among local officers. One officer recognized Bodenham as a cyclist he had stopped weeks earlier. Subsequently, on March 19, 2014, Bodenham was arrested at his home, where police seized clothing matching what the victim’s attacker had worn. DNA sample analysis led to two counts of rape charges against him.
Bodenham pleaded guilty to one of the rape charges, with the other count remaining on file. He was subsequently sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison at the Old Bailey. After serving his full sentence, Bodenham was released from prison on March 1, 2023. However, he failed to adhere to the sex offender register requirements by not attending a police station within three days of his release.
Further complications arose for Bodenham when, on November 8, 2023, he was apprehended for the possession of cannabis in Lambeth. The following day, on November 9, he appeared before Croydon Magistrates’ Court, where he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with sex offenders register requirements and possession of a Class B drug.
Bodenham’s sentencing, which was scheduled for November 28 at Inner London Crown Court, was postponed when an officer at HMP Thameside reported that he had ingested a suspect drug parcel. The sentencing is now rescheduled for mid-December.
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