Monster Rapist Leon Austin Caught After Two Appalling Attacks
Leon Austin, 31, has admitted to raping two women in Gloucestershire, with his latest attack happening in South Gloucestershire last year. He was arrested just a day after the 2022 assault and was already facing charges for a 2018 rape while on remand.
How Austin Lured His Victims
The court heard Austin used alcohol and drugs to target his victims. In August 2022, he spent the evening drinking with a woman in her 20s, taking her to several pubs and back to a friend’s house to carry on boozing.
The next morning, Austin offered to drive her home but made unwanted sexual advances. When she rejected him and tried to escape, he forced himself on her. He stopped at a remote barn in Charfield and brutally raped her.
Terrified, she fled and flagged down a passing motorist before calling the police. Austin was charged shortly after and has been in custody ever since.
Victim Speaks Out on Crushing Trauma
“I have good days and bad days. On bad days, I cannot do anything, I am crippled by an overwhelming fear to do anything, leave my room, have a shower or eat. I still feel I have more bad days than good,” the victim said in a heartbreaking personal statement.
“There have been times that I have to go to my mum because I am concerned what I might do to myself.”
She added that the trauma made it impossible to work, led to weight loss, and even stopped her from celebrating her birthday. Her relationships, especially with men, have been shattered.
“My relationship and outlook on men in general has completely changed. I am so scared and intimidated of any man.”
Cold Case Rape From 2018 Reopened
While in custody, police and the Crown Prosecution Service reopened a rape case from 2018, when Austin picked up a then-17-year-old girl in Dursley. Pretending to help her get to the railway station, he instead took her to a remote caravan, got her high on cannabis, and then raped her.
The girl reported the attack the next day. Initially, police said there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute, but the case was revived in 2022 after Austin’s recent arrest.
Now an adult, the victim described the terrifying ordeal and its lasting impact:
“I wish I never went through it, but I did. I know now how strong it’s made me become and made me who I am today. I thought I was going to be killed that night. I was in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere to go or anyone to turn to. I thought ‘this is it’ that night and have continued thinking that afterwards.”
“After the incident I didn’t want to be around men and I thought I hated them. I didn’t want to be touched by one or even have one around me.”
“Every time I got in the shower and bath for months after the incident I didn’t even wash myself properly. I just let the water hit my body. I would cry and think back to the time I was raped. I felt so dirty and disgusting.”
“It destroyed my self-confidence and made my drinking and drug problems worse. I constantly questioned my worth and hated everything and everyone.”
Austin Pleads Guilty to Shocking Charges
Leon Austin, who has no fixed address, pleaded guilty in January to five counts of rape—two from 2018 and three from 2022—and one count of attempting to choke or strangle with intent to rape.
He faces a long time behind bars for terrorising and destroying the lives of multiple victims across Gloucestershire.
