Record details
A 'Jekyll and Hyde' sex fiend who violently raped two women seven years apart was today jailed for life.
Married businessman Jonathan Graden, 30, brutally attacked a 24-year-old woman in 2011 as she walked home from a night out with friends.
The brute struck again last year when he raped a 22-year-old woman in her work place after a night out when she tried to collect her bag.
Graden - described by the Judge as a "monster" - slammed his first victim's head against a concrete bridge and used a ladder to restrain his second in a struggle so violent a sink was wrenched from a wall.
He denied having any real memory of the attacks and assumed "it was some sort of dream" because he had not seen anything in the press.
But DNA from the rape last year linked it to the 2011 attack and, following an appeal by police, he handed himself in.
Graden, who was of previous good character, was diagnosed with 'hypersexuality' and had a drinking problem which contributed to his savage urges, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told.
Summing up the impact of his first attack, which took place in Leytonstone, east London, Judge Sandy Canavan, said to Graden: "No sentence I can pass can undo what you did to her that night.
"Nothing I can do can possibly return to her the life she would have had but for your wicked actions; she it was who had to live with the possibility of unwanted pregnancy; she who it was jumped at every shadow.
"I cannot make her feel secure again; she knows from what you did to her that monsters are truly real. She will have to live with that night forever.
"She had been out with friends enjoying herself, and as she was wholly entitled to do, she had been drinking.
"She got off the night bus at about 4.45am and started to make her way home. She had the misfortune to come to your attention. She as a woman alone, at night in drink.
"She was clearly vulnerable. You say you have no real memory of the events of that night, albeit you can remember in detail what you drank the previous evening before you left your home.
"In the absence of any explanation from you and looking at the facts I have no doubt that you intention when you chose to leave your home was to find a woman to rape.
"I cannot possibly understand what motivate you to commit such a heinous act but your clearly abnormal sexual urges and alcohol abuse my have played some part.
"On at least one occasion smashing her head into the concrete bridge when she had the temerity to try and look at you.
"You were deaf to her pleas for you to stop. She feared until the very end of her ordeal tat you might kill her.
"At the end you had the wherewithal to kick her bag away to ensure that if she had a phone you would be able to flee before you could access it and call for help.
"Physically she suffered bruises and grazes to her knees, elbows and hands and a large contusion to her head where you banged it off the bridge no doubt.
"Emotionally her injuries and those to her family and friends cannot be understated. She has written to you setting out, in part only I am sure, the devastating impact that the event of that night has had and continues to have on her."
Since that attack Graden had married and set up home with his wife and got a job - factors believed to reduce the risk of someone re-offending.
Speaking of the second, which happened in Spatifields, east London, after Graden celebrated a promotion at work, Judge Canavan said: "She had gone out for the evening with her colleagues from work to celebrate how well things were going.
"She had left her bag in the shop; she intended to collect it and make her way home.
"She had been drinking, again as she was entitled to do so.
"She got a taxi back to the shop and attempted to open the shutter and gain access to her bag. You came across her.
"Again, Absent any explanation from you as to why you were still out and about long after your celebration had ended, I am certain that whatever urge drives you, you were looking for a woman to rape.
"You pretended you were a good Samaritan, helping her gain access, you then pretend to need to use the toilet.
"You took advantage of her thanks for your assistance to get her into the basement of the shop where you violently raped her. You claim to have no memory of that rape.
"It is no exaggeration to say that you have taken everything from her, her job that she loved, her home, her friends. She has been devastated by what you did and truly wonders if she will ever recover any semblance of who she was before."
Graden, wearing a blue shirt with a green jumper draped around his shoulders sat with his head down as he heard the judge's comments.
Passing a sentence of life in prison with no opportunity for parole for five years and two months, Judge Canavan told him: "You have no previous convictions, you have never been in trouble with the police at all, you have many glowing testimonials served on your behalf.
"If ever there can be said to be a Jekyll and Hyde character, it is you. I imagine that none of the people who said such positive things about you would have considered you capable of the violent rape of not one but two women.
"You are at best in denial about what you did or alternatively deliberately refuse to admit the true motive behind your offending.
"You seek to blame some perhaps undiagnosed mental illness for your offending.
"Nothing I have seen or read about gives me any confidence as to when you will no longer pose a risk of serious harm to women."
Detective Constable Chris Ives, who investigated the case, said: "Graden has been convicted of carrying out two rapes and he is an obvious danger to women.
"I am glad he has been brought to account. In contrast to Graden's depraved and cowardly actions, his victims have acted with courage and dignity.
"I sincerely hope that the sentence handed down today brings them both a measure of comfort and closure."
Detective Sergeant Kendal Moore added:
"This investigation highlights the strength of these two women who have been subjected to horrific sexual violence by this predatory male.
"It also shows that no matter how many years have passed, officers are resolute in their determination to bring sexual offenders to justice.
"Through hard work, resilience and diligence in investigation, officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command and Complex Case Team have been able to ensure that Graden has been convicted.
"I would encourage anyone who has been the subject of sexual assault to contact the police, you will be supported by specialist officers who are determined to bring those responsible to justice."
