Police Blunders Investigation As Man Found Guilty Of Sex Attacks

A man convicted of sex attacks against 25 women was not arrested until four years after he was made a suspect, it has emerged.

Children's football coach Kirk Reid, 44, of Colliers Wood, was convicted of two rapes and 24 sexual assaults but police believe he was responsible for at least 71.

Scotland Yard has apologised for errors which meant he was not arrested until so long after he was made suspect, while the case is being sent to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for a full review.

The court heard Reid targeted women late at night as they made their way home from nights out in the Balham, Clapham and Tooting areas in south-west London.

The 44-year-old was found guilty of raping a woman he grabbed on the street in March 2002, as well as the rape of a woman in a flat in 1995.

In most cases, the victims were grabbed from behind and forced to the ground.

Investigators suspect he could also be responsible for dozens more attacks that have not been reported and a helpline for potential victims has been set up.

After reporting restrictions were today lifted, it can now be revealed Reid slipped through the net during a series of blunders.

Officers in Wandsworth borough identified a repeat sex offender was operating in September 2002, and Reid was identified as a suspect in February 2004.

However, despite the 44-year-old being 'on their radar' on several further occasions, he was not held until January 2008, when Scotland Yard took charge of the case.

IPCC Commissioner Deborah Glass has vowed a thorough review of what went wrong.

She said: "The public will understandably ask if some of these attacks could have been prevented and indeed, if the police took the victims as seriously as they should."

Reis will be sentenced at a later date after undergoing psychiatric assessment.

(JM/BMcC)