Rapist released in error fled UK on Eurostar

A rapist who held a woman at knifepoint and threatened to kill her if she did not comply with his sexual demands is on the run after being set free from prison in error.

Bernadin Dedic, 48, had been drinking red wine and taking cocaine when he pulled out a knife, telling his victim that if she screamed she "wouldn't be heard".

He cut off the woman's clothes before subjecting her to a series of rapes and sexual assaults in an ordeal which lasted for several hours.

Dedic was released from HMP Wormwood Scrubs in west London on 6 February after a court official wrongly told the prison that he had been granted bail.

Within hours, Dedic, a businessman living in Ealing, had left the UK on the Eurostar and returned to his native country of Bosnia.

His UK passport had been seized by the Met Police during the rape investigation, but he was able to use his Bosnian passport to secure a seat on the train.

Dedic was remanded in custody last year after being charged with four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault by penetration, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, threatening a person with a knife when in a private place, and making a threat to kill.

On Tuesday, a jury convicted Dedic on all nine counts in his absence.

The defendant put forward various excuses for his not coming back to face justice, including claims of a heart attack and a skiing accident, and remained in Bosnia as the trial went ahead at Isleworth Crown Court.

If he fails to return for the sentencing hearing, the UK authorities are expected to commence extradition proceedings.

Prosecutor Simon Sanford told the court Dedic carried out the attacks at his west London home, shortly after separating from his partner.

Dedic is said to have drunk large amounts of red wine and snorted lines of cocaine before luring the woman into his basement.

"When downstairs, she turned towards the stairs and saw him, holding a red-handled oriental kitchen knife," the prosecutor said.

"He stepped towards her, took hold of her and said he would kill her and then kill himself.

"She was extremely frightened but tried to calm him down. He said if she screamed, she wouldn't be heard."

Efforts were made by a senior judge, police officers and Border Force agents to facilitate Dedic's return to the UK for a trial in March, but at the 11th hour Dedic told his lawyers that he was unable to travel due to a knee injury.

Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, agreed to delay the trial from March until June to give Dedic time to recover.

But earlier this month, Dedic failed to show up to court and claimed to have suffered a heart attack in Sarajevo.

When first hearing the news, Judge Hannah Duncan said she was "far from convinced he has had a heart attack" but asked for medical reports to establish the true position.

The following day, with Dedic now unrepresented in court after failing to pay his lawyers, the judge decided that the trial would go ahead without him.

At earlier hearings, it was revealed that Dedic had been accidentally set free from prison after a court official mixed up digital case files and mistakenly recorded that he had been granted bail.

The notice of bail was then sent to the prison, which led to Dedic's release.

Judge Edmunds said in his ruling: "Although such errors are extremely rare, and indeed this is the only instance I am aware of when there has been an erroneous release of a prisoner held in custody to this court, we take this error extremely seriously.

"We will fully investigate how it occurred and what steps can be put in place to prevent it occurring again."

After Dedic's release came to light, HM Courts and Tribunals Service launched an investigation and a spokesperson said: "We understand the distress errors such as this can cause to those affected and instances like this have exposed deep-rooted issues across the broken justice system the government inherited."

In a statement, Eurostar said: "We are very concerned to hear about these allegations.

"Eurostar does not have access to passengers' criminal records and does not carry out border checks. These checks are undertaken by the relevant border authorities, who are responsible for determining an individual's eligibility to travel and enter a country."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk