Reynhard Tambos Maruli Tua Sinaga (born 19 February 1983)
is an
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
who was convicted of 159
sex offence
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.
Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
s, including 136
rapes of young men committed in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England, between 2015 and 2017, where he was living as a student. He was found guilty of
drugging and
sexually assaulting
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
48 men during this period, 44 of whom he raped, some repeatedly, although the police believe he was offending for years beforehand. Sinaga was prosecuted in four trials between 2018 and 2020 and was given concurrent life sentences with a minimum term of 30 years; raised to 40 years in December 2020 by the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
.
The
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
described Sinaga as being the most prolific rapist in British legal history.
Sinaga is believed by police to have raped or assaulted at least 206 men since 2015,
which includes the two years before his arrival in the UK.
In Manchester, he waited for potential victims outside nightclubs, pubs and similar venues in the early hours.
He then offered them a stay at his flat, subsequently drugging and raping his victims.
After some of the assaults, he boasted about his actions on
WhatsApp
WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows us ...
.
Background
Sinaga was born in 1983 in
Jambi
Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...
,
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and grew up in
Depok en, Starfruit City
, motto =
''Pariraca Darma''(Servant of the righteousness)
, image_map = Map of West Java highlighting Depok City.svg
, mapsize =
, map_caption ...
.
Growing up in a wealthy conservative
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family, he is ethnically from the
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...
people.
After completing a degree in Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering of the
University of Indonesia
The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...
in Depok in 2006,
he moved to the UK on a student visa and began to study in August 2007 at
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, where he completed a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
(MSc) degree in
Planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
in 2009 and a Master of Arts (MA) in
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
in 2011.
Remaining in Manchester, he began to study for a
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
(PhD) degree in August 2012 on
human geography
Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...
, which he did not complete. His
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
, entitled "Sexuality and everyday
transnationalism
Transnationalism is a research field and social phenomenon grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states.
Overview
The term "trans-national" was ...
among
South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
gay and bisexual men in Manchester", was submitted in August 2016, and was assessed as a "fail", but he was permitted to amend and resubmit it,
and was working on his thesis at the time of his arrest. He was financially supported by his father, a banker who moved into the
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
sector.
Sinaga's mother came to the first pre-trial hearing, but was not present for any of the four trials. While in Manchester, Sinaga lived
openly as a gay man, living not far from
Manchester's gay village, and reportedly had many
boyfriends.
Attacks
Sinaga lived in a flat in
central Manchester which acted as a base for his assaults. He would wait for men leaving nightclubs and bars before leading them to his
flat
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
, often offering them somewhere to have a drink or call a taxi. Giving them a drugged drink, believed to have been spiked with
GHB
''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. ...
, Sinaga would then assault the victims while they were unconscious and video the attack with a mobile phone.
He rarely used
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
s when penetrating his victims; despite this, he was found negative for
sexually transmitted infection
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...
s upon his arrest.
At the time his sentence was announced in January 2020, almost all of Sinaga's victims were known to have been
heterosexual
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
young men, with three exceptions.
He saw "turning" heterosexual men as a sport. Of one victim in January 2015, who had argued with his girlfriend in the Factory nightclub near Sinaga's home, he told a
WhatsApp
WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows us ...
group: "SuperRey saves straight boys from their monstrous girlfriend."
In June 2017, his last victim, an 18-year-old amateur
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player, regained consciousness during the rape, fought off his attacker, and reported the incident to the police.
Sinaga was badly beaten and was hospitalised, while police initially arrested his victim on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.
Subsequent examination of Sinaga's
iPhone by the police led to the discovery of more than 3
terabyte
The byte is a units of information, unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character (computing), character of text in a computer and for this ...
s of digital video evidence of his assaults and rapes.
Many of his victims were traceable because Sinaga kept their phones, watches, ID cards, etc.,
and he had used social media to contact his unknowing victims online.
Some victims unwittingly accepted his friend requests on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
.
Although the earliest case to be tried in courts stems from 2015, police believe Sinaga began the attacks in 2005, two years before he arrived in the UK.
Offences and legal proceedings
Sinaga's earliest established offence occurred on New Year's Day 2015. The man was heterosexual, like the majority of Sinaga's victims, and could remember nothing when he awoke the next day in his abuser's flat covered in vomit.
Because of the false concern from Sinaga, like others, he apologised for imposing on his host before leaving; he had been raped twice.
Sinaga pleaded 'not guilty' to all charges made against him with the result that his victims had to endure relating evidence in court and the videos being shown to the jurors and others present at the trials.
In his own defence, he claimed to have been playing sex games with the other man playing dead in order to fulfil his fantasies. He claimed that the encounters were consensual, a claim found to be false as victims were heard snoring in the videos.
Sinaga attended
St Chrysostom's Church, a liberal congregation of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, and the church provided Sinaga with a character reference for his trial.
The presiding judge, Suzanne Gooddard, remarked during the sentencing of the second trial that "It is almost beyond belief that someone who could profess some Christian faith could at the same time have been committing such wicked and evil crimes."
The St Chrysostom's Church later distanced itself from Sinaga after his conviction.
The four trials took place between 1 June and 10 July 2018 covering 13 victims, 1 April to 7 May 2019 with 12 victims, 16 September to 4 October 2019 covering 10 victims, and December 2019 with 13 victims,
a total of 48 named victims out of at least 206 Sinaga is believed to have raped while they were unconscious.
Police have been unable to trace 70 of his victims.
Sinaga was convicted of 136 counts of rape, 14 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of attempted rape and one count of assault by penetration.
His defence barrister said he could offer no mitigation.
In the first two trials he was given 88 concurrent life sentences with a minimum 30 year term before being considered for parole.
This was raised to 40 years by the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
on 11 December 2020.
Reporting restrictions
A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial proceeding. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim o ...
were in place until the conclusion of his last trial, after which his crimes were made public for the first time.
Detectives subsequently set up a hotline with the expectation that dozens of new victims could come forward.
Sinaga was originally held at
HMP Strangeways, and reported as refusing to cooperate with investigators.
He was moved to
HM Prison Wakefield
His Majesty's Prison Wakefield is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category A men's prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been nicknamed the "Monster Mansion" du ...
in April 2020, several months after his final trial.
On 16 January 2020, Sinaga's case was referred to the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
for being too lenient.
Geoffrey Cox was reported as saying a "
whole life order
In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases, however, a jud ...
" should be considered for Sinaga, meaning he would never be eligible for parole. While a whole life order has never been imposed for crimes other than murder, Judge
Suzanne Goddard QC considered this option when sentencing Sinaga and said that he should never be released. In her summing up, Judge Goddard commented: "In my judgment you are a highly dangerous, cunning and deceitful individual who will never be safe to be released, but that is a matter for the Parole Board."
His earliest date of eligibility for a
parole board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...
hearing
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psycholog ...
is 2060, when he will be 77 years of age.
Aftermath
Sinaga's father, Saibun Sinaga, in an interview with
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Indonesia, expressed his opinion a day after the sentencing, where he was quoted as saying that his son "got what he deserved" and that "we accept the verdict. His punishment fits his crimes. I don't want to discuss the case any further."
had made up the story". She stated that she was not aware that he was gay: "We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby."
The charity Safeline reported a record increase in calls to its hotline for male sexual abuse survivors in the aftermath of the case. Duncan Craig, founder of Survivors Manchester, the charity supporting several of Sinaga’s victims, stated that it had started a national conversation regarding men opening up about sexual abuse.
community. The announcement was swiftly condemned by human rights activists saying that conservatives in Indonesia were using Sinaga as an excuse to target the gay community in the country.