Temesgen Desta jailed over stranger sex attacks
A man who committed two sex attacks on strangers in the space of a few hours has been jailed for at least 10 years.
Temesgen Desta raped a woman, 32, in her Birmingham city centre apartment, grabbing her by the throat and tying her up with a phone cable, on 15 March. It happened only about eight hours after he had tried to rape and choke a woman in Crosby, Merseyside. Desta, 32, who was convicted of rape and false imprisonment, received a life sentence at Birmingham Crown Court. Police launched a nationwide manhunt for Desta after the sex attacks. He forced his way into the flat of the 32-year-old woman just after midnight on 15 March, police said. 'Unable to move' In the earlier attack, he assaulted a 54-year-old woman on a beach. She was left with marks around her neck after he grabbed her throat. Desta was arrested after a week on the run. Det Supt Nick Walton, from West Midlands Police, said the violent sex attacks had been "traumatic and distressing" for the women. "On both occasions he grabbed them by the throat and his victims would have undoubtedly feared for their lives," he said. "Just hours after his attack in Liverpool he travelled to Birmingham and targeted a woman in her apartment. "She was raped and then left tied up and unable to move." Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.