Rapist used Snapchat to contact Northamptonshire schoolgirls before attacking them

A 23-year-old from Birmingham has been jailed for 21 years for a series of rapes and sex attacks on teenage girls in and around Northampton.

Samuel Hamilton contacted the girls — one 14 years old, two aged 15 and one 16 — using Snapchat and arranged to meet up with them.

But he was trapped by an undercover Police operation after the girls bravely came forward.

He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court after being convicted of 11 offences including two rapes, one attempted rape, and seven sexual assaults across the Midlands.

Four of the offences were committed in Northamptonshire with others in Derbyshire and the West Midlands against four girls.

Hamilton was finally caught after detectives from the three areas had each launched their own investigations only to find he had struck in all three areas between 2018 and 2020.

None of his victims were known to each other.

Hamilton, who was convicted last month and sentenced on Tuesday, will serve 16 years in prison and a further five years on licence. He will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and has been issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice.

Summing up, Judge James Sampson said: “Each rape was opportunistic and you clearly showed no remorse.”

Detective Dan Hayes, who led the Northamptonshire Police investigation said: “Hamilton is clearly a predator, a dangerous man who has shown no remorse for his actions or the impact they have had on his victims, which will be felt for a very long time.

“I am very pleased with this sentence, which will give Samuel Hamilton plenty of time to think about the consequences of his actions.

“I would like to thank the victims for showing immense bravery in coming forward, giving evidence and telling their story, putting themselves through what has been a lengthy trial.

"That takes a lot of guts and these are children at the end of the day.

“While this sentence can never undo what happened, I hope they will find some comfort in knowing justice has been served and Hamilton is now behind bars and unable to find more victims.

“I’d like to end by thanking all the officers involved in this trial, the prosecution barrister and the Crown Prosecution Service who have spent countless hours working hard in an effort to ensure these victims were able to get some justice and hopefully some closure.”