A TERRIFYING ordeal suffered by a helpless teenage girl on a dark rain-lashed autumn night - a chilling crime which made front page news in The Star almost 19 years ago.
The victim, then only 19, had stormed out of her boyfriend's house in Stannington after a row and was walking along a secluded road in the Rivelin Valley known as a lovers' lane.
There the young woman was seized by a beer-bellied sex prowler, who dragged her into a nearby farmer's field.
After the attack, the victim staggered through the rain for several hundred yards before two night fishermen came to her aid.
Police called for witnesses to the attack - particularly courting couples who might have been in the area at the time.
And by the following day officers had produced a sketch of the suspect - important enough to be given full prominence in another major Star story.
The attacker had been full bearded, bespectacled and was thought to be in his mid-to-late 30s.
The search was also on for the rapist's car, believed to be a light or beige Austin Montego.
The victim was brave enough to recount events of the night, recalling: "I was frightened what he would do if I screamed. He told me he wouldn't hurt me if I kept quiet. He asked me my name and how old I was.
"I felt sick afterwards. It was horrible," she added.
Next day the teenager took detectives back to the scene of the attack, recalling the sequence of events and the exact location of her assault.
But despite all the information and all the appeals to the public, no one was ever caught and the case soon appeared to have gone cold.
Until this year...
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