A sex monster who broke into an 89-year-old frail woman’s bungalow, threw her to the floor and raped her was yesterday jailed for 13-and-a-half years.
Anthony Borrowdale smashed a bedroom window, climbed in and turned off the lights so the victim, who lives on her own, could not identify him.
As he raped her, the victim was crying and shouting for help but nobody heard her, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The vulnerable pensioner, who suffers from Parkinson’s, kidney and heart disease also has hearing and speech impairments which makes it hard for her to communicate.
Just two days after the incident she wrote a note for a carer which read: 'I can’t forget what that man has done to me.'
Borrowdale, 56, who has a wife and daughter, is believed to have gone off the rails after his marriage broke down and had been acting bizarrely in his neighbourhood, knocking on the windows at passing schoolchildren, urinating out of his bedroom window, and burping out of his letter-box.
He was arrested for flashing at schoolgirls at a bus-stop 18 months ago but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
After Borrowdale was jailed, Det Con Chris Horsley of Barnsley CID said: 'It was a horrific crime. We believe the lady was specifically targeted and even his own defence barrister acknowledged he is a dangerous man.
'It is difficult to say what his motive was but there were male neighbours living either side of the victim and he targeted her because of her vulnerability and the fact she was female.'
About 11.10pm a next-door neighbour heard a smashing sound outside and went to investigate but could find nothing amiss so went back to bed.
At midnight the distressed victim knocked on her neighbour’s door at the other side but she could not make him understand what was wrong.
Eventually she activated her personal alarm at 12.43am and call centre staff contacted the emergency services. When a paramedic arrived she took him to her bedroom and showed him the broken window and the police were called.
Miss Harrison said: 'She wrote replies to questions and said 'he knocked her down' and 'he raped me'. She pointed at her groin and became quite upset.'
Police recovered her nightdress and forensic tests and fingerprint evidence led them to arrest Borrowdale two days later. He made no comment during police interviews.
His victim was taken to a care home and she has never returned to her old bungalow. She was not fit to give evidence in court.
Borrowdale, of Wombwell, near Barnsley, admitted rape.
He has numerous previous convictions dating back to 1973 for dishonesty and offences involving some degree of violence but no sexual matters.
His barrister Ian Brook said it was a 'heinous' offence and Borrowdale understood the gravity of the crime and had expressed a degree of remorse.
He denied he targeted her because of her age and vulnerability and he did not know who lived in the bungalow and might never have seen her before.
No weapons were used or threats made and the woman had not suffered any physical injuries although there would be psychological scarring.
Borrowdale was of 'rather dull intelligence' and MENCAP the mental health charity had been investigating whether he had learning difficulties before his arrest.
'Ironically he appears to be a very vulnerable person himself,' he said.
Judge Jeremy Baker said the woman was susceptible to strokes and had suffered a heart attack just three months previously and the stress of the assault had put her at further risk.
The judge told him: 'You knew at the least by the time you entered her property that she was a highly vulnerable individual because of her age and physical infirmities.'
He went on: 'Those who are subject to such an ordeal are unlikely to forget it and the psychological damage will be profound and long-lasting.'
It emerged after the hearing that Borrowdale had been in contact with the local mental health team but it was not deemed necessary to offer him treatment.
Neighbours regarded him as a 'nuisance' with rubbish, unopened tins of beans and even a mattress dumped in their gardens. It all stopped when Borrowdale, who rarely opened his door to anyone, was arrested.
One resident said: 'We reported him to the council and police within two months of him moving here. If they had listened to us and everyone else this probably wouldn’t have happened.'
Anthony Borrowdale smashed a bedroom window, climbed in and turned off the lights so the victim, who lives on her own, could not identify him.
As he raped her, the victim was crying and shouting for help but nobody heard her, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The vulnerable pensioner, who suffers from Parkinson’s, kidney and heart disease also has hearing and speech impairments which makes it hard for her to communicate.
Just two days after the incident she wrote a note for a carer which read: 'I can’t forget what that man has done to me.'
Borrowdale, 56, who has a wife and daughter, is believed to have gone off the rails after his marriage broke down and had been acting bizarrely in his neighbourhood, knocking on the windows at passing schoolchildren, urinating out of his bedroom window, and burping out of his letter-box.
He was arrested for flashing at schoolgirls at a bus-stop 18 months ago but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
After Borrowdale was jailed, Det Con Chris Horsley of Barnsley CID said: 'It was a horrific crime. We believe the lady was specifically targeted and even his own defence barrister acknowledged he is a dangerous man.
'It is difficult to say what his motive was but there were male neighbours living either side of the victim and he targeted her because of her vulnerability and the fact she was female.'
Rachael Harrison, prosecuting, said the woman, who never went out of her council bungalow but often sat at the window, used a walking frame to get around. She had to write things down for people to communicate or shake her head
Three care workers visited daily and she was left at 6.15pm on May 31 this year in an armchair in her sitting room, wearing her nightie and dressing gown and happily watching television.About 11.10pm a next-door neighbour heard a smashing sound outside and went to investigate but could find nothing amiss so went back to bed.
At midnight the distressed victim knocked on her neighbour’s door at the other side but she could not make him understand what was wrong.
Eventually she activated her personal alarm at 12.43am and call centre staff contacted the emergency services. When a paramedic arrived she took him to her bedroom and showed him the broken window and the police were called.
Miss Harrison said: 'She wrote replies to questions and said 'he knocked her down' and 'he raped me'. She pointed at her groin and became quite upset.'
Police recovered her nightdress and forensic tests and fingerprint evidence led them to arrest Borrowdale two days later. He made no comment during police interviews.
His victim was taken to a care home and she has never returned to her old bungalow. She was not fit to give evidence in court.
Borrowdale, of Wombwell, near Barnsley, admitted rape.
He has numerous previous convictions dating back to 1973 for dishonesty and offences involving some degree of violence but no sexual matters.
His barrister Ian Brook said it was a 'heinous' offence and Borrowdale understood the gravity of the crime and had expressed a degree of remorse.
He denied he targeted her because of her age and vulnerability and he did not know who lived in the bungalow and might never have seen her before.
No weapons were used or threats made and the woman had not suffered any physical injuries although there would be psychological scarring.
Borrowdale was of 'rather dull intelligence' and MENCAP the mental health charity had been investigating whether he had learning difficulties before his arrest.
'Ironically he appears to be a very vulnerable person himself,' he said.
Judge Jeremy Baker said the woman was susceptible to strokes and had suffered a heart attack just three months previously and the stress of the assault had put her at further risk.
The judge told him: 'You knew at the least by the time you entered her property that she was a highly vulnerable individual because of her age and physical infirmities.'
He went on: 'Those who are subject to such an ordeal are unlikely to forget it and the psychological damage will be profound and long-lasting.'
It emerged after the hearing that Borrowdale had been in contact with the local mental health team but it was not deemed necessary to offer him treatment.
Neighbours regarded him as a 'nuisance' with rubbish, unopened tins of beans and even a mattress dumped in their gardens. It all stopped when Borrowdale, who rarely opened his door to anyone, was arrested.
One resident said: 'We reported him to the council and police within two months of him moving here. If they had listened to us and everyone else this probably wouldn’t have happened.'
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