UKTV Documentaries

The Cambridge Rapist (2014x1)

Ausstrahlung: Jan 04, 2014

This documentary reveals the story of Peter Samuel Cook, who became known as the Cambridge Rapist. His reign of terror started in October 1974 when he began stalking and assaulting the young female students of Cambridge. The manhunt for the rapist became the biggest in Europe, but it seemed impossible for the police to catch him. At one point, there were undercover police on virtually every corner of every street in Cambridge waiting for his next attack- but still, he managed to drift into the city undetected to carry out his evil acts virtually at will. The attacks lasted eight months, and sent a wave of mass panic and hysteria through the city. Women were scared to walk alone, and virtually every young man was under suspicion. The reason why the police took so long to catch him? Peter Cook was a transvestite and hermaphrodite, who would nonchalantly cycle past police guarding the female student digs, dressed as a woman before committing his assaults and escaping undetected. This documentary unearths the truth behind the investigation and tells how one of Britain’s most notorious criminals was finally caught and brought to justice.