Chilling moment predator stalks victim through dark...

THIS is the chilling moment a predator stalked his victim before dragging her into a bush and attempting to rape her. Paul Jinks was captured prowling through the dark streets to follow the victim, who was walking home from a night out. The 21-year-old grabbed her from behind and put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming out. She bravely attempted to fight Jinks off and break free from his clutches before falling to the ground.

Image Credit: The Sun [Security camera image of a man walking on a sidewalk at night.]

The fiend then picked her up and dragged her backwards into a secluded grassy area where he hit the victim in the face. Jinks then sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape the woman, who managed to cry out for help - alerting a nearby home. The CCTV showed him fleeing the scene in Derbyshire on foot before he was arrested ten days later on July 24. Jinks has now been jailed for eight years and nine months with an extended licence period of six years after he admitted attempted rape.

Image Credit: The Sun [Mugshot of Paul Jinks.]

In a victim impact statement, the brave woman said: "Since this has happened I don’t feel like I will ever be able to go out on my own again, at least not anytime soon. “I feel like I would be terrified doing this and constantly looking behind my shoulder wondering who may appear behind me. “I have heard about these things happening but I never thought that this would happen to me.”. Nottingham Crown Court heard the predator had attempted to follow two other women before settling on the victim.

Image Credit: The Sun [CCTV image of a suspect walking away from the scene of a crime.]

Chilling footage showed him stalking her through the streets in the early hours of the morning. At one point Jinks hid in an alleyway before calmly strolling out to continue following the victim. Police discovered blood stains on a broken bin Jinks had climbed on as he ran away. He was tracked down to a traveller’s encampment where he had been living and arrested. As well as his jail sentence, the fiend was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Image Credit: The Sun [Nighttime CCTV footage of a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime.]

Detective Constable Esther Hodson, who led the investigation for Derbyshire Police, said: "This was a truly horrifying incident where Jinks saw this woman, followed her and waited for his moment to attack her. "She bravely tried to fight him off and thankfully when her screams were heard by people living nearby, Jinks was stopped in the act and fled the area. "He is clearly a very dangerous individual who poses a real threat to women so I'm glad that he is now off the streets and behind bars.