Waiter Jailed For Raping County Durham Woman

A man's been jailed for 23 years for raping a woman from County Durham on the Spanish holiday island of Majorca and leaving her for dead.

Moroccan waiter Mohamed Fadel El Anssari was found guilty by a panel of judges at the Provincial Court in Palma and sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexual assault and 12 years for attempted murder. 

His victim, Cheryl Maddison, who has waived her right to anonymity, was raped and stabbed with a kitchen knife when 31-year-old El Anssari followed her home in holiday resort Magaluf. 

The attack took place just days after she arrived to work in a bar on the island in May 2008. 

The 25-year-old suffered multiple stab wounds and a collapsed lung. 

El Anssari's defence had called for him to be found not guilty during his trial in January, arguing that incriminating traces of his DNA found on a cigarette should not be admitted because police had not followed correct procedure. But in a written sentence, the panel led by judge Francisca Ramis Rosello said: ``Given the seriousness of the crime and the time of year it took place - with the possibility that it would happen again after similar incidents had occurred in previous summers - taking the DNA sample was correct and necessary.''