A MAN who raped a woman more than 20 years ago has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Daniel Borgers, appeared before Luton Crown Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to raping a woman in October 1992.

The attack happened on a deserted footpath in Stotfold in the late evening.

Borgers grabbed the woman and threatened to slit her throat if she made any noise.

He pushed her to the ground where he raped her for more than five minutes leaving her with bruises and scars.

He was arrested in September last year after DNA taken from him following an arrest for a drugs offence matched that held on the DNA database.

The 41-year-old initially declined to comment when interviewed by police but later pleaded guilty to the offence.

The woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in the public gallery supported by friends and family.

Defending, Timothy Clark told the court that after 20 years Borgers was a changed man, he said he had deep shame and remorse and knows he has to be punished and welcomed it.

Dressed in a smart grey suit and tie, Borges appeared upset and emotional, as Judge Richard Foster delivered the sentence.

Mr Foster said: “I can think of no greater violation of a fellow human being than what you did to that lady, you have been apprehended 20 years later.

“The rape took five minutes, but five minutes must have seemed an eternity.”

The court heard, at the time of the rape, Borgers of Napier Crescent in Scarborough, was 21 was regularly using drugs and alcohol, and was going through a difficult period in his life due to the separation of his parents.

Speaking after the sentencing, officer in charge, detective chief inspector Liz Mead, from the Beds, Herts and Cambs Major Crime Unit said: “That was closure for her, and she would like to thank all her friends and family who have supported her for the last 20 years, she was pleased with the sentence but, she will never forget what happened to her on that night.

“She has coped with her ordeal and her faith has kept her going for all these years,” she continued.

DCI Mead added that the police DNA database was a pivotal part in the investigation.

“Anybody that has committed an offence which is unsolved should know that we keep on looking, we don’t forget, and we don’t forget the victim of those offences,” she added.