A RAPIST was yesterday found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting two girls with intent to rape them. Mark Thomas Clark (29), of no fixed abode, was found guilty at Belfast Crown Court yesterday of kidnapping the two girls within hours of each other in September, 1995, and assaulting one with intent to rape.
Following the jury's verdict: a Crown lawyer said that at the time of the offences Clarke was free on licence after serving part of a nine-year sentence for rape, and had also been sentenced to seven years on an earlier occasion for attempted rape.
During the trial, one girl said Clarke forced her into a car at knife point. She was taken to a flat in the Markets area of Belfast where she was assaulted. She escaped when Clarke left the flat. A few hours later, Clarke attempted to force the second girl into a car. She too escaped.
Mr Justice McCollum adjourned sentence for a month.