A man who raped two vulnerable women in public has been jailed for 21 years.

Ion Gheorghe Tanasie, 40, of Pound Farm Road, Chichester, was convicted of ten offences in the city after a crown court trial earlier this year.

In the first attack, in July 24 last year, Tanasie raped a woman in the grounds of St Paul’s Church, Chichester.

Following the ordeal, the woman was able to make her way back towards the city centre, where she bumped into some friends who reported it to police.

Tanasie was named as the suspect following examination of the woman's clothes. While there was no trace of him on the UK DNA database he was identified through checks with Interpol.

Police then received a report of another rape on the evening of September 19 last year in The Hornet.

Following a CCTV trawl of the area, Tanasie was again identified as the suspect.

He was found within days, arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration for the first incident.

Tanasie was then charged with rape, attempted rape, assault by penetration, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and two counts of sexual assault for the second incident.

He was remanded in custody to prevent further offending and to protect the public from harm after the two cases were linked.

Tanasie denied the offences but was found guilty by jury of all ten charges against him after the case went to trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

At Salisbury Crown Court yesterday he was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by six years on licence.

READ MORE: Eastbourne: Man admits murdering Tommy Cooper's niece

Passing sentence, Judge Susan Evans KC said Tanasie’s actions were “brutal, callous and cruel” and “stimulated by the pain and cruelty of his behaviour”.

She said: “Both women were vulnerable and you took advantage to abuse them and the effects were devastating, with huge psychological impacts on both women.”

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Alex Campbell said: “This was a complex investigation where Tanasie deliberately targeted vulnerable women whilst they were out in public.

“The quick work of the investigation team to link these two offences and identify Tanasie using international DNA databases led to a swift arrest and the removal of a dangerous individual from our streets.

“I would like to praise the courage of the victims in this investigation for coming forward to report these horrendous crimes and their ongoing support through to and including the trial.

“The impact this offending has had on the victims is huge and having to relive that experience through the court process has brought that trauma back. I thank them for their bravery and with them we have been able to get the justice they deserve.”

Chief Inspector Nick Bowman, District Commander for Arun and Chichester, praised the work of his officers, adding: “People should feel confident and safe in their community. In the days and weeks following these offences locally we increased and targeted our visible presence in the areas concerned and will continue to flex our resources where we identify a risk.

“I would encourage any victim of any sexual offence to talk to us, we will listen to you and we will help you. Thankfully this type of case is very rare and I am very grateful to the investigation team for their hard work in securing the conviction.”

Tanasie must serve at least two thirds of his sentence.