A Warminster man has pleaded guilty to attacking and raping an 18-year-old girl in Grovelands Way, near Were Close, in the town in July 2009.
Michael Higgins, 46, of Victoria Road, changed his plea and pleaded guilty to rape when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court on Thursday last week.
The attack took place shortly after 3am on July 18, 2009, as the girl walked along Grovelands Way after a night out in town with friends.
The girl told police she became separated from her friends and was approached from behind and grabbed by a man, who walked her a short distance to a semi-secluded footpath, close to a children’s playground, where the attack took place.
In the months after the attack Wiltshire Police launched a mass DNA screening in the town, where samples were taken from more than 700 men, and issued CCTV pictures and e-fits in their hunt for the rapist.
Higgins, who was charged in April and admitted committing attempted rape in July, was remanded in custody. He is due to be sentenced on November 4.
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