Rapist Who was Living in Ealing Found Guilty After Escaping

Bernadin Dedic freed from Wormwood Scrubs by mistake

Proceedings have begun to extradict Bernadin Dedic. Picture: Met Police

A convicted rapist who was mistakenly released from prison has fled the UK and is now on the run after being found guilty in his absence of a series of violent sexual offences.

Bernadin Dedic, 48, was freed from HMP Wormwood Scrubs on 6 February after a court official wrongly informed the prison that he had been granted bail. Within hours, he had boarded the Eurostar using his Bosnian passport and left the country, returning to Bosnia where he has remained ever since.

Dedic, a businessman who had been living in Ealing, was on remand awaiting trial for a string of offences including four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault by penetration, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, threatening a person with a knife in a private place, and making a threat to kill. His UK passport had been seized by police during the investigation, but he was still able to travel using his second passport.

On Tuesday, a jury at Isleworth Crown Court convicted him on all nine counts. The trial went ahead without him after he repeatedly failed to return to the UK, offering a series of excuses including a knee injury, a skiing accident and, most recently, a claimed heart attack in Sarajevo. Judges expressed scepticism about his explanations, and he eventually became unrepresented in court after failing to pay his legal team.

The offences took place at Dedic’s Ealing home shortly after he separated from his partner. Prosecutors told the court he had been drinking large amounts of red wine and taking cocaine before luring the woman into his basement. Once there, he produced a red-handled kitchen knife, threatened to kill her if she screamed, and cut off her clothes before subjecting her to hours of rape and sexual assault.

Efforts were made earlier this year by a senior judge, police and Border Force officials to arrange Dedic’s return for a March trial date, but he claimed he was medically unfit to travel. The trial was postponed until June, but he again failed to appear.

The revelation that Dedic had been released in error emerged during earlier hearings. A court official had mistakenly recorded that he had been granted bail after mixing up digital case files. The notice was sent to the prison, which then released him. Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, said the mistake was “extremely rare” and would be fully investigated.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has launched a formal inquiry into how the error occurred. A spokesperson said the incident highlighted “deep-rooted issues across the broken justice system the government inherited” and acknowledged the distress caused to those affected.

If Dedic does not return voluntarily for sentencing, UK authorities are expected to begin extradition proceedings.