A “cowardly” rapist on the run in Europe after being accidentally set free from jail has been sentenced in his absence to 18 years in prison.
Bernadin Dedic, 48, was convicted last month of repeatedly raping a woman he had held at knifepoint and threatened to kill, in an ordeal that lasted several hours.
Dedic was remanded in custody at HMP Wormwood Scrubs ahead of his trial, but mistakenly set free in February when a court official wrongly recorded that bail had been granted.
After being released, Dedic travelled to his native Bosnia and refused to return to Britain to face his trial.
The court heard evidence that Dedic had drunk wine and snorted cocaine before holding the victim at knifepoint, cutting off her clothes, and threatening to kill her and himself.
On Friday, Dedic was sentenced in his absence at Isleworth Crown Court, with Judge Hannah Duncan saying he is “refusing to return to the UK for his sentencing, just as he refused to return to the UK for his trial”.
She added that it was Dedic’s choice not to be represented by a lawyer and he did not have defence counsel present.
The judge said she knows the official position is “will not confirm nor deny as far as extradition is concerned”, but she asked the prosecution if there was an update.
She also said a blue notice – the Interpol request sent to law enforcement agencies worldwide to ask for assistance in collecting information about a person’s identity, location, or activities – should be issued.
Simon Sandford, prosecuting, said: “I know the CPS position seems to be that they don’t say anything about it, but I understand that the officer is still pursuing the matter.”
In a victim personal statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said she “can’t begin to recover” while extradition remains unresolved and Dedic remains abroad.
She said: “While on remand the offender was released in error and left the country.
“I can’t put into words what that did to me.
“How is a man accused of raping allowed to leave the country unnoticed while on remand?
“I was relieved the truth was recognised but the man who raped me never had to stand in that courtroom, may never be sentenced in person and remains abroad.”
She added that she withdrew from almost everyone, stopped trusting people at all and her relationship with herself changed.
She said: “I can’t begin to recover while sentencing and extradition remain unresolved and he remains abroad.”
Judge Duncan sentenced Dedic in his absence to 18 years in prison, with a five-year extension.
She said: “I am sure that he knows his sentence today is listed, he has still refused to return.
“It’s quite clear he is too cowardly to face the consequence of his disgusting behaviour.”
Last month, after his convictions, Dedic told the Press Association in a phone call from Bosnia that he did not intend to return to the UK for his sentencing hearing.
He complained that his trial had not been fair, claimed to now suffer from a condition that prevented him from being in enclosed spaces – such as aeroplanes – and suggested he would be prepared to drive to the UK, but only on the condition that he is allowed a second trial.
Judge Duncan said of his claims he would return to the UK for a second trial: “I don’t believe that for a moment, and in any event he has been convicted, I have no power to order a retrial.”
Dedic’s release happened after a pre-trial hearing at Isleworth Crown Court in February, when an official mistakenly mixed up digital case files and triggered a message to the prison that he had been granted bail.
When his trial came around, Dedic claimed to have suffered a skiing injury that stopped him from travelling, he suggested that he was struggling to obtain a visa, and he asserted that he had suffered chest pains on his way to the airport.
In his absence, jurors found Dedic guilty of four charges 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 when in a private place, and making a threat to kill.
