Reynhard Sinaga was convicted of 159 sex offences. (CPS)
The mother of Reynhard Sinaga, the ‘most prolific rapist’ in British history, is struggling to believe her son is capable of his crimes because he’s from a ‘good Christian family’ that doesn’t believe in homosexuality.
On January 6 the 36-year-old PhD student was found guilty of attacking 48 men, who he would lure from outside of clubs in Manchester to his flat. He was convicted of 159 sex offences, although the total number is believed to be closer to 200.
Sinaga’s mother Normawati revealed that she did not even know her son was gay. “We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby,” she said in the The Sunday Times.
She flew to the UK from Indonesia over to visit her son after his arrest in 2017. Reynhard Sinaga was in hospital after his final victim regained consciousness during his ordeal and beat him up.
“Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall Westerner,” she said. “I wondered if the other person had made up the story.”
Normawati still finds it hard to believe the allegations against him, even though he seemingly admitted to his crimes when she confronted him in HMP Manchester.
“I like to do it,” he chillingly told her. “It was my documentary.”
Despite everything, she remembers her son as a “quiet boy” who “never had a fight with anyone”. He even played the piano in church every Sunday morning.
Before his conviction his mother begged him to return to his home country, but he told her he wanted to follow his ambition of becoming a lecturer.
“He said Indonesia was not a good place to live for him and he felt comfortable living in Manchester,” she said, adding that he had “fallen in love” with the city.
Sinaga’s father, however, has distanced himself him from his son, saying that he “got what he deserved.”
He told the BBC on Tuesday: “We accept the verdict. His punishment fits his crimes. I don’t want to discuss the case any further.”