Curtis Hendrickson, 34, from Erdington has been handed a life sentence after an string of appalling rapes and sexual abuse
A Birmingham rapist who moved between victims “in a matter of days” has been handed a life sentence for a string of chilling attacks. Vile Curtis Hendrickson was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years for his shocking crimes, which saw one of his vulnerable victims seek help from a petrol station wrapped in just a shower curtain.
Hendrickson, 34, from Erdington was found guilty of 11 counts of rape and a charge of assault in September 2023. He was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Friday, March 22 to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years for his brutal assaults and appalling sexual abuse.
Following sentencing, West Midlands Police described Hendrickson as a “brutal rapist who showed total disregard for the two vulnerable women he targeted.” Detectives spoke of how he boasted to one victim that he was a Birmingham gangster, and beat one woman so badly with a broom handle it broke.
Hendrickson, aged 34, from Erdington, had pleaded guilty to 11 rapes and a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, involving two victims at addresses when he appeared at Birmingham Crown Court in September last year.
He appeared back at Stafford Crown Court last Friday, March 22, for sentencing and was handed life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years for his vile crimes. Hendrickson had put a knife to the throat of his first victim where he threatened to kill her after she had tried to signal for help at a fast food restaurant.
He was arrested after a second victim contacted police when she walked into a petrol station badly injured and wrapped only in a curtain on Christmas Day.
When police arrested Hendrickson he claimed he had “consensual sex” with the women. He initially pleaded not guilty at Birmingham Crown Court but changed his pleas to guilty to all offences during his trial. Hendrickson was also convicted of failing to comply with the sex offenders register.
Hendrickson’s chilling crimes were carried out in the space of a few weeks between November and December 2022. Both victims were vulnerable women who had problems with homelessness and accommodation.
Hendrickson befriended the first victim after he tried to retrieve her mobile phone from a group who had stolen it from her, and also told her he was ‘part of a Newtown gang’. Afterwards, they went back to his address where he raped her.
On December 15, 2022, the woman was able to report Hendrickson’s abuse to the staff at her supported living accommodation but by the time police arrived, he had gone. He had then moved on to a second victim who, in an attempt to seek help, fled to a garage in the early hours of Christmas Day 2022 dressed only in a curtain and badly injured.
Detectives told of how she had been beaten so hard with a broomstick that it snapped. She called 999 and told police she had been raped on a number of occasions. Hendrickson was arrested on December 26.
Robert Mackinnon, adult abuse investigation officer at Public Protection, said: “Hendrickson is a brutal rapist who showed total disregard for the two vulnerable women he targeted. He raped them both on a number of occasions and assaulted one so viciously that the broom handle broke when he beat her.
“We are delighted with the sentence. Hendrickson will serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars which will give him plenty of time to reflect on what he has done and the terrible impact of his crimes.
“I must praise the bravery of the two women who reported these crimes and for giving evidence in court which help to convict him. We hope the women’s bravery encourages others subjected to sexual abuse and rape to come forward. We are here to help and listen.”