A MAN has been handed an indeterminate jail sentence for public protection after raping a woman and going on a robbing spree armed with a machete.

Donovan Smith, 43, a chef, of Hungerdown, Chingford was today told he must spend at least 11 years in prison before he is considered for parole.

Sentencing Smith at Snaresbrook Crown Court today, Judge Peter Birts QC said: “No one can say what psychological harm you've done to your victims and when, if ever, they will recover from what's happened to them at your hands.

“The statement from [the woman you raped] makes dreadful reading.

“You have wrecked her life for the moment and one can only hope that with time, and possibly professional help, she will be able to enjoy life again with her family.”

Judge Birts added that he believed Smith to be sadistic and that his appetite for attacking women was growing with time.

Smith, of Hungerdown in Chingford, targeted his 11 victims on buses in the early hours of the morning, following them as they alighted and threatening them with a 23cm blade.

Ten of his victims were women and five of them were alone when they were attacked.

He also threatened to kill a 38-year-old mother before raping her in an alley behind Frankie and Benny’s restaurant in New Road, Chingford, as she made her way to work on March 10 this year.

The court heard how the victim pleaded with Smith not to hurt her as she needed to care for her children.

The robberies took place in Chingford and parts of Hackney in March and May this year and the victims included a 45-year-old Polish nun.

Smith’s crimes followed a standard pattern in which he would target young women in their late teens and 20s, engage them in brief conversation and force them to hand over their valuables.

He told some of his victims that they were lucky he was not a rapist, and said he didn’t rape “little girls, only big women”.

Smith was found in possession of a blood-stained machete when he was arrested in May, but he denied all charges and accused the police of planting the blade on him.

He was convicted of 21 counts of robbery, kidnap and attempted kidnap against 11 victims and one count of burglary after stealing a laptop from a house in the Avenue, Chingford.

Smith was cleared of one count of handling stolen goods.