Serial sex offender was free to kill two women because of police blunders

A “predatory” serial sex attacker was left free to murder two women because police and court blunders saw him released on bail allowing him to prey on other victims.

The Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police (BTP), and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are all face serious questions over how Simon Levy was allowed to grope, rape and murder women between February 2023 and August 2025, after he was found guilty of murdering two women and raping a third on Friday.

The timeline of his escalating crimes reveals a string of errors where officials failed to stop a dangerous predator who was already a registered sex offender.

Levy, of Tottenham, north London, was found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey on Friday for murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, five months apart last year.

The 40-year-old suffocated both women in sexually motivated attacks, with Ms Valencia-Trujillo found in a largely abandoned block of flats on the Aylesbury estate in south-east London, and Ms Wilkins behind a car park wall near Tottenham High Road, north London.

He was also convicted of two counts of rape and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, as well as non-fatal suffocation over a brutal sex attack in January 2025, which the victim survived.

The car park was also where Levy carried out the January rape, which left the victim unconscious with a broken collarbone.

The timeline of Levy’s offending reveals successive blunders from the Metropolitan Police, the British Transport Police (BTP) and prosecutors.

Members of the victims’ families burst into tears as the verdict was delivered after the jury deliberated for 13 hours.

Levy was brought into police custody for questioning on September 4 and charged soon after.

Prosecutor Will Martin said his desire to sexually assault women was “on the verge of compulsive or pathological”.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, from Scotland Yard, said: “Simon Levy is a dangerous and predatory offender. His crimes were calculated, cruel and deeply disturbing.

“Throughout the trial, he has shown complete disregard for the victims and victim-survivor, despite being fully aware of the lasting and devastating impact of his actions.”

Flanked by Ms Wilkins’s two sisters and the daughter of Ms Valencia-Trujillo, he appealed for any more victim-survivors of Levy who have yet to come forward to contact the police.

Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s children described her as a “big character” and “full of life”. She became a grandmother in 2024 and was said to be a “much-loved” member of the community with a love of salsa-dancing.

Mother-of-four, Ms Wilkins’ family said she was a much-loved woman and was missed every day by those who knew her.

Jurors heard that Levy was already a registered sex offender. He sexually assaulted two women in 2018 and was jailed in 2021.

He assaulted a prison officer while in jail in 2022, then once released groped a woman on the Tube in October 2023, three more in October the following year, and beat and raped another in January 2025, before he murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025.

He then sexually assaulted six more women on the Tube – one in March, three in April and two in May 2025, before he murdered Sheryl Wilkins in August last year.

Jurors saw through his claims that all the contact had somehow been accidental on wobbly or crowded trains, or after he became partially sighted in May 2024.

He would grope the young women he had chosen as victims, with some reacting angrily when they realised what had happened.

One called him a pervert and emptied a can of coke over him, while another shouted at him not to touch her.

He was convicted of 10 counts of sexual assault on the Tube, and an 11th at Brixton prison, by a jury at Inner London Crown Court on February 4.

An Old Bailey jury reached verdicts after deliberating for 13 hours.

Levy, who wore sunglasses in court, made no reaction as the verdicts were delivered.

At the time charges were laid, Commander Clair Kelland, who leads the Met’s Public Protection Team, said: “As the lead for public protection at the Met, one of our main priorities is to better protect women and girls.

“The investigation into Simon Levy is one of great complexity. We are working closely with partners across relevant boroughs, including Haringey and Southwark, to encourage reporting and raise awareness of the support we can provide to victim-survivors.

“Whether you are a victim-survivor, or someone with information, we urge you to come forward and speak to us.”

His victims spoke of their shock at learning of his other crimes, with one, who cannot be named for legal reasons, telling the court: “After reporting the sexual assaults, it wasn’t long before I learned that my attacker was already known to the police for sexual violence and is a convicted sex offender.

“You could not begin to understand the horror I felt at hearing this.”

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesperson said: “Our independent investigation began in January following a voluntary conduct referral from the force, relating to alleged failures by two officers in his management following his prison release on licence in February 2023.

“We are investigating the management of Simon Levy from his first conviction in September 2021 up to his arrest in September 2025.

“We are examining whether action could or should have been taken to prevent his reoffending, and if all officers involved in his management followed policies, procedures, and training.

“We are also assessing whether any learning, whether individual, force-wide, or nationally or other changes should be implemented in light of the events under investigation.

“At this stage, we have served a gross misconduct notice on a police constable and a misconduct notice on a detective sergeant, which means that the actions of those officers are under investigation.

“The serving of conduct notices does not necessarily mean disciplinary proceedings will follow.”

People can contact the Metropolitan Police’s incident room directly on 07751 700 330 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.