A rapist has been handed a life sentence after
he was identified by one of his victims when she
spotted his picture on Facebook.
Sex offender Shaun Hopkins, 28, was already
serving a life jail term for brutally raping two
women - leaving one pregnant with his child -
in 2005 and 2013.
Hopkins, from Liverpool, has now appeared in
court again after a third victim spotted his face
online and came forward.
She had initially remained silent about her
ordeal, but approached the police after seeing
Hopkins' face in a newspaper article posted on
Facebook.
Police said Hopkins used "extreme violence"
against his victims during "brutal" attacks.
The father-of-two strangled a teenage student
unconscious before raping and beating her in
October 2013.
Years before in 2005, Hopkins raped a woman,
leaving her pregnant with his child, who is now
nine-years-old.
The latest woman to come forward was
attacked by Hopkins in 2005 after meeting him
in a bar.
Speaking anonymously to the BBC, she said: "I
didn't want my family to know. I was
embarrassed, I felt like it was my fault. I thought
I wouldn't be believed.
"It's really hard what we're going through even
now as a family."
Describing the moment she saw Hopkins' picture
on the internet, she said: "It made it all true for
me and real again.
"I was trying to pretend it wasn't happening
but I phoned the police the next day.
"It's very surreal. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't
eating. It was just uncontrollable crying.
"I was just in a horrible place. I can't describe it.
I was having nightmares."
Following Hopkins' sentencing in April 2014,
detective inspector Kathy Goodwin said:
"Hopkins used extreme violence against his
victims both during and after the brutal sexual
assaults he inflicted on them."
His previous victims also gave police permission
to use extracts from their statements to show
other victims what they had been through.
The 37-year-old woman, who was also raped in
2005, said it had taken her "a long time to meet
another man and trust him".
The 19-year-old said she "seriously thought I
was going to die" after she was attacked in
2013.
Hopkins was told by a judge at Liverpool Crown
Court that his second life sentence will run
concurrently, and he will serve a minimum of 10
years.
His Facebook I.D is actually Shaun Hopkins.