Who is Craig France, and how long has he been jailed for sexual offences?

Craig France preyed on young women in nightclubs, befriending them, plying them with drink before inviting them to his home for after-parties.

There he would give them more alcohol until they passed out or fell asleep and then sexually assault them, all while capturing it on his hidden cameras.

Police were alerted to his crimes when one woman became aware of footage of herself.

In a two-part episode of the documentary series 24 Hours in Police Custody on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday and Monday night, officers reveal how France was arrested and details of his crimes came to light.

But Detective Chief Inspector Helen Tebbit, from Cambridgeshire Police, warned that due to the amount of footage and the nature of France’s offending, it was possible there were still further women yet to be identified and encouraged those who thought they may have been a victim to come forward.

Who is Craig France and what did he do?

Craig France was a lorry driver from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, who turned his home into a “party house” to carry out his crimes.

The 34-year-old would target women in nightclubs, ply them with alcohol and then take them back to his house where he had set up hidden cameras.

At his home, he would give them more alcohol, invite them to join him in the hot tub and then when they were unconscious, asleep or so inebriated they could not consent, he would sexually assault them.

All of this he would record from using cameras concealed in his property.

His offences came to light in August 2024 when one woman reported he had raped her two years earlier and she had become aware he had filmed it.

The victim had been given a shot of Sambuca by France while they were in his garden. The next thing she remembered was waking up in his bed. She had no recollection of what had happened but knew something untoward had taken place.

Officers began investigating and trawled through more than 6,000 images and videos of several unidentified women secretly filmed at his home between March 2022 and September 2023.

Police identified four victims but it’s believed there could be more.

One video showed a victim being raped by France, while she appeared to be “lifeless”.

Another revealed France carrying a victim, who was unable to stand, before dropping her in a hot tub and then dragging her on a concrete floor.

On one occasion, France was seen sexually assaulting a victim as she lay asleep on his sofa.

Other footage was of France filming an unsuspecting woman’s body in a sexual manner, close-up.

Officers also found a clip where France was seen naked in daylight at a roadside in the Broxbourne area of Hertfordshire.

He was arrested in September 2024 and originally denied the crimes.

But at a court hearing in February 2025, he pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault, three counts of voyeurism linked to four female victims and one count of indecent exposure.

How long was Craig France jailed for?

At a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on 31 March this year, France was jailed for 10 years and seven months years.

He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Judge Mr Justice Mark Bishop, sentencing him, said: “The nature of those offences show you were predatory towards those women and, when they were incapacitated, you filmed them.

“You are misogynistic about women which is deeply unattractive and concerning.

“You have an attraction to risky behaviour and I judge that in this case a sense of sexual entitlement, coupled with taking risks and poor self-esteem, is a toxic risk.

“You have not offended since being in a new relationship.

“That demonstrates the risk that is posed when an relationship ends.

“This is extraordinary behaviour to engage at the age of 33.

“You are a risk to society.”

He added that the rape victim has suffered “severe psychological harm”.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Em Scates, who investigated, said: “It’s clear France is a depraved and calculating sexual predator and a danger to women.

“It is one of the worst cases I have dealt with in 23 years of being a police officer.

“The bravery of the survivors of these horrendous crimes has been exceptional.

“They had been violated in one of the worst possible ways, yet they remained supportive and strong throughout the investigation.”