Polish rapist drags man into path of bus two days after arriving in UK
THIS was the moment a Polish convicted rapist beat a man with learning difficulties unconscious and then dragged his body into the path of bus just two days after entering Britain. Damien Pankiewicz, 37, launched a brutal attack on the defenceless man at a bus stop, punching him to the ground before hauling him into the road.
These shocking images show how, as a double decker approached, Pankiewicz dragged his victim across a bus lane, forcing the driver to screech to a halt, only narrowly missing the vulnerable man’s battered body. The 52-year-old survived the attack but was hospitalised for three weeks after suffering bleeding on the brain, a broken leg and broken ribs.
The unprovoked assault on Brixton Hill, South London, came less than 48 hours after the violent thug entered the country.
In a shocking case that has again raised questions about the supervision of foreign offenders from the European Union, it is thought that police were unaware of his previous convictions for rape and violence in Poland until after the assault. A Scotland Yard spokesman said it was ‘unlikely’ that Pankiewicz’s criminal record had been disclosed as he had been in the country for such a short time.
Last night detectives said the homeless career criminal had shown no remorse after he was jailed for 12 years at Inner London Crown Court after being convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent.
He will now be deported after serving his prison sentence.
When officers arrested the Polish man following the attack on July 22, he lashed out, head-butting the window of a police car, smashing the glass and leaving his face cut and bloodied. Pankiewicz then denied the offence, bizarrely claiming in court that the victim had stolen his mobile phone. But officers proved this was false.
The case will reignite anger over the ease with which dangerous foreign criminals are able to slip into Britain undetected.
The Home Office currently has a ‘warnings index’ of information on criminals shared by foreign countries. But the system has been dubbed a ‘laughing stock’ as the EU does not compel members to share such information.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs committee, has called for Home Secretary Theresa May to bring in a US-style system able to flag up whether any traveller has a conviction as they attempt to enter Britain.