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A rapist who grinned during his mugshot faces life in prison thanks to the evidence of a tragic teenager following her death.

Building site worker Kristian John Franks, 35, was charged with raping Leah Bedford, 16, in September 2023, shortly before her body was found in the River Ouse, Yorkshire .

Franks was later formally acquitted of raping Leah as she was no longer able to give evidence against him. However, on Thursday (September 18) Franks was convicted of raping another woman in a separate attack six years earlier.

The victim had previously accused Franks of rape but had withdrawn her complaint. However, she agreed to resume it after learning he had been charged with raping Leah.

A video of a police interview in which Leah claimed she was raped by Franks was sh

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