An ex-soldier at Woolwich Barracks has been jailed for 16 years after he raped a woman in Greenwich and a 16-year-old girl inside West End nightclub Equinox.

Solomon Khoorban was a serving soldier in the Royal Artillery when he carried out the attacks just weeks apart from each other.

In the first instance, in June 2003, Khoorban approached a teenager who was on a night out with friends at Equinox in Leicester Square.

He managed to lure her to a deserted section of the club before launching a “violent and prolonged attack”, police say.

Eight weeks later, he struck again, this time attacking a 32-year-old woman near Beaconsfield Road, Greenwich, who was returning home from a night out.

Although both women immediately reported the attacks, no arrests were made until a Met Police review of the cases 11 years later.

Khoorban was eventually arrested at his home in Newham and officers matched his DNA to samples taken at the time of the attacks.

On March 13, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and was jailed yesterday (April 20) at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Khoorban, who enlisted in the Army in 2001, becoming a gunner and serving in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Germany, had been dismissed in 2007 following allegations of drug-taking.

After the sentencing, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Matt Flynn praised the bravery of the two victims. He said: "Both young women were subjected to horrific and gratuitous ordeals at the hands of a dangerous and predatory individual.

"The devastating effect of these attacks on both women is indescribable. For the past 12 years they have had to get on with their lives knowing their attacker was still out there.

"It is only due to their courage and fortitude that Khoorban was charged with these abhorrent and cowardly attacks. Without their support he would not have been brought to justice."