A SICK 57-year-old dubbed the M25 rapist has been convicted of attacking a woman nearly 25 years ago in a chilling precursor to his later crimes.

Antoni Imiela, already in jail for a string of horrific sex attacks dating back to 2001, was sentenced to a total of 18 years today, following the rape of Sheila Jankowitz in Forest Hill, on Christmas Day in 1987.

He had denied the attack, claiming Mrs Jankowitz, who died in 2006, had sex with him consensually.

But jurors, who had not been given the full details of his previous convictions, decided he was guilty of rape, indecent assault and buggery.

Describing the attack, prosecutor Richard Hearnden said: "He told her that if she so much as looked at his face he would murder her.

"He punched her hard and repeatedly in the face when she resisted him."

The trial heard that Mrs Jankowitz never recovered from the effects of her ordeal, leading to her being hospitalised in a mental health unit.

During his evidence, Imiela cynically said he had "made love" to Mrs Jankowitz, and at one point he hurled abuse at prosecutor Richard Hearnden.

Imiela, who had been eligible for parole next month, was jailed for life in 2004 following rapes ranging from a 10-year-old girl to a 52-year-old across south east England.

The attacks, which began in November 2001, sparked the largest joint inquiry since the Yorkshire Ripper hunt in the late 1970s.

Around 350 police officers from six forces were involved in Operation Orb which cost more than £2m and collected 3,500 DNA samples.

Among the crimes he was convicted for was the kidnap, indecent assault and attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl.

At the Old Bailey today, he was sentenced to six years for rape and a further six years for buggery.

He was also jailed for six years on the indecent assault charge, to run concurrently.