A MAN accused of being the Night Stalker committed a series of burglaries and sex attacks on elderly women across south east London over a period of 17 years, a court has heard.

Delroy Grant, aged 53, of Brockley Mews, Brockley, today appeared at Woolwich Crown Court of 16 burglaries, two attempted burglaries, three rapes, one attempted rape, one sexual assault and six indecent assaults.

The charges relate to 18 incidents between 1992 and 2009 in Bromley, Beckenham, Orpington, Forest Hill, Shirley and Croydon.

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said: “Most of the victims were in their 80s, the eldest being 89.

“He was not just breaking into their homes to steal money.

“There was also a sexual element to his offending because on four of the occasions he committed burglaries the defendant went on also to rape or to attempt to rape his elderly female victims.

“Others amongst his elderly victims were subjected to the most serious of indecent assaults.

“What it was that motivated him to carry out sexual offences on the very elderly and what sort of gratification he could possibly have achieved is obviously difficult if not impossible to understand.”

The court heard the first of the attacks was a burglary and rape at a bungalow in Shirley occupied by an 89-year-old woman on October 11 in 1992.

Jurors were told Grant removed light bulbs from the bedroom and cut the telephone line.

Mr Laidlaw said: “This would become something of a hallmark to his offending and is a feature of a number of the other burglaries carried out by him.”

The court heard that six years later Grant attempted to rape an 81-year-old woman who was immobile and housebound.

Grant is also accused of committing six further burglaries and an attempted burglary in 1999.

On these occasions he is said to have indecently assaulted three of the victims and raped two old ladies aged 82 and 88.

The court heard the rapes in 1999 were the last committed by Grant.

Jurors were told the reason he stopped may be due to the advances in forensic science.

In a burglary in 2003 Grant is alleged to have washed his elderly victim’s hand in an attempt to remove any DNA.

The court heard Grant was arrested in November 2009 when he was disturbed and ran off from an address in Shirley.

Mr Laidlaw said Grant’s attacks were the result of careful preparation.

He said: “It was not by chance that he only carried out offences at the homes of the elderly and those living alone.

“He must have taken time to conduct reconnaissance, in order to identify his targets.”

The court heard Grant’s DNA profile matched DNA recovered at 12 of the 18 incidents.

Mr Laidlaw said that Grant claims he was framed for the attacks by his ex-wife who left him in 1979.

He said: “The defendant is going to say that it is he who has also been a victim in this case in a quite extraordinary attempt by one of his ex-wives to frame him.

“He is going to say his ex-wife, a lady called Janet Watson, collected and saved samples of his body fluids, both semen and saliva, during their relationship and then motivated by malice and in order to satisfy a grudge, she has set about this plot to falsely implicate him.

“The defendant’s elaborate story involves Mrs Watson using another man to commit the offences and so the defendant will say, using a syringe to leave the defendant’s semen and saliva at the scenes of these attacks.”

In the first of the alleged attacks in 1992 at the Shirley address of an 89-year-old woman, known as Miss A, the court heard Grant entered her bedroom wearing gloves, dark jacket and dark trousers and a balaclava.

The court heard Miss A gave Grant £25 she had in her purse.

Grant then removed light bulbs from the bedroom before turning his attention to Miss A.

Mr Laidlaw said: “He bent down, put his hands on her face so as to hold it still and then pressed his mouth to Miss A’s in an attempt to kiss her. She shouted ‘Stop it please, you’re hurting me’ but he continued to press his lips to hers and then he tried to force his tongue into the old lady’s mouth.”

Next the court heard Grant raped her and pressed down on her face so hard her false teeth were dislodged.

Grant denies all charges.

The trial continues.