A rapist who subjected a student nurse to a terrifying ordeal has been jailed for six years – more than two decades after the attack.

Lee Martin, now a 40-year-old father-of-three, committed the offence in 1988, but was only trapped last year by advances in DNA technology after police reviewed the case.

He was convicted by a jury last month of rape. After Martin was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court today, his victim, who is now in her 40s and has a daughter, said justice had prevailed.

She said in a statement: “Although the crime I suffered was many years ago and something I would have preferred to have left in the past, having now had to re-live the events and going through the ordeal of a court case, the result has made it all worthwhile.

“It has restored my faith in the fact that people who do wrong against other people eventually get their just deserts.

“I hope this demonstrates to other victims of serious crimes that just because the crime wasn’t solved at the time, it has not been forgotten.”

Martin, then 18, engaged the woman in conversation as she walked home in Little Horton Lane, Bradford, after a night out in May 1988.

At the entrance to the student nurses’ accommodation at St Luke’s Hospital, Martin dragged her into bushes, forced her to the ground and mechanically and emotionlessly raped her.

During the attack Martin held some sort of weapon to the woman’s throat and threatened to kill her. She was frozen in fear.

Prosecutor Jamie Hill QC told the court that having to re-live the experience in court had had a considerable effect on the victim.

Martin, whose DNA was found on the database following an offence of being drunk and disorderly, had previous convictions for street violence, with non-custodial sentences, but none for sexual offences.

In mitigation his barrister, Guy Kearl QC, said Martin was a young man at the time of the offence, which was a long time ago.

Mr Kearl said the defendant was in a stable relationship and the sentence would affect partner and their children, as well as the people who knew him and had taken the time to go to court and offer their support.

Judge Jennifer Kershaw QC said the experience must have been terrifying for the victim and the events had had a long-term impact upon her. Having to give evidence and re-live the events 22 years later had been very distressing for her.

Detective Inspector Howard Atkin, of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Review Team, said after the case: “Lee Martin evaded justice for 22 years.

“This conviction shows there is no hiding place for criminals. There is no time limit on justice.”