A victim of serial attacker Simon Levy has accused police of turning her "nightmare into real life" by failing to act on her report, allowing Levy to go on to kill and assault more women. The victim, identified only as Laura, reported Levy in 2018 after he sexually assaulted her.
Levy, described by police as a "predatory monster," was convicted last week at The Old Bailey for the murders of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, and the rape and near-fatal suffocation of a third woman. It has emerged that Levy was on bail for multiple sex attacks when he committed these offenses. He faces a life sentence.
Laura encountered Levy on the London Underground, and he followed her and a friend to the Notting Hill Carnival before assaulting her. When she attempted to report the crime, Metropolitan Police officers reportedly dismissed her, stating they were "busy with more urgent things." Although a third officer took her details, Laura claims no immediate action was taken to find Levy that day, despite her providing a photograph of him. She was contacted 15 days later to give a statement, and it took three years for Levy to be brought to court.
In 2021, Levy was convicted of sexually assaulting Laura and another victim, receiving a three-year sentence. Even while incarcerated, his offending continued; he groped a prison officer in 2022. Upon his early release in February 2023, Levy, who was a registered sex offender, told probation staff that sex workers frequently offered him services but claimed he rarely left his home due to an eye condition. This was contradicted by his actions while on licence in October 2023, when he began targeting women on the Tube during peak hours.
Levy's spree on public transport included at least six sexual assaults while on bail. He also raped and suffocated a sex worker, leaving her near death. His violence escalated, leading to the murders of Valencia-Trujillo and Wilkins. Valencia-Trujillo's body was found in a disused block of flats in Southwark, and Wilkins' body was discovered in a similar location to a previous rape attack.
Despite being arrested in November 2024 for two Tube sex attacks, an officer extended his bail. The following night, Levy committed his first rape. He was later arrested on April 1, 2025, for further offenses but was again released on bail by Scotland Yard pending a risk assessment, during which he committed four more attacks on the underground. He was charged with five sex assaults on May 2 and remanded overnight, only to be granted bail again by magistrates despite being suspected of murder.
Following a sixth sex assault charge on June 3, officers failed to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was later spotted by British Transport Police and charged with breaching bail and committing two sex attacks. Astonishingly, he was granted bail by the court again, despite failing to attend subsequent hearings. On August 28, Levy murdered Sheryl Wilkins, leaving her body near his home. He was arrested on September 5 after being identified by facial recognition cameras at the scene.
Laura expressed her devastation for Levy's other victims and their families, stating she feels let down by the entire criminal justice system, including the police, British Transport Police, courts, judges, and the Crown Prosecution Service. She believes their collective failures prevented the harm of many women and the loss of two lives. She also learned Levy had been investigated for a sexual assault in 2017, a year before her own assault, suggesting that earlier charges might have prevented her own victimization.