Kettering man facing triple rape charge on the run after failing to turn up for crown court appearance

Dylan Saunderson, 21, has been charged with three counts of rape all said to have happened on the same date in September 2023 in Kettering.

He is also accused of threatening the female victim with a knife and of administering a noxious substance, namely urine, with intent to injure the same victim.

Saunderson is also accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the same woman. He denies all the charges and is due to stand trial at Northampton Crown Court later this summer.

He is further accused of having a dangerously out of control dog that injured a man in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, in March 2023, and of assaulting a police officer on the same date.

Saunderson, formerly of Stamford Road, Kettering but latterly of Waller Street, Bottle, Merseyside, was due before Northampton Crown Court on Friday (May 23) but didn’t turn up for the hearing.

Recorder Louise Cox issued a warrant for his arrest.

This is the second time a warrant has been issued by the court. A previous warrant was issued on April 26 after he failed to attend court and he was fitted with a GPS tag to monitor his whereabouts. He was ordered at that hearing not to tamper with the tag. It is not known whether he is still wearing the equipment.

Saunderson was initially remanded in custody following the charges in September 2023 but was later released on bail.

Anyone who knows of his whereabouts should call Northamptonshire Police immediately on 999.