Anthony Carling, 63, dragged a woman into bushes and raped her in Harlequin Field in Roath, Cardiff, Wales, in 1991.
He had approached her from behind before punching the woman, who was walking her dogs at the time, to the ground.
Speaking in 2019, the woman he attacked described the barbaric ordeal as “a nightmare” adding “my life has been virtually over for the last 30 years”.
In a chilling victim impact statement, she said: “This horrendous offence destroyed my life.
“They say life begins at 40 but my life ended at that age.”
Following the attack, the victim handed the clothes she was wearing to police but they were never able to trace Carling.
For years, the sadistic attacker, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, evaded capture.
That was until detectives revisiting the case discovered a semen stain on the victims coat.
It came after Carling provided a DNA swab for an unrelated matter in 2013 and officers were able to link him to the crime.
James Phillips, a cold case investigator, explained the technology to bust criminals in the way they do today was not around 30-years-ago.
He told ITV’s Cold Case Detectives on Thursday: “When I joined the police force in 1988 DNA wasn’t a thing.
“Whereas previously you would need a large amount of blood or a large amount of semen for a profile.
“Now you can pick up a profile from a slap from the back of the hand on someone’s face, it’s amazing.”
Cops were able to charge Carling with rape and attempted rape thanks to the DNA technology.
He admitted to both charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in October 2019.
Carling had in fact been jailed in 1989 for following a woman down a lane and indecently assaulting her.
The rape happened within a year of Carling being released from prison for that attack.
