Joseph McCann charged with kidnap and rape of woman after manhunt

Police hunting Joseph McCann over a series of rapes arrested a man after a stand-off

Fugitive Joseph McCann was today charged with the kidnap and rape of a woman in Watford.

The 34-year-old was arrested on Monday after a nationwide police investigation.

The 34-year-old from Aylesbury will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court this afternoon charged with the kidnap and rape of a woman in Watford on April 21.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: "Joseph McCann, (08.02.85), 34, of Aylesbury, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court this afternoon, Wednesday, 8 May.

A photo of McCann issued by the Met (PA)

"The charges have been brought in connection with an incident alleged to have taken place in Watford on Sunday, 21 April."

The Met said officers from its Homicide and Major Crime Command were continuing to investigate the case. It added that a file remained with the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to further alleged offences.

McCann is suspected of abducting a 21-year-old woman at knifepoint in Watford in the early hours of April 21 and raping her.

McCann was arrested in Congleton, Cheshire, after a two-week search and a stand-off with officers overnight.

Negotiators and paramedics were deployed and he was eventually taken into custody in the early hours of Monday morning.