DEVIOUS, dangerous, cunning and wicked are just some of the words used to describe the killer of Ashleigh Hall.

Peter Chapman is believed to have committed his first sexual offence when he was a teenager.

Described in court as a man who had been in trouble with the law on several occasions, before he killed the Darlington teenager he had served prison sentences ranging from a few days to several years.

The 33-year-old grew up in Stockton and lived with his grandparents on the Hardwick estate.

At the age of 15, in 1992, he was questioned in relation to a sexual assault investigation.

Four years later, he was accused of raping a girl he had befriended.

The woman became pregnant, but the allegations were dropped.

It was in December 1996, at the age of 19, that he was first found guilty of a sex crime.

He was accused of attacking two prostitutes, one of them was only 17.

He had stolen a car, fitted it with false number plates and cruised the streets of Middlesbrough.

Chapman picked up the 17-yearold street girl and drove her to a quiet area before raping her at knifepoint.

Two days later, he did exactly the same thing to another prostitute.

Chapman was jailed for seven years .

On his release in 2001, he moved to Merseyside where he had befriended a woman and moved in with her.

In 2002, he was arrested by Cheshire Police for the rape and kidnap of a prostitute in Ellesmere Port. However, the case was discontinued.

By June, he had moved to Bristol – and was arrested for deception offences.

In February the following year, he was arrested in Liverpool for the rape and kidnap of a prostitute.

He had enticed her into his car and, because of his “meek and mild” looks and manner she agreed to go to a house where he kept some money.

It was there he produced a knife, tied her up, kept her prisoner for 14 hours and raped her.

Chapman was charged and remanded in custody, but the case was discontinued.

Detective Inspector Mick Callan, head of Durham’s major crime squad, said: “She told police that at first she did not feel threatened because of his manner.

“The truth is he is anything but meek and mild. He is a devious and dangerous individual and could well be responsible for other, similar offences.”

In December 2007, he became friends with a single mother in the Runcorn area of Cheshire, and moved in with her.

Chapman failed to comply with his sex offender register conditions and the woman, who had a young baby, was informed of his past and she threw him out.

Last year, he moved to the Thames Valley area where he befriended another woman, but he soon fell out with a neighbour, whose house was later destroyed by fire.

Chapman disappeared shortly after the blaze, taking with him a laptop computer he had stolen.

He eventually turned up back in Cleveland last October having bought a car on eBay using his ex- Runcorn girlfriend’s details.

He was living for a time at the Metro Hotel, close to the A19 in Stockton, and was very active on the stolen computer.

Sometime in late September or early October, Ashleigh was attracted by a picture of a handsome young man that Chapman had posted on the web.

Chapman pretended to be that young man and called himself Peter Cartwright.

He was accepted as a friend by Ashleigh and that proved to be a fatal mistake.

Following his arrest, he admitted to police that he had killed Ashleigh.

Although he claimed to be remorseful, the prosecution said that his confession was only a cynical means of lessening any potential sentence he would undoubtedly incur.

The prosecution was also critical for the late stage at which he entered his guilty plea.

There will, no doubt, be questions as to how and why he was free to kill Ashleigh Hall.

However, it seems certain now that Chapman will not be free for many years – if ever.