POTENTIAL victims of a jailed rapist - who has worked as a ‘living statue’ in Sidmouth - could be ‘suffering in silence’, say police.

Sidmouth Herald: Steven BeeksSteven Beeks (Image: Archant)

POTENTIAL victims of a jailed rapist - who has worked as a ‘living statue’ in Sidmouth - could be ‘suffering in silence’, say police.

Detectives fear Steven Beeks - an eye-catching street entertainer known as ‘Silver Steve’ - may have committed other crimes.

Their calls for anyone who has suffered at his hands to come forward have been echoed by the woman he attacked.

Beeks, 50, of no fixed address, is serving seven years in prison for one count of rape and one count of causing actual bodily harm.

He was sentenced last month after a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court in north Wales found him guilty of committing the crimes in north Powys and Shrewsbury.

Beeks has signed the sex offenders register and will be subject to monitoring for life.

But police fear possible other victims may still be suffering and are encouraging them to come forward in confidence.

Detective Constable Steve Dodge, of Weymouth CID, has released an image of Beeks ‘in the belief that there may be other victims of crime that have yet to be identified by investigators’.

“Beeks used an alias of Silver Steve and we know he was living in the Weymouth area in the summer and autumn of 2011,” said Det Con Dodge.

Beeks was a popular attraction with residents and visitors when he plied his trade on the streets of Sidmouth during the folk festival last year. He has no official connection with the event.

His victim, Sharon Rae, 51, who has bravely waved her right to anonymity, is desperate for other women to speak to police.

She said: “I met Steven online last July and he came to stay with me a few weeks later.

“He was the nicest guy, doing anything for me and making promises.

“But he quickly became very possessive and it was really scary.

“I still feel guilty for letting him into my house.

“If there are other women out there, they need to come forward.

“It’s been such an ordeal for me, and for him to only get seven years is devastating.

“I want other women to speak up so he can be put away for a long time.”

Anyone with any information is urged to call police on 101.