Peter Samuel Cook

Peter Samuel Cook (17 August 1928 – 9 January 2004) was a British serial rapist who attacked women in Cambridge, England and so became known in the press as the Cambridge Rapist. He was active between October 1974 and April 1975, and was also called the 'hooded rapist' because of a distinctive leather mask he wore whilst carrying out his crimes.

Cook, who was arrested following what was one of Britain’s biggest police manhunts, was escaping from the scene of an attack wearing a long blonde wig as a disguise when he was apprehended.

Criminal history Prior to his sexual offences, Cook already had a lengthy criminal history, having been a prolific burglar, and had served numerous prison sentences. As a young man he had made escapes from approved schools, and he later absconded from prisons on several occasions, becoming known as one of Britain’s most wanted escapees. On 3 October 1975, Peter Samuel Cook pleaded guilty to six counts of rape and was given two life sentences.

Death Cook died of natural causes in Winchester Prison on 9 January 2004 at the age of 75. In 1995, moves to have Cook released on parole or moved to an open prison were opposed by Cambridge MP Anne Campbell, resulting in the then Home Office minister Michael Forsyth pledging that Cook would not be released until he was no longer considered a danger to the public. McLaren later claimed, "The Cambridge Rapist t-shirt was designed by me upon my return from managing the New York Dolls. It was about a particular incident that occurred in the shop and worried those when they were accused of selling a leather mask to a supposed rapist who was terrorizing the town of Cambridge. I made that upon the week of my return from NY".

Cook’s exploits were also the basis of John Burnside’s 2001 novel The Locust Room, and have featured in Paul Bahn’s memoir The Cambridge Rapist - Unmasking The Beast of Bedsitland. They have also been the subject of a TV movie.

Reviewing social historian Mark Garnett’s 2007 book From Anger to Apathy: The Story of Politics, Society and Popular Culture in Britain Since 1975, Victoria Segal noted that, "Garnett is oddly fixated on both the Clash and the Cambridge Rapist".

Cook was mentioned in a podcast episode (Minisode 150) of My Favorite Murder on 25 November 2019.

He was referenced somewhat obliquely in the lyrics of the Pete Townshend song "Street in the City", from the Rough Mix album by Townshend and Ronnie Lane, with "Did you read about the Cambridge Raper?"

Cook, and his crimes, are interwoven throughout the narrative of Simon Goddard’s Bowie Odyssey 75 to help portray the marked events taking place in England that year.