A man has pleaded guilty to a rape committed more than 20 years ago.
Daniel Borgers, 41, has admitted the rape of the woman at knifepoint in Stotfold in October 1992.
Borgers, of Scarborough unexpectedly pleaded guilty to the charge at a preliminary hearing at Luton Crown Court earlier this month.
The former Stotfold man will now be sentenced at the court on Friday, February 1.
He was arrested by North Yorkshire Police in Scarborough last August on behalf of the Beds, Herts and Cambs Major Crime Unit (BHCMCU).
Borgers was charged under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 – the applicable legislation at the time – after work over a number of years by the BHCMCU Cold Case Team.
The mother, who was walking home from Stotfold Methodist Church, was dragged down an alleyway in Hitchin Road when the attack happened on a piece of wasteland.
Speaking at the time, the Salvation Army woman said she had been to three meetings at the church that day.
In a reconstruction in the Chronicle she spoke in detail about the attack in a bid to encourage potential witnesses to come forward.
Speaking anonymously, the woman also said at the time that she felt sorry for the man.
Police interviewed 150 people in their search for the rapist in the months that followed the attack. Two men were arrested but were later released.
Biggleswade-based Detective Sergeant Trevor Mulvaney also spoke to the Chronicle at the time and said: “This was an awful crime, the likes of which I have never known before. We probably need just one little piece to make the jigsaw complete.”
The case shocked the town and the Chronicle later had a three-figure cash reward on offer for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the rapist.