Inmate charged with sexually assaulting woman, one hour after his early release…

14 September 2024, 09:53

An inmate was reportedly charged with sexually assaulting a woman just one hour after being released from prison under the early release program.

The 31-year-old is said to have attacked a prison worker on Tuesday as he was being taken to a train station, MailOnline reported.

The Labour Party's programme, known as SDS40, proposes that criminals can be released after serving 40 percent of their sentence, rather than 50 percent, due to prison overcrowding.

The alleged crime occurred on the first day of implementation of the plan, which reportedly resulted in more than 3,000 prison spaces remaining unused.

The perpetrator was part of a group of prisoners who were given a lift from HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent to Sittingbourne station, 11 miles away, as a “gesture of goodwill”.

An official report of the incident states: “At around 10.30 a.m. [the released prisoner] was accompanied by an OSG [operational support grade] in a pool car to Sittingbourne station following his release under SDS40.

“During the trip it was claimed that [he] the OSG sexually harassed.

“[He] left the vehicle and his whereabouts are currently unknown. The perpetrator is said to have grabbed the victim on the thigh.”

The perpetrator reportedly took a train to London before being arrested in Croydon the following day.

His release reportedly came after he served 40 percent of a prison sentence for violating a restraining order.

Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Guards' Association, said: “I am appalled that a member of staff would take a released prisoner with him out of pure goodwill and then allegedly sexually abuse him.”

“Our members are clearly at risk and something like this must never happen again.”

The released inmate was immediately taken back to prison, accused of sexual assault, and is due to appear before the Crown Court next month, a British Transport Police spokesman said.

His release under the 40th Criminal Code (SDS40) has raised concerns that the Labour Party's platform allows lesser sentences for unsuitable offenders.

Read more: Inmates released under early release program ‘back in prison’

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Conservative MP Neil O'Brien said: “This just shows the incredible naivety of this plan, which is already having terrible consequences. People are committing serious crimes within minutes of being released from prison.”

Another inmate released under this program was recalled just 36 hours after his release because he had not reported to parole officers.

The Justice Department's weekly statistics released on Friday show that the number of prisoners in prison has fallen by 2,188 over the past seven days, a decrease of about 2.5 percent.

As of September 6, there were about 88,521 inmates incarcerated – a record high when the system was only operating at 1.2 percent capacity. But by Friday, the number had fallen to 86,333.

This is reportedly the largest weekly decline since records began in 2012 and almost double the second largest decline in April 2020, when coronavirus numbers were reduced due to measures to minimize coronavirus risks.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said he did not want to be in a position to release people who should be in prison, but said the situation was at a “crisis point”.

“We have to release people early, otherwise we will have an absolute crisis in our prisons,” he said.