Man released from prison under early release program allegedly sexually assaulted woman on the same day

A man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the same day he was released from prison under the state's early release program.

He allegedly relapsed in Sittingbourne, Kent, and was later arrested at an address in South London.

He was one of more than 1,700 inmates released from prison last week to address overcrowding. According to the government, terrorists and convicted sex offenders are not being held in prisons.

The former prisoner appeared before a magistrates' court on Thursday charged with sexual assault and is due to appear at the Crown Court next month.

He was ordered back to prison.

A Justice Ministry spokesman said: “The government has inherited prisons that are in crisis and on the verge of collapse. If that had happened, the courts would not have been able to hold trials and the police would not have been able to make arrests.”

“We had no choice but to introduce emergency measures, release some prisoners a few weeks or months early, exclude a number of crimes and impose strict licensing conditions.”

“While we cannot comment on the details of individual cases, anyone who violates the license conditions or commits other crimes will be punished.”

The government policy that aims to reduce prison overcrowdingto temporarily reduce the time some prisoners have to spend behind bars from 50% to 40%.

Those eligible for release include criminals serving prison sentences of less than four years for violent crimes, including manslaughter.

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Around 1,750 prisoners were released from prisons across England and Wales on Tuesday.

Pictures showed a prisoner being sprayed with champagne by friends at the prison gate upon his release.

Despite government efforts to prevent domestic violence offenders from being released early from prison, the restrictions do not apply to all criminals with a history of such violence, as only certain crimes, such as stalking, are exempt from the rule.

Attackers convicted of other crimes, such as threatening to kill or causing actual bodily harm, may still be eligible for early release.

(c) Sky News 2024: Man released from prison under early release program allegedly sexually assaulted woman on the same day