Double child killer Colin Pitchfork ‘will NOT be on sex offenders’ register’ when he is released from jail
EVIL double child killer Colin Pitchfork will NOT be on the sex offenders register when he is released from jail, it's been revealed.
The shocking revelation is due to a legal loophole - as the register doesn't include anyone convicted before 1997.
The monster was caged for life after raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986.
He became the first man convicted of murder on the basis of DNA evidence in 1988 after admitting two murders, two rapes, two indecent assaults and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The double child killer is set to be freed from prison this weekend after the Parole Board rejected a Government challenge against its ruling.
Under the Sex Offenders Act 1997, all convicted sex offenders must register with the cops within three days of their conviction or release from prison.
But, Pitchfork will be released without being monitored on the sex offenders register, =the reports.
This register carries the details of anyone convicted, cautioned or released from prison for sexual offence against children or adults since September 1997.
Overseen by the cops, the register isn't retro-active, so it doesn't include anyone convicted pre-1997.
LIMITS ON CONTACT WITH KIDS
However, according to , Pitchfork will have to live at a designated address and wear an electronic tag.
The evil killer must - as part of the conditions of his controversial release - complete lie detector tests and tell cops what vehicles he uses.
Pitchfork will also have to give the names of those with whom he speaks, "with particular limits on contact with children", the paper adds.
He pleaded guilty to both murders in September 1987 and was sentenced to life in January 1988.
The judge said the killings were "particularly sadistic".
Pitchfork's 30-year minimum term was cut by two years in 2009 and he was moved to an open prison three years ago.
Following a hearing in March, the Parole Board had ruled the vile sex fiend was "suitable for release", despite this being denied in 2016 and 2018.
But last month Justice Secretary Robert Buckland asked the board, which is independent of the Government, to re-examine the decision under the so-called reconsideration mechanism.
He will strike again.
Lynda Mann’s mum, Kath Eastwood
Last Tuesday the Parole Board announced the application had been "refused".
Its decision was slammed by his ex-wife as she described Pitchfork, whom she married in 1981 when he was a baker, as a “monster.”
The woman, who has two children with the murderer, slammed the sex fiend for committing “horrendous crimes".
His former wife, Carole, said her grown-up sons would never speak about their dad and had turned down requests for interviews.
HORRENDOUS CRIMES
Speaking from her home in Leicestershire, she said she hadn’t been informed by the authorities that Pitchfork - who has changed his name to David Thorpe - was being released on parole, saying they would have “no reason” to alert her.
But she was aware of media reports and controversy surrounding his impending freedom after more than three decades.
Carole was his wife of just two years when Pitchfork committed his first murder in November 1983 as a 22-year-old.
His trial heard he left his baby son sleeping in his car while he raped and killed Lynda in the village of Narborough before driving home and putting the boy to bed.
Three years later in July 1986 in Enderby, just over a mile away from the scene of his first crime, he raped and murdered Dawn.
The murders scarred the close-knit local community.
Carole described them as “horrendous crimes” and said they had had “a massive impact on my life".
She added: “I don't have any contact with him. I am trying to get on with my life as best as I can.”
Barbara Ashworth said the decision to allow her daughter's killer to be released was "disappointing".
The dejected partner of Lynda Mann’s mum, Kath Eastwood, this week said they had “lost our fight” and were “horrified he’s walking free”.
I don’t believe he’s been rehabilitated.
Lynda Mann's mum, Kath
Last month, Kath, 72, said of her daughter’s killer: "He should never walk free to breathe fresh air again.
“I don’t believe he’s been rehabilitated. He will strike again, he will kill another innocent child.”
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa, who has campaigned against the killer's release, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the decision.
He added in a post on Twitter: "I have done all I can to halt Pitchfork's release."
Judge Michael Topolski QC, who reviewed the decision for the Parole Board, concluded that the "application for reconsideration is refused".
He added: "This was and remains a case of considerable seriousness, complexity and notoriety.
"The terrible consequences of the brutal rapes and murders of two innocent girls will forever darken the lives of the families concerned."
RISKS RETURN TO PRISON
The Ministry of Justice said it was "disappointed" but respected the decision.
Pitchfork's release will be subject to strict licence conditions.
The MoJ added: "Our sympathies remain with the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth.
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"But they can be reassured that Pitchfork will be subject to close probation supervision for life and faces an immediate return to prison if he fails to comply with his licence conditions."
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The Government plans to overhaul its contentious parole system, with the findings of a review expected later this year.
It has also sought to change the law so child killers face life behind bars without parole.