A 31-year-old man in the UK who was recently released from prison has been charged with sexually assaulting a female prison worker within an hour of his release. According to the Daily Mail, which did not publish his name, the offender allegedly assaulted the worker as he was being driven to a train station following his release from HMP Swaleside, a medium-security prison.
The offender in question was one of several inmates being driven to Sittingbourne station as a "gesture of goodwill" by the prison staff. A log of the incident, first reported by the Daily Mail, stated, “at approx 10.30hrs [the released prisoner] was being escorted by an OSG [operational support grade] in a pool car to Sittingbourne station following his release under SDS40.”
“During the journey it was alleged that [he] sexually assaulted the OSG,” it continued. “[He] vacated the vehicle and his whereabouts are unknown at this time. The victim is understood to have had their thigh allegedly groped by the criminal."
The offender had been serving time at HMP Swaleside, a facility housing approximately 1,100 male inmates. Following the assault, the offender was immediately recalled to prison and has since been charged with sexual assault, according to a spokesman for the British Transport Police.
The incident comes amid criticism of the UK government’s policy of early prisoner release, particularly a program known as SDS40, introduced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The program allows inmates to be released after serving just 40 percent of their sentence due to overcrowding in the prison system.
National Chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, Mark Fairhurst, condemned the incident, saying, "I'm appalled that out of sheer goodwill a member of staff gave a released prisoner a lift and was allegedly sexually assaulted as a result.”
“Clearly our members are at risk and this should never be allowed to happen again,” Fairhurst stated.
