Increase i n elderly lags after historical sex crime convictions OLD AGE PAEDOS Oldest inmate is 101
CRIMINALS in their 80s and 90s are flooding jails following the high-profile cases of Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris.
The number of elderly lags has soared four-fold in the past six years because of the number of historical sex crimes being prosecuted.
Official figures uncovered by the Sunday People show there are 213 inmates in their 80s and 11 in their 90s.
The total of 224 is more than four times the 55 behind bars in 2010.
And the number of prison inmates in their 70s has more than doubled in the six years, from 574 to 1,185.
Disgraced
The influx of ageing prisoners has put more stress on the system as they often need help with everyday tasks such as eating, dressing and bathing. temperature of water for washing. They
The surge is linked to the number of can also have difficulty cutting, chewing historical sex crimes being brought to and swallowing food. Some fail to court in the light of the sickening cases remember jail routines as well as who of vile child abusers Savile and Harris. are fellow inmates and staff.
Many, like the disgraced Aussie Volunteers are being allowed into entertainer, escaped justice for years. prisons in some cases to provide extra
Harris, 87, was freed from Stafford care for these elderly inmates. prison in May, partway through a five In some jails younger lags have been year and nine month sentence for 12 trained to care for elderly residents. indecent assaults against four girls. Other prisons have also had to buy
The Crown Prosecution Service has items such as w wheelchairs, seen twice as many sex charges special mattress mattresses and cutlery. brought against defendants aged The Minist Ministry of Justice over 70 in the past five years. found around one in four
In jail, ageing prisoners often inmates aged 7 75 or over had need help using the lavatory, washat least one p personal care ing, showering, dressing, mobility and need. The jail with the night-time routines. highest propor
higt tion of elderly Some inmates need assistance getting in and out of inmates was bed and j udging the HMP Isle of Wight where more than 100 had a care need, such as help with washing or eating.
An MoJ spokesman said: “We recognise there has been an increase in the number of older prisoners.
“We have guidance in place for the management of older prisoners and we are committed to ensuring all prisoners are treated fairly and with dignity. We will continue to keep the treatment of older prisoners under review.
“We will continue to work with NHS England t o provide appropriate care and treatment for this group of offenders and a number of prisons make specific provisions through dedicated wings and units, adapting their regimes according to need.” A PAEDO aged 101 who sexually abused kids as young as four is the oldest criminal to be jailed in British legal history. In December Ralph Clarke, right, got 13 years for molesting a boy and two girls from 1974 to 1983. He is in HMP Hewell, Redditch, Worcs. The previous oldest was Gaston Pinsard who, in 2015, aged 96, was sentenced to 18 months for sexually abusing two girls more than 50 years earlier. In 2014 Frederick Smith, who was then Britain’s oldest convicted paedophile, died in jail aged 94, weeks into a 12-month sentence for sex abuse on a girl in the 70s and 80s.