Home leave for rapist prompts call for review: Concern grows over temporary release of violent offenders

MINISTERS are to be asked to review procedures governing home visits for prisoners, in the wake of the decision to let a child rapist out at weekends to stay only three miles from his victim's home.

Tony Jones, 32, had served less than five years of his 14-year sentence when he qualified for regular weekend release from Leyhill Prison, near Bristol.

His victim - 12 at the time and now 18, and still recovering - is now terrified of encountering him. Her family have asked for his leave to be cancelled.

The case is the latest in a series in which temporary release of violent offenders has given rise to concern. Only last week it emerged that another rape victim had been forced to flee her home because her attacker had been given weekend leave.

Two weeks ago Malcolm Smith was jailed for life for killing Jayne Harvell while on home leave from Verne prison in Dorset. He had served three months of an 18-month sentence for robbery and false imprisonment and had a record of violence.

The incidents had prompted Derek Lewis, director-general of the Prison Service, to remind all prison governors to exercise caution 'in favour of public safety', when considering temporary leave. He made it clear yesterday that issues raised in the cases would be fed into a review of home leave procedures, which seek to balance public safety and rehabilitation.

But Sir Ivan Lawrence, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said yesterday the Jones case would 'make people think we care more about the interests of the offender than of the innocent victim'.

While the Criminal Justice Act 1991 now meant that violent and sexual offenders could not qualify for leave until they had served at least half their sentence, Sir Ivan said there may be a need to tighten procedures for those sentences before the Act came into force and he would ask ministers to look into the issue.

One of those voicing concerns yesterday was Judy - the 37-year-old mother of four who stood up at the Scottish Conservative Party conference and made an impassioned speech about her own ordeal at the hands of sex attacker and the subsequent 'inhumanity' of her treatment by the criminal justice system.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, she expressed her disappointment that her campaign appeared to have had little effect and her 'incredulity' at Jones's release.

The Jones case had been of particular concern because the judge at his 1988 trial had said it was difficult to conceive of a worse case of sexual abuse than this one, which started when the victim was nine. 'She must know that while she is growing into a woman you will not be around to interfere with her,' he said.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Prison Service said steps were taken before Jones's release to ensure he did not come into contact with his victim. Her family, the local police and all appropriate authorities were advised.

But her father said: 'It cannot be right that he's allowed to come back and live so near. My daughter is still trying to recover from what he did to her.'