A rapist described as “an old man with a dark secret” died a prisoner after detectives unearthed his past.
Colin Young was sentenced to 18 years in jail for a series of vile crimes in 2016.
He died in October, aged 87, while serving that term at HMP Altcourse.
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Young subjected three victims to sexual assaults in crimes that began in the 1950s.
After a trial at Chester Crown Court he was found guilty of 11 charges, including two counts of rape, eight counts of indecent assault and a sexual assault.
Jurors had been told his behaviour was “predatory”, with prosecutor Owen Evans describing Young as “an old man with a dark secret: a sexual interest in young girls”.
Speaking after the trial DC Alison Broadbent praised the bravery of Young’s victims and said: “The sentencing of Young is a reflection of how brave the victims have been in coming forward and speaking about what happened to them after such a long time.
“I hope the guilty verdict will bring them some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.”
Aged 82 at the time Young, from Macclesfield, was handed an 18 year term.
He died in October last year while in hospital, an investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has now reported.
The PPO, which probes all deaths in custody, released its findings this week and concluded the clinical care Young received at Altcourse “was variable with some examples of good practice”.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2020 but remained stable until September of last year, when his health rapidly deteriorated.
Young declined a move to the prison’s inpatient unit but was sent to hospital on September 26 and passed away just over a week later.
While the PPO found evidence of “good practice” in relation to the clinical care he received, it said staff could have escalated Young’s case quicker, and that the prison should have started an application to allow him compassionate leave.
In response to the concerns Altcourse, run by G4S, said mandatory clinical response training had been introduced and a new process in relation to compassionate leave was now in place.
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