19/05/2006

Prison officer admits sex attacks

A senior prison officer who was jailed for life for raping five women has admitted seven further sex attacks on young girls.

John Hall, 35, was convicted of the five rape charges, as well as one charge of attempted rape and two assaults in March. He appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to three charges of kidnapping, two charges of attempting kidnapping and two indecent assaults on teenage girls, the youngest of which was 12 years old.

Hall had attempted to kidnap the girls in West Yorkshire, while wearing his prison officer's uniform.

According to psychiatric reports, Hall was not mentally ill but was found to suffer from a "deep-seated feeling of inadequacy".

Rodney Jameson QC said that Hall had lived an "industrious law-abiding and thoroughly useful life", in spite of "this desperate defect in his character".

However, Mr Jameson said that his client had "an enormous character flaw that he was unable to control".

Hall was a senior prison officer, who worked at Wakefield prison, where he held the position of principal prison officer - one rank below governor.

He will be treated as a category A prisoner because of his occupation.

He will become eligible for parole in a minimum of 12 and a half years although Mr Justice Goldring said that he may never be released at all.

Mr Jameson said that Hall had accepted that he would probably never see his wife or young son again.

(KMcA/CD)

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