A cross-dressing serial rapist, whom one victim implored “must never be released,” is scheduled to be released from prison in the forthcoming weeks.
A Parole Board panel has mandated the release of sex offender Alan Blackwell, notwithstanding the disturbing revelations on his abhorrent conduct and perspectives on violence and sexuality.
Alan Blackwell, who donned female attire to perpetrate offences, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 following convictions for three egregious sexual crimes committed years apart against juvenile victims.
Alan Blackwell evaded capture for two of the gruesome and horrifying assaults for years until cold case detectives connected him to the crimes using DNA evidence.
The retiree convicted of paedophilia has submitted five parole applications after the conclusion of his minimum incarceration period in March 2014.
However, each application was denied when the Parole Board identified risk factors that increased the likelihood of reoffending.
At a hearing earlier last month, panel members determined that he should be released.
The board’s judgement was subject to reconsideration by the Justice Secretary; however, no application was submitted, and Alan Blackwell, now 76 years old, will be released in the forthcoming weeks.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board stated: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has authorised the release of Alan Blackwell subsequent to an oral hearing.”
Parole Board determinations only assess the potential risk a prisoner poses to the public upon release and whether that risk may be effectively managed within the community.
A panel will meticulously scrutinise a vast array of evidence, encompassing specifics of the initial crime and any indications of behavioural modification, while also assessing the harm inflicted and the repercussions of the crime on the victims.
Parole reviews are conducted meticulously and with utmost diligence. Ensuring public safety is our foremost priority.
In 1994, Alan Blackwell subjected a 19-year-old woman to a harrowing experience when he targeted her in South Shields.
The victim was ambulating home when she abruptly sensed a somebody seize her from behind.
She was pulled down an embankment by the man, who thereafter began tearing her clothing off.
Alan Blackwell endeavoured to sexually assault the woman before vanishing into the night. She proceeded to a nearby phone booth, where a taxi driver discovered her weeping and transported her to her mother’s residence.
The woman promptly notified the police, initiating a quest for her assailant.
However, Alan Blackwell seemingly evaded consequences for his egregious crime until he was apprehended following a further assault several years later.
The sexual predator was sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping a schoolgirl in a concealed hideout he constructed in the underbrush in Washington. In 1997, Blackwell restrained and silenced the 12-year-old while donning women’s attire during the harrowing assault.
Officers from Northumbria Police’s Operation Phoenix cold case squad re-examined the assault in South Shields and utilised advancements in DNA testing methodologies to associate Alan Blackwell with the offence.
Alan Blackwell, aged 48 at the time, previously of Jarrow, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of nine years and ten months in 2004.
Two years later, he returned to court after being implicated in the rape of a 15-year-old girl in July 1989. She was assaulted while camping with two companions on the grassland in Jarrow.
He stealthily entered their tent, once more donned in women’s attire, and brandished a knife to the victim’s throat, menacing to murder all three adolescents.
Alan Blackwell received a second life sentence for this assault and was mandated to spend eight years prior to eligibility for parole consideration.
The parole panel recognised several risk factors that could increase the likelihood of Alan Blackwell re-offending. At the time of his offences, the risk factors included “Alan Blackwell’s attraction to children, the belief that it is acceptable to sexually abuse children, a preference for violent sexual acts, frequent sexual thoughts, and the conviction that he had the right to engage in sexual activity at will.”
The police will not be releasing and up to date image so unfortunately you will not know him if he approaches you or your children, but fairs fair he would not have had such an illustrious career if we had all known what he looks like and where he is.
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