Found sleeping rough on a Cornwall pier was a convicted child rapist, Dale Avery Cornwall Paedophile, on the run. Released seven years into a fifteen-year sentence, Dale Avery, 51, vanished and didn’t want to go back to jail.
Dale Avery, of no permanent residence, showed up at Truro Crown Court via video link from HMP Exeter for punishment following a guilty plea to failing to follow his notification requirements as a sex offender.
Ed Bailey, prosecuting the matter, told the court that Dale Avery was imprisoned at Teesside Crown Court in September 2016 for a range of heinous offences, including four rapes of a minor and two rapes of an adult.
Released from HMP Northumberland in October 2023 to permitted premises in Gateshead, he was told to sign in at a police station three days later. Mr Bailey described how Avery paid in a £2,000 cheque he received from working throughout his sentence, failing to report and leaving the northwest.
Dale Avery was found 12 days later sleeping rough on the pier in Falmouth following a police appeal.
Representing Dale Avery, Deni Mathews said: “He’d been in custody for eight years at the time of his release and simply wanted to be outside and be able to sleep and camp. When police discovered him, he showed no trouble; there were no deliberate attempts to hide.
“He only wanted to spend time at liberty near the end of his term. He is a disciplined prisoner; his longing for a period of freedom overcame him.”
Judge Simon Carr reminded Dale Avery in his sentence that he had been imprisoned for “a series of severe offences against women and children”.
“You broke your requirement in 24 hours, having paid money into your account,” he said. This was meant to be money to live on, and you relocated to a region of the nation you felt you would go unnoticed for some time.” Although Avery was imprisoned for fifteen months, he had to serve some of his recall terms.
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