PA ImagesNew details regarding the death of ‘Britain’s worst paedophile’ reveal he was strangled with a bandage by another sex offender.
33-year-old Richard Huckle was found dead in his prison cell at top security Full Sutton prison, East Yorkshire, on Sunday (October 13), where he was serving 22 life terms for abusing up to 200 children abroad.
The sex offender was sentenced in 2016 after admitting to 71 charges of sex abuse of children aged between six months and 12 years, between 2006 and 2014.
PA ImagesDuring his trial at the Old Bailey in 2016 it was revealed investigators who checked his computer found more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos of Huckle’s assaults, BBC News reports.
Police were called to Full Sutton prison shortly after 12.30pm on Sunday and have since launched an investigation into the sex offender’s death, which they are treating as suspicious.
It was previously reported the 33-year-old was ‘shived’ with a makeshift knife by a fellow inmate but new reports suggest Huckle may have been attacked further.
LATEST: Convicted paedophile Richard Huckle died after being strangled, @BBCNews understands. Huckle, 33, was attacked on Sunday in his cell at Full Sutton Prison, near York. The material used to strangle him is thought to have been a bandage of some kind…. 1/2
— Danny Shaw (@DannyShawBBC) October 16, 2019
BBC reporter Danny Shaw said the convicted paedophile died after being strangled, writing:
Convicted paedophile Richard Huckle died after being strangled, @BBCNews understands. Huckle, 33, was attacked on Sunday in his cell at Full Sutton Prison, near York. The material used to strangle him is thought to have been a bandage of some kind.
Huckle was also stabbed with a makeshift weapon, which may have been fashioned from a toothbrush.
A police investigation is focusing on another prison inmate, Paul Fitzgerald, as a suspect in Huckle’s death.
Fitzgerald was jailed indefinitely in 2009 for attacking a female dog-walker. He had previously had been detained when he was 15 for a serious sexual assault on a young girl.
Huckle was also stabbed with a makeshift weapon, which may have been fashioned from a toothbrush. As reported elsewhere, police investigation is focusing on Paul Fitzgerald, who's also serving a jail term for serious sexual offences. He's being held separately from other inmates
— Danny Shaw (@DannyShawBBC) October 16, 2019
Shaw added the suspect is being held separately from other inmates as the investigation continues.
Huckle assaulted children in Malaysia and Cambodia by posing as a Christian and targeting care homes and orphanages and pretending to teach English and photography. He then wrote a blog bragging about his crimes and awarding himself ‘PedoPoints’ for the assaults.
The offender is said to have filmed himself raping children and babies; scenes he added to the collection later found by investigators. He shared the images online with paedophiles worldwide through a hidden website on the so-called dark web.
The BBC report he was compiling a ‘paedophile’s manual’ at the time of his arrest at Gatwick Airport in 2014.
PA ImagesThough he was jailed for 22 life sentences, Huckle could have been freed in his mid-50s as the sentence carried a minimum of just 25 years.
Though the Ministry of Justice confirmed Huckle’s death, a spokesperson said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. If you are a child seeking advice and support call Childline for free on 0800 1111.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.