Malcolm Fairley was sentenced to life imprisonment for sexual offences in 1985
A serial rapist nicknamed ‘The Fox’ because of his morbid habit of constructing dens in his victim’s homes received good medical care at HMP Hull before his death, the prisons ombudsman has found. Malcolm Fairley received multiple life terms after he was convicted of sexual offences in 1985.
Before he was caught, Fairley committed a six-month crime spree across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire. His victims included both men and women, with the youngest still in their teens.
He pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including three rapes, two indecent assaults, and two burglaries with intent to rape when he appeared before St Albans Crown Court. Mr John Alliott, QC, prosecuting, said Fairley committed a total of 79 crimes in 1984.
His “catalogue of crimes” began in April when he indecently assaulted a 74-year-old widow. She had woken up to a noise and seen him standing in her bedroom, the court was told.
One of his youngest victims was an 18-year-old woman and her brother and boyfriend. He tied up the men and then raped her.
Speaking out after Fairley was sentenced, she said she had feared for their safety throughout the ordeal, but had tried to make light of it so they would not risk their lives trying to rescue her. “Afterwards I was worried about my brother and my boyfriend,” she said.
“I knew they would want to do something and I let them know I was alright. I even joked that I could hear him doing the washing up.
“I just wanted to reassure them I was OK and I was coping. This man would kill without hesitation.”
At Fairley’s sentencing hearing, in which he received six life terms, the judge told him: “You desecrated and defiled men and women, old and youthful, in their own homes, which you then pillaged.”
The Prison and Probation Ombusdman published a report into Fairley’s death on Friday, October 10. A previous inquest held on September 23 found he died of natural causes.
Fairley was serving his sentence at HMP Hull when he died from a heart attack at the age of 71 last year. Fairley’s heart attack was found to be caused by coronary artery occlusion, a build-up of plaque in the heart’s arteries.
The clinical reviewer said medical care Fairley received at HMP Hull was of a reasonable standard. It was equal to what he could have expected to receive in the community.
She found Fairley did not have regular risk assessments to determine whether it was appropriate for him to keep and administer his medication. There was also a delay in reviewing one of his long-term conditions, but the clinical reviewer made no recommendations because these concerns were already being addressed.
Do you feel safe where you live? You can have your say by completing the poll below or by clicking here.