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| Escaped killer raped schoolgirl | Escaped killer raped schoolgirl |
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| A man who escaped from a secure private hospital near Bristol has admitted raping a 14-year-old girl hours after he disappeared. | A man who escaped from a secure private hospital near Bristol has admitted raping a 14-year-old girl hours after he disappeared. |
| Darren Harkin, 21, dragged the schoolgirl off the street at knifepoint in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, before raping her in February. | Darren Harkin, 21, dragged the schoolgirl off the street at knifepoint in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, before raping her in February. |
| Reading Crown Court heard the mentally-ill patient had been taken by Hayes Hospital staff to watch horror films. | Reading Crown Court heard the mentally-ill patient had been taken by Hayes Hospital staff to watch horror films. |
| Harkin, a schizophrenic who killed his stepbrother, was jailed indefinitely. | |
| How on earth could it be thought appropriate that someone who had done such a thing could access horror films? Recorder Nicholas Cooke QC | How on earth could it be thought appropriate that someone who had done such a thing could access horror films? Recorder Nicholas Cooke QC |
| The court heard that Harkin, who also suffers from autistic spectrum disorder, was allowed to build a vast collection of horror and pornographic DVDs while being detained. | The court heard that Harkin, who also suffers from autistic spectrum disorder, was allowed to build a vast collection of horror and pornographic DVDs while being detained. |
| He was at the low-security Hayes Hospital, in the village of Pilning near Bristol, for repeatedly stabbing his six-month-old stepbrother to death in his cot. | He was at the low-security Hayes Hospital, in the village of Pilning near Bristol, for repeatedly stabbing his six-month-old stepbrother to death in his cot. |
| His behaviour became increasingly disturbed and he eventually fled the institution on 2 February. | |
| Along with two counts of rape, Harkin admitted charges of escaping from lawful custody and burglary. | Along with two counts of rape, Harkin admitted charges of escaping from lawful custody and burglary. |
| The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke QC, raised concerns over why Harkin, who had a history of absconding, was moved to a low-security unit. | The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke QC, raised concerns over why Harkin, who had a history of absconding, was moved to a low-security unit. |
| Cut off hand | Cut off hand |
| He also questioned why staff waited nearly half an hour before informing police and why they had previously let him watch violent films. | |
| "I have little doubt that the judge that sentenced him would have been very horrified had he been told that this would lead in due course to him having unrestricted access to horror films and pornographic material," the recorder said. | "I have little doubt that the judge that sentenced him would have been very horrified had he been told that this would lead in due course to him having unrestricted access to horror films and pornographic material," the recorder said. |
| "Someone needs to look into it. How on earth could it be thought appropriate that someone who had done such a thing could access horror films? It is difficult to understand." | "Someone needs to look into it. How on earth could it be thought appropriate that someone who had done such a thing could access horror films? It is difficult to understand." |
| Harkin was aged just 12 when, in January 2000, he took a knife from the kitchen at his family home and stabbed his baby stepbrother, David, in the head, chest and spine and then cut off one of his hands. | Harkin was aged just 12 when, in January 2000, he took a knife from the kitchen at his family home and stabbed his baby stepbrother, David, in the head, chest and spine and then cut off one of his hands. |
| He then calmly walked to the local police station in Bristol where he confessed what he had done. | He then calmly walked to the local police station in Bristol where he confessed what he had done. |
| Harkin was given a hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Bristol Crown Court in April 2001. | Harkin was given a hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Bristol Crown Court in April 2001. |
| After that he was detained in several mental health units before being transferred in January 2007 to Hayes, an independent hospital for adults managed by the National Autistic Society. | After that he was detained in several mental health units before being transferred in January 2007 to Hayes, an independent hospital for adults managed by the National Autistic Society. |