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A serial rapist is being hunted by police after walking out of an open prison.
Sean Cawthray, 41, was jailed
indefinitely in 2002 after attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old girl by dragging
her away from a bus stop.
He was last seen at Leyhill Open
Prison in south Gloucestershire at 5.30pm on Sunday and is believed to have
left the unit before 8.30pm.
Police are warning the public not to
approach Cawthray and to dial 999 immediately if they see him.
Detective Inspector Dominic Graham
of South Gloucestershire CID said: 'Anyone who believes they have seen Sean
Cawthray should not approach him and should contact police on 999.
'We are committed to locating,
returning to custody and charging anyone unlawfully at large.
'Officers work closely with HMP
Leyhill and other police forces to track down absconders promptly and keep any
potential risk to the public to a minimum.'
Cawthray was given an indeterminate
sentence at Leeds Crown Court in December 2002 for attempted kidnap.
He waited until the 14-year-old girl was alone in the bus shelter in Kippax, near Leeds, before he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into an alleyway.
Luckily her stifled screams were heard by seven-year-old Harvey Jordan who was playing in a nearby garden.
The youngster alerted his
grandfather Edmund Wheeler who intervened and shouted at the offender, who ran
away.
Cawthray, who was living in
Leicester at the time, was found following a police search and told officers he
did not know what he planned to do with the girl.
Judge James Spencer QC imposed an
indeterminate sentence with a minimum recommendation of five years because of
the 'level of risk posed to young women'.
He was told he would not be released
until it was satisfied he no longer posed a risk, and would then be on licence
for life.
The judge told Cawthray: 'It's
difficult to think of any more serious offence.
'Because of the level of risk that
remains you have to go to prison for an indeterminate period.
'If others had not been able to
intervene, one wonders what you would have done to that girl.'
Cawthray had previously been jailed
for four years in 1990 for rape and attempted rape, and for eight years in
1993, after a further rape conviction.
Leyhill Open Prison is a 508-man
Category D prison which holds men re-classified to a lower risk who are often
being prepared for release back into society.
It has no perimeter fence and was
once dubbed 'The Savoy of Slammers' for its cushy regime.
Police Cawthray may have travelled
back to Leicestershire and Leeds following his escape.
They describe him as 5ft 10in tall
and of medium build, with short brown hair and blue eyes.
He was last seen wearing a pair of
silver trainers, cream combat trousers and a light blue top.
It is thought that he may also have
worn either a fluorescent jacket, a grey and orange jacket or a black jacket
with a blue patch.
Dailymail.co.uk
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