A man serving a lengthy jail sentence for sexually abusing children has died in prison.
Terence Mitchell, of West Park in Selby, was sentenced to 24 years behind bars in August 2016 for 22 counts of historical sexual abuse, including raping one girl who babysat for his own children.
Police called him “a predatory paedophile who, between 1972 and 1985, systematically abused four young girls aged four to 15”.
A report by the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman published on Friday (31 March) reveals that Mitchell died while serving his sentence at Doncaster Prison on 23 April 2022.
The cause of death was hyperosmolar diabetic coma – a coma caused by very high blood glucose levels. He was 73.
The report says healthcare staff noted that Mitchell had diabetes, mobility issues and required a wheelchair a check at HMP Moorland in 2021.
In January last year, he was transferred to HMP Doncaster social care unit. “The security team authorised an open- door policy so that healthcare staff could provide care whenever Mr Mitchell required it,” the report says.
It goes on: “On 6 April 2022, a nurse saw Mr Mitchell for a mental health assessment. The nurse recorded that Mr Mitchell had a low mood, low energy and did not want to engage.
“She assessed that Mr Mitchell might have depression with Alzheimer’s disease (a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory) and requested blood tests to rule out any physical causes for his mental ill-health.”
At 3pm on 22 April, a healthcare assistant took his blood sugar levels and found that they were high, but the prisoner was “alert and felt well”.
The report concludes: “At 4.35pm on 22 April, a healthcare assistant found Mr Mitchell unresponsive in his cell. They called a code blue (the emergency radio code used when a prisoner is not breathing) and started CPR.
“Paramedics arrived at 4.48pm and took Mr Mitchell to hospital. The family liaison officer contacted Mr Mitchell’s family and they made their way to hospital.
“On 23 April 2022, Mr Mitchell died in hospital with his family present.”