A paedophile who abused babies aged less than six months old has died days after being found unresponsive in his cell, an inquest jury has heard.
Jared Perry had been located unresponsive in his cell at HMP Parc Prison, Bridgend, at around noon on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, and did not regain consciousness, just months earlier he had been convicted of 10 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault on a child under 13.
At Pontypridd Coroners' Court heard that 32-year-old Perry was taken to hospital where he remained in a coma before dying. A prison officer told the inquest jury he “should have removed” an item from Perry's cell which the prisoner later used to harm himself.
The jury found a failure of prison staff to observe Perry, a delay in his transfer to a secure mental health unit, and a failure to remove the item from his cell all contributed to his death. In January 2019, Swansea Crown Court heard how Perry abused both male and female children before he confessed his crimes to the police in a bid to clear his conscience.
Perry, of Llanilar, Aberystwyth, abused the youngsters – some just months old – in a series of opportunist attacks, the criminal court heard. He was described as an “extremely high risk” to children and was handed a sentence of 17 years comprising 10 years in prison and an extended seven-year term on licence.
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Jurors how Perry had existing mental health difficulties prior to his conviction. His mother Tracey Perry said when he was eight years old the family discovered he had been abused – something which she said had a “huge impact” on him. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and prescribed antidepressants at the age of 17 which he took on and off because he “didn’t like taking medication”. Ms Perry described how she had hoped prison would rehabilitate him, adding: “My family had forgiven him and were prepared to bring him back into the family and help him [when released].”
But the inquest heard how Perry's mental health deteriorated in prison with his mother saying he "really suffered with his mental health". Prior to his death it was heard Perry had been put in a safer custody unit and subjected to increased observation of five times an hour which included the use of in-cell CCTV while one of the checks had to be in-person.
The inquest heard Perry was due to be transferred on November 4 to Cwm Seren secure unit, which falls under Hywel Dda University Health Board, but he died at 3.50pm on November 3 before this could happen. The inquest heard from prison officer, Robert Petrie, was tasked with carrying out observations on Perry in his cell on October 30. He told the jury he had undertaken observations of Perry and said though he had not seen Perry on CCTV he had heard him "shouting and kicking his door" and so from this concluded he was still alive.
The jury recorded a conclusion of "misadventure to which a failure to undertake indicated observations, a delay to his transfer to a secure mental health unit, and failure to remove material as per procedure contributed". Dr Richard Self of the Princess of Wales hospital gave the medical cause of death as 1b airway obstruction due to hanging leading to 1a hypoxic brain injury.
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