Parole Board to review second case of London man jailed for assaults after police failures

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A serial sex attacker who was allowed to continue his spree of violence after police failures is being considered for release by the Parole Board.



Kirk Reid, a chef and football referee from south London, was jailed for life in 2009 for 24 sexual assaults and two rapes, with a recommendation he serve seven and a half years.

His case and that of the rapist John Worboys have exposed failings within the Metropolitan police which allowed the men to remain at large and commit more attacks. Both were considered to be among the worst serial sex attackers encountered by Scotland Yard detectives.

Like Worboys, Reid is believed to be responsible for scores more rapes and sexual attacks than he was convicted for. Police have linked Reid to 80-100 other alleged sexual assaults between 2001 and 2008.

A spokesman for the Parole Board said on Wednesday that Reid was being considered for release. “The review is following the standard six-month process for all indeterminate sentence prisoners and will be reviewed on the papers in the first instance.

“The review may be concluded on the papers or alternatively it may be directed to an oral hearing. We are unable to comment further on the individual details of this case.”

Worboys and Reid were both able to commit more crimes after the police failed to act on intelligence and evidence, independent police watchdog inquiries found.

Life for rapist left free to attack women after police blunders Read more

Reid slipped through the police net repeatedly due to what the Independent Police Complaints Commission said was “sustained failure by senior supervisory officers”.

He was identified as a suspect in a series of sex attacks in Wandsworth in 2004, but was not detained until January 2008. Police believe he preyed on at least 20 more women during the four-year gap.



When Reid was jailed, the judge, Shani Barnes, said: “To say you have a hostility to women is stating the blindingly obvious. It is not just a deep-rooted hostility against women, it is something very dark and very dangerous.”