Serial sex offender Graham Joseph Stridgeon died in prison after staff failed to detect signs of sepsis, according to a report by the prisons ombudsman. The 70-year-old was serving an extended sentence of eight years and 10 months at HMP Wymott in Lancashire for historic sexual abuse of a boy at Bryn Alyn Hall children's home near Wrexham.
Missed sepsis signs led to delayed hospital transfer
In his report, prisons ombudsman Adrian Usher wrote that healthcare staff at the jail missed signs of sepsis. They should have transferred Stridgeon to hospital on the evening of February 11, 2025, but waited until the next morning. Four days later, on February 15, he died of pneumonia in hospital.
Usher made recommendations that HMP Wymott improve its training and record-keeping standards. He noted: "There are no records of any meaningful interaction between Mr Stridgeon and prison staff, including keyworkers, in the last four months of his life."
Background of the offender
Stridgeon was jailed in 2018 after admitting one count of serious sexual assault and two of indecent assault on a boy under 16 in the 1970s. He committed the crimes while a resident of Bryn Alyn Hall in his late teens. He was arrested as part of Operation Pallial, a wide-ranging investigation into historic sexual abuse at north Wales care homes.
Mold Crown Court heard Stridgeon had previously been jailed for other sexual offences, including a nine-year sentence for rape in 1991. Initially sentenced to three and a half years, the then-Solicitor General Robert Buckland referred the case to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient. The sentence was increased to five years and 10 months in prison with an extended licence period of three years.
Lack of interaction with prison staff
Usher added: "When asked by the investigator, the prison was unable to identify a member of staff who could tell us how Mr Stridgeon had seemed during this time. We bring the apparent lack of interaction with Mr Stridgeon to the governor’s attention as they work towards reinstating a full keyworker regime."
Stridgeon had been released in August 2024 but was recalled to prison the following month for reasons not explained in the ombudsman report.
Judge's comments at sentencing
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Rhys Rowlands said Stridgeon "got away with committing these offences for many years." He added that, despite Stridgeon having learning difficulties, he would have known the harm he was causing to his victim. "You were someone who wanted to take advantage of others sexually. You would have known it was very, very wrong to treat people in that way," the judge said.
