Paedophile who raped schoolgirl dies in prison

A convicted Cornish paedophile who raped a schoolgirl and two other children has died in prison. Patrick Mugford, 69, had served 18 months of his seven-year sentence when he died at HMP Littlehey prison in Cambridgeshire.

Mugford was jailed in May 2022, Kent Online reports, after she attacked and raped a Canterbury schoolgirl two decades ago. At the time of the attack, the teenager immediately reported the incident, but she was not believed and had to endure two decades of pain and suffering before a jury convicted her attacker.

The pervert, who was in the Illogan area at the time of his arrest, was convicted of the rape at Maidstone Crown Court in May 2022.

Read more: Cornwall man jailed after raping sleeping woman

Read more: Man tried to drown partner in dog bowl while erupting in ‘pure rage’

The court then heard how his victim was so traumatised by the attack that she ended up drinking three litres of cider a day “to block it all out” while living partly on the streets. Her mother didn’t believe her at first, but the teenager reported her attacker to police in 2019 after seeing another court report detailing her attacker’s crimes.

Mugford was convicted of raping two children in 2012, but it was not until 2019 that the teenager he had attacked and raped 20 years earlier reported the attack after reading a report of his convictions. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for the rape and indecent assault.

Join CornwallLive on WhatsApp and be the first to know what’s happening near you.

An inquest into his death in prison found that the 69-year-old died in hospital from aspiration pneumonia – an infection caused by inhaling food or liquid into the lungs. The cause was bilateral multiple cerebral infarctions or strokes on both sides of the brain, which occur due to a lack of blood flow, which in Mugford’s case was due to his type 2 diabetes.

Adrian Usher, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), said: “The clinical assessor concluded that the clinical care Mr Mugford received at HMP Littlehey was of a good standard and at least equivalent to the care he might have expected in the community. She found evidence in his medical records that medical staff responded appropriately and proactively to Mr Mugford’s medical needs. The PPO investigator examined the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Mugford’s care.”

He added: “We have not identified any non-clinical issues of concern. We are not making any recommendations.” A coroner concluded Mugford died of natural causes.