A predatory paedophile who repeatedly raped a schoolgirl and molested another girl aged under 10 died after contracting Covid-19 in prison.
John Adam, 71, became seriously ill while serving a 14 year sentence at HMP Wymott in Leyland, Lancashire, and was rushed to hospital on November 3, 2021. He died on an acute respiratory ward on November 11.
His death prompted an investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), which published a Fatal Incident Report. PPO Sue McAllister concluded the care Adam received after falling ill was not equivalent to the care he would have received in the community and made a number of recommendations.
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Adam, formerly of Fidler Street in Thatto Heath, St Helens, was jailed in November 2019 after a jury at Liverpool Crown Court unanimously found him guilty of three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault on two victims. The offences had taken place in Newton-le-Willows decades earlier, when Adam was in his late 30s.
The two girls lived with their secret for years but eventually found the courage to come forward in 2017 as adult women. Nicola Daley, prosecuting, told the court one victim suffered severe mental health problems after the abuse and even showed police scarring on her arms from self-harm as she gave a witness statement.
Ms Daley said: "She, towards the end of that statement, indicates particular ways in which she has been affected by way of clothing, self-esteem and not even liking to wear makeup. She indicates at the very end for 31 years she kept the matters to herself, fearing threats and also what it would do to her loved ones."
The younger victim, who was in court to see her abuser jailed, also spoke of how it affected the way she now views her body. Ms Daley said: "It's apparent that both witnesses have been affected and that perhaps over the 30 years since these incidents, keeping it to themselves has had an even greater impact than had it been raised at the time."
The judge, Recorder Jeremy Lasker, said the older victim was Adam's "primary target" and he first abused her when she had a drink on New Year's Eve.
He said: "After that you embarked on a course of conduct towards her, taking advantage of any fleeting opportunity to corner her in order to kiss her, to touch her on the breasts or her bottom.... You knew full well what you were doing was seriously wrong because you threatened her not to tell anybody."
Recorder Lasker said Adam's offending "significantly escalated" when he began regularly raping the girl, but she didn't think anyone would believe her. The judge said: "She said in her evidence that what you had done had made her feel weak, disgusting and alone."
The fatal incident report revealed that Adam had a number of serious, long-standing health problems which put him at high risk from covid, including COPD, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. In January 2021, he was in HMP Garth, where he was advised to "shield" within the prison as he was "clinically extremely vulnerable".
However Adam signed a disclaimer confirming he was declining that advice. He was transferred to HMP Wymott in on May 21. The PPO found Adam did receive his first two covid vaccination doses, but was still waiting to receive a booster jab when he became unwell.
HMP Wymott was declared a covid outbreak site on October 25, 2021, and six days later Adam reported feeling unwell. Initially his oxygen levels were normal, but he continued to deteriorate until he collapsed on November 3.
Ms McAllister wrote: "At about 3.15pm on 3 November, two prison officers responded when a prisoner pressed the emergency call button on Mr Adam’s wing. Prisoners told them Mr Adam had collapsed. They saw Mr Adam sitting on a chair in his cell.
"He told them that he had collapsed while trying to get to the toilet. He was confused and struggling to breathe." A nurse found Adam had low blood pressure and low blood oxygen saturation, and he was rushed to hospital, where he tested positive for covid.
Ms McAllister found an number of concerning issues, including the fact that no discussion was held among healthcare staff about Adam's clinical vulnerability and how to shield him from infection. His vulnerability had also not been recorded in his medical notes.
Ms McAllister also noted he had not been asked to isolate after developing covid symptoms while awaiting a test. A number of recommendations were made.
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