Thursday 6 October 2022 07:40 PM Paedophile child murderer Sidney Cooke, 95, 'is granted a new appeal in his bid ... trends now
Paedophile child murderer Sidney Cooke has been 'granted a new appeal in his bid for freedom' after his last 10 requests to the parole board were all rejected.
Sidney Cooke, 95, a child molester and serial killer, from Stroud, was set to die behind bars.
However, according to the Sun, Cooke has been granted a new appeal hearing next year.
Parole chiefs have had his case referred to them, with a review now underway.
It is expected that a full hearing could happen early next year, according to sources.
Cooke will be one of the oldest prisoners to come before the parole board in recent years.
A result would be released within weeks and could mean that he would be released or move to an open jail.
Sidney Cooke, 95, pictured, a child molester and serial killer, was set to die behind bars. However, according to the Sun , Cooke has been granted a new appeal hearing next year
It comes after his tenth bid for freedom along with a request to move him into an open prison was rejected by a parole board last October.
The Parole Board said at the time: 'After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the other evidence presented … the panel was not satisfied that Mr Cooke was suitable for release … nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that Mr Cooke should be transferred to open prison.'
The document detailing the decision described Cooke, at the time of his offending, as having 'manipulative and controlling behaviour for his own gratification' and believing he could have sex 'as and when he wanted'.
It added: 'His behaviour in prison had been mixed and had provoked concerns and even allegations over the years.'
The 'Dirty Dozen' gang Cooke was part of paid £5 each to rape Jason Swift, 14, pictured, who was a schoolboy that vanished from his East London home in 1985. In November 1985, Jason's naked dead body was found on a farm in Essex
When he was jailed for life with a minimum term of five years in 1999, a judge described Cooke – who is also known by the surname Lomas – as a paedophile 'of the highest level of risk' and his victims said they hoped he would die behind bars.
Then 72, he had admitted a campaign of abuse against two brothers in the 1970s which began when they were just 13 and spanned five years.
He has also been linked to the unsolved murder of seven-year-old Mark Tildesley, who disappeared in 1984 after visiting a funfair near his home in Wokingham,
