Escaped killer raped schoolgirl

A man who escaped from a secure private hospital near Bristol and raped a 14-year-old girl has now been sent to a maximum security hospital. Darren Harkin, 21, dragged the schoolgirl off the street at knifepoint in Monmouthshire, before raping her in February.

He told the court that hospital staff allowed the mentally-ill patient to view horror films. Harkin, who also suffers from autistic spectrum disorder, was able to build a huge collection of horror and pornographic DVDs while he was detained at the low-security Hayes Hospital, in the village of Pilning near Bristol. He had been submitted for stabbing his six-month-old stepbrother David to death in his cot and cutting off his hand eight years ago. Harkin was aged 12 when he carried out the killing and then calmly walked to the local police station in Bristol where he confessed.

The court heard that Harkin's behaviour had started to deteriorate by early 2008 resulting in him being put on 24-hour watch. It was decided that he should not be left alone with female members of staff after he asked a woman who worked there for sex. He asked if there was "anyone else available" when his request was refused.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke, raised concerns over why Harkin, who had a history of absconding, was moved to a low-security unit and why staff did not immediately tell police he had escaped. "I have little doubt that the judge that sentenced him would have been very horrified had he been told that this would lead in due course to him having unrestricted access to horror films and pornographic material," the recorder said. "How on earth could it be thought appropriate that someone who had done such a thing could access horror films?"

The Recorder, Nicholas Cooke, ordered that Harkin, whom he described as "exceptionally dangerous", be made the subject of a hospital order under the Mental Health Act without limit of time and be detained at maximum security Broadmoor Hospital.