Child murderer Colin Pitchfork ‘groomed and sexually assaulted young inmate’

Colin Pitchfork, who was jailed for life for raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, was sexually motivated when he assaulted a young inmate, parole documents reveal

Child killer Colin Pitchfork used money sent by his partner to “groom” fellow inmates and sexually assaulted a younger prisoner in his cell, official documents have disclosed.

Pitchfork – imprisoned for life in 1988 for raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986 – had his parole application rejected last month. A Parole Board panel has now exposed how Pitchfork – reportedly receiving “additional funds” from his partner – groomed and assaulted a “young fellow prisoner in [his] cell”.

Parole board documents stated: “His motivation in befriending him and providing him with assistance and canteen items was sexual.”

Pitchfork, 65, received a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years – subsequently reduced to 28 years – for raping and murdering Lynda in 1983 and Dawn in 1986, reports the Mirror.

He was released on licence in 2021 but was recalled within two months for violating his parole conditions.

Pitchfork secured parole once more in June 2023 but ministers challenged the decision and in December it was determined he would remain behind bars.

He successfully contested that ruling earlier this year and a “complete re-hearing” was ordered.

Last month a Parole Board panel concluded he remained a danger to the public and refused his release.

A judgment revealed that during 2024 there “were increasing concerns about Mr. Pitchfork breaching prison rules” by “providing items to other prisoners”. The redacted document disclosed that he broke prison rules by buying items for younger prisoners with earnings from his prison job as a “listener” and money sent by his “partner”.

It reads: “It is clear from the evidence that Mr Pitchfork was spending a considerable amount of his own money on items for younger prisoners which placed him in breach of prison rules.

“He was also in a position of power because he was well paid as an Insider and in addition, he regularly received additional funds sent to him by his partner. This meant he was wealthy compared to most other prisoners. Mr. Pitchfork had not disclosed a letter (written in another language to a convicted much younger sexual offender) which the prison offender manager would have expected, and which raised questions for professionals.”

Pitchfork, who admitted to having exposed himself to more than 1,000 girls and women, was the first man convicted using DNA evidence. It has since emerged Pitchfork had changed his name twice while in prison in a bid to protect his ID when he is released.

Pitchfork – said to be engaging in “aimless walking” – was recalled in 2021 over fears he had been wearing a high-visibility jacket and purporting to be litter picking when he approached a young woman. He was also accused of trying to cheat lie detector tests in 2021. The documents said it was believed he was “seeking to undermine the testing process by controlling his breathing”.

Speaking last month Barbara Ashworth, 79, whose daughter Dawn was murdered by Pitchfork, said: “I’m really thrilled that he’s been blocked from release. It’s no surprise to me they said he’s a risk to the public. They should throw away the key – he’ll always be a dangerous man.”

Harrowing details of Pitchfork’s crimes were re-told in the latest parole hearing, including the fact he left his baby son sleeping in the back of his car and raped Lynda as she made her way to a friend’s house in the Leicestershire village of Narborough. He then strangled her with her own scarf, drove home and put his son to bed.

Three years later, less than a mile from the spot where Lynda died, he raped and murdered Dawn Ashworth. The pathologist who examined her body described it as a “brutal sexual assault”. She too was then strangled.

Parole Board documents reveal he committed the murders fuelled by “anger and a motive to hurt”his wife, who was “controlling” and had discovered his affair. Pitchfork also whined his offending was a “response to his treatment by significant women in his life primarily his mother, being compared to and competing with his sister and more latterly responding to the close monitoring by his wife.”

The report states: “It started with indecent exposure from around the age of 10 and continuing at varying frequencies into adulthood until he was imprisoned. Initially he fantasised that it was a way to get a girlfriend. He viewed it as an activity he could do but his sister could not. Later when able to drive he could choose locations more widely and viewed it as a ‘game’ avoiding the police.”

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