UPDATE: |Paedophile who told rape victim ‘nobody will believe you’ dies in prison News

Anthony Ferris was jailed for 13 years in 2017 after being found guilty of several offences relating to the abuse of a nine-year-old girl

A convicted sex offender who raped a young girl and told her that no one would believe her has passed away in prison.

Anthony Ferris was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in 2017 after he was found guilty of a number of offences relating to the abuse of a nine-year-old girl.

He had denied the allegations but was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of of six offences involving rape, attempted rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child, the ECHO reported at the time.

During the trial, it emerged that the victim had a troubled home life, a fact that Ferris exploited to groom her by providing cigarettes, clothing, and money, reports Lancs Live.

The offences took place at three addresses in Walton and Everton years over a five-year period. Shockingly, Ferris’ partner at that time was aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it, the court was told.

Jonathan Duffy, defending, said that Ferris had kept his offending behaviour from his family and they had been shocked when they found out. He appreciated he would receive a long sentence and asked the judge to bear in mind his age.

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Friends and family in the public gallery told Ferris “be strong” as he was led to the cells.

Now, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has launched an investigation after Ferris, now 75, died at Haverigg Prison in Cumbria on September 18 in 2024. An inquest held this April concluded that Ferris, who was suffering from end stage congestive heart failure and acute kidney injury died of natural causes.

The ombudsman’s report, published this month, reveals that Ferris’s next of kin was contacted after his death to inform them that an investigation had been launched but did not respond.

The ombudsman concluded: “The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Ferris received at Haverigg was predominantly equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community.

“There was one area of care she found was not equivalent but noted this was not related to his cause of death. She found that Mr Ferris’ medical records contained evidence of good communication and partnership working between healthcare and prison staff, and appropriate monitoring and assessment processes were in place to manage Mr Ferris’ condition.

“He was added to the complex case register which would have positively impacted on care co-ordination.”

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