Sex offender killed himself after inmate bullying

A sex offender killed himself after being bullied and attacked by other inmates at a prison, a coroner has said.

Nigel Feckey was declared dead in his cell at HMP Fosse Way, in Glen Parva, Leicestershire, on 23 September 2024, after being repeatedly targeted by fellow prisoners who found out about his offending.

Assistant coroner Dianne Hocking, who oversaw Feckey's inquest, which concluded on 23 January, said she was concerned sex offenders were not segregated from other prisoners at the jail at the time.

Hocking said Feckey was "primarily let down by the custodial system", and warned more inmates could die unless the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) took action to keep vulnerable prisoners safe.

The MoJ said it would carefully consider the coroner's findings, some of which were detailed in a prevention of future deaths report published on Monday.

The report said that at the time, 700 of the 1,700 HMP Fosse Way inmates were sex offenders with the jail close to capacity.

The hearing was told the Category C jail opened in 2023 and was designed to be run on an "offence-neutral basis", with all prisoners mixing freely on the wings and in communal areas.

Hocking said: "The high number of sex offenders, the offence neutrality of the prison and the inexperience of staff made it extremely difficult to control this."

Feckey himself had been moved six times to get him away from abusive prisoners, the report said.

The 64-year-old, from Nottinghamshire, was subjected to bullying, verbal and physical abuse while in prison and had items stolen from his cell, the report added.

It detailed that Feckey frequently reported incidents, but the coroner said some were not thoroughly investigated "due to lack of supporting CCTV".

An attack in March 2024, when another prisoner threw a kettle of boiling water at Feckey, was not reported to the police until he himself wrote to police months later.

Hocking said Feckey had made it clear to prison and healthcare staff that he could not cope in HMP Fosse Way, and asked to be moved to an open prison.

"He felt anxious and unsafe," Hocking added.

"He felt that his calls for help were being ignored."

Feckey's sister wrote to the prison's governor to express her concerns about his safety shortly before his death but received no response, the report added.

Feckey's inquest was told many mainstream prisoners at HMP Fosse Way held strong views that they did not wish to share their living space with men convicted of sex offences.

"They were both vocal and physical in their resistance to integrated living," the report said.

"The data at Fosse Way suggested that a change was required as figures for self-harm and self-isolation were beginning to emerge."

The report said it was not possible to keep offences secret for the most part because, although the prisoners had no access to the internet themselves in their cells, "they only have to ask someone on the phone or at a visit to find out what someone is in for and it can be that easy".

In March last year, after Feckey's death, the 700 sex offenders at HMP Fosse Way were transferred to a segregated wing at the jail.

In her report, Hocking said: "Evidence in the inquest indicated that sex offender prisoners were scared, they felt they couldn't leave their cells and that they were vulnerable to direct bullying or verbal abuse.

"Whilst Fosse Way have taken their own risk reductions regarding offence neutrality, I understand that the policy remains and is still implemented in other prisons and it is a matter of concern to me that a future death may occur."

The coroner has said the MoJ must respond to her report by 25 March. In response, the MoJ said it would meet the deadline.

HMP Fosse Way is run by Serco, which has also been sent a copy of the report.

The private operator said offence neutrality was the remit of the MoJ.

A Serco spokesperson added: "We are studying the coroner's report and findings closely."

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman is also investigating Feckey's death.

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