Fury as dangerous sex offender flees hospital

Published on Sunday 10 June 2007 00:12

FURY was mounting last night after a highly dangerous sex offender was able to escape from a low-security mental hospital.

William Graham, 33, was recaptured by police in West Lothian last night, more than 30 hours after walking out of the hospital near Shotts, North Lanarkshire, where he was a patient.

Graham absconded from the psychiatric unit at Hartwoodhill Hospital on Friday afternoon without the medication he requires daily to keep violent mood swings under control.

He was in Hartwoodhill to receive "specialist treatment" for a mental condition. But the decision to house such a dangerous individual in a low-security unit was questioned last night by MSPs and welfare charities.

A spokesman for the Scottish children's charity, Children1st described the case as "extremely worrying".

"This flags up, once again, the need for appropriate sentences so that members of the public can be certain that their safety is not being compromised. We need the authorities to be aware of these individuals' movements at all times," the spokesman said.

Bill Aitken, the Tory justice spokesman, said: "I think there will be serious questions asked about why such an offender was placed in a low-security unit. If he is sufficiently dangerous for the police to release his name and details, then why was he placed in a such a unit?"

A full-scale hunt for Graham was put in place after staff realised he had gone missing.

As a measure of the seriousness with which police regarded his disappearance, all of Britain's police forces were alerted and were issued with his photograph and description.

Before Graham was recaptured, one police source said: "This guy is very, very dangerous and we simply do not have any idea where he is at this moment. Graham could be anywhere because he is certainly not stupid and can quite easily blend into society totally unnoticed.

"He is thought to be high-risk and is considered potentially violent and a potential sex offender. There is a real urgency to catch him before he gets the opportunity to attack anyone else."

The source continued: "It is bad enough that he is out there, somewhere, but the fact that he needs regular medication and has not taken it recently, or has any with him to take, makes the situation even more serious."

He added: "This guy seems very dangerous to have been placed in what's basically an ordinary hospital, which just has a couple of secure-ish bits added."

Despite warning that he is dangerous, Strathclyde Police declined to give out any details of the offence for which Graham had been convicted.

The escape comes just weeks after Scotland on Sunday revealed how a number of high-risk patients in Scotland's State Mental Hospital at Carstairs were being released to less-secure units.

The seven all had their security status reduced following an appeal to the Scottish courts, which ruled that they were being improperly held at Carstairs under European Human Rights' laws.

Hartwoodhill Hospital near Shotts specialises in the long-term care and treatment of mentally ill patients.

It has an intensive-care psychiatric unit, which caters for between 15 to 22 patients - of either sex - at any one time.

Graham was being detained under a Compulsory Treatment Order (CTO), which is imposed normally when a patient refuses to take his medication.

It lasts for six months and is automatically reviewed at the end of that time. But it is not known for how long Graham had been subject to such an order.

Only a mental health officer can apply for a CTO and that goes before a Mental Health Tribunal, which is the only body that can grant such a move.

Graham is originally from the Carluke area of Lanarkshire but has friends and associates across Scotland.

Last night, a Strathclyde Police spokesman said: "Following a joint operation involving officers from Strathclyde and Lothian & Borders Police, Mr Graham was traced and detained by police in the Whitburn area and will be returning to the hospital this evening. Further enquires into the incident are on-going."

A Scottish Executive source said: "Decisions on where people like this would go are taken by clinicians and mental welfare experts on the best advice.

"They would not allow someone who was very dangerous to be placed in an area that he could easily escape from."