14 February 2024 , 14:47
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The killer of schoolgirl Sarah Payne could be in line for thousands of pounds in compensation after he was attacked behind bars for the fifth time.
Roy Whiting - who abducted and murdered eight-year-old Sarah - will pursue a pay-out after the Mirror revealed he was left covered in blood in a frenzied stabbing. The paedophile is kept in a secure unit in maximum security HMP Wakefield, whose inmates include Soham killer Ian Huntley. But the hated monster has been repeatedly targeted during his 40-year sentence for Sarah’s sadistic 2000 murder.
In 2019 Whiting reportedly demanded £10,000 for a prison beating, claiming prison chiefs have failed to ensure his safety. Now a source said: “Despite Whiting’s appalling crimes, the Prison Service still has an obligation to protect him from other inmates who despise him. And he’s planning to make a claim for a pay-out from the public purse that would dwarf the meagre salary he earns working behind bars.”
On Monday the Mirror revealed how Whiting had been repeatedly stabbed by a fellow prisoner in the West Yorkshire prison, branded “Monster Mansion”. His condition was not life-threatening and it was unclear whether he was taken to a hospital or treated in prison. Detectives were analysing CCTV and also speaking to staff and other inmates to find out who carried out the attack.
Murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne (PA)It comes less than four years after convicted killers Richard Prendergast and Kevin Hyden, both 40, were handed a further seven-and-a-half-years’ jail time after admitting wounding him with intent. In 2018 the pair battered him for more than a minute with shanks — homemade weapons — containing 2.5in wood screws Whiting, 65, said he feared for his life and hid under his bed to try and escape.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
In a statement in court he said: “I looked down at the floor and I was laid in a pool of my own blood. It was everywhere.” In 2017, Whiting was battered with a flask but did not need hospital treatment. In 2011, he left hospital in a wheelchair after double murderer Gary Vinter stabbed him in the eye with a sharpened toilet brush handle. And in 2002 murderer Rickie Tregaskis slashed his cheek with a razor blade, leaving a 6in scar.
Whiting snatched Sarah from a country lane near her grandparents’ home in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, after she had been playing hide and seek with her sister and two brothers. The car mechanic, of nearby Crawley, was previously jailed for four years for abducting and sexually assaulting a girl aged eight in 1995.
Sarah’s mum Sara went on to campaign for Sarah’s Law - letting parents know if a child sex offender lives in their area. Whiting was found guilty of murder in December 2001 and jailed for life. Then Home Secretary David Blunkett imposed a 50-year tariff, reduced by the appeal court to 40 years.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We successfully defend two-thirds of cases brought by prisoners and pay-outs have fallen significantly in the last two years.”