Freed offender accused of sexual assault ‘within hour of early release’

An offender freed under the Government’s early release scheme allegedly sexually assaulted a woman within an hour of leaving prison.

Amari Ward, 31, is said to have been one of around 1,750 prisoners released on Tuesday after jails in England and Wales came close to running out of space.

Ward is claimed to have been free for 30 to 40 minutes before allegedly reoffending at Sittingbourne Station in Kent, according to The Sun.

He was later arrested in Croydon, south London, and appeared before the town’s magistrates on Thursday charged with sexual assault.

Under the early release scheme, prisoners were released 40 per cent of the way through their sentences rather than halfway.

Up to 1,700 more are due to be freed on Oct 22.

Outside HMP Wandsworth and other prisons, those freed were greeted by a celebratory atmosphere of sparkling wine showers and cheering friends.

One released prisoner was driven away from Pentonville jail in a £200,000 Lamborghini.

Some prisoners are believed to have already been recalled for breaches of their licence, which places restrictions on where they can go, who they can meet and where they can live, as well as requiring them to attend meetings with their probation officers.

Court documents seen by The Sun said Ward had offended on the “same day released” and had now been recalled to prison until 2026.

Ward is set to appear before Maidstone Crown Court on Oct 10.

Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, had predicted the early recalls on Tuesday, saying prisoners were “almost bound” to be sent back to jail “within days or weeks” because “things will go wrong in the community” and they would breach the terms of their licence.

He said that a third of those freed were likely to reoffend within a year of their release, based on previous trends.

Ministry of Justice figures show that the number of recalls of freed prisoners for breaching their licence was 7,415 between January and March this year, a 9 per cent increase on the same quarter in the previous year.

‘People will be nervous’

Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, said violent criminals who posed a “high risk of harm” to the public would be among the 1,750 released on Tuesday.

Mr Taylor told the BBC he recognised “people will be nervous” as there “is a risk of some prisoners” reoffending.

The Government excluded sex offenders, terrorists, convicted domestic abusers and anyone with a sentence for violence of more than four years.

However, freed prisoners would include those who were jailed for less than four years for violence and people who may have assaulted a partner or former spouse, including causing grievous bodily harm, but who were not convicted of a specific domestic abuse offence such as stalking or coercive control.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Amari Lindon Ward, 31, date of birth July 30 1993, has been charged with sexual assault following an incident at Sittingbourne railway station on Sept 10 at around 1.07pm. He has been recalled to prison and is next due to appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Oct 10.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.