A cancer-riddled paedophile, who sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl, died before he could be released from prison as his health 'deteriorated rapidly'.
Robert Cook fell ill at HMP Northumberland and was in-and-out of prison during his final years.
A new report has revealed that frail Cook battled lung cancer behind bars before it ravaged his body.
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The disease started in his lungs before spreading to his brain less than a year after the diagnosis was confirmed, reports Teesside Live.
The 77-year-old died in HMP Holme House's palliative care suite on April 14, 2021.
It has now emerged that Cook had wanted one final taste of freedom before he died, only for him to pass away before the request could be approved.
"Mr Cook said he would like to be released early on compassionate grounds and to die in a hospice or nursing home," states a new Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report.
"The prison submitted an application for early release on compassionate grounds to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Mr Cook died before a decision was made."
In 2008, the Linthorpe sex offender was handed an indefinite sentence for the sickening assault on the eight-year-old.
Teesside Crown Court heard he'd persuaded the girl's parents to let her stay at his home before carrying out the horrific abuse.
He was given an indefinite prison sentence - and ordered to serve at least two-and-a-half-years - while he was banned from having children in his home.
However, after his eventual release, Cook was recalled back to jail in 2019 for flouting that order while living in Guisborough.
A year later, X-rays detected signs of cancer and an appointment was made. However, the report states "he refused to attend the appointment because he did not want to be restrained using handcuffs".
Having been deemed "too high risk" not to be restrained, he refused future appointments - only discovering the cancer when the hospital wrote to him on April 23, 2020.
He had intensive radiotherapy that summer but was handed the grim diagnosis "that all further treatment would be palliative only".
Following a series of falls in early 2021, Cook - who at that point was in HMP Northumberland - was admitted to Wansbeck General Hospital where he was told the cancer had spread and was terminal.
"On 5 March, Mr Cook transferred from hospital to the palliative care suite in the enhanced primary care unit at HMP Holme House for end of life care," states the report, which noted HMP Northumberland didn't have the round-the-clock healthcare he required.
"Healthcare staff at Holme House put care plans in place to manage Mr Cook’s palliative care. He was monitored at two hourly intervals during the day and night and healthcare staff completed daily observations."
It adds: "On 13 April, Mr Cook’s health began to deteriorate rapidly. His next of kin agreed with the medical assessment that he was too ill to be moved from the prison. A nurse sat with Mr Cook throughout the night and provided support and made him as comfortable as possible.
"At 7.11am on 14 April, it was confirmed that Mr Cook had died in the palliative care suite at Holme House."
An inquest last July found his cause of death to be advanced lung cancer with metastasis.
And addressing the quality of care he received at Holme House, the ombudsman noted it was "equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community", adding the care was "planned and executed to a very high standard at all times and an example of best practice".
