A paedophile who sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl he was babysitting will have a secret parole hearing instead of a public one so he is not ‘distressed’.
Tyler Eastley, 26, was jailed for nine years in 2018, with an extra year on licence, for sexually assaulting the little girl whilst he was babysitting four young children for a couple who trusted him.
The vile attack happened in 2017 when Eastley, a known drug user, had lost his job and been in court for racially aggravated harassment and resisting a police officer.
Twisted Eastley, who was described as ‘an offender of particular concern’, groomed the child but pleaded not guilty, forcing a trial to take place where he was subsequently found guilty.
Passing sentence on November 2, 2018, Judge Alexia Durran described Eastley as ‘an immature young man’ with a history of substance abuse who had engaged in ‘a degree of grooming’ before assaulting the child.
Reading a statement from the victim’s mother, prosecuting barrister Allister Walker said of the victim: ‘She has become a different child since the incident.’
Now, the paedophile has successfully argued his parole hearing should take place behind closed doors, despite an application for a public hearing that was backed by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
The Parole Board accepted claims by Eastley’s lawyers that a public hearing would be ‘distressing’ for child abuser and could impact his ability to put forward his arguments as to why he should be released.
Ms Mahmood was said to be ‘disappointed’ by the Parole Board’s decision not to hold a public hearing.
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary said: ‘Why are the interests of a disgusting sex offender to not feel distressed being placed above those of victims and the public? This is a perversion of justice.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The Lord Chancellor supported an application for Tyler Eastley’s parole hearing to be held in public. We are disappointed that this was rejected, but respect the independent Parole Board’s decision. Victims have been locked out of the parole system for too long. That is why we are now giving victims the right to apply to attend private parole hearingings and see first-hand how offenders are held accountable for their crimes.’
The Parole Board did not reveal the identity person who applied for a public hearing, but said: ‘The applicant has no wish to cause distress to Eastley or to have a negative impact on him, but wishes to see him in person and to see what changes there have been in him and what progress there has been in his rehabilitation.’
A Parole Board panel, chaired by a former judge, said ‘even though the offence was extremely serious with a long-lasting and extensive impact on the victims, it was not a case which was nationally notable at the time or which involved multiple victims or an offence that occurred over an extensive period.’
The panel added: ‘One potential disadvantage of a public hearing is the media attention which it would be likely to attract.
‘At the moment there does not appear to be much, if any, media interest in this case, but that would probably all change if there is a public hearing, and I agree with the legal representative that the media attention might very well be distressing not only for Mr Eastley but also for the victim and her family.
‘I do not think that a public hearing of this case would be likely to give the public a better understanding of the parole process.’
Speaking to press after Eastley was convicted in 2018, the victim’s mother said: ‘We are devastated by what has happened. We feel it is very important for people to be made aware of what he has done to such a young child and we sincerely hope that this will never happen again.’
