DAMIAN OPENSHAW, LANGLEY CHILD PORN PERVERT, BEATEN IN PRISON

In December 2005, Damien Lee Openshaw, a 32-year-old from Langley convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography, was subjected to a brutal attack while incarcerated. Openshaw was attacked at Forest Bank Prison, where he was beaten by fellow inmates, resulting in severe injuries including a fractured cheekbone, broken ribs, and broken fingers. He was transported to hospital for treatment and subsequently returned to prison the same day.

A UK Detention Services spokesman confirmed, "I can confirm that Mr. Openshaw was attacked by other prisoners. He was taken to hospital and released back to prison later the same day." According to a source, the assault was linked to his criminal conviction rather than a random act of violence.

Openshaw had been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty at Bolton Crown Court on 17 November to 21 counts of downloading indecent images and videos of children, some as young as five. The police classified the material he possessed as level five, indicating the most severe category. PC Trev Hamner, who arrested him, described the content as "disgusting and sickening." Sgt. Simeon Holt of Middleton Police added, "Indecent images of females under 16 and pictures and films of children aged between five and fifteen being raped by adults were found on the computer."

During sentencing, Openshaw was disqualified from working with children and placed on the sex offenders register for life. Upon release, he would also be on parole for an additional three years. In addition to his sentence for the child pornography offenses, he was sentenced to nine months for possessing a cannabis factory in his loft and handling stolen goods.

A neighbor who wished to remain anonymous commented, "His sentence is not long enough for the crime he has committed, so I am not surprised that some of his fellow prisoners decided to knock him around a bit. What he did was sickening." Following his conviction, graffiti labeling Openshaw a pervert and pedophile appeared on various buildings throughout Langley.