A serving prisoner at HMP Isle of Wight appeared in court via video link restrained by riot gear-clad prison officers last Friday (7th February).
Robert O’Keefe, 37, of Parkhurst prison, pleaded guilty to a single charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to an incident within the prison walls in June last year.
O’Keefe was very vocal during his appearance on video link and was held still by numerous prison officers wearing protective equipment.
Serena Edwards, prosecuting, explained to the court that, on 14th June 2024, prison staff were transferring O’Keefe from the segregation unit for a legal visit via video. Technical issues with the equipment led to the 37-year-old prisoner becoming agitated, even more so when he was told he could not engage with other prisoners due to his status as a segregated inmate.
Without any warning, and unprovoked, O’Keefe assaulted a prison officer by striking 3 blows to the middle of his face. The force used was such that the officer stumbled backwards and dropped to the floor to protect his head.
The attack left the prison officer with broken veneers and a suspected broken nose. He was taken to hospital for treatment and spent months off work recuperating.
In a victim impact statement, the prison officer said that the incident had had a huge effect on him and his family, including that he couldn’t see his own father on Father’s Day – something that hits harder due to his father’s terminal illness.
O’Keefe is serving an indeterminate sentence for sexual offences and violence. He was originally sentenced to 33 months back in 2010.
Magistrates handed O’Keefe a 36-week concurrent sentence for the attack.
What o what is the point of a “concurrent” sentence? It should be “consecutive” as it was a separate offence.
This is a complete joke, he can now keep beating up as many people as he likes and there is no deterrent at all.
Because he has an indeterminant sentence. It can’t run consecutively if they haven’t yet decided when they’ll let him out, can it? He was originally jailed in 2010…he’s already served 15 years when most offenders of a similar nature would have been out within 5. Don’t ask why he might kick off, ask why he wouldn’t.
If he was known to be violent, and it needed several officers to hold him still because of it, why was he not put put in proper restraint gear? The do gooders are to blame for any incidents like this for interfering with what it needed for people like this.
No, do-gooders are to blame for campaigning against indeterminant sentences. If we locked every single transgressor of every offence up forever there’d be more prisons than schools eventually.