A PROLIFIC paedophile who was told he may die in prison died two and half years into his sentence from lung cancer, a report into his passing concluded.

David Abrahams was 70 when he was jailed for 19 years in February 2018 for a string of serious historic sex offences against girls that occurred over a 28-year period.

He repeatedly raped and sexually abused two young girls while he was living in Birstall between 1987 and 2015, and was found guilty of eight counts of rape, four of indecent assault, sexual assault on a child under 13 and inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

When he was jailed at Leeds Crown Court, his barrister said his jail term was “a long sentence he may not survive”.

A report by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, published last year, found that Abrahams died in a hospice on October 25, 2020, while a prisoner at HMP Leeds in Armley, of metastatic lung cancer, aged 73.

It was found he received the equivalent level of care in prison he would have received in the community and there were no concerns over non-clinical issues related to his treatment.

When he arrived at HMP Leeds after being jailed it was noted he had suffered a heart attack four years earlier, has cardiovascular disease and COPD.

In June 2020 he complained to prison healthcare staff of worsening back pain and the doctor noted he was “extremely pale and had a swollen stomach” and it was thought he may have kidney stones or appendicitis.

After being sent to hospital for a check, he had a CAT scan which showed lesions on his spine. He returned a month later for an MRI scan which found the lesions were actually tumours on his lungs which had spread throughout his spine and palliative care was the only option available to him.

Speaking to a cancer specialist on July 30, he said he wanted to die in prison, but on August 20 changed his mind and wished to die in a hospice instead.

After deteriorating he was moved to a hospice on September 18 but went back to prison on September 22, but after deteriorating further in the end-of-life suite went back to the hospice on October 16.

On October 23 he was placed on a ventilator to help him breathe, and two days later he died, with doctors giving lung cancer as his cause of death.

The only recommendation made to the prison service following Abrahams’ death by Assistant Ombudsman Lisa Burrell was to that “the Head of Healthcare should ensure staff are aware of, and utilise, the relevant tools in relation to recognising a deteriorating patient”.