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A sex offender once regarded as Britain's most prolific shoplifter has died in prison, bringing to an end a criminal career that spanned for more than half a century.
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that → see → century
Harry Hankinson, who amassed more than 500 convictions over five decades, died aged 78 in West Yorkshire's HMP Wakefield while serving a 14-year sentence for attempted rape and sexual assaults.
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who → amass → rape
Hankinson, of Miles Platting, Manchester, spent much of his adult life in and out of custody, building a criminal record that stretched back to 1970 and ultimately included 523 convictions, 433 of them for theft.
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that → spend → theft
In November 2021, Bolton Crown Court sentenced Hankinson to 14 years' imprisonment after a jury convicted him of attempted rape and four counts of sexual assault against vulnerable women.
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jury → sentence → women
The court heard that in February 2017, while a patient in hospital, he was stopped by a nursing assistant as he forced a 61-year-old woman to perform a sex act on him.
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he → hear → him
The member of staff led the woman from the room and raised the alarm.
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member → lead → alarm
Prosecutors also outlined a series of offences against another woman, whom Hankinson first assaulted in May 2017 after inviting her to his flat for a microwave meal.
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Hankinson → outline → meal
The sex pest then pressed himself against her back before touching her inappropriately.
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pest → press → her
Three years later, when the victim was 70, he again sexually assaulted her at her home, exposing himself and forcing her to touch him without consent.
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he → assault → consent
She fought him off, stabbing him in the hand with a fork before a neighbour's knock at the door prompted him to leave.
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knock → fight → him
Harry Hankinson, who amassed more than 500 convictions over five decades, died aged 78 in West Yorkshire's HMP Wakefield while serving a 14-year sentence for attempted rape and sexual assaults
Hankinson was arrested a few days later on suspicion of sexual assault.
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Hankinson → amass → assault
Further allegations emerged during the police investigation, including from a carer who said Hankinson had behaved in a sexually aggressive manner towards her - pulling her on top of him as she went to wake him up in his care home.
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she → emerge → home
Sentencing him in 2021, the court concluded that he posed a significant danger to women.
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he → sentence → women
Detective Constable Emma Cooper of Greater Manchester Police described him as 'a sexual predator who preys on vulnerable victims'.
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who → describe → victims
She added: 'His actions are despicable and unwarranted, causing a number of women to feel violated and unsafe.
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number → add → women
'Hopefully this sentencing today sends a clear message that sexual assault is absolutely not acceptable and anyone who engages in this criminal behaviour will be brought to justice to face the consequences for their actions.
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who → send → actions
For years Hankinson was regarded as one of the country's most persistent shoplifters, repeatedly targeting shops despite prison terms, curfews, anti-social behaviour orders and bans designed to keep him away from the high street.
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Hankinson → regard → street
Hankinson regularly blamed his behaviour on an irresistible compulsion to steal and claimed to suffer from kleptomania - a mental health condition defined by an uncontrollable urge to steal items you do not need - although psychiatric assessments found no evidence of the condition.
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assessments → blame → condition
The pensioner walked free from Tameside Magistrates' Court in 2019 after claiming his decades-long shoplifting spree stemmed from a serious head injury he suffered while watching England at the 1970 World Cup.
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he → walk → Cup
Hankinson arrived at Tameside Magistrates Court in 2019
He claimed he banged his head in the incident which caused a 'change in his personality' and turned him into a kleptomaniac with an 'uncontrollable' urge to steal.
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which → arrive → urge
Judges variously described him as an 'indiscriminate thief' and a menace to shopowners, having even taken his unsuspecting wife Linda Hankinson on a shoplifting jaunt during a sightseeing coach trip.
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Judges → describe → trip
Speaking after one of his many jail terms in the 1990s, Linda previously said she hardly knew him because he had spent so much of their marriage in prison.
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he → speak → prison
In 1996, his offending became so prolific Linda condemned an 18-week sentence he received for stealing cigarettes, spirits and groceries as insubstantial.
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he → become → cigarettes
She said: 'He should have got at least 18 months.
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He → say → months
The only way he will stop is by being in prison.
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he → stop → prison
If he's in there long enough he might stop and think and get some proper help while he's locked up.
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he → stop → help
'When he's out after short stretches it's just too easy for him to go and do it again.
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him → go → it
I can't tell you much about him because I don't really know him, he's been in and out of Strangeways so much.
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he → tell → Strangeways
The person who's suffering out of all this is me.
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who → suffer → this
In 2008, Linda was unwittingly caught up in another thieving expedition when she and her husband went to Ripon, North Yorkshire, for a day out by a coach - to celebrate his release from another prison stretch.
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she → catch → stretch
In 2014, Hankinson was jailed for 16 months and given a two year Anti-Social Behaviour Order banning him from shops in Bolton town centre.
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Hankinson → jail → centre
But in 2015, and after being freed early from jail, he was caught wandering through the self check-outs at Morrisons in the town, cradling a bottle of Glenfiddich whisky.
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he → free → whisky
He had hidden several bottles of whisky and vodka, worth £79.07 under his coat and was arrested after he was spotted by security staff.
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he → hide → staff
In April 2015, Hankinson was given a three month curfew ordering him to stay at home from noon until 8pm when shops are open for the afternoon and early evening.
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shops → give → afternoon
But he was caught stealing again in June that year at Iceland's Farnworth branch.
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he → catch → branch
At an earlier hearing, Judge Peter Davies said: 'He is an indiscriminate thief and he shouldn't be let near the shops.
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he → say → shops
It has affected the community of traders and everybody agrees he shouldn't go around thieving.
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he → affect → traders
He is a risk to retailers - I have never seen anything like it.
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I → see → it
'This is a truly exceptional case, he has had every spindle opportunity not to commit these offences.
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he → have → offences
Now he is stealing high value items.'
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he → steal → items
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
