By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 11:16, Saturday, 01 September 2012

A convicted rapist who fantasises about attacking women at night has been set free to live in a hostel in Carlisle.

A judge at the city’s Crown Court said that though he was worried about allowing pervert Alan Hagan to “roam the streets” close to Carlisle College and the university campus, it was the best way of keeping him under control.

If he were sent to prison it could only be for a short time, he said, and after that Hagan – a man with “a propensity to find young women for casual sex” - would be free without any of the monitoring that the authorities can now set up.

Judge Peter Hughes QC said he was worried about sending Hagan to the Bowling Green hostel – which, because of its proximity to the college, could be seen to be “too close to temptation” – but there was no choice because it is the only such hostel in Cumbria and the court had no power to send him away to another county which might have more suitable accommodation.

Hagan, formerly of Partridge Place, Raffles, Carlisle, had pleaded guilty to two charges of outraging public decency involving girl students.

The first incident happened in Carlisle on January 22, when he committee “an act of a lewd, obscene or disgusting nature by propositioning two young girls, demanding sexual services for money”.

The second, also in Carlisle city centre, happened three days later, when he “behaved improperly” by propositioning one of the original girls and a second friend.

Hagan, a shaven-haired 40-year-old with a goatee beard, has been committing sex offences for years.

He has convictions when he was younger for flashing at girls and sending sexually explicit letters.

And in 2004 he was jailed for 11 years after he picked an 18-year-old girl off the street at random and raped her at knifepoint.

First published at 08:54, Saturday, 01 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk