Rapist dies before life sentence appeal starts

A 79-year-old man jailed for life for repeatedly raping his two young daughters and sexually abusing his son has died before he was due to appeal his life sentence.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was convicted in August 2010 of 87 counts of sexually assaulting and raping his two daughters when they were aged five to 11 and sexually assaulting his son when he was aged three to six from 1997 to 2002. He had denied the charges.

He was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury following a seven-week trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice George Birmingham on October 4, 2010, for the rape of his daughters. He was given further determinate sentences for other offences.