Hartlepool sex offender sentenced to 14 years dies in HMP Holme House on his birthday

William Stapylton, 64, formerly of Shrewsbury Street, Hartlepool, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in November 2021 for a number of crimes committed against four boys decades earlier.

The offences came to light when Stapylton voluntarily walked into Hartlepool Police Station in December 2017 and confessed.

He died in Holme House Prison in Stockton on Monday, March 6, on his 64th birthday.

Cleveland Police shared an appeal on Monday on behalf of Teesside Coroner’s Office to trace any relatives.

Stapylton, who had previously served in the Army, is reported to have died from natural causes.

Following his 2017 admissions, police launched an investigation and traced the survivors of his abuse.

When he was sentenced, Teesside Crown Court heard each had been left with long-lasting mental scars that seriously affected the rest of their lives.

One suffered drink problems and another tried to take his own life.

The court heard Stapylton had plied one of the boys with alcohol before sexually assaulting him.

He pleaded guilty to 14 charges including serious sexual assaults, attempted serious sexual assault and indecent assault.

Judge Chris Smith told Stapylton: “Each of their lives has been blighted by what you did to them.”

Officers from Cleveland Police’s Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult commended the survivors’ bravery during the investigation.

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Judge Chris Smith told Stapylton: “Each of their lives has been blighted by what you did to them.”

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”