(Image: PRISON REPORT)
A North East predator jailed for sexually assaulting a girl decades ago has died in prison.
John Reay, formerly of Birtley, died at HMP Northumberland on October 28, last year, aged 57.
An investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found he died from bladder cancer.
The PPO investigation followed concerns raised by Reay’s family about the support he received from healthcare staff and the management of his pain.
However, an independent clinical review concluded that the healthcare he received was of a good standard and at least equivalent to what he could have expected in the community.
The PPO found no non-clinical issues of concern and made no recommendations.
A clinical review commissioned by NHS England found that staff had put appropriate care plans in place to manage his blood pressure and complex needs.
An inquest held on March 19, 2026, concluded that Reay died from natural causes.
Reay was sentenced to ten years in prison in February 2024 after being convicted of three counts of indecent assault to the young girl following a three-day trial at Durham Crown Court.
The offences took place when Reay was in his early 20s but only came to light after the victim reported them to police decades later.
The case first came before Durham Crown Court in June 2022, but several trial dates were unable to go ahead. A trial eventually took place in December 2023, when jurors returned majority guilty verdicts on all three counts.
At sentencing, the victim said she had suffered daily flashbacks, health problems and “low self-esteem, self-confidence and self-belief” as a result of the abuse.
She said Reay had “greatly affected my life”, “taken advantage of my vulnerabilities” and that reliving the events during the court process had a “huge impact” on her mental health.
However, she said she had found “strength and courage” after the verdict.
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Defending Reay, David Callan said his client accepted the jury’s verdicts but did not agree with them. He told the court Reay had been “particularly immature” when the offences took place and had received no convictions or cautions for sexual offences in the following 35 years.
Reay received six years for the first count, three years to run concurrently for the second and a further four years consecutively for the third, resulting in a total sentence of ten years.
He was also made subject to lifetime sex offender notification requirements and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was not imposed.