Harry Hankinson, a man with a criminal history dating back to 1970 and over 500 convictions, has died in HMP Wakefield at the age of 78. He was serving a 14-year sentence for attempted rape and sexual assaults against vulnerable women.
Hankinson's death on August 16 is currently under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. He amassed 523 convictions over five decades, with 433 of those for theft, earning him a reputation as one of Britain's most prolific shoplifters.
In November 2021, Bolton Crown Court convicted Hankinson of attempted rape and four counts of sexual assault. The court heard details of assaults against two women. In one instance in February 2017, while Hankinson was a hospital patient, he was stopped by a nursing assistant as he forced a 61-year-old woman to perform a sex act. Prosecutors also presented evidence of assaults against another woman in May 2017 and again in 2020 at her home, where he exposed himself and forced her to touch him without consent. She fought him off, stabbing him in the hand with a fork.
During the police investigation, further allegations emerged, including from a carer who reported sexually aggressive behavior. Sentencing Hankinson in 2021, the court deemed him a significant danger to women. Detective Constable Emma Cooper of Greater Manchester Police described him as a "sexual predator who preys on vulnerable victims."
Hankinson's shoplifting offenses spanned decades, with repeated convictions despite prison terms and anti-social behavior orders. He often attributed his actions to kleptomania, a claim that psychiatric assessments did not support. In 2019, he was released from Tameside Magistrates' Court after suggesting a head injury sustained while watching the 1970 World Cup had altered his personality and led to his compulsive stealing.
Judges had previously described Hankinson as an "indiscriminate thief" and a menace to shop owners. His wife, Linda Hankinson, had previously expressed that he spent so much time in prison she barely knew him, advocating for longer sentences to help him reflect and seek proper help.
Notable theft incidents include stealing meat, alcohol, clothes, a watch, handbags, and perfume in February 2014, totaling thousands of pounds. He was also caught stealing a bottle of whisky from Morrisons in 2015 shortly after being released early from a previous jail term. In April 2015, he received a curfew order but was again caught stealing later that year.
