A sex offender from Hade Edge has been found dead in his prison cell.
Derek Thomas, 49, formerly of Bayfield Close, was jailed in July for a sex attack in the North East dating back to the 1990s.
Thomas sexually assaulted a schoolgirl during a visit to Boldon, South Tyneside.
He denied two charges of indecent assault and one of gross indecency with a child and went on trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
A jury convicted him of all three charges and Judge John Milford QC jailed him for 21 months.
The Prison Service confirmed that Thomas died at Durham Prison last Thursday and an inquiry has been launched.
Thomas’s not guilty pleas meant his victim had to give evidence in court.
The judge told Thomas: “You did not admit the offence, you denied it at trial, with the result she had to give evidence, which clearly she found a distressing experience.
“She was overcome with emotion when she finally left the witness box.”
The judge said only a prison sentence was justified.
The court heard that at the time the sex attack was carried out, Thomas had regularly been in trouble with the police.
He had been jailed for 10 years for arson and had a total of 46 previous convictions, mostly for dishonesty.
After that Thomas, a father and grandfather, had turned his life around and had no convictions since 1998.
A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Durham prisoner Derek Thomas was found unresponsive in his cell around 2.40pm on Thursday August 28 and was pronounced dead a short time after.
“As with all deaths in custody, the Independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation.”
