RAPIST FREED IN JAIL BLUNDER FLEES UK ON EUROSTAR

Bernadin Dedic, a man remanded in custody to await trial on rape allegations, was wrongly released from HMP Wormwood Scrubs in February after prison staff received incorrect information about his bail status. An official at Isleworth Crown Court mistakenly mixed up digital case files following a hearing on 6 February, wrongly concluding that Dedic had been granted bail. Within hours of his release from the west London prison, Dedic boarded a Eurostar train out of the United Kingdom.

Dedic claimed he told prison guards "this is a mistake" and asked to remain in custody over the weekend, but was released regardless. He stated he knew a judge had not granted his freedom and that his legal team's previous bail applications, which included an £80,000 surety and conditions requiring him to live in Milton Keynes and report to police, had been unsuccessful. Dedic travelled to his native Bosnia, initially claiming visa difficulties prevented his return, later citing a skiing injury to his knee, and subsequently reporting chest pains as obstacles to attending trial in March and again in June.

A jury found Dedic guilty of four counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault by penetration in his absence at the rearranged trial in June. The charges related to allegations that he repeatedly raped a woman at knifepoint. Dedic, described as having a home and business interests in the United Kingdom, remains a fugitive from British justice.