August 2006 Prisoner gets life for sex attack A prisoner who was on the run when he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy has been jailed for life – but told he may be free in four years. Jason Hope, 28, absconded from Sudbury open prison, Derbyshire, in May, Leicester Crown Court heard. He attacked his victim in Leicester, after dragging him into bushes at knifepoint and then told him to stay near a secluded alleyway as he escaped. The judge sentenced Hope to life with a minimum of four years behind bars. At a previous hearing, Hope pleaded guilty to escaping from custody, sexual activity with a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. ‘Simply terrifying’ Sentencing him, Judge Christopher Metcalf told him: “After absconding from prison, you committed offences which were simply terrifying for the victim. They were of a violent and sexual nature. “You selected a vulnerable victim, a 13-year-old boy, walking home on his own and you armed yourself with a knife in order to do it. “And then at knifepoint, with that little boy crying, you led him into the bushes and committed serious sexual offences against him.” Afterwards Det Sgt Paul Kenyon of Leicestershire Police said: “Jason Hope’s got to do an awful lot whilst in prison to be able to get out in four years’ time. “And I think the likelihood is that he won’t be out in four years, but obviously we’ll have to wait and see.”