Home Office officials were last night continuing the search for a suitable residence for the convicted paedophile, Robert Oliver, after he was refused a place at a halfway house in the village of Wing in Rutland. Oliver (43) was convicted for his part in the manslaughter of 14-year-old Jason Swift, in 1985, and served 10 years of his 15-year sentence.
Hounded from a series of British towns since his release last September, it was disclosed in June that Oliver was being considered for a place at Wing Grange, a rehabilitation centre for low-level offenders, run by the Langley House Trust.
The announcement provoked an outraged reaction from Wing's 300 residents and led to a meeting with the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, who attempted to assure residents that Oliver would not pose a threat to their community.
But the Trust yesterday confirmed its rejection of the Home Office request to house him there, saying Oliver and other offenders with a similar profile could not be accommodated by it. In a statement the Trust said: "Mr Oliver has not agreed to the proposed restrictions. In practice his life would be more confined than it would be in prison, and certainly greater than he is accustomed to at present."
The Trust, which considered the application in conjunction with Leicestershire Police, the local Probation Service and officers from Rutland County Council, said Oliver had been rejected for a place because "the security measures necessary to ensure the effective management of risk, are now intrusive to the point where the provision of a reasonable quality of life and prospects for rehabilitation have become unacceptably hindered."
It is understood the terms which proved too strict for the Trust would have seen Oliver electronically tagged and held under effective "house arrest". The local Tory MP, Mr Alan Duncan, said he was "sorry this has now become someone else's problem. This is not just a local problem, it's a national problem. I am concerned that a solution has still not been found. There's a lot of education needed so people realise what risk is all about".
The Home Office said Oliver would remain at Blenheim House, a private medium secure unit in Milton Keynes, while alternatives were considered: "He will only be placed somewhere where he cannot pose a risk to the public."