Jail death of sex beast who raped girl at Scots farmhouse to be probed by Sheriff

Peter Carter, 53, was caged for nine years in 2015 for raping the child at his remote farmhouse in Argyll.

A probe is to be held over the prison death of a vile paedophile who was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl in Scotland.

Peter Carter, 53, was caged for nine years in 2015 for raping the girl and sexually abusing her for four years in the 2000s. The beast was also found guilty of sexually abusing a seven-year-old child.

His campaign of terror against both children took place at his remote farmhouse in Argyll. Following his conviction at the High Court in Glasgow, Carter, from Huddersfield, vowed to return to Yorkshire after his release from a Scottish jail.

Carter, who left England in the 1990s, protested his innocence after his conviction. His eldest victim told the court that when police interviewed her about Carter’s abuse she was unable to say what had happened to her out loud.

She wrote down details of the sex assaults on a piece of paper.

She explained: “It was easier for me to write them down than say them. I was finding it very hard to get the words out.”

Carter, who ran a carpentry business in Argyllshire, claimed that his victims were lying about what happened.

Jailing him in 2015, Judge John Beckett QC said: “In different ways you have traumatised your two child victims. Your conduct was reprehensible in raping a young girl who was nine years old at the time. The court must seek to deter you and others from committing such crimes and to protect children from you.”

Carter died after undergoing surgery at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert on June 11, 2019, following a transfer from HMP Glenochil. A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) will now be held with a second preliminary hearing at Alloa Sheriff Court on November 27.

It is anticipated the focus will be on the medical care and treatment Mr Carter received at HMP Glenochil and Forth Valley Royal Hospital. The purpose of a FAI includes determining the cause of death; the circumstances in which the deaths occurred, and to establish what, if any, reasonable precautions could have been taken, and could be implemented in the future, to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.

FAIs are inquisitorial in nature and are used to establish facts rather than to apportion blame.

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “Peter Carter, 53, a prisoner at HMP Glenochil died on June 11, 2019. Police Scotland were advised and the matter reported to the procurator fiscal. A fatal accident inquiry will be held in due course.”

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