Police officer unmasked as 'depraved' paedo collapses in Strangeways prison and dies

Police officer unmasked as 'depraved' paedo collapses in Strangeways prison and dies An inquest heard how James Glendenning, who carried out a string of sickening attacks against girls while he was a cop in the 1970s, collapsed in his Strangeways cell following a bleed on the brain A police officer who was revealed to be a "depraved" paedophile died in jail aged 93 after collapsing in his cell. Sexual predator James Glendenning abused girls while he was a police officer in the 1970s and was jailed in November 2018, aged 88, for his sickening crimes. Glendenning, from Reddish in Stockport, was sick with vascular dementia and collapsed in his cell following a bleed on the brain, an inquest heard. He was found collapsed in his cell at HMP Manchester, known as Strangeways prison, during the morning of Sunday October 29, 2023, Manchester Evening News reports. An inquest into his death in Manchester heard he had a history of heart disease and was fitted with a pacemaker. He had also been diagnosed with vascular dementia. At first prison staff thought he had fallen out of his bed. He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital but died later that day. Dr Daniel Du Plessis, an expert neuropathologist, conducted a post mortem examination and concluded Glendenning died of a spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage caused by amyloid-related cerebral amyloid angiopathy which is linked to vascular dementia. The prisoner had suffered 'cognitive impairment' due to his vascular dementia, the inquest was told. Dr Du Plessis said the haemorrhage could have been caused by a fall although it was more likely he suffered a spontaneous bleed because of his condition which prompted a fall. Detective Sergeant Kirsty Roe conducted a 'special procedure investigation' into the death for GMP and concluded there were no suspicious circumstances. Coroner Andrew Bridgman recorded a 'natural causes' death, concluding that Glendenning had suffered a 'non-survivable bleed on the brain which was likely spontaneous in origin'. He expressed his condolence to the family although there were none in court for the 'documentary' inquest in which no live witnesses were called, only statements referred to. During his 2018 trial, Glendenning denied one charge of rape; 10 counts of indecent assault; and four counts of indecency with a child. Glendenning, who served with the Royal Artillery before a 17-year career with West Midlands Police, was convicted of all counts and jailed for 23 years. Judge David Stockdale KC, then the Recorder of Manchester, slammed Glendenning's "utterly depraved and utterly wicked" abuse after hearing horrific details of the crimes he committed against two girls. Jurors heard one of his victims had been threatened with a cane if they told anyone about the abuse. One girl had screamed in pain and begged Glendenning to stop, the court was told. Judge Stockdale told Glendenning: "You committed grave offences of sexual assault... at a time when they were young girls. "Your offences were utterly depraved and utterly wicked." The judge said Glendenning "betrayed" the girls' trust, describing his crimes as "utterly degrading". "The girls submitted to you because they had no choice," he added. "You now bring disgrace to your former profession as a serving police officer. It's difficult to imagine a more gross betrayal of trust placed in you by innocent young girls."