David Mace abused young women and girls for 17 years
David Mace, who was jailed for 17 years back in 2015 for a series of serious sex offences on vulnerable young women and girls in Hartcliffe, South Bristol(Image: Avon and Somerset police)
An independent inquiry into the death of a notorious sex offender who preyed on young and vulnerable girls in one part of Bristol for 17 years has concluded there were no concerns around the circumstances of his death.
David Mace was convicted of a string of rapes and other sex assaults involving girls as young as 13 over a long period of time between 1996 and 2013 in the Hartcliffe area of South Bristol.
Much of his offending was disguised as ‘pagan-style initiation ceremonies’, but he also raped and assaulted girls and young women who were unconscious and vulnerable.
He was jailed for 17 years back in 2015 and had been serving his time in HMP Dartmoor. He died of bronchopneumonia on August 11, 2014, at the age of 68.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and NHS England instigated an independent investigation looking into the standards of the health care he received in the lead up to his death, and its report has now been published, following the conclusion of an inquest into Mace’s death, which found he died from natural causes.
This inquiry took the form of a clinical review by NHS England, which looked into the treatment Mace received within the prison system.
“The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Mace received at Dartmoor was largely of a reasonable standard and equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community,” the report, by prisons and probation ombudsman Adrian Usher.
“He found that regular, well documented meetings were held at Dartmoor about Mr Mace’s care. Healthcare staff showed him respect regarding his preferences for treatment, and those discussions were managed well.
“However, the missed opportunity to diagnose diabetes earlier while in another prison was not equivalent. The clinical reviewer made recommendations not related to Mr Mace’s death that the Head of Healthcare will wish to address,” he added.
HMP Dartmoor in Princetown(Image: Northcliffe Media Ltd/Penny Cross)
“The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Mace’s care. We did not find any non-clinical issues of concern. We make no recommendations,” he added.
Mace pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual activity with a child, and seven counts of voyeurism. The crimes relate to 11 victims between 1996 to 2013.
Mace, from Bishport Avenue in Hartcliffe, was eventually arrested in December 2013 when a victim who was 19 at the time told her family Mace had abused her.
The full extent of Mace’s crimes were revealed when police searched his home and found a number of video tapes which were filmed on hidden cameras dotted around his home.
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