Corby child murderer Adam Stein is finally ON the sex offenders register following campaign by victim's family

It's been confirmed by the Justice Secretary that Adam Stein is on the register
Claire and Lauren Holmes. Image: JPI Media.Claire and Lauren Holmes. Image: JPI Media.
Claire and Lauren Holmes. Image: JPI Media.

The man who brutally murdered Collette Gallacher in Corby is finally on the sex offenders register following a dogged campaign by her family.

Adam Stein, who is now 61, raped and murdered the six-year-old in Corby in 1986 but after his release in March this year, he was not placed on the sex offenders register (SOR) because his crimes were committed before 1997.

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Collette's sisters Claire and Lauren Holmes, backed by this newspaper and two former home secretaries, had called on the government to change the law so that those who offended before 1997 would be retrospectively placed on the register.

How we reported the trial at the time. Image: JPI Media.How we reported the trial at the time. Image: JPI Media.
How we reported the trial at the time. Image: JPI Media.

Over the past few months they have been approached by people who have given them alarming information about Stein's last release in 2016 including the fact he had changed his name, had contact with children and had inserted himself into a welcoming, unknowing community with his new identity. He was only recalled to prison in 2017 after he committed driving offences.

Although the law change that Claire and Lauren had called for has not been enacted, it has now emerged that Stein has been placed on the register after he was given an interim sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) by a magistrate in the weeks after he was released from prison.

The family had been informed by several different law authorities during the past few weeks that the imposition of the SHPO meant that he was on the register, but the situation was unclear. Now they have received a letter written to MP Tom Pursglove from Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and seen by this newspaper that finally confirms Stein is subject to the SOR requirements.

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Claire and Lauren say they will not give up their fight to get the law changed and have launched a petition to get the law changed for other families in the same situation.

They are also angry that they believe the answers they have received from the government about Stein's previous release from prison are not sufficient.

Claire told the Northants Telegraph: "We are, of course, pleased that Adam Stein is now on the register and will be subject to all of the restrictions on his life that that will bring. He has to go and sign that register and has extra stipulations that he didn't have on his last release. We are really pleased that we have made a positive impact.

"We can't thank the people of Corby enough for their support. We are continuing with our petition and our campaign because no other family should have to go through this.

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"We thought we might need to take a month campaign but obviously it's gone on much longer than that and it feels like knock after knock at the minute.

"But we are now calling for a meeting with Robert Buckland because we believe he is dodging our questions. It appears that they think there are no issues with Stein's previous release so we want to sit down with him so he can explain his thinking to us.

"How can you rape and murder someone then change your name?"

Claire and Lauren are also upset that the amount of information they have been given by the authorities has been limited by the need to protect the human rights of Stein, who is currently living in an undisclosed address in the south east.

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As a direct result of the publicity surrounding their campaign, he was placed on the highest level of supervision - Mappa 3 - in the weeks after he was released.

Then police applied to magistrates for an interim sexual harm prevention order. The orders can be made to protect the public from harm after a sex offender has been released from prison and they involve a strict set of rules that the offender must adhere to. It is believed Stein's order prevents him from having undisclosed access to under-18s as well as a string of other strict stipulations.

But, in order to protect Stein's human rights, Claire and Lauren were given no advance notice of the interim order being imposed and no reasons as to why it was granted by magistrates. A full SHPO hearing is set to take place over the summer.

They were also contacted by a former friend of Stein's who gave them worrying information about his previous release when he lived in a rural town in East Anglia during the months before his recall in 2017.

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In his letter to Tom Pursglove, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said that the probation service responded to Stein's behaviour by imposing more controls on him and, ultimately, recalling him to prison. Then, on his release this year, local police used the information from his previous release and used it to apply for the SHPO.

The letter continues: "Local police collated details of behaviour which came to light only after Stein was recalled in 2017 and used this to apply to the magistrates' court for a SHPO.

"A SHPO makes the offender subject to the sexual offender's notification requirements, commonly known as the sex offenders register.

"The SHPO is an interim order.. The prohibitions in the order cover various aspects of Steins' lifestyle. He and his legal representatives can challenge the prohibitions at the next court hearing."

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Mr Buckland also addressed the fact that Stein changed his name during his last released, meaning his identity was not revealed to unwitting people living in his new community until after he was recalled. He said: "It is a legal right for any individual in the UK to change their name. That said, an offender under supervision is required to notify the probation service of the change of name.. I can confirm that the supervising agencies involved in managing Stein have been notified of his new name."

Mr Buckland also confirmed that Stein is currently in a bail hostel and will be fitted with an electronic tag when he moves into the community, adding: "If he breaches his licence conditions in such a way as to indicate his risk is escalating, he may immediately be recalled to prison without needing a court order."

Claire and Lauren submitted a formal complaint to the East of England National Probation Service about Stein's supervision during his previous release. They investigated, but on Friday the family was informed that the investigation had found no wrongdoing. A report said investigators were satisfied that the monitoring of Stein during his release was 'sufficient'.

It stated: "While it is evidence that Adam Stein did breach a condition of licence, the responsibility for the behaviour which led to that breach lies solely with him."

You can sign Claire and Lauren's petition here.