Child-killing 'monster' Adam Stein given new four year sentence – but Collette Gallacher's Corby family aren't allowed to know why

A child murderer from Corby who has twice been deemed fit for release by separate parole boards will spend Christmas behind bars after being jailed yet again for four years.

But the family of six-year-old Collette Gallacher, who Adam Stein brutally kidnapped, raped and murdered back in 1986, are not allowed to know why the beast was given his new sentence. They now say it is never going to be possible to rehabilitate Stein and that they are living their own life sentence.

The paedophile has been released from prison twice, but both times he has been recalled after breaching the terms of his release. Back in September we revealed that he had once again been recalled, but no reasons were given by the authorities.

Now Collette’s family have been told he has received a four year jail sentence by an undisclosed crown court. Despite the long sentence, and the fact that the case was heard in public in open court, they are not allowed to know the crime he committed nor why he was given four years.

It is impossible for this newspaper to effectively track Stein through the court system as he has changed his identity and is living in an undisclosed area of the country. Police, government departments and the courts have refused to allow our reporters details of public court listings in his name.

Stein is also under no obligation to let those he befriends know his true identity or the details of his crimes. His appearance is unrecognisable – he is bald-headed, has shaved his moustache, looks younger than his 63 years and would not be identifiable by even those who have seen the pictures of him taken before his trial in 1986.

It means Stein can live a relatively normal life while he is out of prison.

Collette’s family, meanwhile, are tortured every day with thoughts of their beloved sister and daughter. They have only been told that he has been given a sentence of four years, that he cannot be released before November 2024, and that any subsequent release will be subject to the approval of the parole board.

Claire and Lauren said: “As a family we were more than happy to know that he is back where he belongs.

"Unfortunately that happiness is also tainted with the unanswered questions around what offence has resulted in the recall. We deeply hope there isn't another victim at his hands. To know that the recall has resulted in a four year sentence again brings us happiness but also a sense of dread. Four year sentences are not handed out easily.

“This continued loop of release and recalls is a life sentence that he has handed us as a family.

"It is now time for the relevant bodies to stop pushing rehabilitation on offenders such as this monster: a monster who time and time again shows he is not someone who can be safely managed in the public.

“It's time for them to protect the public once and for all. How many times as a family must we go through this before it is recognised that this waste of oxygen belongs in prison for the rest of his days?

"This will never end for our family until the powers-that-be realise he will never be safe for release and is locked up for good, or when he is dead.

"Given that he was out on the highest level of monitoring and has still reoffended, this is surely proof that he cannot be safely managed in the public and is therefore never going to be fit for re-release?

"The protection should be for women and children yet it seems the most protection is given to the offender.

"The lack of transparency is shocking. What happened to open justice? Why is everything so cloak and dagger? We only hope this is not due to there being more victims at the hands of an offender who has repeatedly shown nothing but a lack of remorse and rehabilitation

“We will never give up fighting in Collette's memory.”

Stein was first released after a parole board gave the nod in March 2016, but within 16 months he was recalled to prison after committing driving offences.

Then, Colette’s family was informed a parole board had deemed him fit for release again in February 2021. But he was not placed on the sex offenders’ register because it didn’t exist when he was first sentenced.

Thanks to a campaign backed by this newspaper and two former Home Secretaries, he is now subject to the requirements of a sexual harm prevention order imposed by a magistrates’ court in early 2021. Collette’s family was not allowed to go to this hearing and was not told where or when it took place.

Collette’s murder in 1986 left Corby in shock. Stein kidnapped the six-year-old on her short walk to get the school bus, before brutally raping her and murdering her in the home he had shared with his family in Ashley Avenue.

Hundreds of people from the town spent days searching woodland, fields and urban areas for the missing girl while her desperate mother Karen waited at home for news.

But Stein had already killed her, and had spent time drinking in the Domino while she lay dead in his attic.