Sidney Cooke

Case record: Sidney Cooke

Status and sentencing

Sidney Cooke was sentenced for the manslaughter of Jason Swift to 19 years in prison in May 1989. His sentence was reduced to 16 years on appeal in 1989. He was paroled in April 1998. On 26 January 1999, he was arrested again and charged with committing 18 sex offences that occurred between 1972 and 1981. On 17 December 1999, Cooke received two life sentences, and the judge told Cooke that he would only be considered for release after he had served a five-year jail sentence.

Background

Sidney Cooke, also known as “Hissing Sid,” was a British convicted paedophile. He was born 18 April 1927. He was serving two life sentences for rapes against young boys. Along with three accomplices—Leslie Bailey, Robert Oliver and Lennie Smith—Cooke was sentenced in May 1989 for the manslaughter of Jason Swift, a 14-year-old boy. Cooke was described as operating from a flat on the Kingsmead estate in Hackney, east London, and as having a job as a fairground worker. He was said to have used a children’s “Test Your Strength” machine at fairgrounds to meet victims and lure them.

Cooke was named in court as being involved in the killing of Mark Tildesley, but he was never charged with Mark Tildesley’s killing. Cooke refused to discuss where the body of Mark Tildesley had been disposed of after they killed him, and he still refused to tell police or the boy’s grieving parents exactly where Mark’s grave was.

The offence

Manslaughter of Jason Swift

Cooke was sentenced in May 1989 for the manslaughter of Jason Swift. Jason Swift was a 14-year-old boy. Cooke and others in a gang brutalized, sexually tortured, and prostituted Jason Swift over a number of years. The gang, including Cooke, had brutalized and sexually tortured Jason Swift, and a group of men each paid £5 to have sex with Jason in the Kingsmead flat. Jason was later found strangled in a shallow grave on the outskirts of London.

Murder of Mark Tildesley (no prosecution)

Leslie Bailey had informed authorities that Cooke was among those who murdered seven-year-old Mark Tildesley in Wokingham, Berkshire in June 1984. Mark Tildesley disappeared while visiting a funfair in Wokingham on the evening of Friday 1 June 1984. It was believed that he was lured away from the fair by Cooke, who had manned a “test your strength” machine, on the promise of a 50p bag of sweets. Mark’s bicycle was found chained to railings nearby.

Cooke’s role in Mark Tildesley’s murder was not investigated until years later, and the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute Cooke for Mark Tildesley’s murder because he was already in prison for the manslaughter of Jason Swift.

Investigation

Detective Superintendent David Bright described Cooke during the hunt for the killers of Jason Swift. Detective Superintendent David Bright said: “I can’t think of anything worse that could happen to a human being and a vulnerable young man.” Detective Superintendent David Bright also said: “Cooke is a very hard and resilient man. He’s a very strong character but he’s an evil man.”

Detective Superintendent David Bright described how the gang would stalk boys at fairgrounds as if they were hunting prey. He added: “There are certain cases that you work on during your career that will never leave you. I will never forget Jason.”

Other arrests and charges

On 26 January 1999, Cooke was again arrested and charged with committing 18 sex offences that occurred between 1972 and 1981. These included repeated abuse and assault of two brothers and the rape of a young woman. Many of the offences had come to public attention after they were reported on in the Channel 4 documentary Dispatches.

Trial

At his trial on 5 October 1999, Cooke pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the two brothers on 10 occasions in 1972 and 1973. He admitted five counts of indecent assault and five counts of buggery. He denied the remaining eight charges, which were four counts of rape, three further counts of indecent assault, and one of buggery, that occurred in 1981. These were abandoned by the judge, who ordered them to lie on file.

As a defence for his crimes, Cooke claimed to have himself been sexually abused as a child.

Sentencing and minimum period

On 17 December 1999, Cooke received two life sentences. The judge told Cooke that he would only be considered for release after he had served a five-year jail sentence. Cooke remained behind bars for these offences even though the five-year minimum sentence had elapsed.

Aftermath and prison life

Cooke convinced an appeals court that Leslie Bailey was the ringleader of the paedophile ring. Cooke’s parole caused public outrage. A plan to move Cooke to a hostel near two schools led to heightened concern.

Cooke was held in a special wing for sex offenders during his time in Wandsworth Prison in London and became the centre of attention among other paedophiles. He was admired by other paedophiles for the extent of his depravity and the lengths he was prepared to go to ensnare his victims. Cooke struck up a friendship with a fellow paedophile dubbed “Britain’s Josef Fritzl.” The pair were described as being hated by everyone in Wakefield prison and said to be inseparable.

A police officer guarding Cooke described his fear of public reaction after his release. Detective Superintendent David Edwards said: “He certainly does not want to face the public. He is very well aware of the public reaction to him ... and is in some fear of that.” Detective Superintendent David Edwards also said: “He spends a lot of his time watching television, he reads the papers. He cleans his accommodation, he sends out for food, he has his own money. He generally busies himself living under supervision in secure accommodation.”

Detective Superintendent David Edwards also said: “If Mr Cooke does walk out of the police station we will react accordingly. If necessary we can also put a policeman with him 24 hours a day. In practice he has nowhere else to go.”

Detective Superintendent David Edwards insisted that efforts should be made to rehabilitate Cooke. He said: “If a person serves their term of imprisonment then surely it is incumbent on society to make every attempt to rehabilitate this person ... to rehabilitate and to absorb him into society.”

During protests after it emerged Cooke was being kept in a police station, Lavinia Tildesley, the mother of Mark Tildesley, appealed to Cooke to tell her where Mark’s body was buried. She said: “It’s a long time gone, but if he’d just tell us, we’d know, and we can start living our life again.”

Other details

Victims

• Jason Swift: A 14-year-old boy from Hackney.
• Mark Tildesley: A seven-year-old boy who disappeared while visiting a funfair in Wokingham, Berkshire on the evening of Friday 1 June 1984; his body was never found.
• Two brothers: Cooke pleaded guilty to sexually abusing them on 10 occasions in 1972 and 1973.
• A young woman: Cooke denied charges including rape that occurred in 1981.

Places associated with the case

Cooke and the gang were associated with a flat on the Kingsmead estate in Hackney, east London. Jason Swift was found strangled in a shallow grave on the outskirts of London. Mark Tildesley disappeared in Wokingham, Berkshire, after visiting a funfair. After release, Cooke lived in a suite of three cells at Yeovil police station in Somerset for his own safety.

Named accomplices

Cooke’s accomplices included Leslie Bailey, Robert Oliver and Lennie Smith. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute Cooke for Mark Tildesley’s murder as he was already in prison for the manslaughter of Jason Swift.

Quotes by named individuals

Detective Constable Tina Birnie said: “He (Cooke) has been put on a pedestal because he killed all of those kids. It was a fantasy to all those paedophiles to go a bit further.”

NSPCC director Jim Harding said of the sentence: “The children who were abused by Sidney Cooke suffered some of the vilest and cruelest sex offences imaginable. “He should never have been freed after serving his last sentence. We sincerely hope he will never be given the opportunity to hurt another child again.”

Adapted circumstances in prison

Cooke suffered a stroke while in prison, and he was provided with a specially adapted mechanical bed due to impaired mobility.

Popular culture

In popular culture, the mockumentary Brass Eye included a skit in which Chris Morris pretended that Cooke had been sent into space to keep him away from children.

Parole and release detail

Cooke was released after nine years in April 1998 and was again arrested on 26 January 1999.