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| Escaped rapist is back in custody | Escaped rapist is back in custody |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A convicted rapist who has been on the run for the past two days is back in custody, police have said. | A convicted rapist who has been on the run for the past two days is back in custody, police have said. |
| Life-sentence prisoner Mark Thomas Clarke, 40, was arrested on the Springfield Road in north Belfast at about 1400 GMT on Thursday. | Life-sentence prisoner Mark Thomas Clarke, 40, was arrested on the Springfield Road in north Belfast at about 1400 GMT on Thursday. |
| Clarke, who had been let out of jail on a pre-release scheme, escaped while attending a training course at Nutt's Corner, County Antrim, on Tuesday. | Clarke, who had been let out of jail on a pre-release scheme, escaped while attending a training course at Nutt's Corner, County Antrim, on Tuesday. |
| He had been living at home with his parents since the summer of 2007. | He had been living at home with his parents since the summer of 2007. |
| Clarke was jailed in 1996 for kidnapping and attempted rape at knifepoint and was given a minimum nine-and-a-half year tariff. | Clarke was jailed in 1996 for kidnapping and attempted rape at knifepoint and was given a minimum nine-and-a-half year tariff. |
| It is important that lessons are learned from this incident Paul GogginsPrisons minister Those offences happened 15 months after he was freed early from a nine-year sentence for rape. He had served four and a half years. | |
| Clarke was in the third stage of a pre-release programme monitored by the Prison Service when he fled. | Clarke was in the third stage of a pre-release programme monitored by the Prison Service when he fled. |
| Prisons Minister Paul Goggins has asked the Prison Service to investigate the circumstances which led to Mr Clarke absconding. | |
| "While I very much welcome the fact that the prisoner has been recaptured and returned to custody, it is important that lessons are learned from this incident," he said. | |
| The Prison Service website said: "When he (Clarke) was advised that he was being returned to prison until the circumstances of his case were fully reviewed, he absconded and staff were unable to apprehend him. | The Prison Service website said: "When he (Clarke) was advised that he was being returned to prison until the circumstances of his case were fully reviewed, he absconded and staff were unable to apprehend him. |
| "Clarke has spent significant time in custody beyond his nine year tariff and had progressed to living in the community. He had obtained a job and was making progress. | "Clarke has spent significant time in custody beyond his nine year tariff and had progressed to living in the community. He had obtained a job and was making progress. |
| "He remained under the supervision of prison and probation staff. He was also being monitored by the PSNI at weekends when a curfew was in force." | "He remained under the supervision of prison and probation staff. He was also being monitored by the PSNI at weekends when a curfew was in force." |