FORMER Gunnedah man and convicted paedophile Allan Kenneth Brookes has died in jail.
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The now 56-year-old was due to front court next month charged with 20 child sex offences against young boys stemming back to the 1980s in Gunnedah.
Brookes, who was jailed in April for 10 years for a string of sexual abuse charges, as well as beastiality, was found dead inside his cell at a prison in Lithgow on Saturday morning.
He was charged in early July while in custody with fresh offences after an 18-month investigation led by Oxley detectives in Tamworth.
Detectives allege he sexually abused four boys, aged between 12 and 15, in Gunnedah, between 1983 and 1987 while Brookes was living and working in Gunnedah.
The complainants were contacted earlier this week by investigators about Brookes’ death.
Brookes was facing 20 charges including eight counts of sexual assault and act of indecency with a child under 16.
Last month, detectives made an appeal for information from the public for anyone else who might have knowledge on the historical allegations or who might have been a victim of abuse in the 1980s in Gunnedah.
Brookes, a farmer, was just months into his minimum seven-year sentence after he was found guilty in the NSW District Court last year of 17 charges including rape, sexual and indecent assault.
He pleaded guilty to bestiality after performing sex acts with animals and made a young boy commit a sex act with a cow. He was not due for parole until 2023.
A spokeswoman for Corrective Services NSW confirmed Brookes’ death in a statement to Fairfax Media on Monday morning.
“A 56-year-old man was found dead in his cell at Lithgow Correctional Centre about 8.30am on Saturday 22 July,” she said.
Corrective Services NSW treats every death in custody very seriously. This death is not believed to be suspicious.
- A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman
“Corrective Services NSW treats every death in custody very seriously.
“This death is not believed to be suspicious.
“All staff involved have been offered counselling and peer support.
“The death is being investigated by the CSNSW Investigation Unit and the NSW Police, and a report will be prepared for the NSW State Coroner.”
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