Thomas Cope

Thomas Cope, a serial rapist branded a 'serious danger to women' by the sentencing judge, died while serving a life sentence in prison. Cope, who lived in East Sussex, had a long history of sexual offences spanning decades.

In June 2007, Cope was sentenced to life imprisonment at court for the brutal rape of a 19-year-old woman. He tied her up with a computer mouse cord, raped her twice, and held the terrified teenager captive in his flat for eight hours before releasing her. The judge described him as 'a serious danger to women' during the sentencing, highlighting the severity of his actions.

Cope's criminal record included earlier convictions for sexual offences. In 1976, he was first jailed for four years for rape. He accumulated further convictions for rape, attempted rape, and indecent assault over the years, establishing him as a repeat offender.

Following his 2007 imprisonment, Cope successfully sued his former landlord, Melody Goymer, for wrongful eviction from his two-bedroom flat in Hailsham, East Sussex. The judge ruled that Goymer had unlawfully terminated Cope's tenancy without obtaining a formal court order for possession. Cope claimed compensation for lost possessions, including a 20-inch television, computer desks, Sky box, coffee table, and tin openers, which Goymer had placed in storage after gaining access to the flat. Goymer had contacted Cope's solicitor upon finding a letter but was not informed of the specifics of his offence, though its seriousness was evident. In 2009, Goymer won her appeal against the initial ruling.

Cope died on 4 September 2025 at the age of 72 in hospital while a prisoner at HMP Usk. An inquest held on 20 February 2026 confirmed that he died of natural causes due to lung cancer. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) investigated and found that the care provided to Cope in prison was 'of a high standard and equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community'. The report noted a delay in prison healthcare staff following up on a chest X-ray referral, but this had no impact on the timing of his lung cancer diagnosis. It also mentioned delays by the hospital in arranging scans and communicating results, though these were outside the PPO's scope of investigation.

This case, reported by The Argus in collaboration with USA Today, underscores Cope's extensive history of sexual violence and the legal consequences he faced, culminating in his death behind bars.