Health · ArchiveHow Bail Failures Left a Sex Offender Free to Kill TwiceAired August 8, 2026 at 2:42 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00A police watchdog is now investigating0:02how a prolific sex offender was left0:03free to murder two women [music] after0:05police and prosecutors admitted failures0:07that kept him on bail. The Independent0:09Office for Police [music] Conduct is0:11investigating the Metropolitan Police0:13including alleged failures by two0:14officers [music] after Simon Leivy's0:16release while the Metropolitan Police0:18has voluntarily referred itself for0:19wider learning on system failure [music]0:21and how he came to be bailed at the peak0:23of his offending, Channel 4 News0:24reports. Leivy was known to police for0:26prolific sexual offending, Channel 40:28News reports. He was convicted of two0:31sexual assaults committed in 2018 and0:33jailed in 2021. In 2022, he sexually0:37assaulted a female prison officer while0:38inside. He was out of jail in 2023,0:41recalled in 2024 after an allegation of0:44rape then released three months later.0:46He was later found guilty of 11 sexual0:48assaults between 2022 and 2025 including0:52on public transport. Weeks before the0:54murders, Leivy raped and suffocated a0:56woman who survived. She is not named for0:59legal reasons. She gave police what1:01Channel 4 News describes as a1:03heartbreaking account, but police did1:05not take a formal statement from her for1:07months. After that attack, Simon Leivy1:09was arrested for murder, shown in his1:11bedroom wearing pajamas, then questioned1:14and released because police did not have1:15enough evidence. After his arrest for1:17the murder of Carmensa Valencia1:18Trujillo, he was released under1:20investigation. Six months later, nearer1:23his home in North London, he killed1:24again. The second victim was Cheryl1:26Wilkins, killed in August. Two admitted1:28breakdowns explain the windows in which1:30he remained [music] free. British1:32Transport Police says delays in its1:33investigation meant his bail was1:35extended and he was free to murder1:36[music] Carmensa. During the initial1:38hearing for some of those assaults, he1:39was bailed because not all relevant1:41information was provided by the Crown1:42Prosecution [music] Service to remand1:44him into custody leaving him free to1:45kill Cheryl in August. The Crown1:47Prosecution [music] Service apologized1:50saying there should have been a more1:51robust approach to try to remand him1:53into custody vowing to strengthen1:55[music] its approach in serious sexual1:57offense cases.1:58British Transport Police says [music] it2:00has amended its procedures for repeat2:02offenders as a result. The mechanism2:04that kept him on the streets was not one2:06decision, [music] but a chain. Release2:07under investigation after the first2:09murder, then extended bail while2:10investigation stalled. Then an initial2:12hearing where the remand argument was2:14made without the full [music] history2:15meant each safeguard failed to hold him2:17despite a record already flagged as2:19prolific. His crimes did not just target2:21women being paid for sex. Channel 4 News2:24notes and included assaults on public2:25transport among the 11 later proven2:27between 2022 and 2025. The case comes2:30against a national strategy to reduce2:32violence against women and girls.2:34The unresolved question now is why the2:36dots across those reports, arrests, and2:38bail decisions were not connected. The2:40Independent Office for Police Conduct2:42Investigation will ask whether2:44opportunities to stop him were missed.2:46How delayed statements, incomplete2:48prosecution submissions, and extended2:50bail left a man already known as a2:52prolific offender free to commit further2:54sexual assaults and two murders. And2:56what systemic changes will prevent the2:58same referral and remand failures?Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗