The heads of the UK prosecution and police have clashed over who is to blame for a serial sex offender who committed two murders while released on bail, the Times reported on the 11th, local time.

Simon Levy, 40, who was indicted for murdering two women in March and August of last year, as well as raping and seriously injuring another woman in January of last year, was found guilty at the Old Bailey in London on the 7th and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on the 12th.

Public criticism has mounted against authorities for failing to prevent Levy's crimes, as he repeatedly committed offenses against numerous women while released on parole or bail.

Levy was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 for sexual violence against two other women in 2018, and despite committing sexual violence against a female prison officer in 2022 while incarcerated, he was paroled in 2023.

He was reimprisoned for crimes committed during his parole period and was released upon completing his sentence in August 2024.

Even after that, Levy committed multiple sexual offenses but was repeatedly released or failed to be properly investigated.

In March of last year, he committed his first murder but was released during the investigation.

It was later revealed that the police initially did not treat the incident itself as a murder case.

Although he was arrested by the British Transport Police (BTP) for additional sex offenses on the subway between May and June of last year, he was released on bail once again.

He was finally detained and indicted only after committing his second murder in August of last year.

Ultimately, convictions for subway sex crimes against 10 women committed from 2023 to last year and sexual violence inside the prison in 2022 were only handed down in February of this year, while verdicts for the two murders and one rape resulting in serious injury were delivered this time.

Jess Phillips, a member of Parliament who served as the parliamentary under-secretary of state for safeguarding under Keir Starmer's government, pointed out to the BBC, "It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that, had it not been for state failures, at least the second murder could have been prevented."

Both the police and the prosecution admitted to some mistakes and apologized following the guilty verdict on the 7th.

At the same time, they launched offensives against each other, claiming that the other party failed to fulfill its responsibilities.

London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley acknowledged some mistakes in an interview with the BBC, but explained that police investigators took the first murder case seriously at the time, yet there was insufficient evidence for prosecution.

Rowley also pointed out that decisions made by other agencies were incomprehensible, such as parole being granted even after sexual crimes against a prison officer had taken place.

Subsequently, Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), countered by stating that "attacking each other" among various agencies in the justice system is not helpful.

He apologized, expressing "deep regret" that the CPS failed twice to inform the magistrates' court—which decides on bail—that Levy was already on bail, and stated, "We also bear responsibility for part of this failure."

However, Parkinson emphasized that he does not believe this situation is a "systemic" problem within the CPS and added, "We don't want people to lose confidence in the justice system."

He declined to answer a question regarding how many employees within the CPS have faced disciplinary action due to this incident.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)