Simon Levy case exposes public protection failures that could be repeated as pressure on probation grows, warns Victims’ Commissioner
The Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales has warned that serious failings exposed in the case of serial sex offender and double murderer Simon Levy risk being repeated unless urgent action is taken to strengthen public protection systems.
The sentencing of serial sex offender and double murderer Simon Levy to a whole-life order has exposed serious failings across the criminal justice system and raises urgent questions about the capacity of agencies responsible for managing high-risk offenders, the Victims’ Commissioner has warned.
Levy, who murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins and raped a third woman, remained at liberty despite repeated contact with police and prosecutors and a long history of sexual offending.
Multiple agencies have since admitted failures in their handling of the case. The Victims’ Commissioner is warning that, as increasing numbers of offenders are managed in the community due to the government’s early release programme, Ministers must be able to demonstrate that police, probation and other public protection agencies have the resources and capacity they need to identify escalating risk and intervene effectively.
Responding to the sentence, the Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE, said:
This case represents one of the most shocking examples of systemic failure in recent years. A dangerous serial sex offender repeatedly came to the attention of multiple agencies, yet critical opportunities to identify the risk he posed, share information and take protective action were missed. The consequences in this case were devastating.
With early release and increased community supervision set to place unprecedented further pressure on police, probation and the wider criminal justice system, I am now gravely concerned that these failures and oversights will not be one-offs.
Probation services are already under significant strain, with frontline staff repeatedly warning about excessive workloads and challenges in managing growing caseloads. As more offenders are supervised in the community, ministers must be able to demonstrate that the agencies responsible for public protection have the capacity, resources and information they need to identify risk and act decisively. As Victims’ Commissioner, I remain unconvinced.
Particularly concerning is the fact that this offender continued to reoffend while in prison, yet appears to have faced no consequence. It gives me little reassurance about the Government’s proposed ‘earned progression’ model, which is intended to prevent offenders who continue to offend in prison from benefitting from earlier release.
This case demonstrates how easily warning signs can be missed or overlooked, even when they are plainly visible. If these systemic weaknesses are not addressed, they risk taking us further away from the Government’s ambition of halving violence against women and girls.
Victims and the public deserve confidence that dangerous offenders will be properly managed. Cases such as this are a stark reminder of the potentially devastating consequences when that system fails.
Given the gravity of the failings identified, the Victims’ Commissioner is calling on the Lord Chancellor to commission an independent multi-agency review into this case to understand what went wrong, deliver clear accountability for the failures identified, and a commitment to ensuring those lessons translate into meaningful change.
The Victims’ Commissioner has repeatedly raised concerns about public protection, offender management and the capacity of criminal justice agencies to identify and respond to risk.
The Government’s early release measures will result in increased numbers of offenders being managed in the community by probation services.
The Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones has repeatedly highlighted concerns about workload pressures, staffing shortages and the challenges these create for effective risk management.
Further reading
The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman OBE, has responded to the Government’s announcement on sentencing reforms and the delay to implementation until October.
Published on August 4, 2026
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