A serial rapist who attacked complete strangers as they walked home in the early hours of the morning has died in prison. 

Lawrence Dugbazah, 38, died in prison 13 years after he was given an indeterminate Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, a prison and probation ombudsman report has revealed.

Dugbazah, from Peckham, raped three young women as they walked home from central London. 

A court heard how Dugbazah threatened to kill the women during the attacks. 

After he was found guilty of three counts of rape over a 10-week period he was sentenced to an IPP in June 2010. 

IPPs were a type of indeterminate sentence courts could impose after being introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. 

The controversial sentences were reserved for cases where the offender posed a “significant risk of serious harm” in the future. 

Like life sentences, IPPs required judges to set a minimum term to be served behind bars after which a prisoner was eligible for parole. 

If they were released after the minimum terms prisoners remained on licence – subject to supervision in the community by the probation service and at risk of being recalled to prison – for 10 years. 

When they were abolished in 2012 they were labelled “the greatest single stain on the justice system” but the sentences were not retrospectively cancelled. 

Dugbazah was released from prison in 2010 but was recalled two years later in 2022 following allegations of further sexual offences. 

He was then moved to HMP Thameside where he stopped eating and said he was feeling low as he did not understand why he was back in prison, a prison and probation ombudsman report has revealed. 

He later resumed eating and in November 2022 he was moved to HMP Littlehey and again refused to eat telling staff he saw no point of living as he faced a life sentence. 

He died in January 2023 following seven weeks of food refusal. 

An inquest concluded he died of self-neglect. 

An ombudsman report concluded: “Prolonged food refusal is fortunately rare. While many staff were trying their best to care for Mr Dugbazah in very challenging circumstances, it was clear that they were unaware of the policies and processes to manage food refusal in custody. 

“Littlehey needs a much more robust food and fluid refusal policy to ensure that staff are clear about how they should care for prisoners in these circumstances, including assessing underlying mental health needs and mental capacity.”