The father of slain 11-year-old Rhys Jones has said that it is “galling” for the family to hear how Rhys’ killer has reportedly been online dating from within prison. It had earlier been reported that the gunman who shot and killed the child, Sean Mercer, had chatted with a woman whom he had met using an illegal phone that was hidden inside his prison cell.
Mercer had killed Rhys in a Liverpool playground in 2007 and is presently serving a minimum of 22 years in the HMP Frankland. He has been housed alongside murderers such as Ian Huntley, Levi Bellfield as well as the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe. Mercer had shot the little boy while he was walking home after football training.
It is believed that Mercer has been in contact with the woman for a couple of months. According to a source, he was “openly using a phone to have a relationship with a woman on the outside,” according to a Mirror report. He is reportedly said to have had a relationship with her for around eight months. Rhys’ father, Steve, said that these new findings do “beggar belief” and is hoping it will stop any suggestions that Mercer who is now 29 be given an early release.
“Things like this just brings Rhys’ death back for the whole family. If Mercer was serious about putting in a legal challenge about how he’s a model prisoner, then he’s blown that out the water by having a mobile phone while in prison,” Steve shared while speaking to the Liverpool Echo. “It beggars belief how these things come out. There’s got to be a way of discovering phones in prison, I don’t accept there’s no way to track it. Now it’s known Mercer has a phone, the authorities should be all over him,” Steve added.
“It’s galling that he has access to one,” Steve continued. Mercer had also allegedly told the anonymous woman that he is a model prisoner who is up for early release. During the pair’s eighth month-long relationship, he claimed that he had “accidentally hurt someone”, reports said. It has also been reported that he said that he had dreams of being a father when he does get released from prison. Mercer’s female friend is also said to have visited him around three times in prison.
According to her, Mercer shared that he had hung out with the wrong people and had accidentally ended up hurting someone and that the killing “eats him up”. The reports of his online dating follow that of his attempt to try and have his jail sentence reduced. Sean Mercer had been 16 when he murdered Rhys who had been an innocent victim who was caught in a war between two rival gangs, stated a Mirror report.
In 2008, Mercer had been sentenced to prison in 2008 and has to serve at least 22 years which put his release date to 2030. According to the Liverpool Echo, he had been a prominent member of the Croxteth Crew gang and is trying to have his sentence reduced.