Gintautas Urbonas, 51, was serving a 12-year sentence at the privately-run HMP Peterborough for crimes including attempted rape, battery and sexual assault
A sex attacker who has escaped from HMP Peterborough could be trying to return to Lithuania, police have said.
Gintautas Urbonas, 51, was serving a 12-year sentence at the privately-run HMP Peterborough for crimes including attempted rape, battery and sexual assault.
Cambridge Police urged people not to approach the ‘dangerous’ criminal but to contact them immediately.
The force warned that anyone hiding the Lithuanian national, who reportedly made his getaway on a prison van roof, could be prosecuted.
Urbonas apparently scaled a fence after giving guards the slip while returning from a gym session at 3.30pm on Friday, before fleeing on the roof of a prison van.
The 51-year-old is serving time at the Category B jail and police said he needed to be put ‘back behind bars’.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Birchall said: ‘He could be heading for Lithuania…we are looking at ports and other travel.
‘It is likely he has left the area, but he could still be in Peterborough.
‘I would ask lorry drivers picking up hitch-hikers to be aware that this gentleman is at large and if they see anything suspicious to phone us.
‘He is somebody we want to capture very soon so we can put him back behind bars where he needs to be.’
Cambridgeshire police urged people not to approach the ‘dangerous’ Lithuanian national who escaped from HMP Peterborough (pictured)
A spokesman for prison operator Sodexo said it would not comment on how the inmate fled as it was a ‘live police investigation’.
In a statement, the company said it was ‘supporting the police with their ongoing operation’ and ‘investigating’ the incident.
Concerns were raised by the prison watchdog earlier this week about the women’s site at HMP Peterborough.
Inspectors rated the women’s jail as ‘not sufficiently good’ on safety.