Karen Prosser convicted of harbouring absconder Cornell Destouche during manhunt

Karen Prosser. Photograph: Met Police

A woman has pleaded guilty to knowingly harbouring a violent and dangerous psychiatric patient who absconded from Hackney’s John Howard Centre while on escorted leave earlier this year.

Police launched a resource-intensive manhunt for Cornell Destouche after he escaped in April, and officers attended the home of Karen Prosser, 37, of The Drive, Walthamstow, in their search for him.

They showed Prosser a photograph of Destouche and asked her if she knew his whereabouts, but she denied knowing where he was and was verbally abusive towards them.

The police investigation team subsequently received information that Prosser, an acquaintance of Destouche’s mother, was complicit in knowing the whereabouts of the wanted man.

Police then attended Prosser’s home again and entered the property, where they found Destouche lying on a sofa under a duvet. He was returned to the John Howard Centre without incident.

Earlier, officers had appealed for information, saying Destouche represented a potential risk to the public because of his condition, which meant he required daily medication and care.

Detective Constable Jo Giles, from Hackney CID, said: “Prosser had ample opportunity to identify the whereabouts of Destouche but chose not to. Faced with the overwhelming evidence gathered and the accounts of several police officers there was no option for her but to plead guilty.”

Worrying figures released in 2014 appeared to show an increase in the number of people absconding from the John Howard Centre, a specialist mental health facility located in Homerton, as charity Sane warned of pressure on mental health services.

Prosser was sentenced on 24 October to an 18-month conditional discharge at Wood Green Crown Court.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley from the Hackney branch of the Met, said: “This was a wide-ranging and protracted enquiry involving a vast number of resources and extensive land, air and property searches.

“Our efforts were significantly disrupted by the actions of Prosser and stalled this dangerous man from being apprehended. We will always take robust action against any individual harbouring a criminal.”

Destouche was convicted of attempted murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 10 July 2014 for stabbing a Police Community Support Officer. He was detained under a mental health order and remains at the John Howard Centre.