THE family of a child rapist butchered in a North-East prison made a public plea for justice yesterday as two prisoners appeared in court charged with his murder.

Relatives of Mitchell Dean Harrison, whose mutilated body was found in a blood soaked cell at Frankland Prison, near Durham City, on Saturday morning, said he had not deserved to die in such a horrific way and they were looking forward to his killers being brought to justice.

The 23-year-old was disembowelled in his cell at the prison, which holds some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died of multiple injuries.

Harrison, originally from Wolverhampton, was jailed at Carlisle Crown Court in January last year for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Kendal, Cumbria.

In August 2009, he lured the girl to a flat where he raped her twice before she escaped, running naked into the street.

Police said Mitchell, who had a history of sexual assault, was a brutal offender who had carried out a violent, cruel attack on a defenceless teenage girl.

However, in a statement issued through Durham Police last night, his family said: “Mitchell was a much-loved son and brother and we are devastated by his death.

“Although we never condoned his past actions, he was serving his time and was, by all accounts, a model, trusted prisoner who did not deserve to die in this horrific way.

“We look forward to the day when the people responsible are brought to justice.”

Their comments came hours after two men appeared in court jointly charged with Harrison’s murder.

Michael Parr, 32, and Nathan Mann, 23, appeared briefly at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court, in County Durham.

Each man spoke only to confirm his name. Neither entered a plea and the case was transferred to Newcastle Crown Court where the men will face a judge tomorrow.

Mann, who wore a green and yellow round-necked jacket, and Parr, shaven headed and wearing a white T shirt, were remanded in custody. Mann is originally from Leicester.

Frankland Prison houses more than 800 of the country’s most dangerous criminals and has seen a string of high profile assaults.

Last April, Peter Chapman, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Darlington teenager Ashleigh Hall, was assaulted in Frankland, suffering cuts to his face.

Only weeks earlier, Soham killer Ian Huntley had his throat slashed with a razor and, separately, three prison officers were left seriously injured after being attacked by an inmate wielding broken glass.

Yesterday, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales called on prison staff to improve prisoner safety by recording and sharing more information about violence and intimidation.

A Prison Service spokesman said prisons took the responsibility of keeping staff, prisoners and visitors safe extremely seriously.