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"Paedophile, 24, who raped 12-year-old girl is handed a job as a chef at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant ahead of thousands of disadvantaged applicants

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Jamie Oliver has defended a decision to employ a convicted child rapist at one of his London restaurants.
David Mason – who forced himself on a girl of 12 as they played computer games – has been handed a job as an apprentice chef at the Fifteen restaurant.
Last night a spokesman for Oliver said Mason should be given the chance to turn his life around.
Convicted paedophile David Mason, 24, left, has been taken on as one of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen apprentices
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Convicted paedophile David Mason, 24, left, has been taken on as one of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen apprentices
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has taken on a convicted paedophile as part of his Fifteen programme for disadvantaged youngsters
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David Mason, 24, who raped a 12-year-old girl in 2009, is now working as a trainee at Oliver's central London restaurant, Fifteen
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A spokesman for Oliver confirmed that Mason was working as a trainee at Fifteen restaurant in London, right
But those who know Mason, 24, are said to be outraged that he has been boasting about his £130 a week job on Facebook.
‘It’s disgusting that a lad who raped a 12-year-old girl can be gifted the kind of opportunity that honest, hard-working youngsters across the country are crying out for,’ one said.
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Mason, from Feltham in West London, was 19 when he raped the girl and was sentenced to four years in a young offenders’ institution after admitting the crime.
He served two years and spent two more doing probation work before he started the year-long apprentice programme six weeks ago.
‘I know he served his time but everyone is sickened he’s got a golden opportunity ahead of people who haven’t committed a horrible crime, and the way he is showing off on Facebook,’ Mason’s former acquaintance told the Sun.
Set up in 2002, Oliver’s Fifteen programme is designed to ‘help young people stay out of trouble and make something of their lives’.
The apprentices attend college and work shifts at the Fifteen restaurant in Islington, pictured above
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The apprentices attend college and work shifts at the Fifteen restaurant in Islington, pictured above
A spokesman for Oliver last night said of Mason: ‘He was completely honest about his past when he applied and we decided that, as he’d served his sentence, he should be allowed a place on the programme.
‘It is not unusual for us to work with people who want to try to turn their lives around. David spent two years in prison and two years doing probationary work with the Prince’s Trust, so four years of punishment.
‘We took great care deciding whether he was appropriate and he is six weeks into the course and doing very well.’
We decided that as he'd served his sentence, he should be allowed a place
The apprentices, who go through a rigorous and competitive selection programme, attend college one day a week but work mostly in the Fifteen restaurant kitchen, learning the skills needed to be a top chef.
Oliver was awarded the MBE in 2003 for his role in setting up Fifteen and his work with young people.
Last night Andrew Neilson of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: ‘If we expect people who commit crimes to never do it again, then we have to accept that once someone has served their sentence, they deserve a chance to become a safe and productive citizen.
‘Jamie Oliver and his Fifteen restaurant should be commended for the opportunities they provide to young people trying to turn their lives around.’
Mason’s lawyer, defending him in 2009 at Isleworth Crown Court, had said his client was immature and unaware of the consequences of his actions. But Judge Richard McGregor Johnson, sentencing, said Mason ‘knew very well that having sex with such a young girl was wrong’.
JAMIE OLIVER'S FIFTEEN: SUCCESSFUL SCHEME SCARRED BY TRAGEDY
One of Jamie Oliver's first Fifteen apprentices was Kevin Boyle, a 26-year-old Crystal Palace supporter from Purley, Surrey.
A keen and talented chef, he worked for Vinoteca restaurant in London and cooked for the Prince of Wales and former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, after finishing Oliver's scheme.
But in October 2011, the Lancaster University graduate, then 26, was reported missing from his home. In January 2012, he was found dead in a garden in nearby Coulsdon, and his mother, Patti, 54, said he had committed suicide with a kit he had bought for £44 over the internet.

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Tragedy: Jamie Oliver with Kevin Boyle (right), who cooked for Tony Blair but later took his own life
After Mr Boyle's death Jamie Oliver said: 'I'm deeply saddened by this tragic news. I am proud to have been able to call Kevin a friend for ten years, and he was also a constant supporter of Fifteen and all the apprentices and graduates who came after him through the course.'
It was the second tragic death to hit the chef's trainee scheme.
In 2008, Christopher Pethick, 20, was found hanged a few miles from the Fifteen restaurant in Watergate Bay, Cornwall.
He dropped out of the course in 2006 after two months with severe depression.
Fifteen trainee chef Tom Baisden, left, with Jamie Oliver, admitted being involved in a £3million gem heist
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Fifteen trainee chef Tom Baisden, left, with Jamie Oliver, admitted being involved in a £3million gem heist
Crime has touched the Fifteen trainee scheme, too.
Five years ago, a former apprentice on Jamie Oliver's Fifteen scheme was sent to prison after admitting taking part in a £3million jewellery heist in Southend Airport.
Former drug addict Tom Baisden, then 28, from Thundersley, Essex, admitted theft, conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by plotting to steal gems, Cartier watches and designer handbags.
He told the court he was inspired by his celebrity chef mentor to confess to his crimes, after Oliver told him : 'You can't run away from things or hide from them.'