Fifteen of Devon's worst paedophiles jailed for sickening crimes
Some will die in jail
by Paul Greaves · DevonLiveThe sentence of former news reader Huw Edwards for possessing child abuse images has brought the issue of punishment for paedophiles into the spotlight. In particular, it has raised concerns about the severity - or leniency - of sentences.
While those convicted of downloading sick images from the internet regularly receive suspended or community punishments, some offences are so serious that jail is the only option on the table.
This week, an 80-year-old man was jailed in Exeter for 15 years for multiple child abuse offences. Ken Hall is not the only person on this list who has a good chance of dying in prison.
Here are 15 of Devon's worst paedophiles. Men convicted of contact and non-contact offences given the longest sentences in the last 12 months.
A predatory and manipulative sex offender was jailed after downloading child abuse images from the internet. Bradley Lulham, a convicted rapist, has 'little or no insight' into the damage caused by people who view indecent images, a court heard.
He was caught with a small number of sick images after police checked his mobile phone and cloud storage account. The defendant, aged 30, of Warren Road, Dawlish Warren, was jailed for 16 months at Exeter Crown Court.
Judge James Adkin told him: "It does seem to me the principle factor is the risk you present to the public. The pre-sentence report expresses a high risk to the public.
An Exeter man has been sent to jail after he was caught by paedophile hunters sending sexual messages to decoy children online. Jamie Short used Facebook and WhatsApp to pester what he thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls.
The 51-year-old sent them disgusting pictures of himself and tried to get photos of the children in return. He suggested they have sex, masqueraded as a teenaged boy and even offered to pay £300 to one child to watch him pleasure himself.
He was traced and arrested by police. Short, of Chestnut Avenue, Exeter, has been given an 18-month prison sentence at Exeter Crown Court. The defendant, who has a history of violent crime, is already serving four and a half years for robbery.
A paedophile jailed for trying to contact children online says he did it as a form of escapism from his boring job. Alastair Walsh, 49, was locked up for 18 months after being caught in a police sting.
He was convicted of attempted sexual communication with three online profiles set up by undercover cops. He quickly turned the chat sexual and discussed the possibility of meeting up.
He did not know the profiles were decoys and the children did not exist. Police arrested him at his home in Ilfracombe and seized devices. They found evidence he also liked to chat with other paedophiles about his fantasies online.
A pervert from Dawlish was jailed for amassing a huge collection of child abuse images and videos downloaded from the dark web. Paul Powell, 56, also set up a spy camera to secretly film a woman in a bathroom.
Police seized computers from his home and found he had been looking at more than 50,000 images and movies showing the sexual abuse of children. About 3,000 were in the most serious category showing the worst type of depravity.
The defendant, of Springfield Gardens, was jailed for two years and four months. The judge said Powell had been heavily addicted to viewing porn online and the material became more extreme over time.
A sick paedophile who kept a photo of a child as a screensaver on his secret phone was jailed. Barry Taylor, 57, hid the device in a toolbox in his shed in Northam.
When police found it in a search they discovered he had been sharing horrific images of child abuse with other paedophiles. Taylor claimed he found the phone on the street but analysis revealed he had been using it to search the internet for indecent photos.
Taylor has a history of similar offending and was described in court as someone with an entrenched sexual interest in children. He said he was terrified of going to prison but was sentenced to two and a half years.
A Torquay paedophile was jailed for making indecent images of children and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Jason Black, 51, has a history of similar offending and was subject to a range of court orders and monitoring measures when he committed his latest crimes.
He ignored restrictions banning him from the internet and was caught after downloading vile images of children being abused. The 51-year-old has been jailed for three years after admitting multiple offences at Exeter Crown Court.
Prosecutor Ms Kelly Scrivener said police arrested Black in February after his email was linked to suspicious activity on a child-based image-sharing platform. Police were worried he was once again accessing indecent images.
A convicted child sex offender was sent to jail for the second time for assaulting a girl in Devon more than 30 years ago. Donald Van Male has been locked up for five years and four months at Exeter Crown Court.
The defendant, aged 76, from Launceston in Cornwall, was found guilty of six charges of indecent assault by a jury after a trial earlier this month.
The trial was told the victim was aged 12 and 13 when she was assaulted by Van Male in Okehampton. He denied wrongdoing but the judge said the victim's account of being touched under her clothing by him was "entirely consistent" with the allegations.
A self-confessed "dirty old paedo" was locked up for arranging to rape what he thought was a 10-year-old girl. James Pidgeon shared sick child abuse images and vile fantasies during online chats, a court heard.
He thought he was talking to a fellow paedophile. In reality, he was communicating with an undercover police officer and the 'child' was just a decoy.
Pidgeon travelled to Torquay and paid for accommodation where he planned to meet the 'girl' for sex. He said he was so excited his "teeth hurt". But he was arrested and admitted an entrenched sexual interest in children. He blamed the pandemic for making his problems worse and allowing him the time to explore to explore his sick interests.
The 57-year-old was jailed for five and a half years at Exeter Crown Court. The judge labelled him a dangerous offender and added an extra five years which must be served on licence when released.
A devious Devon paedophile was jailed after preying on young boys while they were innocently playing outside, offering them money to perform sickening sexual acts. Gary Campbell, 60, from Dolton, was sentenced to nine years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Police launched an investigation last July after parents reported their children being approached by an unknown man in an underpass near Vulcan Close, Warrington. That man turned out to be Campbell. He had previously admitted to a string of offences including causing a child to engage in sexual activity, sexually assaulting a child, paying for the sexual services of a child, and possessing indecent images of children.
Between July 24 and July 28 2023, Campbell lurked near the subway and repeatedly approached two children who were playing outside.
A trainee doctor was jailed for sexually assaulting a young girl during a medical examination at an NHS surgery. Dr Gary Lawrence had a secret attraction to young children and was separately caught by a police undercover operation in which he sent explicit fantasies about child sex to a decoy officer on a chat site.
Lawrence, aged 53, retrained as a doctor in his 40s. He was working at a clinic in Plymouth as one of the final stages of his training when he assaulted the child in 2021. The girl’s mother was present at the examination and realised that there was no proper medical reason for Lawrence to touch her daughter’s genitals.
A judge at Exeter Crown Court praised the mother for helping to bring Lawrence to justice and apologised for the delay of more than two years since the crime was committed in June 2021.
Recorder Mr Donald Tait jailed Lawrence for eight and a half years and told him: “It is hard to conceive a more flagrant and serious breach of trust than this.”
A Devon paedophile has been jailed for sexually molesting two children more than three decades ago. Darren Medland admitted multiple charges of sexual touching, digital penetration and indecent assault at Exeter Crown Court.
He committed many of the offences when he was under the age of 18, the court heard. Now aged 54 he has been sentenced to nine years and one month which includes 12 months on extended licence when he is released.
The court was read statements by both of his victims who described the lasting trauma caused by his assaults. One felt rage at what had happened many years ago when he was a child.
He added: "I know exactly what you are. I'm a strong man but it took me more than 30 years to speak out. At long last I can put it behind me."
A 42-year-old man was jailed for the rape and sexual abuse of a child more than 20 years ago. Karl Osborne committed multiple offences against the same victim in Tiverton in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Exeter Crown Court was told he groomed the child for abuse, offering cigarettes and cannabis, to satisfy his depraved sexual appetites.
The defendant, who now lives in Swindon, has been jailed for 11 years. The court heard a moving statement from the victim who spoke about the huge impact his behaviour had.
Police have welcomed the jailing of an 80-year-old paedophile who will probably die in prison. Ken Hall, from Torquay, has been sentenced to 15 years for multiple offences against two children.
He told one of his victims it was "their little secret" and when he was caught he tried to blame them for his sick crimes. Exeter Crown Court was told he groomed the children by buying them gifts and then made "cowardly denials" of responsibility.
His sexual abuse had a devastating effect on the both victims. Moving personal statements were read to the court outlining the profound psychological trauma they suffered.
A paedophile from Devon who used his job in go-karting to sexually abuse boys was jailed for 18 years . Michael Kellard, 64, from Dunkeswell, was found guilty of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and five counts of indecent assault following a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.
The incidents occurred between 2000 and 2005 and involved boys that Kellard met through his job in go-karting. The offences occurred in a number of locations across the country.
A depraved paedophile from North Devon has been jailed for 27 years for a 'campaign of rape' against two children. Tyrone Barton was convicted of multiple sexual offences at Exeter Crown Court.
The 64-year-old, from Barnstaple, admitted 12 offences. The judge said the most serious offence 'could only be described as evil'.
The court heard moving statements from both victims in which they described the trauma caused by offences. Afterwards, police praised their courage in coming forward and welcomed the sentence.
Prosecutor Simon Burns said the earliest offence dated back more than 20 years. Barton's behaviour included violence and threats. "It is hard to imagine a case of such depravity," said Mr Burns.
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