June 2004

Bedfont paedophile caged for two years

A convicted paedophile, from Bedfont, who has served as a scoutmaster, Sunday school teacher and church warden, has been jailed for two years, banned from working with children, for life, and ordered to remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.

Jailed last year for two offences of indecent assault, and one of gross indecency with children, aged ten and under, Paul Marshall, 49, then living in Dennison Road, Feltham, was, unknown to police at the time, filming and photographing his abuse of the same children, and keeping the images on his computer.

When he was jailed, at Isleworth Crown Court, the judge asked police to investigate his computer equipment.

The result of that investigation brought him back before the court recently, where he admitted a further ten charges relating to three small children, whom he had befriended and groomed for the purpose, said Riel Karmy-Jones, prosecuting.

Marshall, a divorced man, who now lives with his mother, in West View, Bedfont, was charged with 16 other offences – three of indecently assaulting a boy, aged four, and girls aged seven and ten; gross indecency with the seven-year-old; five of taking indecent photographs of the sexual acts; five of possessing those photographs; one of possessing 44 other indecent photographs and one charge of inciting a child to indecently assault another – between November 2001 and November 2002.

He denied the final charge, and the five possession charges, though he admitted taking the photographs.

The children came from a disadvantaged family which Marshall targeted, on the pretext of helping them, said counsel.

But, eventually, he was arrested, in November 2002, on suspicion of molesting the elder girl.

His counsel, John Alban-Williams, pointed out that, had the investigation been thorough in the first place, he would have had all the matters dealt with, in May last year.

He had worked hard in the community, and, until these matters came to light, was highly-regarded, he said.

Jailing him, Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson, said it was a gross breach of trust to abuse these children’.

He extended Marshall’s licence for three years, which means that, after his release from prison, he will remain on licence’ for a further three years beyond the end of his sentence.

One of the officers on the Child Protection team, Det Con Gill Holland, said: “He has always put himself in a position of contact with children.”