October 2016

Convicted Greenwich paedophile found after police search

A paedophile convicted of 13 counts of rape and indecent assault against children between nine and 15 years old has been found after a police hunt.

Richard Pentreath, 63, also known as Hilary Thomas, was wanted for sentencing after he was convicted in his absence of offences against three children in Greenwich, London and Coventry between 1975 and 1992.

He was arrested this morning in Gloucester by local officers working with detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

Pentreath, of Bishop’s Cleeve, Gloucestershire, failed to attend the conclusion of his trial at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, October 4.

An investigation was launched in 2013, when one of Pentreath’s victims contacted the police and told them about the abuse she suffered as a child.

Her evidence led to police contacting two other victims.

During his trial the court heard that Pentreath committed offences against two girls and a boy, who were between the ages of nine and 15 years old.

Police in North Wales also wanted to speak to Pentreath about arson at an address in Prestatyn, Wales during the early hours of Thursday, October 6.

Pentreath also has links to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and areas of Cornwall.

He was later sentenced to 35 years for the original offences, along with arson with intent to endanger life and attempting to take revenge, after trying to burn down the Prestatyn home of his accuser, although he got the wrong address in the attack on October 6, 2016.