May 2017

Paedophile who sexually abused children worldwide jailed for string of offences

A perverted monster who sexually abused children across England and the United States has been jailed for 15 years.

Andrew Pykett, from Leamington, committed sexual offences against ten teenage girls, aged from 13 to 16, and had pleaded guilty to a total of 40 offences.

His catalogue of horrific crimes stretched over a seven-year period and took place South Yorkshire, Essex, London, Wiltshire, South Wales, Nottingham, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Chesterfield and the United States.

The predator even filmed some of his crimes and also had indecent images of the teenagers and other children.

Jailing Pykett, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told him: “You have done lifelong harm to a number of people, many of whom were young girls.

Your offending began 10 years ago now and spanned for eight years.

“It was sustained offending with many teenage girls contacted across the internet and met at least eight of them.

“You were aged 30 to 37 at the time but you were able to persuade girls half your age to meet you.”

Pykett, 38, of Clarendon Avenue, admitted his crimes at Warwick Crown Court back in March and was sentenced today at the same court.

Pykett’s offences included:

  • 20 counts of sexual activity with a child (four counts of sexual touching, 16 counts of penetration)

  • Seven counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming

  • Two counts of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming

  • One count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation

  • One count of taking indecent photographs of a child – CAT A

  • Two counts of making indecent photographs of a child – CAT A

  • Two counts of making indecent photographs of a child – CAT B

  • Two counts of making indecent photographs of child – CAT C

  • One count of making an indecent image of a child

  • One count of possession of a class A drug

  • One count of possession of a class B drug.

Michael Williams, for the prosecution, said that Pykett contacted his victims over the internet, using chat rooms, MSN Messenger and Instagram.

Mr Williams said it was “sustained offending” against teenage girls, some of whom were “vulnerable”.

Pykett was first arrested in November 2015 after he was seen acting inappropriately with a 15-year-old girl at a pub in Rotherham.

Mr Williams said Pykett’s computer was seize and detectives discovered a number of “highly sexualised” conversations with young girls.

Pykett went on to meet at least eight of the girls he had contacted and had sexual contact with some of them.

The court heard that the father of one of the victims found the online chats between his daughter and Pykett and reported it to police.

Pykett was handed the 15-year jail sentence and will have to serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years behind bars and will only be released before completing 10-and-a-half years if the Parole Board deem it safe to do so.

Once he has been released, Pykett will serve the remainder of any of the sentence on licence, and then remain on licence for a further seven years.

March 2017

Predatory paedophile pleads guilty to numerous child sex offences

A PREDATORY paedophile who preyed on girls from around the country after grooming them over the internet has been told he will be jailed ‘for a very long time indeed.’

Perverted Andrew Pykett pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to seven charges of meeting girls aged 14 or 15 following sexual grooming online with intent to engage in sexual activity.

The 38 year-old of Clarendon Crescent, also admitted two charges of attempting to meet two further 14-year-old girls following sexual grooming.

In relation to the seven girls he did meet, who came from various parts of the country including Birmingham and Nottingham, and as far afield as Wales, Wiltshire and Northumberland, he pleaded guilty to 20 offences of sexual activity with a child.

Those offences relating to sexual acts when he met the girls ranging from kissing one girl and touching her over her clothing to acts of full intercourse and sexual activity with others.

He also pleaded guilty to trafficking one of the girls for sexual exploitation by arranging or facilitating her travel with intent to commit sexual acts – but denied similar charges in relation to three other girls.

The court heard he had been preying on under-age girls since as early as September 2007, although the majority of the offences took place between 2011 and towards the end of 2015.

In addition Pykett pleaded guilty to taking indecent photographs of two of the girls he met, including a movie of one of them taking part in acts of bondage as well as sexual activity.

He also admitted three charges of making indecent images of a girl who lives in the United States by downloading images of her after contacting her online.

Pykett also pleaded guilty to three more charges of making indecent images of children.

Finally, he pleaded guilty to possessing MDMA (ecstasy) and cannabis when he was arrested in September last year.

Pykett, in addition to denying three of the trafficking allegations, also pleaded not guilty to 13 other charges of sexual activity, attempted grooming and causing or inciting girls to take part in sexual activity – and those charges were allowed to lie on the court file at the request of prosecutor Michael Williams.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC agreed with Mr Williams that there should be a pre-sentence report on Pykett, but stressed: “It need not address any non-custodial sentence, it needs only to address dangerousness.

Adjourning for the report to be prepared, he remanded Pykett in custody and ordered him to register as a sex offender – which will eventually last for life.

Judge Lockhart told him: “Your pleas have avoided the need for a long and drawn-out trial which could have added to the trauma of those victims.

“But you will go to custody for a very long time indeed. You should prepare yourself for that.”