Sex offender David John Andrews who abused nearly 50 children after posing as a teenage boy online is jailed

Published

4 months ago

December 10, 2024

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A prolific sex offender who abused nearly 50 children after posing as a teenage boy on Snapchat and Instagram has been jailed for 27 years.

David John Andrews, 55, from Northern Ireland, had pleaded guilty to 130 charges of sexual abuse, which involves 47 victims, 46 of whom are children.

His youngest victim was an eight-year-old girl.

During the course of a four-year investigation detectives discovered nearly 10,000 illicit images of children on Andrews’ electronic devices, and approximately 40 usernames that he had used to pose as young boys online.

Most of the offences relate to so-called catfishing, where a person pretends to be someone else online to deceive others, but some relate to the direct abuse of a vulnerable adult woman.

Andrews would pretend to be a boy aged 13 or 14 on Snapchat and Instagram before coercing victims into sending him nude photographs

Police have said it is clear his offending spread across the UK.

His crimes include attempted rape, causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child, blackmail, attempting to pay for sexual services of a child, attempting to arrange or facilitate child prostitution or pornography and making and possessing indecent images of children.

Many of the offences took place between 2019 and 2020, with Andrews having been on remand for more than four years.

Delivering the sentence at Downpatrick Crown Court, Judge Geoffrey Miller KC said he would not detail Andrews’ offending in full as it was “too harrowing and vile to be repeated”.

The judge said: “In short form he deceived the children into engaging with him in the mistaken belief he too was a child.

“Having done this he then cynically and with clear pre-meditation, used threats to inveigle and coerce them to share images of themselves with him.

“The correspondence instigated by the defendant with each child victim is extremely graphic in content and gives an insight into his depraved thought processes which are deeply troubling.”

The judge said Andrews “exploited” his victims by “distributing the images he had obtained” and threatening “both they and their friends into providing still more material for his gratification”.

“Each time the circle of victims grew and throughout it all he took care to try to cover his tracks,” he added.

Regarding the direct contact offences against the adult victim, the judge said the abuse included Andrews dressing her up and taking explicit photographs, which he sometimes shared with other victims.

The judge said: “The abuse he committed against her over several years displays a depravity that is difficult to comprehend and which is utterly sickening.”

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffie described Andrews, whose address was listed as Maghaberry Prison, as a “heinous child predator”.

She added that Andrews would use the indecent images his victims had sent him to “threaten, blackmail and abuse them”.

DCI Duffie said the investigation into Andrews began following a report from Derbyshire Police on 27 March 2020 that a number of underage girls had been groomed online by a man believed to be residing in Northern Ireland using the alias of a 13-year-old boy.

She said detectives visited his home in Belfast the same day before arresting him and seizing a number of electronic devices.

She added that he had been remanded in prison ever since.

Andrews was told during his sentencing hearing that he would serve a minimum of 13 and a half years, after which parole commissioners would determine when he can be released.

UK

Two-phase public inquiry into Southport murders formally launched

Published

2 hours ago

April 7, 2025

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Two-phase public inquiry into Southport murders formally launched

A two-phase statutory public inquiry into the Southport murders has been formally launched.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the first phase would look at the circumstances around Axel Rudakubana’s attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer.

It will focus on issues around policing, the criminal justice system and the multiple agencies involved with the attacker who killed three girls – seven-year-old Elsie Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.

It follows the revelation Rudakubana had been referred to the government’s Prevent scheme on three occasions, with the cases being closed each time.

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UK

Police officer in van that followed teens before Cardiff e-bike crash won’t face charges

Published

4 hours ago

April 7, 2025

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Police officer in van that followed teens before Cardiff e-bike crash won't face charges

A police officer who was driving a van that followed two teenagers shortly before they died in an e-bike crash will not be prosecuted.

The deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, sparked riots in the Ely area of Cardiff in May 2023.

The officer was facing a dangerous driving allegation but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) statement said: “We fully understand that this will be disappointing news for the families of both boys and will offer a meeting with them to explain our reasoning further.”

Rumours on social media that the teenagers were being pursued by police were initially denied.

South Wales Police said none of its vehicles were in Snowden Road at the time of the crash.

But police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later confirmed it was investigating after video appeared to show them being followed by a van – without blue lights or a siren – minutes before the incident.

Other footage, however, showed the van turn off and it wasn’t following the boys at the time of the collision.

A key factor under consideration was whether there was any point at which the actions of the officers in the van “constituted a pursuit”.

The driver and passenger of the marked police van were previously issued with gross misconduct notices.

A second investigation was also opened by the IOPC into issues including police management of the crash scene and treatment of the families.

A riot of several hours broke out after the boys’ deaths, with cars set alight and fireworks and other missiles thrown at police.

Eleven officers needed hospital treatment and 31 people were eventually charged.

The decision not to charge the police officer driving the van can be challenged under the victims’ right of review scheme.

UK

Keiron Charles: Teenagers charged with murder after boy, 17, stabbed to death

Published

4 hours ago

April 7, 2025

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Keiron Charles: Teenagers charged with murder after boy, 17, stabbed to death

Two teenagers have been charged with murder after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in west London on Saturday, police have said.

The suspects have not been named because they are both 16, the Metropolitan Police said.

Keiron Charles, 17, from East Acton, died in Erconwald Street, Shepherd’s Bush, after police were called at 1.10pm on Saturday.

Met officers and London Ambulance Service crews attended the scene near the junction with Du Cane Road and Old Oak Common Lane.

Paramedics tried to save the teenager, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Gammampila, who is leading the investigation, called it “an awful incident in which a teenager has lost his life”.

“The thoughts of everyone in the Met remain with Keiron’s family and loved ones as they begin to come to terms with their tragic loss,” the officer added.

The suspects are due to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court on Monday.