Operation Voicer

Last updated

Operation Voicer was a major police investigation into serious sexual offences against pre-school aged children and infants across England, launched in 2014. [1] The perpetrators groomed the families of the young victims, in some cases before the babies were even born. [2] By September 2015, seven offenders were jailed, 28 further suspects had been arrested, three victims were identified, and 33 children were safeguarded. Ten offenders received significant prison sentences.

Contents

Investigation

In September 2014, Adam Toms dialled 999 in an emotional state that made authorities fear for his welfare. When police visited his home, he admitted to sexually abusing a victim younger than five and was arrested. [3] This prompted the launch of Operation Voicer, [4] an investigation led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and involving seven local police forces – Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Humberside, Sussex and Wiltshire. [4]

By September 2015, seven offenders [3] including a youth football coach [4] were jailed, 28 further suspects had been arrested, including four teachers and two charity fundraisers. 33 children were safeguarded, [5] three victims were identified and it was believed there could be more victims. [6] The NCA's investigations deputy director Graham Gardner said the seven jailed men "demonstrated a determined ruthlessness" by finding "vulnerable babies and infants who were unable to protect themselves". [7] The NCA's Andrew Quinn said the attacks were "the worst you could ever imagine. It does actually make me feel physically sick." [8] More than 200 "intelligence packages" had been made available to law enforcement in other countries. [7] Gardner said the network "has got tentacles that go round the world" [4] and "this national investigation has now moved to an international one". [9]

Three further offenders in the UK were jailed in May 2017, [10] December 2018 [11] and April 2019. [12]

Several "exemplary" police officers were awarded judicial commendations by Judge Julian Lambert. [13]

Crimes

The perpetrators gang-raped and sexually abused infants after gaining access to them by grooming their families. They watched and encouraged each other's attacks online [3] and streamed abuse footage to paedophiles around the world. [14] Two members were HIV-positive. [15] By 2015, three victims had been identified [3] and investigators believed there are more. [4]

One known victim was a baby whose parents were befriended by Robin Hollyson from Luton in Bedfordshire, [15] already a registered sex offender. [2] While Hollyson was babysitting, he raped the baby repeatedly, starting in December 2013. In May 2014, Hollyson, Adam Toms and Matthew Stansfield gang raped the baby, and distributed the footage online. [16] Detective Inspector Jerry Waite at Bedfordshire Police said the crime was "truly sickening". [17]

In April 2014, Adam Toms drugged and sexually assaulted a boy aged four, enabled further assaults by others including Christopher Knight, and distributed images of the attacks on the internet. Some attackers had driven hundreds of miles for the crime. The gang had exchanged advice about "date rape" drugs. [18] [16]

In July 2013, [18] David Harsley, a hospital worker from Yorkshire [3] and already a registered sex offender, [2] engaged in sexual activity next to a boy aged four and livestreamed the abuse to Matthew Lisk and John Denham, who watched it remotely from a hotel near Heathrow Airport. [18]

Another abuser linked to the gang engaged in sexualised online communication with a boy aged 14, assaulted a 12-year-old boy and abused an eight-year-old boy. [12]

John Brown, from the NSPCC, said the crimes had a severity and a magnitude that was "difficult to comprehend" and could have life-long effects because "trauma can manifest itself in later years". [3] The National Crime Agency explained that the effects will be "profound and long lasting". The family of a baby who had been raped found the crimes "very traumatic and distressing". [18]

Sentences

Seven men were jailed on 11 September 2015 for "the most horrific abuse of a baby and very young children". [19] Six of them were also added to the sex offenders register permanently. [3] Judge Julian Lambert lambasted the offenders as "evil beyond rational understanding" and said their "highly shocking" crimes "provoked tears in many and made others physically sick". [7] He told the seven men, "In the worst nightmare, from the very deepest recesses of the mind, at the darkest hour of the night, few can have imagined the terrifying depravity which you men admit". [19] [13]

Three more abusers linked to the ring were jailed in May 2017, [10] December 2018 [11] and April 2019. [12]

PerpetratorConviction(s)Sentence
Robin Hollyson ("Robin Fallick", [15] "James King" [20] )Rape of a baby, [21] plotting the rape of an under 13 (three counts), sexually assaulting a child younger than 13, possession of indecent pictures of children [5] 24 years [3]
Christopher KnightRape of a baby, [8] plotting the rape of an under 13 (two counts), sexually assaulting a child younger than 13 (two counts), and capturing, sharing and possessing child pornography [12] 18 years [3]
Adam TomsRape of a baby [8] 12 years [3]
Matthew StansfieldPlotting the rape a child younger than 13, [22] child pornography offences [23] 10 years [3]
John Denham ("Benjamin Harrop" [24] )Plotting the sexual assault of an under 13, [25] plotting to commit sex acts in a child's presence, child pornography offences. [23] 8 years [3]
Matthew LiskInvolvement in sexually abusing a child younger than 13 [7] 4 years [3]
David HarsleySexual activity next to a boy aged four [18] 2 years [3]
David ReganMaking and distributing indecent pictures of children, possessing extreme child sex abuse images and footage, selling and possessing class A drugs, possessing a class B drug [26] [10] 5 years and 9 months [10]
Matthew LawPlotting the rape of a baby15 years [11]
Mark HatchEncouraging the gang rape of a baby, inciting a child to participate in sexual activity, sharing indecent pictures of children.6 years and 8 months [12]

In January 2016, four months into his sentence, Robin Hollyson killed himself. [20]

Related Research Articles

The 2009 Plymouth child abuse case was a child abuse and paedophile ring involving at least five adults from different parts of England. The case centred on photographs taken of up to 64 children by Vanessa George, a nursery worker in Plymouth. It highlighted the issue of child molestation by women, as all but one of the members of the ring were female.

The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Nine men were convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child in May 2012. This resulted in Greater Manchester Police launching Operation Doublet to investigate further claims of abuse with 19 men so far being convicted. Forty-seven girls were identified as victims of child sexual exploitation during the police investigation. The men were British Pakistanis, which led to discussion on whether the failure to investigate them was linked to the authorities' fear of being accused of racial prejudice. The girls were mainly White British.

The Derby child sex abuse ring was a group of men who sexually abused up to a hundred girls in Derby, England. In 2010, after an undercover investigation by Derbyshire police, members of the ring were charged with 75 offences relating to 26 girls. Nine of the 13 accused were convicted of grooming and raping girls between 12 and 18 years old. The attacks provoked fierce discussion about race and sexual exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal</span> Organised child sexual abuse scandal in Rotherham, England between the 1970s and present

The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal consists of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until present and the failure of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse throughout most of that period. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history". Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, when care home managers investigated reports that children in their care were being picked up by taxi drivers. From at least 2001, multiple reports passed names of alleged perpetrators, several from one family, to the police and Rotherham Council. The first group conviction took place in 2010, when five British-Pakistani men were convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 12–16. From January 2011 Andrew Norfolk of The Times pressed the issue, reporting in 2012 that the abuse in the town was widespread and that the police and council had known about it for over ten years.

The Oxford child sex abuse ring was an alleged group of 22 men who were convicted of various sexual offences against underage girls in the English city of Oxford between 1998 and 2012. Thames Valley Police launched Operation Bullfinch in May 2011 to investigate allegations of historical sexual abuse, leading to ten men being convicted. Upon further allegations in 2015, Thames Valley Police then launched Operation Silk, resulting in ten more different men being convicted and Operation Spur which resulted in two more convictions. The term itself and the investigation has been heavily criticized by Muslims and Left Wing members for being highly racially motivated and Islamophobic. Some have put the blame on media and the police for ignoring such crimes if they really happened for so long Some have even questioned the narrative of grooming gangs as similar events elsewhere in India and Nigeria have instead been blamed as a conspiracy by right-wing Hindus and Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom</span> Overview about child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom

Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom has been reported in the country throughout its history. In about 90% of cases the abuser is a person known to the child. However, cases during the second half of the twentieth century, involving religious institutions, schools, popular entertainers, politicians, military personnel, and other officials, have been revealed and widely publicised since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Child sexual abuse rings in numerous towns and cities across the UK have also drawn considerable attention.

Child sexual abuse is a matter of concern in Australia, and is the subject of investigation and prosecution under the law, and of academic study into the prevalence, causes and social implications.

The Bristol child sex abuse ring was a group of 13 men who committed sexual offences against underage teenage girls in Bristol, in Southwestern England. In November 2014, they were convicted of offences including rape, paying a child for sex, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and sex trafficking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Scully</span> Australian sex offender (born 1963)

Peter Gerard Scully is an Australian sex offender imprisoned for life in the Philippines after being convicted of one count of human trafficking and five counts of rape by sexual assault of children. Scully was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2018. In November 2022, he received a second conviction and was sentenced to an additional 129 years in prison.

The Banbury child sex abuse ring was a group of six men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in the English town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. In March 2015, they were found guilty of offences including rape and sexual activity with a child over a period extending from 2009 to 2014. Police in Banbury had drawn on the lessons of Operation Bullfinch, which targeted sexual abuse in nearby Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Huckle</span> British convicted sex offender

Richard William Huckle was an English serial child sex offender. He was arrested by Britain's National Crime Agency in 2014 after a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police and convicted in 2016 of 71 charges of sexual offences against children, committed while he posed as a Christian teacher and a freelance photographer in Malaysia.

The Halifax child sex abuse ring was a group of men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in the English town of Halifax and city of Bradford, West Yorkshire. It was the largest child sexual exploitation investigation in the United Kingdom. In 2016, the perpetrators were found guilty of rape and other crimes in several separate trials at Leeds Crown Court. In total, as many as a hundred men may have been involved in child abuse. Twenty-five suspects were charged by West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service and 18 of these were found guilty, totalling over 175 years of prison time. A further nine men were convicted in February 2019 for grooming two underage girls in Bradford and sentenced to over 130 years in prison. The majority of those charged and later convicted come from the town's Asian community; there were fears that their arrests might impact race relations in the town.

Matthew Alexander Falder is an English convicted serial sex offender and blackmailer. From a period of time between 2009 and 2017, he coerced his victims online into sending him degrading images of themselves or into committing crimes against a third person such as rape or assault. He managed this by making threats to the victim by saying he would send their family or friends degrading information or revealing pictures of them if they did not comply with his commands. Falder hid behind anonymous accounts on the web and then re-posted the images to gain a higher status on the dark web. Investigators said that he "revelled" in getting images to share on hurtcore websites. The National Crime Agency (NCA), described him as "one of the most prolific and depraved offenders they had ever encountered."

The Huddersfield grooming gang was a group of men who were convicted of sexual offences against girls in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It is the largest gang ever convicted for sex abuse in the United Kingdom. The offences took place between 2004 and 2011, and the men were charged following the Operation Tendersea inquiry by the police. The trials began in April 2017 and 20 men were convicted in 2018 in three separate trials. Since then, further men have been convicted in a series of trials, bringing the total number of men convicted to 41 by August 2021.

In 2010, police received a report of a child sex abuse ring in Norwich, England. The recurring crimes spanned 10 years and all victims, two boys and three girls, were younger than 13. The perpetrators organized sex parties where adults played card games to decide who would abuse which child. Three members of the gang received significant prison sentences, including ringleader Marie Black, who was jailed for life. Black's sentence made her "one of the UK's most notorious paedophiles."

In 2016, police discovered a child sex abuse network run from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. Eight of the men were convicted and some received significant prison sentences.

Medomsley Detention Centre was a prison for young male offenders near Consett in Durham, England from 1961 until the late 1980s, where more than 1,800 living former inmates have reported sexual and physical abuse by staff. Police believe many of the staff belonged to a child sex abuse ring.

The Manchester child sex abuse ring was a group of men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in Manchester, England, between 2016 and 2018. Four members were jailed in September 2019, while others evaded arrest by fleeing the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybersex trafficking</span> Online sexual exploitation

Cybersex trafficking, live streaming sexual abuse, webcam sex tourism/abuse or ICTs -facilitated sexual exploitation is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.

References

  1. ↑ Pilmoor, Ellie (12 September 2015). "Why was registered sex offender Matthew Stansfield able to carry out horrific paedophile offences?". Portsmouth News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "East Sussex man convicted in online paedophile ring". Eastbourne Herald. 22 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Paedophile ring jailed for 'terrifying depravity'". BBC News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Child sexual abuse gang had its 'tentacles round the world'". Channel 4 News. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 Parris-Long, Adam (11 September 2015). "Luton paedophile Robin Hollyson jailed for raping baby". Luton Today. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  6. ↑ AL-OTHMAN, HANNAH (28 September 2018). "Paedophile ring who live-streamed child rape are jailed for more than 100 years". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 le Duc, Frank (11 September 2015). "Hove man jailed as part of child sex abuse ring". Brighton and Hove News. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "'Evil' Paedophile Gang Sentenced To 107 Years". Sky News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "National Crime Agency officer says gang of paedophiles is 'most dangerous' he's come across". Portsmouth News. 12 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Bennett, Geoffrey (13 May 2017). "Family law solicitor was actually a drug-fuelled paedophile". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 "Matthew Law jailed for plotting to rape baby boy". BBC News. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Gallagher, Timothy; Smith, Simon (23 April 2019). "'I wanna be a proper perv'... sick online chats of pervert who swapped jokes with one of Britain's worst paedophiles". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. 1 2 Farmer, Ben (11 September 2015). "Paedophile gang to serve a total of 78 years". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Gosport paedophile Matthew Stansfield jailed for ten years for crimes 'beyond evil'". Portsmouth News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 "Paedophile who repeatedly raped baby dies after being found unresponsive in cell". Oxford Mail. 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  16. 1 2 "Baby paedophile whose gang included Leeds pervert dies in his cell". Yorkshire Post. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  17. ↑ "Bedfordshire man in paedophile ring jailed for 32 years". ITV News. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Somerset man jailed for child abuse 'beyond human instinct and evil'". Somerset County Gazette. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  19. 1 2 Stone, Jon (11 September 2015). "Gang of seven 'evil' paedophiles sent to prison after baby and child rape". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  20. 1 2 "Paedophile Robin Hollyson kills himself in prison". BBC News. 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
    -Whitehead, Tom; Evans, Martin (19 January 2016). "'Baby rapist' paedophile found hanging in prison cell". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "Bedfordshire man among gang convicted of horrific sexual abuse offences against children". ITV News. 22 April 2015. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  22. ↑ "Paedophile gang 'sick, callous and cruel'". BBC News. 10 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  23. 1 2 "Baby rape plot was 'pie in the sky', Bristol court hears". BBC News. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  24. ↑ "'Fantasist' denies baby rape claims". The Argus. 17 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "'Vile and depraved' UK gang raped and abused babies". BBC News. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  26. ↑ Bennett, Geoffrey (4 March 2017). "Family law solicitor faces sentence for child abuse images and drugs supply". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.