Britain’s Pedophile Gets Life with up to 200 Children as Victims
Britain’s worst paedophile who abused up to 200 Malaysian children has been jailed for life.
Warped Richard Huckle, 30, posed as a committed Christian and English teacher to rape vulnerable and poverty-stricken children over nine years after first visiting South East Asia aged 19 on a gap year.
The former grammar schoolboy from Ashford, Kent, was arrested when he arrived back in London for Christmas with his parents in December 2014.
Police found more than 20,000 images of abuse on his laptop.
He eventually admitted 71 charges, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual activity with a child at the Old Bailey.
His youngest victim was aged just six months old.
Huckle held his hands in prayer as he received 22 life sentences on Monday.
He will serve at least 25 years in jail.
A member of the public shouted "a thousand deaths is too good for you" as he was led down to the cells..
It comes as the police watchdog has launched an investigation into whether more could have been done to stop Huckle, amid fears he may have abused children in the UK.
In a bizarre and callous letter read out in court at an earlier hearing, Huckle claimed sex crimes were “endemic” in Kuala Lumpur and "no one cared".
But he said he had "no regrets" about living in Malaysia as it improved his "confidence and charisma" and blamed "external factors" for his horrific campaign of abuse.
Huckle hit out at the “poor attitude to child welfare" and "the pathetic, perverted lust of those who lured me onto the dark net". Huckle made the comments in a letter to his solicitors which his barrister Philip Sapsford QC said showed his remorse.
He insisted “no one cared” about his victims who were “badly treated” in a society where sexual abuse became endemic.
The Old Bailey heard Huckle had little sexual experience with adults because he “lacked confidence with women”.
His barrister told the court he and his junior James Mason had never seen an admission of guilt on that scale in their combined 89 years experience.
It took more than an hour for the charges to be put to Huckle at an earlier hearing, in what is believed to be the worst case of its kind.
“What is significant in our instructions is Mr Huckle repeatedly said few people cared for these child victims,” Mr Sapsford said.
“His instructions were, he didn't want to do anything that would lead to any long-term damage physically but accepts and believes he certainly lost touch with reality and just how serious his behaviour was.
“He thought this was overlooked or ignored in Malaysia.”
Huckle forced some victims to pose with sick slogans advertising his foul images which he sold for Bitcoins on the TLZ website on the dark web - the encrypted version of the internet.
He first went to south-east Asia as a teenager where he felt he “belonged” for the first time, said his barrister.
Huckle began attacking children when he was on a gap year, aged just 19, in a campaign that spanned nine years, from March 2006 until he was finally arrested in December 2014.
He faced up to 22 life sentences at the Old Bailey after admitting to an unprecedented 71 charges, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual activity with a child.
In his letter, Huckle added: "In no way do I want to be treated as a martyr for child sex tourism."
Mr Sapsford said Huckle only realised the extent of his offending when he was arrested.
Huckle “attributed his offending to others on the internet and the characteristics of the culture of the victims”, when interviewed by a doctor who studied his warped mind.
“His instructions are, at all times, these children were very badly treated in the society in which they lives and sexual abuse became endemic,” added Mr Sapsford.
Huckle targeted an impoverished Christian community in Malaysia where he posed as a student, photographer, English teacher and philanthropist to groom his victims.
He took pictures and videos of himself raping and abusing young girls and boys and even a baby wearing a nappy.
Huckle bragged of the attacks in online blogs and penned a 60-page perverts' handbook titled 'Pedophiles & Poverty: Child Lover Guide'.
As part of an international network, Huckle awarded himself 'PedoPoints' for carrying out the attacks and used a paedophile crowdfunding website, called PedoFunding, to finance the abuse.
He began the nine-year campaign in 2006 and it is believed he assaulted up to 200 children before his arrest in December 2014 when he was caught with more than 20,000 indecent images.
The charges relate to the horrific sexual abuse of 23 girls and boys aged between six months and 12 years. Some 22 of the victims are from Malaysia while one is Cambodian.
But prosecutor Brian O'Neill said Huckle's own twisted ledger contained reference to a possible 191 victims.
Huckle, formerly of Ashford, Kent, pleaded guilty to 31 counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13; 12 counts taking indecent photos of children; six counts of assault by penetration; thirteen counts of rape of a child under 13; three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity; three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity; arranging or facilitating the commission of child sex offenses by writing a child sex abuse manual; making 20,253 indecent images; and advertising child pornography.
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