December 7, 2020 5.35 pm This story is over 39 months old

Elderly ‘pervert’ jailed for sickening crimes against children

After a 25-year international manhunt
David Wilson was jailed for seven years. | Photo: Humberside Police

A ‘perverted’ 78-year-old man has been jailed for seven years after admitting to historic child sex offences dating back to the 1980s and 90s.

David Wilson, of Yaru Street, Queensland, Australia, will also spend the rest of his life on the Sex Offenders Register after he “stole the innocence” of two girls and two boys.

Over a number of years he integrated himself into families with the intention of abusing vulnerable children.

He was the target of a 25-year manhunt by police after failing to appear at Grimsby Crown Court in 1995 charged with indecent assault against two females, who were both under 14 when the abuse occurred.

Officers explored every possible avenue to try and track him down. In 2013 the two men, who had been abused by Wilson when they were under 14-years-old, came forward to police, providing new lines of enquiry to investigate.

The investigation uncovered that Wilson had changed his identity a number of times to avoid detection, holding a number of passports and driving licenses in Australia and New Zealand under different names and dates of birth.

Wilson travelled between the two countries on a number of occasions between 1995 and 2020.

After a coordinated effort between Humberside Police and Australian authorities, Wilson was extradited to the UK in July 2020.

A team of detectives flew to Australia during the pandemic to bring the ‘vile’ paedophile back to Grimsby for a trial.

Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault, four counts of indecent assault on a male person and two counts of indecency with a child during a court appearance.

At a later hearing on Monday, December 7 he was sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court.

Detective Constable Nichola Oakley, who has been leading the enquiry since 2013, said: “Firstly, I would like to applaud the bravery and strength of the four victims for disclosing what had happened to them and working with us on what I know has been a long road to justice.

“The sentence reflects the serious nature of the abuse by a person in a position of trust and reinforces that the passage of time does not reduce the impact or severity of the crime.

“Despite him now being behind bars, I know that his actions will forever live with these victims.

“I would like to provide reassurance to others who may have suffered at the hands of sexual abusers that no matter when the abuse occurred, we will listen to you.

“I know that it is often incredibly difficult to come to terms with abuse, and victims can be too frightened to speak out, but as can be seen from this case, we are persistent and will make use of every resource and upgrade in technology to catch predators.”