British paedophile gets life for Malaysian, Cambodian crimes

A British paedophile, who abused 23 Malaysian and Cambodian children and babies including one aged just six months, was sentenced to life in prison by a London court yesterday.

Richard Huckle, who awarded himself points for his crimes, may have targeted almost 200 children and boasted that those from poor communities made easier victims than well-to-do westerners.

Using the pretext of being a photographer, English teacher and western philanthropist, Huckle won the trust of impoverished families before carrying out nine years of abuse. This included rapes which he filmed, photographed and shared online with paedophiles worldwide.

Dubbed the country’s worst paedophile by Britain’s media, Huckle stood in the dock at London’s Old Bailey court with his hands clasped together as if in prayer as he was told he would have to serve at least 23 years behind bars for his crimes.

‘Ingratiated yourself’

“Relentlessly, you preyed upon the very young, pre-pubescent vulnerable children from a minority ethnic community into which you ingratiated yourself,” said judge Peter Rook. “You were and are sexually obsessed with children.”

As the pony-tailed Huckle was led away after the sentencing, a woman shouted from the public gallery: “A thousand deaths is too good for you.”

Huckle had pleaded guilty to 71 offences and when he was arrested at London’s Gatwick Airport in 2014, he was found with more than 20,000 indecent images of children, including more than 1,000 of him raping and abusing victims, on his computer and camera.

He was just 19 when he began the abuse in March 2006, targeting a two-year-old child in Cambodia. The rest of the abuse until his arrest took place in Malaysia. He is one of the most prolific child sex abusers known to have operated in Malaysia where the authorities have been criticised for failing to tackle sex crimes against children properly.

A rights group in Malaysia said the Huckle case was the tip of the iceberg. – (Reuters)