A man described as a “dangerous and devious paedophile” has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for a catalogue of sex offences against children.
A judge at Downpatrick Crown Court told David John Andrews that he would serve a minimum of 13½ years and it would then be for parole commissioners to decide if he could be released.
The 55-year-old blackmailed his victims after posing as a teenage boy on social media and coercing them to send him nude photographs.
Andrews, whose address was listed as Maghaberry Prison, had pleaded guilty to 130 offences in relation to 46 children including causing a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child, possessing and distributing indecent images, blackmail and disclosing private sexual photographs and film with intent to cause distress.
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His youngest victim was just eight-years-old. He was also convicted of an attempted rape involving a vulnerable adult.
Delivering sentence, Judge Geoffrey Miller KC said he would not detail Andrews’ offending in full as it was “too harrowing and vile to be repeated”. Many of the charges date back to 2019 and 2020. Andrews has been on remand for more than four years.
“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.
“He made a conscious decision to create the online persona of a teenage boy with the aim of luring his victims into providing him with sexually explicit images for the sole purpose of satisfying his own sexual urges.
“He then further exploited the victims by distributing the images he had obtained and threatened 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.”
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 abuse he committed against her over several years displays a depravity that is difficult to comprehend and which is utterly sickening.”
Catherine Kierans, of Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service, described Andrews “as a dangerous and devious paedophile”.
“Andrews cowardly exploited the vulnerable. The children he targeted online were understandably deceived by the calculating methods of a practiced and callous sex offender,” she said.
Ms Kierans said his actions caused “great fear, distress and trauma to the victims”, some of whom ultimately raised the alarm, leading to Tuesday’s outcome.
She appealed to all those who care for children and young people to be vigilant of the dangers posed by online predators and to young people who could fall victim to this type of online sexual abuse. “If you think you are being targeted in this way, you are not alone, and you are not to blame. Please reach out and speak to a trusted adult.”
Det Chief Insp Jill Duffie of the PSNI said the investigation into Andrews began following a report from Derbyshire Police about a number of underage girls being groomed online by a man believed to be residing in Northern Ireland using the alias of a 13-year-old boy.
“Following his initial interview with police, it became clear that David Andrews’ offending spanned right across the United Kingdom,” she said.
“He used the same behaviour pattern every time to groom young girls via Snapchat and Instagram into believing they were in a relationship with a young boy of a similar age. He would then encourage them to send indecent images of themselves, later using these images to threaten, blackmail and abuse them.” – PA
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