King's Lynn paedophile's sentence increased after review
The Court of Appeal increased his sentence by three years.
A prolific paedophile from King's Lynn who tricked young boys into sending him indecent images of themselves has had his prison sentence increased by three years at the Court of Appeal.
David Wilson, 37, was jailed for 25 years in February after pleading guilty to 96 child sex abuse offences.
The former roofer set up a series of fake social media profiles, using unregistered phones, to send images of girls from the internet to young boys in exchange for the boys sending him videos and images of themselves.
Wilson then threatened to distribute these online unless they sent more extreme footage of themselves, in some cases of them abusing younger siblings or friends.
Some 52 boys aged between four and 14 were targeted by Wilson between May 2016 and April 2020.
However, the National Crime Agency (NCA) previously said it has evidence that he approached more than 5,000 children globally, with as many as 500 sending Wilson abuse material.
Following a referral by the Solicitor General under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, the Court of Appeal increased his prison sentence to 28 years on Thursday.
Wilson appeared via video link and sat with his head in his hands at the start of the hearing.
Paul Jarvis, for the Solicitor General, argued Wilson should have been given a life sentence.
“He is a very, very dangerous individual,” Mr Jarvis said, adding that it is not yet known when Wilson may be safe to be released.
“The only proper conclusion open to the judge, in our submission, was that only a life sentence was appropriate.”
The barrister later argued that the sentencing judge gave Wilson too much of a reduction in his sentence for pleading guilty, after he did not admit the first three charges.
Michael Clare, for Wilson, argued a life sentence was not suitable, telling the court only three of the 96 offences had maximum sentences of life.
He added: “The main point that the defence have is that the sentencing judge was correct when he formed the view that the public would be properly protected by an extended sentence.”
Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Henshaw and Judge Martyn Zeidman QC, increased Wilson’s prison sentence to 28 years.
The judges did not change his extended licence of eight years to be served when his prison term ends.
Wilson was “callously indifferent” to the boys’ suffering, Lord Justice Holroyde said, adding: “The victims were greatly distressed, they begged and pleaded the offender not to disclose the photos.”
He continued: “The victims described how their confidence had suffered. Their personalities changed and they became more aggressive and less trusting.”
“The parents blame the offender for taking away their children’s innocence,” he added.
Lord Justice Holroyde said the original judge considered the prison sentence “would provide sufficient protection for the public and that a life sentence was not justified”.
He continued: “In this case, notwithstanding the seriousness of the offending, the judge was, in our view, entitled to conclude that a life sentence was not justified.”
However, the judges agreed with Mr Jarvis that Wilson’s sentence was reduced too much based on his eventual guilty pleas.
Lord Justice Holroyde said he accepted that Wilson had faced problems properly accessing his lawyers due to the pandemic.
“However, the offender did not indicate his intention to plead guilty at the first stage of the proceedings. On the contrary,” he continued.
“He needed neither legal advice nor sight of the evidence to know that he had committed a number of sexual offences.
“We accept Mr Jarvis’ submission that the judge fell into error by allowing full credit.”
“We are satisfied in that respect that the sentence was unduly lenient,” he concluded.
After the ruling, Solicitor General Lucy Frazer QC MP said: “Wilson harmed over 50 young boys, abusing, exploiting and in some cases terrorising them.
“I am glad that the Court of Appeal has seen fit to increase his sentence, and I hope that this can help bring some closure to his many victims.”