Description
A 59-year-old man who groomed girls online before travelling to meet and sexually abuse them has been jailed for 15 years.
Gloucester Crown Court was told that Derek Johnson set rules for the children, and would punish them if they did not comply with what he demanded.
He would also film himself sexually abusing them, and groomed them into sending him videos of things he had asked them to do.
During his sentencing hearing yesterday (Monday 24 November), it was heard how he had persistently shown levels of abuse, degradation, control and manipulation against the children.
At a hearing on 5 September this year (2025) Johnson, of no fixed abode, admitted to 14 counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
He had committed sexual offences against at least three children between 2020 and 2023, who were all aged under 16 at the time and who lived in Gloucestershire, Cornwall and West Yorkshire.
The court was told that a complex police investigation revealed he had also been in contact with other girls who had not yet been identified.
Gloucestershire Police's Child Exploitation Team launched an investigation in November 2024 after a victim from Gloucestershire came forward when aged 17 to report what Johnson had done to her.
She disclosed that Johnson first got in contact with her on the micro-blogging website, Tumblr, when she was 14 years old.
After grooming the child and communicating with her online for around a month, Johnson travelled to Gloucestershire to meet her in person by taking her to a hotel, and he went on to commit a number of sexual offences against her.
In police interview she described how Johnson tried to scare her and how she would cry when he used items to hurt her while he sexually abused her.
He then moved to the county to be closer to the girl and continued to abuse her for a further two years.
Johnson, who was not already known to police, was identified by Gloucestershire Police in January this year and arrested in February at his home address in Stevenage by officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary.
When his home in Hertfordshire was searched by police, numerous electronic devices were seized along with items which matched descriptions provided by the child.
To allow for further enquiries to take place, Johnson was released on police bail with strict conditions, however he breached those and then failed to answer police bail.
He was known to have links to multiple places around the UK and officers conducted extensive enquiries to locate him, including the publication of a wanted appeal.
Johnson was found to have travelled to the Republic of Ireland and on 6 May an extradition warrant was issued for him.
He was arrested the same month in Galway by the Gardaí and he appeared before the High Court and was extradited back to the UK on 3 June this year.
Johnson was arrested upon his arrival at Heathrow Airport and charged with offences against all three children.
Following a review of the devices seized from Johnson's address, officers from Gloucestershire Police's Child Exploitation Team subsequently identified two more victims outside of Gloucestershire.
They too described how Johnson had made contact with them online when they were aged under 16, and had communicated with them for a period of time before meeting up with them and sexually abusing them.
One of the girls, who was aged 13 at the time, thought Johnson would kill her if she did not meet him. The court was told that he picked her up in his car, took her phone off of her and then took her to a secluded woodland area in Dartmoor and raped her in a tent.
The child tried to end contact with Johnson afterwards, but he told her that he would show her family what had taken place if so.
Digital police forensic work carried out on Johnson's devices revealed folders titled with different female names which included videos of child sexual abuse, including 42 Category A videos of one of the girls, and six Category A videos of another girl.
Officers also discovered that Johnson had logged details of his offending in a calendar app on one of his devices.
Gloucestershire Police traced a third victim in West Yorkshire and she spoke with officers about how Johnson had sexually abused her when she was 14. She was visibly upset and shaking while describing what had happened.
Before Johnson was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday, statements written by his victims, who were present in court, were read out.
One said:
"I have struggled horrifically with my mental health since this man assaulted me, to the point I have tried to take my life multiple times as I couldn't and still cannot live with what he did to me.
"I have been diagnosed with PTSD as in every moment of my day and night I can see his face, hear his voice. I cannot look at myself in a mirror as I can see every single scar this monster gave me, physically and mentally."
Another victim said:
"I feel hatred towards Derek now that I have had time to process everything. I look back on things and he was not nice to me at all; very angry and vindictive.
"I occasionally get feelings of guilt, as though I have betrayed him but these soon pass when I realise that I was only a child and he took advantage of that. I did not deserve to go through what happened to me and was groomed into exactly what and who he wanted me to be.”
Another victim said:
"I felt like I couldn't tell anyone what was happening, as I was worried that he would kill me. Even after contact ended with him, I felt like he was there.
"At the time of what happened to me I felt stuck and made to do exactly what he wanted, not what I wanted. He made me feel like everything that was happening was my fault, a feeling I still carry to this day."
The court was told that Johnson, who had no previous criminal convictions, had written a letter to the judge. Johnson's defence barrister said that Johnson was very sorry for what he did, he wished that it had not happened and that he is aware that it was entirely his fault.
Judge Rupert Lowe, having read the letter, said:
"I've read many such letters and I'm afraid to say that your letter lacks any acknowledgement of the deep humiliation and degradation which you visited upon these teenage girls, with utter indifference to their wellbeing, and concern only for yourself.
"While you do express that you’re sorry for what you’ve done, and you propose to be a model citizen when released, I’m not convinced by the terms of that letter, which appear to me in places to be frankly rather glib, that you have fully appreciated the depth of the depravity of which you have fallen, and to which you have dragged these innocent victims."
Judge Lowe said:
"These are in my view the very worst examples imaginable of offences of this sort against children of that age. You were a fully mature man of advancing years who knew you were inflicting deep damage on already vulnerable girls and who you persisted in damaging again, and again, and again to satisfy your own perverted impulses."
Johnson was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and must serve a minimum of 10 years before he can be considered for release on licence. He was deemed to pose a significant risk of serious harm to girls in the future and was given an additional extended sentence of five years to serve on licence.
He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and given restraining orders against the victims.
Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough from Gloucestershire Police said:
"Johnson is a dangerous man who groomed vulnerable children online, travelled up and down the country to meet them in person, and then repeatedly sexually abused them.
"Knowing his crimes had caught up with him, he then took the cowardly decision to flee the country and made every attempt to evade detection. He is now rightfully behind bars, where he belongs, to stay for a long time."
Detective Sergeant Bernadette Harding said:
"I would like to thank the victims for supporting a prosecution and I commend them for their immense bravery and strength for speaking out. With huge thanks to them, Johnson can no longer inflict any more harm on anyone else.
"We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the partner agencies and police forces who supported us with our investigation and shared our determination to bring Johnson to justice - especially Hertfordshire Constabulary, the National Crime Agency, An Garda Síochána and the Crown Prosecution Service, who were all instrumental in helping us locate Johnson and secure convictions against him.
"I would also like to thank the team, especially officer in the case Detective Constable Rob Wilks, who did a huge amount of work on this case, including working with all of the victims throughout.
"We encourage anyone who has been sexually abused to please seek support. It is never the child's fault if someone sexually abused them, and it is important children know this."
Robert Readfern of the Crown Prosecution Service said:
"Derek Johnson targeted children for his own sexual gratification, subjecting them to appalling abuse.
"Thanks to one of his young victims coming forward to report what happened, a complex police investigation was able to identify other children he had abused.
"When he knew the police were investigating him, Johnson fled the country. The Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with Gloucestershire Constabulary and the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to bring him back and ensure he faced justice.
"I would like to thank the young victims and their families for their support throughout this prosecution."