Locations
Stoneley Road, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1
Description
Richard Young was 'actively involved in supervising children' when he shouldn't have been
A chef with a dark secret befriended families and supervised their children despite being a convicted sex offender. Richard Young even failed to tell his new partner about his perverted past and moved to Wrexham without informing the police.
The 42-year-old of Stoneley Road in Crewe appeared before Judge Rhys Rowlands at Mold Crown Court after being handed a suspended sentence in July 2018 for committing an act of voyeurism against a young girl. Prosecutor, Anna Price said he had filmed the youngster showering with the use of a small camera hidden in a toothpaste packet.
A 10-year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed with conditions to inform police if he changed his address. It was only last October when concerns about his safefy were reported to officers that it came to light he was no longer living in Cheshire as they believed.
Instead, he had set up a new home in Wrexham. The court heard how he had signed a tenancy agreement on a property back in March 2020 and had been living with a new partner and her young son.
Ms Price said that his partner wasn't aware of his past, believing he was on a court order for domestic violence. The judge said he was a man "who has people believe what he wants them to".
His new home was on an estate which was described as being a "very close-knit community." People would socialise together at birthdays and barbeques and the local children would play.
The court heard young girls would play at Young's house despite him being banned from having unsupervised contact with any girl under the age of 16. Young even had a pool set up in the garden during the summer months and was "actively involved in supervising the children", Ms Price said.
None of the parents on the estate knew about Young's past and said they wouldn't have let their children "anywhere near him" if they had. One of the mums she was "furious" he felt able to integrate himself into their lives and felt "physically sick" having allowed him to have contact with her young daughter.
When Young was arrested at his workplace on November 2 last year, the police found that he had two mobile phones and a laptop that he hadn't declared to them.
Defending Young, Henry Hills, said his client was "under no illusion" that his offences will land him in custody. He said that, in his desire to "live a different life", Young got "too deep" and felt unable to tell anyone the truth the longer his lies went on.
However, Mr Hills wanted the court to acknowledge that no direct harm was caused to any young child. He said that his client has "learned a valuable lesson" and "will not repeat this behaviour".
Jailing Young for 14 months, judge Rowlands said prison was the only option as Young showed he was "quite prepared" to ignore court orders. He added: "Neither your partner at the time, nor the parents knew anything of your past.
"Your behaviour overall was a calculated and deliberate attempt to evade the terms of the court orders that imposed restrictions you weren't prepared to accept."