Locations
Kingsbridge Road, Romford, Havering, RM3
Description
A convicted paedophile has been jailed for the sixth time after grooming and sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy.
Stephen Lott, 47, of Kingsbridge Road in Harold Hill, has abused young boys and girls since the mid-1990s, when he repeatedly orally raped a girl aged five to seven.
He has since accumulated 22 child sexual abuse convictions, including groping girls aged five and eight at South Kensington station in 2016.
Out of prison, Lott reoffended in late 2023, grooming the boy over nine months with gifts before kissing him and inviting him home for further abuse.
Lott claimed the kiss was accidental during a hug, but a jury convicted him of sexual assault on a child and meeting a child following grooming.
At his August 8 sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Lott attributed his behavior to childhood struggles making friends.
Supported by his sister, her husband, and a church official, he begged Judge Ross Cohen for "one more chance," citing plans for a YouTube career making sci-fi videos.
But Judge Cohen said: “You delude yourself and others that your behaviour towards children is innocent and based on an affinity you have for them as a result of your own low confidence.
“The sad truth, Stephen Lott, is that your behaviour towards children is both sexualised and predatory.”
The judge noted Lott’s prior convictions, including gross indecency with a child aged five to seven—which would be charged as oral rape today.
The victim’s mother’s statement read: “Steve never made me aware he had previous convictions. It’s made me feel really anxious for my son, that he’s had to go through this. It’s been a really horrible time.
“It’s disheartening and sinister, I feel like a failure for not protecting him.”
Deeming Lott “dangerous,” Judge Cohen imposed an extended sentence: four years in prison plus three years on licence.
A parole board may release him after two years and ten months if deemed safe; otherwise, he serves the full term, remaining on licence until 2032.
The Met Police released Lott's latest custody image today (September 10).