Richard Henderson 67

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A 67-year-old man who asked a 15-year-old boy for sex after the “kind” youth stopped to check if he was alright has been jailed for three years.

Richard Henderson, from Warkworth, had been agitated after an altercation with a group of youths unconnected to the victim at Morpeth Bus Station. The boy, on his way home from school, saw he was “upset” and “approached to ask if he was alright,” Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Their conversation quickly turned sexual when Henderson propositioned the teenager for sex. The boy was immediately “anxious and upset,” left the scene and told his mother what had happened that night.

In a victim statement read to the court, the youth said he was an “innocent kid” who “just wanted to get the bus home” but had been left “intimidated and scared” and “traumatised” by the advances. He added he could no longer get the bus or ask anyone how they felt.

Henderson, who has 40 previous offences including causing more than £100,000 damage to Warkworth Church (for which he received a suspended sentence in December 2024), denied the charge but was convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Judge Gavin Doig said the boy had approached Henderson “out of kindness” and that Henderson had turned matters sexual. He added that the only person lying was the defendant.

Henderson was also ordered to sign the sex offender register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for the rest of his life.