ANDREW MAYALL AND SCOTT DEVEY: HORRIFIC CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN GOOLE AND HULL

In August 2019, a disturbing case emerged involving two individuals from the towns of Goole and Hull, whose actions have shocked the local community and prompted serious legal repercussions. Scott Devy, aged 35 and residing on Beverley Road in west Hull, was found guilty of attempting to secretly observe another person engaged in a private act for the purpose of sexual gratification. As a result of his conviction, Devy was ordered to participate in 29 sessions of the Horizon programme, a rehabilitation initiative aimed at addressing sexual offending behaviors. Additionally, he was subjected to a maximum of 25 days of supervised rehabilitation. To further prevent any future misconduct, Devy was placed under a five-year sexual harm prevention order, which explicitly prohibits him from covertly using any mobile phone or device capable of capturing images or videos. He is also required to register as a sex offender for a period of five years, and has been ordered to pay costs amounting to £85 along with an £85 victim surcharge.

These legal measures follow a series of serious allegations and convictions involving other offenders, notably in a case from February 2008. During that incident, a paedophile couple, including Andrew Mayall, aged 30 at the time, and Scott Devy, then 23, were sentenced to a combined total of ten years in prison for their involvement in the sexual abuse of young boys in Goole. The police investigation was triggered when Mayall approached three boys, aged 12 and 8, while they were busking in an underpass in Goole in August of the previous year. Mayall, mistakenly believing the boys were homeless, offered them money to follow him into public toilets on Estcourt Street. Two of the boys complied, and Mayall proceeded to sexually assault them after pulling down their trousers in separate incidents. The older boy later told police he was frightened and had told Mayall 'no'.

Mayall also attempted to take photographs of the boys with his mobile phone but was unsuccessful. A subsequent police appeal for information led officers to search the couple’s flat on Montague Street, where they uncovered further evidence of abuse, including a video depicting both men sexually assaulting a boy who was then 15 years old. The police also discovered 181 indecent images of young boys stored on their devices, which Judge Roger Thorn QC described as 'quite disgusting'.

In court, Mayall received a sentence of five years for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three years for two counts of sexual assault, to run concurrently, and an additional 18 months for possessing indecent images. Devy was sentenced to two years for sexual assault and 18 months for possessing indecent images. Both men were ordered to register as sex offenders for life. Judge Thorn addressed them directly, stating, 'Despite your retreating in self-denial, you are going to have to accept you are both paedophiles with a wholly inappropriate interest in young boys.' The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to combat child sexual exploitation and protect vulnerable victims in the communities of Goole and Hull.