BARRY WILLOUGHBY FROM BRADFORD JAILED AFTER FACEBOOK DISCOVERY
In March 2014, a child sex offender from Bradford, Barry Willoughby, was sentenced to over seven years in prison after one of his victims identified him on Facebook.Willoughby, who had been living a seemingly new life working on cruise ships and residing in the USA, was finally brought to justice when he was extradited back to the UK to face trial for crimes committed during the 1980s.
A police investigation into Willoughby’s past, initially launched in the early 1990s, was renewed in 2010 after a survivor recognized him from a Facebook photograph and contacted authorities.
Bradford-born Willoughby’s extradition, which occurred fourteen months prior, attracted media attention and led a second woman to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
At Bradford Crown Court, a jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting the 46-year-old of 10 counts of indecent assault and three counts of gross indecency with a child, all related to his abuse of the two women.
The court learned that Willoughby, who had been living at Mandale Road, Buttershaw, Bradford, since his return to the UK from the US, had groomed one of his victims to abuse her between ages 11 and 15.
This same woman, who found Willoughby through Facebook, had been molested by him when she was just nine years old while he was babysitting her.
Judge Jonathan Rose sentenced Willoughby to a total of seven years and 92 days in prison.
In his sentencing remarks, the judge acknowledged the profound impact of Willoughby’s actions on his victims’ lives.
"For whilst you have enjoyed a good life, all that I have heard and read is of lives ruined by what you did in the 1980s," he stated.
"You’ve been convicted because these two women told the truth, brave women who faced their demons and came forward after more than twenty years to recount the suffering you caused." The judge also pointed out that some abuse occurred while Willoughby was babysitting, at a time when his wife was hospitalized giving birth.
As a result of his convictions, Willoughby will have to register as a sex offender for life and will be subject to an ongoing sexual offences prevention order.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Inspector Vanessa Smith of West Yorkshire Police said, "The process to bring Willoughby to justice has been a long one, but we believe that today’s sentence justifies the hard work of our detectives, in conjunction with the US Authorities.
I would like to thank them for their co-operation with the extradition proceedings and of course, the victims themselves for coming forward.
We hope this will give them some closure after all this time." She added, "We also hope that this case demonstrates that our officers will do all they can to locate those wanted for sexual offences, regardless of where they might be living now."
