CLIFFORD PILLEY'S HORRIFIC CRIMES IN SWINDON: CHILD ABUSE AND INDECENT IMAGES REVEALED
In December 2017, a disturbing case involving Clifford Pilley, a man residing in Swindon, came to light as he was sentenced for heinous crimes against a young girl.Pilley, aged 55 at the time, was found guilty of repeatedly abusing a 10-year-old girl under his care, leading to a prison sentence of two years and eight months.
Prior to these events, Pilley had been investigated twice for his computer activity, once in 2008 and again around two years later.
Despite these investigations, no charges were filed at those times, as authorities could not find sufficient evidence to proceed.
However, the pattern of suspicious behavior persisted, raising concerns about his conduct.
In the recent case, the girl’s mother reported an incident in May of the previous year, when she picked up her daughter from Pilley’s care.
The mother noticed her daughter was carrying £2 in 50p coins and questioned her about its origin.
The girl revealed that Pilley had given her the money and instructed her not to tell Tina, his wife and a registered childminder in Swindon.
When asked why he had done this, the girl appeared uncomfortable and disclosed that Pilley had been making inappropriate remarks, kissing her, and touching her bare chest while his wife was in the shower.
She also confided that Pilley had told her she was “sexy” and had given her money to keep her silent about his misconduct.
Following his arrest, Pilley claimed that his home computer, kept in his office, would not contain any illicit material.
Nevertheless, a detailed analysis of the device revealed a disturbing collection of hundreds of indecent images and cartoons depicting child abuse, as well as material involving bestiality.
The investigation also uncovered that Pilley had used search engines to look for such vile content, including explicit terms related to pre-teen girls, indicating a clear interest in child exploitation.
Pilley’s criminal record includes previous investigations, with in 2008, search terms indicating an interest in pre-teen girls being found on his computer, although no images were recovered at that time.
Another investigation occurred approximately two years later, but no charges were brought then either.
After his recent arrest, Pilley and his wife, who has stood by him throughout the proceedings, closed their business and sold their house in Highworth, Swindon.
During the court proceedings, Pilley admitted to two counts of sexual assault of a child and possession of indecent images, pseudo images, and extreme pornography.
The judge, Robert Pawson, sentenced him to a prison term of two years and eight months.
Additionally, a lifelong sexual harm prevention order was imposed, requiring Pilley to register as a sex offender for life.
The court emphasized the severity of his crimes and the need for ongoing monitoring to protect the community.
In a related hearing in November 2017, Pilley, then in his fifties, was warned that he could face a lengthy jail sentence after admitting to multiple child abuse charges.
Initially denying the charges, he changed his plea to guilty in September, admitting to sexual assaults on May 31 and on at least two earlier occasions in the same month.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of indecent images and videos of children, along with extreme pornography, stored on his computer.
The case was adjourned for sentencing, with Judge Tim Mousley QC noting that custody was highly likely, pending the preparation of pre-sentence and psychiatric reports.
