DAVID WILKINSON FROM ESH WINNING AND WATERLOOVILLE SENTENCED TO 13 YEARS FOR CHILD ABUSE AND PORNOGRAPHY

In a case that shocked the local communities of Esh Winning and Waterlooville, a man named David Wilkinson has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term of 13 years after being found guilty of a series of heinous crimes involving child abuse and possession of indecent images. The sentencing was handed down by Teesside Crown Court, where Wilkinson’s disturbing history and the evidence against him were laid bare.

Wilkinson, whose most recent residence was in Waterlooville, Hampshire, was identified as a danger to society due to the severity and nature of his offenses. The court heard that his crimes spanned over a decade, beginning in the early 1990s, and involved multiple victims. The judge, Howard Crowson, did not mince words when describing Wilkinson’s actions, stating, “These convictions demonstrate that rather than a productive adult life people believed you led, your life included the abuse of children.”

It was revealed that Wilkinson had attempted to manipulate and silence his young victims. He urged the children to keep quiet about their experiences, dismissing their distress with the words, “It’s nowt.” Despite his efforts to conceal his crimes, the truth emerged in a most unexpected way. During an incident in 2008, a cousin playing with a mobile phone discovered a recording made by one of Wilkinson’s victims. The recording contained a heartbreaking confession: “David Wilkinson likes to see me naked.” This revelation prompted the cousin to pass the phone to an adult relative, who then contacted the police.

When authorities arrested Wilkinson, they uncovered a trove of child pornography on his computer, including dozens of indecent photographs of children. Two of Wilkinson’s victims, who had previously remained silent, finally came forward to provide testimony against him. Wilkinson initially denied the allegations but later admitted to viewing images of children in swimwear and sportswear on the internet, though he denied any direct physical abuse.

Following a trial, Wilkinson, aged 30 at the time, was convicted on multiple counts. He faced charges of rape, five counts of indecent assault, and one count of indecency with a child. The court established that his offending spanned a period of 15 years, from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. In addition to the convictions, Wilkinson admitted to 12 charges of making indecent photographs of children and possessing 85 such images.

During the sentencing hearing, the prosecution’s representative, Adrian Strong, emphasized the profound impact of Wilkinson’s crimes on his victims, noting that their personalities had been significantly affected and that they had only recently felt able to speak out about their suffering. In mitigation, defense counsel Dan Cordey argued that Wilkinson was of good character prior to these revelations.

As part of his sentence, Judge Crowson ordered Wilkinson to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and imposed an indefinite ban on any unsupervised contact with individuals under the age of 18. The case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by individuals who abuse their positions of trust and the importance of vigilance in protecting vulnerable children from harm.