HEREFORD SEX OFFENDER DAVID WILLIAMS JAILED AFTER LEAVING THE UK

In December 2012, David Williams, a 50-year-old sex offender previously residing on Brobury Close, Newton Farm, Hereford, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after breaching the sex offenders’ register requirements. Williams admitted to failing to update police about his change of address and his intention to leave the UK for the Philippines, as revealed in Worcester Crown Court. He had been convicted in 2004 of sexual offenses involving a girl and of producing indecent images of a child, resulting in a 15-month jail sentence and an extension of his prison licence to three years.

Williams relocated to the Philippines with his wife until authorities there discovered his whereabouts and extradited him back to the UK. He was arrested upon arrival at Heathrow Airport on October 5 and has been remanded in custody since. His solicitor, Anna Midgley, explained that his prison licence for the original offense had been revoked and that his release date was set for April 2016. Although the new sentence will run concurrently, the parole board will decide the length of his additional imprisonment.

Miss Midgley also noted that Williams’ wife, who remains in the Philippines, had contacted him and that he is experiencing depression while in custody. Judge John Cavell described Williams’ actions as a "quite deliberate and flagrant breach" of the court order, emphasizing that it was clear he had planned to leave the country once released from his initial 15-month sentence.

Earlier, in July 2012, it was reported that Williams, convicted of indecently assaulting a child and taking indecent images, was to be deported from the Philippines. The police in West Mercia stated that he had been released on licence but later “absconded” to the Philippines. Authorities were working with other agencies to facilitate his return to West Mercia Police.