EDWIN RICHARDS SHOCKS DEVON WITH REPEATED SEX OFFENCES IN NEWTON ABBOT AND TORQUAY
| Red Rose Database
N/A Sexual Abuser
In April 2018, Edwin Richards, a man with a long history of sexual misconduct, was sentenced to prison for a disturbing series of offences involving a vulnerable 13-year-old girl in Lancashire. Richards, aged 53, deliberately violated a court order that prohibited any contact with minors by establishing a Facebook friendship with the girl, who was in care and residing at a children’s home.
His actions escalated when he obtained her phone number and made sexually explicit phone calls to her. Additionally, he sent a staggering 294 messages via Facebook, many of which explicitly asked if she would engage in sexual activity with him. The misconduct was uncovered when staff at the children’s home grew suspicious of her online activity and conducted a review of her social media accounts.
Richards’s criminal record dates back to 1980, with a history of sexual offences. Notably, in 2010, he was imprisoned for flashing at two young girls aged eight and nine in Newton Abbot. At that time, he was placed on the sex offenders’ register and was subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that strictly prohibited any unsupervised contact with children.
Despite these restrictions, Richards breached the SOPO and failed to comply with the conditions of his registration. He was subsequently sentenced to two years and three months in prison by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court. Following his conviction, he was also subjected to an even more restrictive Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which imposed additional stringent conditions to prevent further offences.
Earlier, in November 2010, Richards was involved in a separate incident in Newton Abbot that drew significant attention. He was convicted of following two young girls through a park while wearing a balaclava, an act that caused considerable alarm. Richards, then 46 and of no fixed address but previously residing on Haldon Road in Newton Abbot, was sentenced to nine months in prison for this offence.
During that incident, Richards had peered at the girls, aged under ten, as they walked to the park. He then followed them, donning a balaclava to conceal his identity, and exposed himself to the children, who quickly ran and hid in nearby bushes. The girls reported the incident to police, and Richards was later arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the scene, specifically from the balaclava he discarded as he fled.
At the court hearing, prosecutor Alexander Allsop requested the imposition of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to help prevent Richards from committing further crimes. Defense lawyer William Parkhill highlighted Richards’s learning disabilities and difficulty in social interactions, emphasizing his shame and embarrassment over his actions. He described Richards as a man who had lost control over a period of months, living in isolation and not seeking medical help for a long time.
Judge Paul Darlow acknowledged the seriousness of the offences, especially considering the young age of the victims and Richards’s history. He pointed out that Richards had attempted to hide his identity with a balaclava and had previous convictions related to sexually inappropriate behaviour, although not for flashing. The judge sentenced Richards to nine months in prison for the park incident and imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which did not specify a time frame but required him to register as a sex offender for ten years. Additionally, Richards was barred from participating in activities involving vulnerable children and adults, reinforcing the court’s efforts to protect the community from further harm.
His actions escalated when he obtained her phone number and made sexually explicit phone calls to her. Additionally, he sent a staggering 294 messages via Facebook, many of which explicitly asked if she would engage in sexual activity with him. The misconduct was uncovered when staff at the children’s home grew suspicious of her online activity and conducted a review of her social media accounts.
Richards’s criminal record dates back to 1980, with a history of sexual offences. Notably, in 2010, he was imprisoned for flashing at two young girls aged eight and nine in Newton Abbot. At that time, he was placed on the sex offenders’ register and was subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that strictly prohibited any unsupervised contact with children.
Despite these restrictions, Richards breached the SOPO and failed to comply with the conditions of his registration. He was subsequently sentenced to two years and three months in prison by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court. Following his conviction, he was also subjected to an even more restrictive Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which imposed additional stringent conditions to prevent further offences.
Earlier, in November 2010, Richards was involved in a separate incident in Newton Abbot that drew significant attention. He was convicted of following two young girls through a park while wearing a balaclava, an act that caused considerable alarm. Richards, then 46 and of no fixed address but previously residing on Haldon Road in Newton Abbot, was sentenced to nine months in prison for this offence.
During that incident, Richards had peered at the girls, aged under ten, as they walked to the park. He then followed them, donning a balaclava to conceal his identity, and exposed himself to the children, who quickly ran and hid in nearby bushes. The girls reported the incident to police, and Richards was later arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the scene, specifically from the balaclava he discarded as he fled.
At the court hearing, prosecutor Alexander Allsop requested the imposition of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to help prevent Richards from committing further crimes. Defense lawyer William Parkhill highlighted Richards’s learning disabilities and difficulty in social interactions, emphasizing his shame and embarrassment over his actions. He described Richards as a man who had lost control over a period of months, living in isolation and not seeking medical help for a long time.
Judge Paul Darlow acknowledged the seriousness of the offences, especially considering the young age of the victims and Richards’s history. He pointed out that Richards had attempted to hide his identity with a balaclava and had previous convictions related to sexually inappropriate behaviour, although not for flashing. The judge sentenced Richards to nine months in prison for the park incident and imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which did not specify a time frame but required him to register as a sex offender for ten years. Additionally, Richards was barred from participating in activities involving vulnerable children and adults, reinforcing the court’s efforts to protect the community from further harm.