Sir Thomas Hetherington and Kenneth Mockford Re-blogged from Spotlight on abuse Sir Thomas Hetherington was the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales from 1977 to 1987, and was the first head of the Crown Prosecution Service for the year after it was founded in 1986. Sir Thomas Hetherington (pictured above) In 1986, a police case collapsed after Hetherington refused to bring a prosecution against two men who were accused of sexually abusing a girl over a period of seven years, starting when she was eight years old. He ruled that there was “no independent evidence to support her claims”, in other words there were no witnesses other than the victim herself. The girl had disclosed the years of sexual abuse after watching Esther Rantzen’s Childline. After the case was abandoned, the girl’s family were subjected to “an eight-month hate campaign” which culminated in her father being led into an ambush and shot with a sawn-off shotgun. The family blamed Kent police of failing to protect them. Although only two men had been accused of sexual abuse, the girl’s father was confronted by a group of six men and a woman before being murdered. His killer, Kenneth Mockford (known as Ray), was convicted of manslaughter and was jailed for just three and a half years. In January 2014, Kenneth Mockford was jailed for six years for sexually abusing a 5 year old girl. Judge Martin Joy said “I cannot think of a worse case in relation to these offences on a five year old”, but was constrained by maximum sentences at the time of the offences, which had been committed 30 years before. Thanks to the actions of the DPP Sir Thomas Hetherington, Mockford wasn’t prosecuted for child sex offences until he was 70 years old. His accomplice(s) also walked free in 1986. Hetherington’s ruling of “no independent evidence” was not applied consistently in cases involving child sexual abuse, and similar cases were successfully prosecuted. So why did the DPP allow Kenneth Mockford to escape justice? Daily Express, 1st July 1987 January 2014 Offham killer Kenneth Mockford jailed over sick sex acts with girl of five A convicted killer who committed “abhorrent” sex offences dating back 30 years has been jailed for six years – the maximum sentence available to the judge. Pensioner Kenneth Mockford, of Church Road, Offham, West Malling, denied six charges of indecency with a child, but was convicted. Judge Martin Joy imposed three consecutive terms of two years under legislation that existed at the time the offences were committed. Had it been under “new law”, the sentence could have been 11 to 17 years. Maidstone Crown Court heard he forced a five-year-old girl to perform sex acts on him while telling her they were playing “cowboys and cowgirls”. “He said that’s what cowgirls did as a matter of routine,” said prosecutor Piers Reed. “But he told her she must not tell her parents or anyone else.” The 70-year-old, known as Ray, who previously lived in Kingfisher Road, Larkfield, was jailed for three-and-a-half years in 1988 for manslaughter and shortening a shotgun barrel. In July last year, he was given a suspended sentence for possessing a firearm without a certificate. Simon Wickens, defending, said Mockford continued to strenuously deny the allegations. The court, he said, had to be cautious when considering whether or not to impose the maximum sentence. Judge Joy said following conviction in November: “It may well be that members of the public would rightly consider that because of the gap left in the legislation there could be serious under-sentencing.” He also called Mockford “a highly manipulative rapist”. The judge told him he might well deserve a sentence “way above the prescribed maximum at the time of the offences”. “I am restrained by the law,” he said. “I cannot think of a worse case in relation to these offences on a five-year-old. There is no question in my mind I should pass the maximum sentence. “A submission is made there could be worst cases and I should not pass the maximum sentence. That is a submission with which I do not agree. These are utterly abhorrent offences.” Mockford’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years. November 2013 Convicted killer guilty of sex offences on girl in sick cowgirls ‘game’ A convicted killer is back in jail after being found guilty of sex offences committed more than 30 years ago. Pensioner Kenneth Mockford, of Church Road, Offham, West Malling, had denied six charges of indecency with a child. Maidstone Crown Court heard he forced a girl to perform sex acts on him while telling her they were playing “cowboys and cowgirls” when committing the offences. “She was told that’s what cowgirls did as a matter of routine,” said prosecutor Piers Reed. “But he told her she must not tell her parents or anyone else. “The story about cowboys and cowgirls was repeated, a story about him making a film with her having a starring role, and she believed it.” The 70-year-old, known as Ray, was arrested last year. He denied all the allegations. Mockford, who previously lived in Kingfisher Road, Larkfield, wept when asked in evidence if he had abused the victim. “No, I did not,” he said. After the unanimous guilty verdicts, the jury heard he was jailed for three-and-a-half years in 1988 for manslaughter and shortening a shotgun barrel. In July last year, he was given a suspended sentence for possessing a firearm without a certificate. Judge Martin Joy said under current law Mockford could face a prison sentence of 11 to 17 years for the latest offences, but the maximum he could impose under “old law” was six years. “It may well be that members of the public would rightly consider that because of the gap left in the legislation there could be serious under-sentencing,” he said. Simon Wickens, defending, said Mockford had very serious offences on his record, but had no convictions for sex abuse. His health problems included suffering from angina. Adjourning sentence for reports until January 13, the judge said: “You have been convicted on overwhelming evidence of a course of indecency with a child when she was very young. “Nowadays, it would be described as oral rape. You were convicted of these completely abhorrent offences. They are unnatural and abhorrent to right-thinking people. You can expect a severe custodial sentence.” Judge Joy added the victim – now in her mid-30s – was a victim of “a highly manipulative rapist” and assured her she did nothing wrong.