NEIL GILPIN FROM SLAITHWAITE SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR ABUSING BOYS NEAR SELBY CANAL

In a harrowing case that has shocked the local community near Selby, Neil Gilpin, aged 32, has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for heinous sexual offenses committed against two young boys. The crimes took place in woodland close to the canal where Gilpin had moored his boat, a location that became the scene of his disturbing abuse.

During the proceedings at York Crown Court, the prosecution, led by Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, detailed how Gilpin lured the two ten-year-old boys away from their friends and playtime to carry out his depraved acts. The court heard that the children, who were initially called in for supper, were later targeted again when one of them went back outside to play. Gilpin took this opportunity to take the boy away once more, subjecting him to sexual abuse in the secluded woodland area.

The judge presiding over the case, Judge Paul Batty QC, described the impact of Gilpin’s actions on the boys and their families as profoundly distressing. He emphasized the emotional toll and the irreversible damage inflicted by Gilpin’s actions, stating that the boys’ parents’ accounts of how their children had been changed by the ordeal were “heart rending.”

Addressing Gilpin directly, the judge condemned his conduct as “truly wicked,” asserting that he had robbed the boys of their innocence and corrupted them for his own sexual gratification. The court was told that Gilpin had instructed the second boy to pretend he was with a girl during the abuse, highlighting the depravity of his behavior. Judge Batty described Gilpin’s actions as “truly debauched, truly outrageous,” and he sentenced him to ten years in prison.

Furthermore, Gilpin was ordered to be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and was subjected to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order. These measures are intended to protect the community from any future risk posed by Gilpin, who resides on Manchester Road in Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield.

Gilpin had previously pleaded guilty to two charges related to inciting a child to perform a sexual act and other sexual offenses involving a minor. However, his criminal history includes a notable case from 2012, when he was tried at Bradford Crown Court and cleared of similar allegations. During that trial, the jury heard claims that Gilpin had inappropriately touched boys aged four and seven at a party in Huddersfield in September 2011, and that he had performed a sex act in front of the older boy in a bathroom.

Gilpin’s arrest in that earlier case was prompted by the elder boy’s disclosure that Gilpin had told him to “keep a secret.” Gilpin, a black belt judo instructor and former captain of Great Britain’s impaired hearing team, maintained that his actions were related to teaching martial arts to the children. After his acquittal, Gilpin expressed frustration, claiming that he felt the case was a miscarriage of justice and that he was unfairly branded as guilty before proven innocent. He voiced concerns about the lasting impact on his reputation, employment prospects, and ability to return to teaching, emphasizing that the allegations would remain accessible online for years to come, despite his innocence being established in court.