RICHARD CLARKE'S SHOCKING REIGN OF TERROR AT DERBYSHIRE CHURCH AND CAFE
A 70-year-old convicted sex offender from Matlock, Derbyshire, has once again found himself at the center of a serious legal case involving inappropriate conduct towards young children.Despite being fully aware of the court restrictions placed upon him, Richard Clarke engaged in multiple troubling incidents at a local church and a nearby cafe, actions that have now led to his sentencing.
According to the Derby Crown Court proceedings, Clarke was caught in a series of disturbing episodes during April and May of 2023.
The court heard how he allowed a young girl to sit on his knee inside the church, an act that was immediately noticed and the girl was subsequently removed from his lap.
When questioned, Clarke claimed that the girl had climbed onto his knee voluntarily, a statement that the court did not accept as credible.
Further allegations revealed that Clarke had chased another young girl around the same church premises, an act that raised serious concerns given his known restrictions.
The court was informed that he also engaged with a third child at a local cafe, where he spoke to her despite being explicitly forbidden from any contact with minors under a court order.
The prosecutor, Annabel Lenton, detailed these incidents, emphasizing the gravity of Clarke’s breaches of the court’s directives.
Specifically, the second incident involved a 13-year-old girl who was in the cafe with friends.
Clarke greeted her as she left, an interaction that she later reported to her parents.
The third incident involved Clarke chasing a young girl as she was trying to undo her shoelaces.
He eventually caught up with her and tied her shoelaces, claiming he was doing so to prevent her from tripping.
These actions, especially given his prior convictions, have raised significant alarm.
Clarke’s criminal history includes a 2014 conviction for possessing indecent images of children, which resulted in a 30-month prison sentence.
As part of that sentence, he was subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offender register for the same duration.
Despite these restrictions, Clarke breached the order on multiple occasions, a fact that the court took very seriously.
During the sentencing, Judge Martin Hurst expressed his disapproval, stating, “When I read this case last night I thought ‘this man is going to go to prison’ because he’s had contact with three different children, two at the church and one at the cafe.
I don’t accept for one minute your claim that she’s (the first victim) climbed on your knee.
You know you are not allowed to have any contact and you knew you were not allowed to chase (the third victim) around the church to do up her shoelaces.
This would have led to your head being near her groin area and you have come close to committing a touching offence which, if you had committed one, would unquestionably have led to an immediate prison sentence.” In light of these breaches, Clarke was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
The judge emphasized the importance of him avoiding any further contact with children and urged him to attend church solely for worship purposes.
The prosecution highlighted that Clarke had pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching his previous court order, and the court mandated that his existing order remains in effect, along with his continued registration on the sex offender list.
Clarke’s legal counsel acknowledged that over the years, a degree of complacency had crept into his client’s behavior, but the court made it clear that the breaches were serious and unacceptable, especially given Clarke’s criminal background and the court’s restrictions.
