RICHARD CLITHEROE, ELTHAM PEARLY KING, LOSES APPEAL AGAINST 12-YEAR SENTENCE

In November 2012, Richard Clitheroe, a 76-year-old known as a Pearly King from Eltham, lost his appeal against a 12-year prison sentence for sexual offenses. Clitheroe, of Sidcup Road, Eltham, had been convicted of numerous indecent assaults in December of the previous year. He was found guilty of 18 counts of indecent assault and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity after a trial at the Old Bailey. Clitheroe had sexually abused six children over a period spanning more than three decades, starting in 1971 and continuing until 2005. During the trial, he claimed that his victims had fabricated the allegations out of jealousy over his status as a Pearly King. However, prosecutors rebutted this by stating he lied about his membership in the cockney charitable tradition. One of his victims shared her feelings, stating, "I know that every time the appeal comes up it brings the whole horrible experience up again for all his victims and they can’t move on. Cases like these shouldn’t be allowed to be in an appeal process. He took all the victims’ right to be children away so he should have no rights."

Clitheroe's criminal activities reportedly involved forcing children as young as four to perform sexual acts on him. He previously made headlines in December 2011 when he was jailed for the same offenses. At that earlier sentencing, Judge John Bevan remarked, “It is, in my judgement, a tragedy that you haven’t the courage to face up to what you’ve done. For more than 30 years, you have successively blighted the lives of a series of children — moving from one to the other like a conveyor belt. It is a mystery to me whether you truly appreciate the damage you have done.” The judge also ordered Clitheroe to register as a sex offender for life.

Police investigations were initiated after Clitheroe’s youngest victim, then aged 16, confided in her mother about self-harming, leading to his arrest. Clitheroe attempted to escape during his arrest on October 30, 2009, by trying to exit through his bathroom window. Despite the serious charges, he was acquitted of three counts of indecent assault and another count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity during the proceedings.