ROBIN ELMS SENTENCED TO OVER 20 YEARS IN PRISON IN CHICHESTER FOR CHILD SEXUAL OFFENSES

Robin Elms, a 23-year-old from Hunston, Chichester, was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court after being found guilty of sexually abusing nine children, whom he also secretly recorded and spied on. The offences, totaling 20 counts, took place between 2018 and 2020 across five households, involving children aged two to 14. Elms secured employment through reputable online childcare agencies, which he exploited to gain access to the children. Seven of the victims, from three households, resided in West Sussex, while two victims from two households were from east Kent.

Despite having worked in other non-residential childcare roles and coming from a background of good character, there was no evidence of offences against children outside these incidents. During the sentencing, judge Lance Ashworth stated: ‘You groomed the families, moving from home to home, beguiling them and making them feel sorry for you.’

Detective Constable Chris Smith of Sussex Police commented: ‘Elms used his access, and the trust placed in him by the parents, to systematically abuse children in their own homes. His offences were horrendous breaches of trust, which are every parent's greatest concern. He had no previous convictions or any other DBS-related record, and the parents all had found him through reputable childcare agencies.’

Elms pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault, five counts of taking indecent videos of children, four counts of voyeurism, and one count of sexually assaulting an adult man unrelated to his work as a nanny or babysitter. His sentence includes 15 and a half years in prison, with an additional five years on extended licence supervision. Furthermore, he will be registered as a sex offender for life and was issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) valid until further court notice.

The investigation was led by detectives from Sussex Police’s Complex Abuse Unit, which was initiated after one of the West Sussex families contacted police in November 2020 to report sexual abuse.