TAWIO BENSON FROM KINGSTON SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST MINORS

Between the start of 2015 and the end of that year, Tawio Benson was involved in a disturbing series of sexual misconducts targeting young victims in Kingston. Over this period, the 46-year-old offender engaged in numerous heinous acts that would later lead to his arrest and conviction.

On March 15, 2016, Benson appeared before the Kingston Crown Court to face charges related to his sexual offenses. At that time, he was already serving a nine-year prison sentence at HMP Littlehey, but his criminal activities had not yet been fully uncovered. The court proceedings revealed the extent of his misconduct, which involved grooming and sexually abusing multiple minors.

Following his sentencing, law enforcement officials from the Metropolitan Police’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command (CASO) launched an extensive investigation into Benson’s activities. They recovered two mobile phones belonging to him, which proved to be critical evidence. Analyzing the devices, investigators uncovered a staggering 1,435 conversations with potential victims across various social media platforms. The data collection and analysis process spanned more than two years, during which officers traveled across the United Kingdom to track down and contact over 500 girls who had been targeted or contacted by Benson.

Throughout his online interactions, Benson used several aliases, including 'The Real MVP', 'Tony', and 'Timi', on popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber, and BBM (Blackberry Messenger). His communications revealed a pattern of grooming young girls, some of whom he engaged in sexual intercourse with. Evidence indicated that he not only sought to establish contact but also attempted to arrange meetings for sexual encounters and requested explicit images from his victims.

His manipulative tactics included offering various goods, primarily money, to persuade the girls to meet him in person. Despite discovering the victims’ ages, Benson continued to pursue contact with them, showing a blatant disregard for their safety and well-being. One victim disclosed her age during their interactions, but this did not deter him from maintaining contact and furthering his predatory behavior.

After a thorough investigation, Benson pleaded guilty on November 23 of the previous year to multiple charges. These included causing a child aged 13 to 15 to view sexual images, meeting a girl under 16 following grooming, causing minors to watch sexual acts, engaging in penetrative sexual activity with girls aged 13 to 15, and other related offenses involving minors.

In light of his crimes, Benson was sentenced to an additional two years in prison, which was to be served consecutively on top of his existing nine-year sentence. The court’s decision underscores the severity of his actions and the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to protect vulnerable minors from predators like Benson in Kingston and across the UK.