Friday 30 April 2010
Lancashire man jailed for sex attacks
A 35 YEAR old man from Leyland, Lancashire has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a series of sex attacks and possessing indecent images of children following the discovery of his role in an online paedophile network.
In January of this year, Delwyn Savigar, of Queensway, pleaded guilty to an attempted rape which he committed in 1999 and an indecent assault in 2002. He had previously pleaded guilty to raping a schoolgirl in 2002 as well as distributing and possessing indecent images of children.
Savigar was identified during a joint investigation between the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and the US Department of Justice (USDOJ), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), and US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
He was arrested by Lancashire Constabulary in September 2008 following intelligence provided by CEOP which demonstrated that Savigar was a key administrator in an online group which allowed hundreds of members worldwide to share indecent images of children.
Savigar’s arrest on 10 September 2008 was coordinated with the arrests of other suspects in the US. Forty-three UK suspects have been identified as members of the internet bulletin board operated by Savigar and separate police investigations are currently underway. The investigation in the US is also ongoing.
Upon examination of his computers, Savigar was found to have in excess of 100,000 indecent images of children. He was subsequently charged with distributing and possessing indecent images of children.
While in custody, the defendant’s DNA was taken to be loaded on to the National DNA Database. A month later, detectives based at South Ribble CID were informed of a DNA match with Savigar relating to the rape of a 13 year old schoolgirl on 30 April 2002.
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The victim had been walking along a quiet path in Penwortham when she was approached and forced down some steps before being raped. She reported the matter to police and a full DNA profile was obtained although at that time there was no match on the database.
Savigar was re-arrested on 16 October 2008 by South Ribble CID officers and charged with rape.
Due to the serious nature of this stranger rape on a schoolgirl, detailed crime analysis was conducted on other offences within the area that could be attributable to Savigar. Detectives were concerned that he had not been brought to the attention of police previously and about the serious nature of this offence when he would only have been 27 years old.
Lancashire Constabulary’s Cold Case Investigation Team began to investigate other cases, as a result, he was charged with attempted rape and indecent assault on two further victims.
In the first incident, a 16-year-old girl was walking to work through playing fields in Walton le Dale on 18 April 1999. Savigar pushed her to the floor and placed his hand over her mouth and throat before indecently assaulting her. The young victim screamed and managed to struggle free before running off.
In the second incident, a 13-year-old girl was walking alone along a country lane in Much Hoole on 13 April 2002 when she was approached from behind by Savigar who placed his arm round her neck and mouth before attempting to rape her.
Detective Inspector Nina Foley, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased with the sentence handed down by the judge today; it quite clearly reflects the very serious nature of the wicked crimes Savigar committed.
“He is clearly a dangerous, predatory and shameless individual who took advantage of the innocent nature of his victims and my thoughts are with them. They have shown immense bravery throughout this case and I can only hope that they can now take some comfort in the fact that Savigar will be spending a considerable amount of time behind bars.”
Detective Inspector Bev Foster, who worked on the case as part of the Cold Case Team at the time, added: “This case should send a clear message to offenders that they cannot escape justice, regardless of when their crimes were committed.
“Regardless of the passage of time we will utilise all the latest advances in technology available to us in order to bring offenders to justices. Cases are never closed and we are committed to identifying offenders to provide closure for victims and reassure our communities.”
Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said: “The reality today is that every activity online leaves a digital footprint and, by working in partnership with our international law enforcement partners, CEOP was able to support to detectives in linking Savigar to these awful stranger assaults on children.
“The sentencing today of Delwyn Savigar should send a strong message out to those who think they can sexually abuse children on and offline without consequence.”
Notes to editors:
Operation Goldcrest was launched in 2007 to reinvestigate historical, undetected cases of rape and serious sexual assault.
The team is reviewing serious criminal offences committed in Lancashire over the past three decades and will seek to use modern DNA techniques to identify predatory and violent offenders.
The CEOP Centre in the UK’s national police agency set up to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.police.uk. CEOP Press Office: 0870 000 3434
Savigar was also given a 10 year extended and a SOPO (sexual offences prevention order). This is an indefinite order with conditions.
Lancashire Press Office: 01772 412333
