Wednesday 13 January 2010
Lancashire man pleads guilty to decade old sex attacks
A 35 YEAR old man from Leyland has pleaded guilty to two sex attacks on young girls dating back more than 10 years.
Delwyn Savigar, of Queensway, admitted an attempted rape and an indecent assault during the course of a trial at Preston Crown Court today (Wednesday 13 January 2010).
He will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on 30 April 2010, where he will also be sentenced for a rape and distributing and possessing indecent images of children, charges to which he has previously pleaded guilty.
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.
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 Savigar 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:
“Savigar is clearly a dangerous, predatory and shameless individual who took advantage of the innocent nature of his victims in order to carry out his wicked crimes. The public needs to be protected from him.
“I would like to praise the bravery of the victims in this case who have provided evidence in what have been extremely difficult circumstances. I hope that they will now be able to move forward with their lives knowing that this evil offender is behind bars and cannot harm anyone else.”
Temporary Detective Inspector Bev Foster, from the Cold Case Team, added:
“This case demonstrates the importance of working in partnership with other police agencies. CEOP, South Ribble CID and the Cold Case Investigation Team all worked hard to ensure Savigar was brought to justice and it should serve as a reminder to offenders that they cannot escape justice, regardless of when their crimes were committed.
“We will continue to hunt you down, regardless of the passage of time, and will utilise all the latest advances in technology available to us. 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 (CEOP) Centre, said:
“Were it not for the investigation into his online offending, detectives might not have been able to identify and link this individual to these awful stranger assaults on children to which today he has pleaded guilty.
“Investigations such as this not only require UK and international law enforcement agencies to work together – collaborations which goes from strength to strength – but also require the dedication and professionalism of the investigating officers. Indeed, CEOP were delighted to recognise Lancashire Constabulary’s investigation team earlier this year at the annual CEOP Awards for their “Outstanding Contribution to Online Investigation and Child Protection” and presented this award to South Ribble CID.”
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.
