Five Hampshire Paedophiles locked up in 2020

Six men were handed prison hefty sentences in our region this year, for their sickening crimes against children.

Here is a round-up of the most prolific Hampshire paedophiles who have been jailed in 2020.

Ian Mace

Earlier this year, Ian Mace, then 51, travelled 400 miles to Scotland thinking he was going to meet a teenager he had been speaking to online.

Mace had sent her thousands of messages on WhatsApp and app Highfive over the course of a month.

But when he arrived at the destination, 'Kelly' was not there.

The girl who he thought he had been talking to was instead an adult from a group called 'Rising Against Online Predators', which describes itself as a "team who endeavour to take as many people who sexually exploit children online off the streets to make it a better place for children to grow up."

On Friday August 21, Mace was jailed for 30 months for the incident.

Keith Sayer

Keith Sayer collected the tranche of images, stored on a network of 19 devices, USB sticks and hard drives, in a “deliberate and systematic” filing system that caused “immeasurable” harm to babies and children “across the world”.

The court heard how his collection started immediately after he was released from prison after previously being found in possession of indecent images of children. 

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2014.

The 39-year-old admitted that he was “sick” and “obsessed” and told a psychiatrist that he was spending five hours a day looking at the images and movies.

Sayer, formerly of Bolton Crescent in South Ham, was also found in possession of six paedophile manuals, as well as cable ties, masking tape, bungee ties, children’s colouring sets and a newspaper article on the abduction of a child.

When they searched the devices, they found a “deliberate and systematic” filing system of the offending photographs and videos, which constituted more than 178,000 child sex abuse images, including of newborn babies and toddlers, 10,000 of which were category A.

Sayer was sentenced to 32 months in prison for the six charges of making indecent images – discounted for early guilty pleas – as well as two years for the breach of the SOPO, to be served consecutively.

For possessing six paedophile manuals, he was given a six-month custodial sentence to be served consecutively, resulting in a total prison term of three years and two months.

However, Recorder Feest admitted he is likely to only serve half of that sentence.

He ordered an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, an automatic disqualification from working with children and the forfeiture and destruction of the images and manuals.

Additionally, he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

James Sharrock

James Sharrock, 55, was given a community order in 2011 for possession of indecent images of children.

Winchester Crown Court heard that Surrey Police, the Met Police and Hampshire Constabulary had been investigating Sharrock when officers attend his address in Spicers Court on July 24, last year.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, said that 4,333 images were found on several of his devices, 2,069 of them were described as category A, said to be the worst type of indecent images.

The officer in the case PC Kristin McMahon said these “were some of the worst images of child abuse I’ve seen”, adding that they were “sadistic” showing “children tied up, degraded and suffering physical as well as sexual abuse”.

Some of the images also showed children that were drugged, with the age of those in the videos and pictures ranging from two months to 12-years-old.

Sharrock previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, possessing nine prohibited images of children and 638 extreme pornographic images.

Sharrock was jailed for two years and must be on the sex offender’s register for 10 years.

Michael Geoffrey Smith

Michael Geoffrey Smith befriended the parents of one of boys to convince them he could be trusted to be alone with him.

The judge ruled Smith had "caused him grave, permanent and serious psychological harm and impacted greatly on his life", labelling it "sick sexual abuse".

Smith, who previously lived in Freemantle Close, Oakridge, had denied seven charges of sexual abuse relating to incidents in the 1980s, before being convicted by a jury.

Guildford Crown Court had heard how the 66-year-old, who was also convicted for similar offences in the 1970s and 1990s, ran a film club in the early 1980s in his maisonette for children in the estate to attend.

Throughout the rest of the summer holidays, he sexually abused the primary school-age boy multiple times, claiming that he was teaching him about sex.

He said that it was "their secret" and that no one would believe the boy if he told them what had happened.

As a result of all the abuse, one victim admitted he had attempted to take his own life on more than one occasion.

Smith was sentenced to eight years in prison, of which he must serve two thirds. The sentence, which had a starting point of 12 years, was reduced on the grounds of his deteriorating health and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on prisoners.

He was also ordered to pay a total of £3,250 of compensation to the victims, and a £149 victim surcharge.

Stephen Boyt

Stephen Boyt was jailed at Southampton Court for twenty years.

The 70-year-old had faced nine counts including indecent assault and a single count of rape.

A jury found him guilty of the historical abuse which took place across Netley View, Calshot and Fawley between 1984 and 1996.

Boyt’s victim was seen sobbing and clutching a tissue during footage of a police interview played to members of the jury in November.

During the interview, it was said how Boyt would demand oral sex from his teenage victim.

Struggling to hold back tears, she said he told her no one would believe her claims he had abused her.

She finally reported the abuse to police in August 2018 after suffering a breakdown, the court heard.

Boyt of Beech Crescent, Hythe has a criminal history stretching back to 1967 with convictions for burglary, blackmail, robbery and ABH.

However, with no previous convictions for sexual offences he strenuously denied the charges against him claiming to be an innocent man.

After serving his sentence he will be released on licence.