'Worst' Paedophile Jailed

A 65 year old man was today jailed for 20 years after a 30-year campaign of sexual abuse against young children which the trial judge described as the worst ever to come before the courts.

Robert Smith, of Scarborough, was jailed at York Crown Court after pleading guilty to 42 sex offences, including rape against 21 children between 1954 and 1984.
Sentencing Smith, Judge Paul Hoffman stated, “If the sentence that is passed results in you dying in prison, that’s no more than you deserve.”

The judge told the court that in the law book, Thomas’s Sentencing Encyclopaedia, there was no case “that’s as bad as this one”. The judge also said the case was made even more serious by the “sheer scale of wickedness” and Smith’s “callous regard” for his victims’ feelings.

Smith had showed a “prolonged and insatiable depravity” and admitted many more sex offences against children to probation officers.

The judge also stated, “Yours is the worst case of its type that I’ve ever encountered in nearly 42 years of criminal practice. It stands apart in its sheer scale of wickedness and your callous disregard for the victims’ feelings. For 30 years you abused the trust placed in you by parents and children alike.
You dominated these children by your presence and behaviour. They were terrified of you and you abused them through fear.”

The court heard that the 42 offences lead to some of the victims developing nervous personalities, stammers and stuttering. Many were still traumatised, the judge said.

Smith, wearing a grey T-shirt and blue tracksuit bottoms, occasionally shook his head during the sentencing.
As he was led from the court in handcuffs, several of his victims in the packed public gallery shouted “Rot in hell” at the defendant - Smith responded by making a V-sign with his hand.

Turning to the public gallery, the judge commented, “Your outbursts are entirely understandable and I have nothing but sympathy for your suffering.”