The Sentencing Council took advice from convicted paedophiles about sentencing for child sex offences

Convicted paedophiles Tom O’Carroll and Stephen King both influenced legal panels about sentencing for paedophile offences. O’Carroll advised the Sentencing Council. King advised the Metropolitan Police, the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Law Commission, and the Probation Service.

Sunday Express, 15th September 2002

Child porn ‘expert’ jailed for abusing young girls

The Guardian, 17th March 2004

A man who offered advice to judges on the sentencing of users of child pornography and lectured police about paedophilia was jailed for seven years yesterday for sexually abusing three young girls.

 Stephen King, whose name appears in an advisory report submitted to appeal court judges, took photographs and made videos of himself with the children.

 He was caught only after police searched his south London home as part of an investigation into benefits fraud and officers noticed pornography near his computer terminal.

 When detectives investigated his background they found he was jailed in 1989 – under a different name – for six months for gross indecency and making indecent material. He was also investigated in 1999 on suspicion of indecent assault but there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

 Officers also discovered that he had worked close to children for years as a tutor, ath- letics coach and photographer. They fear he may have abused many more girls.

 Child protection experts last night expressed concern that a man like King was able to pass himself off with such apparent ease as a respectable adviser.

 Middlesex Guildhall crown court heard that despite his disturbing background King, 54, was able to set himself up as an expert on child protection issues.

 Peter Zinner, prosecuting, said: “He had lectured to various criminal justice conferences at which the Metropolitan police, CPS, the Probation Service and other interested agencies were present.

 “In 2002 the defendant submitted advice to the sentencing advisory panel on offences involving child pornography. He was credited in the final recommendations to the court of appeal alongside the Law Society, Bar Council, the Law Commission and the Probation Service.”

 The barrister said King had abused the girls between 1996 and 2000. They were nine, 10 and 11.

 He kept a diary detailing each sexual encounter as well as taking more than 500 indecent photographs. He blacked out the windows of his home to make better conditions for photography.

 A 40-minute videotape recovered by the police was considered “unique”, the court was told, because it showed an offender grooming a victim and then abusing her.

 The oldest of the girls feels guilty for not stopping the abuse while the youngest, who has learning difficulties, has blocked out much of what happened. The middle girl has attempted to commit suicide by slashing her wrists.

 King, of Herne Hill, south London, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, ten counts of indecent assault, six counts of indecency with a child under 13 and four counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.

 Passing sentence, Judge Fabyan Evans told King: “You have pleaded guilty to a catalogue of grave offences which display depravity, corruption and consistent behaviour on three young girls.

 “You profess to be an expert on child abuse and were fully aware of the degradation you were doing to your victims.”

 Outside court Detective Inspector Neil Thompson, of the Met’s paedophile unit, described King as a “devious predatory paedophile”. He believes King, who has lived in several parts of the UK and changed appearance many times, may have committed “scores of similar offences over the years”. The Met released photographs of King hoping that they would prompt other victims to come forward.

 John Carr, an adviser for the charity NCH, said the case had “echoes” of Soham where vetting failures allowed Ian Huntley to get a job close to children though he had been accused of sex offences.

 Luis Macchiavello, director of Infolog with which King was linked, said: “He was a speaker in our events. I can’t recall how many events he spoke at. We have hundreds if not thousands of people who speak at our events.”

 King’s name features in a 2002 report on child pornography submitted by the sentencing advisory panel, whose members are appointed by the lord chancellor, to the appeal court. Lesley Dix, secretary to the panel, said his name was included only because he offered a response to a consultation paper. His opinion had not been actively sought.

 A spokesman for the Met said King had not directly worked for the force.

Child porn expert who advised police admits sex abuse of girls

Evening Standard, 16th March 2004

AN EXPERT in child pornography who advised the Court of Appeal, Metropolitan Police and lawyers on how to protect children, systematically abused three young girls and had sex with one of them when she was 10, a court heard today.

 Stephen King, 54, would recommend appropriate sentences for paedophiles. But in his parallel life as an abuser, he videoed and photographed himself sexually assaulting his victims, aged between nine and 13.

 The recommendations he made to the Sentence Advisory Panel regarding child protection were adopted by the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Probation Service.

 King, of Herne Hill, is facing life imprisonment and is being sentenced later today after admitting having sex with a girl under 13; 10 counts of indecent assault; six charges of indecency with a child and four of taking indecent photographs of a child.

 Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court heard that at the same time as he was making speeches at police conferences on child abuse, King was compiling a depraved library containing 565 sickening images of him abusing his victims. He had also kept a diary detailing each sexual encounter.

 He had been jailed by Tower Bridge magistrates under a different name for six months for gross indecency with a child in 1989, the court heard. He was caught in the current case when police raided his home to investigate whether he had defrauded social services, found suspicious literature and called in Scotland Yard’s paedophile unit.

 Peter Zinner, prosecuting, said all three victims had been deeply traumatised by the experience.

 One attempted suicide by taking an overdose and slashing her wrists with broken glass, while the eldest felt guilty and responsible because she thought she should have protected the younger two.

 King was investigated in 1999 on suspicion of indecent assault against the three girls, but not enough evidence was found to prosecute, the court heard.

 Police found King’s version of the investigation in the diary and a description of “how he got away with it in 1999”, said Mr Zinner.

• Paedophile Information Exchange
• Tom O'Carroll