On Tuesday, 12 May, a man from North Yorkshire received a custodial sentence following his conviction for multiple child sexual abuse offences.
David Dever, aged 55 and residing in Bedale, appeared before Chester Crown Court after admitting to several online child sex crimes.
The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Dever confessed to two counts of arranging or facilitating child sex offences and seven counts of distributing indecent images of children.
The investigation revealed that, on 30 July 2025, Dever engaged in online communications with an individual he believed to be an adult woman, during which he disclosed his sexual interest in children.
He also expressed his intentions to abuse her children, and they planned to meet with the aim of committing serious sexual offences against a minor.
On 27 August, Dever traveled to the location they had agreed upon, where he was arrested by officers from the NWROCU’s Internet Child Abuse Team.
During the arrest, his mobile phone was seized and later examined for forensic evidence.
The analysis uncovered more than 1,700 videos and images of children, encompassing categories A, B, and C.
Court Outcome
Conviction and Sentencing Details
Sentenced
Detected legal outcome
d residing in Bedale, appeared before Chester Crown Court after admitting to several online child sex crimes. The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and placed him on the...
Prison sentence
10 years
The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and placed him on the Sex Offenders' Register for life
Court order
life
The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and placed him on the Sex Offenders' Register for life