BOOKHAM PAEDOPHILE PATRICK COLLYER ESCAPES JAIL AFTER SEXUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH TEENAGERS IN THE US AND WALES

In April 2018, a disturbing case emerged involving Patrick Collyer, a 24-year-old resident of Bookham, who was convicted of serious offences related to child exploitation and online grooming. Collyer, living on Little Bookham Street, faced multiple charges after a lengthy investigation revealed his involvement in the possession, distribution, and downloading of hundreds of indecent images of children, alongside attempts to incite teenage boys into sexual activities via social media platforms.

The court proceedings took place at Guildford Crown Court, where Collyer pleaded guilty to nine separate charges. These included the possession of indecent images, which depicted children as young as nine years old, with the collection comprising a mixture of Category A, B, and C images and videos. The images' estimated average age was around 14, highlighting the disturbing nature of his collection.

Additionally, Collyer was found to have engaged in online conversations with two teenage boys, claiming to be 16 years old himself. One of these conversations involved a 15-year-old boy from Michigan, USA, while the other was with a 14-year-old from Wales. During these exchanges, there was talk of trading explicit photos and engaging in sexual activities, with the Welsh boy being specifically mentioned in relation to penetrative sexual acts. Although Collyer was 18 or 19 at the time of these chats, he falsely claimed to be 16, raising further concerns about his intentions.

The investigation was initiated after Surrey Police received information from US law enforcement agencies indicating that a Twitter account associated with Collyer had uploaded images of children. Authorities traced the IP address used to access the account back to Collyer’s home in Bookham and also to the University of Sussex, where he was studying at the time. Following his arrest on August 8, 2016, police seized his electronic devices, uncovering additional indecent images stored on two laptops.

Prosecutor Robert Brown highlighted the extent of Collyer’s online activity, noting that he had used Twitter for approximately two years, during which he uploaded and shared a significant volume of images. Brown emphasized that while there was no evidence of penetration, Collyer’s conversations and online searches indicated a clear intent to incite sexual activity with minors, particularly targeting teenage boys and gay teenagers.

Collyer’s Twitter account, which had 507 followers, was used to send and post images of children, and he followed accounts that appeared to belong to boys under 16 who identified as gay. His online behavior demonstrated a disturbing pattern of targeting vulnerable minors, with the most serious charge involving inciting a 14-year-old boy from Wales to engage in penetrative sexual activity. For this offence, Collyer was sentenced to two years in prison, a reduction from an initial three-year sentence, but the sentence was suspended for two years.

Judge Alexia Durran addressed Collyer directly, stating, “There is the volume of images and there will be a large number of victims. The defence says this is an exceptional case. You are described as vulnerable, anxious, and depressed, and you were, at the time, very isolated.”

As part of his sentencing, Collyer is required to register as a sex offender for ten years, participate in rehabilitation programs, and adhere to strict conditions set by the court. These include restrictions on his computer use and a prohibition on any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, as part of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order aimed at preventing further harm.