MAN WHO ABDUCTED TWO CHILDREN SENTENCED IN CORNWALL COURT
A judge at Truro Crown Court expressed surprise that no psychiatric assessment had been carried out before he sentenced a man who abducted two children during what was described as a mental health breakdown.Thomas Beckett appeared before the court charged with two counts under the Child Abduction Act following an incident earlier this year, in which he took two children and drove them through Cornwall and to a village in north Devon.
The children were both under 14.
The court heard that Beckett, of no fixed abode in Barnstaple, had spoken of calendars needing 13 months instead of 12.
He talked of people ascending to “5D consciousness,” and that he could "activate" people.
He had bundled the children into a vehicle and ignored 23 phone calls during the time he failed to return them.
During the journey, Beckett told the children "an evil entity" was trying to kill him.
He made them discard their phones, claiming they were being tracked, and drove erratically for hours.
To “protect their energy,” he instructed the children to chant: “We are safe.” The children were frightened, and after the car ran out of fuel, they spent the night inside it.
Beckett stayed awake, fearing “evil spirits” had been sent, and woke the children to make them chant phrases including “We love each other,” “Please forgive us,” and “We love Jesus.” Fuel was eventually obtained from a nearby village, but local suspicions, prompted by media reports, led to police being alerted.
The children were missing for a total of 18 hours.
Beckett was arrested and later pleaded not guilty in magistrates’ court to the charge of "detaining a child so as to keep him / her from a person having lawful control".
He was remanded in custody and later changed his plea to guilty.
Defense barrister Christopher Cuddihee said Beckett had never harmed the children, who later stated they did not feel threatened.
Judge James Adkin questioned the absence of psychiatric evidence.
“Is it a mental health issue?
In which case, how do I protect the public from another breakdown?” he asked, noting the probation report failed to explain Beckett’s “bizarre” behaviour.
The judge imposed a five-year restraining order and sentenced Beckett to 12 months in prison.
“I don’t understand why you behaved like you did,” Judge Adkin said.
“There’s no explanation from your counsel and no psychiatric evidence.
It doesn’t appear to have been motivated by substance abuse.”
