VAUGHAN EVANS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON IN BRIGHTON FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES

In December 2003, Vaughan Evans, a man who described himself as a minister and a member of the Spiritual Humanist Church, began serving a five-year prison sentence for a series of child sex offences. Evans, aged 51 and a grandfather, was convicted of two counts of indecently assaulting a boy. He had started grooming the victim when he was as young as seven before later posting perverted images of him on one of his websites.

At the time of the offences, Evans resided on Colwell Chine Road in Freshwater. Following his arrest, he moved to Albion Road, Brighton, after a police operation that originated in Croatia. Portsmouth Crown Court was informed that this operation, known as Cranford, was launched after Croatian officials discovered an email from Evans requesting images of children under the age of three.

Evans admitted to multiple charges, including two counts of indecent assault on the boy, two counts of possessing indecent images, two counts of distributing such images, one count of inciting others to distribute them, and 20 counts of creating them. These offences spanned a 34-month period, culminating on July 23.

Prosecutor Robert Bryan explained that Evans's home in Freshwater was raided early on July 23 after the Croatian link was established. During the investigation, police seized Evans’s computer. He initially denied the allegations, claiming that someone from an Islamic country might have been framing him due to his criticisms of injustices there.

He told police, “I know my memory is up the shoot, but I think I would remember doing something as nasty as that.” However, as evidence such as images, details of two pornographic websites, and a paedophile site came to light, Evans fully confessed.

It was revealed that he acted as a moderator and administrator for these groups, controlling access.

Authorities found a total of 2,043 indecent images on his computer's hard drive and 64 floppy disks, nearly 70% of which depicted children. Forty-four of these images showed sadistic acts involving children, classified as the most serious category.

Evans was described as previously having good character. His barrister, Jenny Knight, acknowledged that her client recognized there was little mitigation for his crimes but highlighted his cooperation. She stated, “He has suffered kidney damage as a result of suicide attempts on a number of occasions. The most serious was in mid-September last year when he was in hospital for three weeks.”

She added, “He has genuine feelings of shame and remorse. He will take part in rehabilitation courses in prison, and a sentence with an end will allow him to plan for rebuilding his life and avoiding past mistakes.”

Judge Tom MacKean, who had viewed some of the material, sentenced Evans and commented on the harm caused. He said, “I have seen from the expressions on the faces of some of these children how they must have suffered to deliver the titillation that people like you wish to experience.”