Paedophile Jailed For Ten Years

A paedophile convicted last week has been jailed for 10 years at Isleworth Crown Court.

On Wednesday Dean Hardy, 52, was sentenced to eight and a half years each for three counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16 to be served concurrently and one and half years for one count gross indecency with a boy under 14 to be served consecutively.

He had previously been found guilty at the court on Friday, 6 January of these offences, which occurred between 1984 and 1991.

Hardy was jailed in 2009 for six years after he pleaded guilty to abusing young girls in Thailand and Cambodia.

Following this highly publicized conviction, where a Forensic Anthropology concluded that the distinctive freckles on the fingers of a hand seen in abuse images were the same as Hardy's, four more victims contacted police with three providing statements.

Hardy was produced from prison on 7 May 2010 and was charged the same day a series offences that lead to his conviction and sentencing as above.

Upon sentencing the Judge told Hardy he was a man who is a danger to the public and a man who needs to be kept away from children, and that he needed to be 'punished for the degree of harm he caused both victims.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh from the Paedophile Unit said at the time of conviction: "I would like to thank the media for their coverage of this case which encouraged UK victims of Hardy to come forward. The case demonstrates that we are constantly looking at new and innovative techniques to capture and imprison paedophiles. The message is clear to paedophiles; we will be relentless in bringing you to justice, the passage of time - even if it is decades - is no guarantee that your crimes will not be solved.

"Most of all I would like to say thank you to our very brave victims, without your patience and support Hardy would not have been convicted. We appreciate how difficult it was to go through two trials.

"We have reason to believe Hardy may have committed offences against young male and female victims. We would urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim to have the confidence to report the incident to police. We are here to support and protect you."

(GK)