A PREDATORY paedophile preyed on girls from around the country, subjecting them to bondage and fantasy acts, some of it filmed, and taking the virginity of at least two of his victims.
Perverted Andrew Pykett, who had met and groomed the girls over the internet, had sex with them in his car and at his home in Leamington, a judge at Warwick Crown Court has heard.
But his sick interest in under-age girls was exposed after staff and customers at a pub in Rotherham became concerned over his behaviour with a 15-year-old Pykett, who ran his own management consultancy, had travelled to see.
After ruling that 38 year-old Pykett, of Clarendon Crescent, was a dangerous offender, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC passed sentences totalling 15 years in jail, followed by an additional seven years on licence.
As well as standard prison terms totalling nine years, of which he will have to serve half, the judge imposed a consecutive six-year extended sentence – of which he will have to serve at least four years before the Parole Board can consider his release, and may have to serve the whole of that term.
The effect is that he will serve a total of at least eight-and-a-half years, and possibly ten-and-a-half, before he is freed, and will then be on licence for the remainder of the 15-year period and a further seven years.
Judge Lockhart told him: “You have offended in a quite appalling way for some seven or eight years.
“This exercise must focus first on your victims. Having read a set of quite heart-rending statements, I am drawn to conclude that your actions have done long-term harm to a number of people, many of whom were young girls.
“No sentence of this court can ever begin to reflect the misery your selfish conduct has led to.”
The judge detailed sex acts to which Pykett subjected various of his young victims, aged from 13 to 15 when he first made contact with them, dumping then when they were older.
They included the use of bondage, sex toys, making them dress up in latex and other outfits, and acting out fantasies including ‘father-and-daughter’ incest scenarios, and, in many cases, recording his sexual activity with them.
Pykett had pleaded guilty to seven charges of meeting girls aged 14 or 15 following sexual grooming online with intent to engage in sexual activity, and two of attempting to meet two further 14-year-old girls following grooming.
In relation to the seven girls he did meet, who came from various parts of the country including Birmingham and Nottingham, and as far afield as Wales, Wiltshire and Northumberland, he pleaded guilty to 20 offences of sexual activity with a child.
Those offences relating to sexual acts when he met the girls ranging from kissing one girl and touching her over her clothing to acts of full intercourse and oral sex with others.
He also pleaded guilty to trafficking one of the girls for sexual exploitation by arranging or facilitating her travel to Leamington from her home in London to commit sexual acts with her.
The court heard he had been preying on under-age girls since as early as September 2007, although the majority of the offences took place between 2011 and towards the end of 2015.
In addition Pykett pleaded guilty to taking indecent photographs of two of the girls he met, including a movie of one of them taking part in acts of bondage as well as sexual activity.
He also admitted three charges of making indecent images of a girl who lives in the United States by downloading images of her after contacting her online, as well as further charges of making indecent images and possessing MDMA and cannabis.
Prosecutor Michael Williams had told the court: “The defendant falls to be sentenced for sustained offending over a seven-year period when he contacted many teenage girls over the internet and met at least eight of them for sexual purposes.
“That included introducing some of them to bondage acts and on occasion filming it. Most of the offences would take place in his vehicle or in his home in Leamington. He would engage some of them in incestual role-play as father and daughter.”
Mr Williams said Pykett’s history of abuse finally came to light after he was seen acting inappropriately with a 15-year-old girl at a pub in Rotherham.
He had met that girl through Instagram, and they engaged in on-line chat before arranging to meet.
He drove to South Yorkshire, and on their first meeting they took his chocolate Labrador Lola for a walk before going to a hotel bar where they chatted and he then took her home.
On their second meeting, he stopped the car as he was taking her home, kissed her and touched her ‘princess parts’ over her clothing.
The third time, after kissing and cuddling, he took her to the Riverside pub in Rotherham, where the assistant manager became concerned at seeing him kissing her and holding her leg.
She tried to speak to her when the girl went to the toilet, but got no response, so contacted the police who were handed a CCTV recording from the pub, while a customer who was also concerned had taken the number of Pykett’s car.
As a result, he was arrested at his home the following day, and officers seized his phone and computer, on which they found evidence linking him to even more serious offences against other girls, many of whom were traced by the police.
There were three indecent videos of him performing sex acts on a 14-year-old girl from Essex in the back of his car.
That girl was traced, and she revealed that after he had contacted her, they met at Rochford in Essex on three occasions and had had sex in his car on the station car park, once when he had turned up with outfits for her to wear and had tied her up.
Pykett took another 14-year-old on a trip to Bath as part of his grooming of her, later taking her back to his house where they had oral sex and full intercourse.
He also bought her bondage gear and used sex toys on her, but as she got older he began to lose interest in her.
A similar pattern emerged in relation to other victims who were as young as 13 when Pykett first contacted them, with intimate messages also being exchanged.
And even after he was arrested and bailed, Pykett was in contact with an American teenager, getting her to send him sexual images, said Mr Williams, who added that a number of other indecent images of children were found on his computer.
Kate Blackwell QC, defending, said: “The defendant fully accepts he must be sentenced to a custodial term of some length.
“He does not seek to minimise his behaviour or to blame any of these young girls.
“But while he accepts his behaviour was not acceptable, it was unlawful, and it was mortally questionable, there are circumstances which may be relevant to the level of culpability and the harm caused,” she argued.
She pointed out there was no indication of force – but the judge retorted: “But the offence against one of the girls is a grave matter, losing her virginity when tied up with cable ties in the back of his van on a car park.”
After jailing Pykett, Judge Lockhart added: “I turn to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. This has been a wide-ranging investigation, which has been brought together in a wholly expert way. I would wish commendations to all the officers and the CPS lawyers who have been involved.”
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Pykett has caused untold suffering to the teenage girls he sexually abused. These victims must now be given the help and support they need to rebuild their lives.”
“Sadly, Pykett’s predatory grooming tactics are a reminder of the dangers young people face on social media.
“It is vital that parents and carers talk to their children about staying safe online. Advice is available on our Net Aware website, or via the NSPCC and O2’s online safety helpline on 0808 800 5002.”
