Andrew Pitcher: Roundhay Paedophile Jailed

A predatory paedophile from Roundhay with a "voracious enthusiasm for child pornography" is behind bars after trying to arrange a sex session with a father and his teenage daughter.
Andrew Pitcher, 56, also sent images from his "huge" child porn collection and explained how much he was looking forward to their get-together.

Later, he allegedly started "grooming" the 14-year-old online, encouraging her to perform a sex act and leaving little doubt what he wanted to do with her.

Eventually the curtain and blind maker travelled from his home at West Park Avenue to a south London tube station.

But he was met by officers from the Met's Paedophile Unit and discovered the "father and daughter" were really undercover officers.

A jury took just 20 minutes to convict him of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, and one of trying to incite her to engage in sexual activity.

He was remanded in custody until September 11, when he will be sentenced for those offences as well as 10 admitted charges of making child porn, 10 of distributing it and two possession counts.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard following his arrest his home was searched and computers seized.

"Experts found one contained a huge number of indecent images of children," said Hannah Llewellyn-Waters, prosecuting.
Of the 76,000 recovered, over 10,000 were analysed and "revealed his voracious enthusiasm for child pornography".

They featured the sexual abuse of very young children through to girls in their very early teens, and ranged from "naked posing" to the most serious "level five" category.

Police also discovered he had used various internet identities to
communicate with 900 other people. He had sent child porn to more than 200 of them.

In an online exchange he agreed it was important to "keep low as too many were getting caught".

She told the court Pitcher first contacted "Tony" ? the undercover officer posing as "Helen's" father ? last October.

The barrister said the defendant detailed his sexual preference for young girls and shared some of his illicit pictures of youngsters.
Eventually, the exchanges moved on to what he would like to do with the 14-year-old.

Internet chat, texts and phone calls with the "schoolgirl" followed, as did his alleged attempt to get her to perform a sexual act.

On February 20 this year he came to London for what he had described as a "fun" sex session.

"However, the defendant was not met by Helen," said counsel.

"Instead he was met by officers from the Paedophile Unit."

Roundhay Today