“It is very rare indeed that a judge has to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale as this,” said Judge Peter Rook during sentencing, noting that Huckle will be required to spend a minimum of 25 years in jail for the 71 offenses.
“It is also clear that, had you not been arrested, you planned to continue the same lifestyle using the expertise that you were keen to show off to and share with other abusers so as to continue your sexual exploitation of the children of such communities.”
The Washington Post reports:
In both countries, Huckle cultivated an altruistic, Christian image founded upon an alleged passion for teaching English and spreading Bible stories. He posted thousands of images on Facebook showing him happily interacting with children, and he was included in a promotional video created by the British Council in Malaysia, according to BuzzFeed.
James Traynor, of the National Crime Agency’s child exploitation and online protection command, told the BBC that it was all a ruse. He said Huckle intentionally traveled to a part of the world where he thought he could carry out sexual assaults on children without being caught.
“Richard Huckle groomed those children and he groomed them to the point where he was certain that no matter what he did to them they would not tell their parents of the abuse they suffered from him,” said Traynor.
In addition to a library of 20,000 photographs and videos, many of which documented his crimes, investigators found that he had kept a kind of scorecard, on which he would grant himself points based on the child and the assault. They also found a guide, written by Huckle and ready for publication on the Dark Web, entitled, “Pedophiles & Poverty: Child Lover Guide.”
Image via Getty.
