October 2022

Child rapist sent back to jail for flouting order to stay away from girls

A child rapist has been sent back to prison after he started a relationship with the mother of two young daughters after being released from jail.

Gary Mills moved back to his home town of Okehampton after serving half of a 12 year sentence imposed at Truro Crown Court in 2010, but was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restricted his contact with children.

He met a woman who had four children, including two daughters aged ten and 12, in 2018 and started a relationship with her without telling either the probation officer who supervised his prison licence or his police offender manager from the public protection unit.

He stayed at the family home in West Devon and went on outings to a circus, shops and restaurants with the whole family, including the two children.

He lied to the police when they asked him if he was in a relationship in January 2021 and it was another seven months before officers found out the truth.

Mills was jailed in 2010 after a work colleague at a double glazing firm in Cornwall spotted him watching a video he had made on his phone of him orally raping a nine-year-old girl.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting the child and of 15 counts of possessing indecent images or videos he had made of the victim.

Mills, aged 58, of Macey’s Terrace, Okehampton, and formerly of Glen Park, Liskeard, pleaded guilty to breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was jailed for a year and four months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘You entered a relationship in secrecy from social services and the police with a mother with four children including two girls and spent time in the company of her and her children.

‘Whether or not she knew about your convictions is small beer compared to the fact that you kept it quiet from the authorities. You were flagrantly lying either explicitly or by omission.

‘While your motivation may have been to maintain your relationship with the mother rather than to gain access to the girls, the order was in place to enable the authorities to ensure safeguarding. This was a very persistent breach.’

Mr Tom Bradnock, prosecuting, said Mills met the mother after being released in February 2015 and later started a relationship with her in which he went on family outings including to a circus and meals.

There was a specific requirement in the SHPO for him to tell his offender manager and social services about any contacts with children or relationships with mothers who had under age girls.

April 2015: Gary Mills has been released early. Now living in Okehampton

January 2010

Paedophile who raped girl and filmed it jailed for 12 years

A vile paedophile who raped a girl who was aged under 10 years old and filmed his vile crimes on a mobile phone to show people has been jailed for 12 years.

Gary Mills, 45 was only brought to justice when he revealed the images to a work colleague, who alerted the police.

Mills had groomed the young girl by asking her to be his girlfriend, giving her money and buying her underwear.

As Mills, who has convictions for violence and burglary, was led from the dock at Truro Crown Court to begin his sentence, the family of the child wept.

A man in the group shouted at Mills, of Glen Park, Pensilva, Liskeard, “Rot in hell.”

Mills had admitted:

  1. Two counts of rape of a child

  2. One of sexual assault of a child

  3. Eight of making indecent images of a child

  4. Seven of possessing indecent images of a child

Note: One count of rape, which Mills denied and on which the Crown offered no evidence, was ordered to lie on file.

The indecent images were of his victim and other young girls, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Andrew MacFarlane said the crimes only came to light when Anthony Pearce started work at the home improvement firm where Mills was employed. “As a part of his induction, he was allocated to work with the defendant. The defendant then proceeded to show Mr Pearce a number of indecent images, including those of young girls.”

Disgusted, Mr Pearce reported it to police. Officers seized Mills’ telephones and computer equipment, where the indecent images were found.

For Mills, Rupert Taylor said it was “a grave matter” but Mills’ guilty pleas had saved his victim the trauma of having to give evidence before a court.

Judge Christopher Elwen told Mills: “Your lack of insight is especially worrying. You are not willing toface your offences.” Mills was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life, disqualified from working with children and made the subject of an indefinite Sex Offenders Prevention Order.

Judge Elwen paid tribute to Mr Pearce and ordered the court to reward him with £500. I commend Anthony Pearce for his public-spirited actions,” he said. “His actions put an end to this child’s appalling abuse and suffering.”

He also paid tribute to Dc Sara Ward, saying: “Her analysis of the images clearly demonstrated diligence and attention to detail which brought this case to a swift conclusion.”