August 2020

‘Predatory’ paedophile Wakefield councillor Alex Kear jailed for arranging to abuse three-year-old

A paedophile councillor who arranged to engage in sex acts with a fictional three-year-old girl, saying he had waited “years for something like this to happen”, has been jailed.

Alex Kear, 50, of Stansfield Drive, Castleford who was an Independent on Wakefield Council, thought he was meeting with the mother of a toddler after sending her indecent requests.

But the woman was an undercover police officer, Leeds Crown Court heard on Friday.

Kear, who will now lose his seat, was jailed for four years and ordered to serve an extended licence period of two years due to him posing “a high risk of serious harm to children”.

Judge Simon Phillips QC told him: “I have no doubt that if that three-year-old girl had existed you would have intended to carry out your degenerate predatory plans against her.

“This is a deep-seated degeneracy on your behalf, as illustrated by the communications you have made that you have been interested in little girls for as long as you can remember and that you have waited years for something like this to happen.”

Kear admitted last month a charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence and another of inciting the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 13.

At the time, Wakefield Council said it was frustrated it could not remove him from his position as a councillor because the law said this can only be done when defendants are jailed for three months or more.

On Friday, Judge Phillips was told how, over the period of a month, Kear sent a picture of his genitals to the officer he thought was the child’s mother along with depraved messages about what he wanted to do to the youngster.

According to Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, Kear said: “The older I get the younger I seem to like. Twenty years ago I would never had thought about a baby but now… young.”

Mr Sharp said the defendant met with the undercover police officer and had agreed to meet again with the fictional three-year-old on August 19, 2019.

But he was arrested three days before.

Kear had told the undercover officer: “The years I have waited for something like this to happen.”

Kear lied to police that he was a one-man-band paedophile hunter before admitting the offences in court

July 2020

Wakefield district councillor admits child sex charges

A Castleford councillor has admitted two child sex charges against a very young child

Alex Kear, who sits on Wakefield Council as an independent, admitted the charges when he appeared at Leeds Crown Court today 

The 50-year-old admitted one charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence involving a child under the age of 13.

Kear also admitted one charge of inciting the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 13.

The court heard Kear has no previous convictions and sentencing was adjourned to August 20 to allow time for pre sentence reports to be prepared.

Kear was granted bail until his sentencing hearing

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Kear: “The fact that I am adjourning your case for reports is no indication of the sentence that you will ultimately receive. All options remain open.”

Kear, of Stansfield Drive, Castleford, won his Airedale and Ferry Fryston seat from Labour at the local elections in May last year.