August 2023

Boys, 13 and 14, found hiding on window ledge and down side of bed at paedo’s home

Police found a schoolboy hiding down the side of a paedophile’s bed and another on the window ledge of his third-storey flat, a court heard.

Gareth Bullock, who is banned from contact with boys after he was caught with vile indecent images, attempted to feign ignorance when officers found two youngsters hidden in his apartment in the earlier hours, in violation of the previous court order.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that police responded to a 999 call and went to his flat in Kensington at around 4.15am on July 15 this year where Bullock, 40, claimed he was alone on answering the door.

But inside, police found a 14-year-old boy “hiding down the side of his bed”.

A 13-year-old boy was then discovered “hidden outside”, standing on the narrow window ledge of the third-floor unit.

Shannon Stewart, prosecuting, said that the teen had been “at great risk of danger”, given his precarious position.

Despite this, Bullock “claimed to be unaware they were in his flat”

He was previously banned from having unsupervised contact with boys under the age of 16 under the terms of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order he was handed in August 2013, having been convicted of making and possessing indecent images at Preston Crown Court.

His other criminal conviction came in February this year, when he was given a community order for breaching his SHPO.

This also followed a police visit to the complex where Bullock lived. The same 14-year-old boy was found in a communal area at this time and reported he had been in the defendant’s flat.

Sentencing, Recorder David Knifton KC said: “It seems to me plain that you were aware they were there. You denied you had any sexual interest in those teenagers and there is no evidence of any sexual motive, but the court is understandably deeply concerned of the risks given your history.

“I accept that you are a vulnerable adult – you have learning difficulties and a history of alcohol misuse. I take into account your vulnerability and, to some extent, that others might have taken advantage of you.”

Bullock admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order and breaching a community order. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.