Sentenced to twenty-one years in prison and a seven-year licence extension, Seaford paedophile David Mould from East Sussex flew to Nepal and the Philippines to sexually abuse children and instructed others on online grooming of victims. After learning that a frequent user of the dark web child abuse site “Boyvids4” was most likely based in the United Kingdom, the National Crime Agency (NCA) started an investigation in 2019.
Under the nickname “Globetrotter,” David Mould shared his personal experiences with child abuse and gave extremely specific guidance on where to search for victims and how to get in touch with them to a great number of users. He also gave technical guidelines on how to encrypt devices and stop law enforcement from finding them.
Living in Seaford and arrested in April 2020, investigators were able to pinpoint the internet alias as David Mould, 68. NCA officials raided his house and business that same day, gathering many digital and electronic storage devices.
David Mould had copied some of his chat records from the internet to a hard disc. These underlined his place among other paedophiles, and several of them thanked him for his guidance. “You have been a great deal of help to me, you should write a paedo guide to help rookies like me not to make stupid mistakes and take advantage of opportunities,” some responded.
Another individual said: “You have done almost everything except buy me a plane ticket, bring the boy to my room, and unzip him.” This gave me the knowledge I need create a workable attack plan.
David Mould had set up a meeting with the same user in Nepal and showed him to several young guys he had earlier targeted. The user acknowledges in later contacts that he flew to the country and describes how he brought one of the lads back to his hotel room and had sex with him.
The NCA shared this information with US colleagues after determining the user was an American man called Michael Taylor. Taylor is now serving a 14-year prison sentence for child sex offences after being discovered in Nepal in March 2021.
Investigators connected David Mould’s travel history to consistent trips to the Philippines and Nepal he mentioned with other users, where he abused children. He also stored a collection of pictures and videos of his victims showing indecency.
They also proved that David Mould made many payments to people living in both countries. This covers money provided to an adult in the Philippines who brought young people as young as 13 for abuse.
Between 2016 and 2019 David Mould visited Nepal four times. Police who looked over his phone found chats with young Nepalese lads arranging to see them at his hotel following their graduation from school.
The NCA forward foreign law enforcement evidence from the investigation. Since then, the Philippines has seen three children safeguarded.
One of David Mould’s hard drives turned up over 100,000 pornographic images of minors in categories A-C along with four interactive paedophile manuals on strategies for mistreating youngsters and avoiding discovery.
David Mould admitted guilt to ten counts of promoting or encouraging child exploitation as well as twenty-four crimes, including four cases of sexual activity with minors under the age of thirteen.
Friday, June 23, he was sentenced to twenty-one years in prison and a seven-year extended licence period at Lewes Crown Court. Along with a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a life term on the Sex Offers Register, a forfeiture order to destroy devices containing offensive images of children, and a restraining order against victims, he was also given.
“David Mould is a chronic sexual predator who committed his time and money to exploiting children and inciting others to do the same,” Hazel Stewart of the National Crime Agency said. ” Other like-minded people online, where he gave offenders a safe environment in where their sexual needs were validated, plainly respected and appreciated him.
Knowing that the advice he provided directly resulted in people abusing others made David Mould happy. Offenders like him think they would be undetectable by flying to far-off locations to carry out their crimes and using anonymising techniques online.
The NCA, however, has the power to spot and stop the most serious offenders. Borders are not a barrier; we work closely with foreign partners to make sure vulnerable children are safeguarded wherever they are in the world and Britons who commit crimes overseas are punished in the UK.
The judge commended law enforcement personnel and NCA representatives in Nepal and the Philippines. Anyone who thinks they could have been victims of David Mould or has knowledge about his actions should get in touch with 0370 496 7622.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.