A well regarded educator and cornerstone of his community has been revealed as a predatory paedophile whose exploitation severely impacted the lives of two boys.
David Williams, aged 83, exploited his status to manipulate and sexually assault the victims numerous times over a decade.
Williams, residing on Widemouth Road in Bude, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to multiple charges of indecent assault and gross indecency with a minor that occurred in the 1980s. During the prosecution, Lee Bremridge informed the court that Williams was held in such high regard within the community that both victims would stay overnight at his residence with their parents’ consent, since he had established a friendship with them.
Williams manipulated the victims by fostering an enjoyable atmosphere that encouraged free dialogue, gaming, piano playing, and extended hours beyond their typical home restrictions. Williams would prepare pancakes, then they would visit the shore to gather pebbles.
Nevertheless, upon retiring for the night, Williams would sexually assault the two young boys, thereafter rising in the morning to attend church as they remained in his bed, awaiting their transportation just a short distance away. One of the victims, termed survivors by Judge Simon Carr, was merely six years old when Williams initially sexually assaulted him.
The first complainant said that he was at first too young to realise what was happening and that the abuse was, to him, so regular it was “completely normal”. The court then heard two incredibly moving victim impact statements. The first complainant spoke of how his life has been a cycle of vulnerability, anger and suicidal thoughts.
He said: “Nowhere is safe and there are triggers everywhere. I’m not even safe when I close my eyes and try to sleep and memories keep coming back and taunting me. The abuse had a huge effect on my relationships with friends and family and my ability to cope with work.”
The man said that he blames the establishment for Williams being a teacher in a position of trust. The abuse left him no longer wanting to go to school and the complainant described how he’d make himself sick or cover his face with talcum powder so he looked ill so he didn’t have to go and face Williams.
He went on to state how he lived a lonely life, with two failed marriages, as he pushed away anyone who tried to get close. He spoke of being physically sick when seeing Williams in a pub. He added: “There is nothing historic about historic sexual abuse.”
The second survivor addressed Williams directly in the dock. Speaking to Williams, he said: “David Williams, or as I used to call you Uncle David by the sea. At first I was too young to know what you were doing or why. I was too young to know you were grooming me. You were already a widely respected teacher at Budehaven School.
“I don’t know how many times you abused me. There were simply too many. It started while I was at primary school and ended 10 years later. The effects have been destructive and long-lasting. Years after the physical abuse finished the emotional abuse continues and lives with me to this day.
“When I stayed with you we’d play the piano and you’d tell me about your travels around the world. As a child it was fun, exciting, different. You knew that and created that environment deliberately. I trusted you completely and you were my friend, or at least that is what I thought. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
The man told the court how Williams told him that he had exposed himself to Williams, a lie to make the victim think he started what was the sexual behaviour.
He added: “After you’d finished you pat my bottom and say well done or thank you. You then went to St Michael’s Church and everyone else would see the other side of you. They didn’t know a child had just been sexually abused in your bed just a minute away. At church you were a friend and at home you were a paedophile.
“Outside this courtroom you are well-known, popular and with friends all over the world. You had the trust and friendship of everyone I knew. My parents didn’t know it but you were manipulating them too.”
The man went on to reveal how Williams continued to send his parents postcards and Christmas cards right up to the start of pandemic. One such postcard outlined how busy Williams was with various trips, saying that his life was never dull.
He said: “Your behaviour was predatory and prolific and you kept it hidden for decades. You convinced and fooled everyone but not anymore. Your past has finally caught up with you.”
Representing Williams, Ramsay Quaife said his best mitigation was his early pleas and his poor health. He went on to note Williams’ previous good character before being interrupted by Judge Carr who said Williams’ life was a fraud from the beginning.
Sentencing Williams, Judge Carr said: “You were a teacher at what was then Bude Grammar School. I have read a significant number of references that paint a picture of one side of your life. That side was that you were a well-respected and loved teacher who attended church and sang in the choir. You were the epitome of a pillar of the community.
“But at the same time you were singing in the choir you were abusing children as young as six. The abuse was possible because of your position in society. You encouraged children to come to your house. They described it as a fun place to go. Games were played, rules were relaxed and children were allowed to stay overnight. You did this entirely to groom them.
“We’ve heard two extremely moving victim impact statements. Both knew your standing and who would be believed if they spoke out. That’s why you were able to get away with the abuse for so long. The abuse was systematic and sustained and went on for over a decade with abuse taking place on at least hundreds of occasions.
“These were both young men – I will call them survivors – who have struggled with what you have done. You are a predatory paedophile who groomed young children over a prolonged period of time for your own sexual gratification.
“You still believe in some way the children were responsible. A graphic example is how you reacted to one of the most moving victim impact statements. You found room to laugh and shake your head and when he spoke of a period of time when he wrongly blamed himself you nodded your head vigorously indicating you felt the child was responsible for the abuse you carried out.
“This had a devastating effect on both victims and I suspect you are wholly indifferent.”
Judge Carr noted Williams’ age and his bad health but said his previous good character means nothing. Williams was jailed for 16 years of which he must serve two thirds. He gestured goodbye to his supporters as he left the dock.
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