Sex offender posing as police officer convicted after kidnapping schoolgirl as she walked to school in West Sussex

The Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] said David Young, a previously convicted sex offender was wearing a yellow high-visibility jacket, when he approached her in Crawley in October 2021.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, the CPS added.

This was imposed in 2012, after he was found guilty of rape and other sexual offences against children and was prohibited from having any contact with children, the CPS added.

A CPS spokesperson said: “Young proceeded to show the teenager what appeared to be a police identification badge in a black case and forced her to go with him to a secluded area by some garages under the pretence of performing a stop and search.

“A children’s flashing LED light similar to a police siren on his bike added to the impression that he was a police officer.

“Young proceeded to search the girl’s bag, coat, and blazer, before changing his mind about going through with any sexual offence and allowed her to leave.

"The girl called her mother, who alerted police, but the next morning, while driving her daughter to school, they spotted the man on his bike, managing to take several photographs clearly identifying Young as the defendant.

“A few minutes later, Young collided with a car, though continued to cycle up the road. The driver, after checking to see if he was unhurt, saw him disposing of a number of items, including his bike’s LED lights and a zip-lock bag containing blue ‘latex’ gloves, lubricant, and a packet of condoms. These were all later retrieved by police.

“He was arrested a couple of hours later and tests showed DNA matches to the items in the bin. Investigators also found the yellow hi-visibility jacket and a spray can resembling a CS gas spray carried by police officers in nearby bushes. The defendant was also found in possession of plastic handcuffs and a key and a stab vest was later found at his place of work.”

The CPS said Young pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was today [Thursday, March 23] found guilty of committing an offence with the intent to commit a sexual offence at Lewes Crown Court, the CPS added.

Jayne Cioffi, a senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East in the specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team, said: “This was clearly a traumatic experience for a young girl on her way to school.

“David Young went to great lengths to make himself look to the untrained eye like a police officer, so that he could lure a child away for his own depraved needs.

“A convicted sexual offender, he was already prohibited by law from approaching any children, such was the danger he was considered to pose to them.

“We understand the trauma felt by the victim and commend her bravery in supporting this prosecution. I hope this guilty verdict provides some comfort to her and her family.”