‘Vile’ Littlehampton man, 71, guilty of abusing two boys

John Clawson, in 2012, who has now been convicted of historic child sex offences

Last Monday (September 8), John Clawson, 71, of Highdown Drive, Littlehampton, was convicted of a range of historic sex offences against the two boys, aged eight and 15 at the times their ordeals began.

Now, one of his victims has spoken exclusively to the Gazette of his relief after Clawson was convicted, following a hearing at Amersham Law Courts, in Buckinghamshire.

The 37-year-old man, who for legal reasons cannot be identified, branded the pensioner as ‘vile’ and ‘sick’.

In a telephone interview he said: “He is the lowest of the low. To do this in the first place is wrong but to do it to two children that were so obviously vulnerable really is disgusting.”

Clawson was convicted after pleading not guilty to seven different counts of indecent assault.

The offences against the two victims took place between July 1, 1988, and March 23, 1993, at different locations in Middlesex and Amersham.

He was found guilty of six charges but was acquitted of one of the indecent assaults.

The victims, who do not live locally, plucked up the courage to report Clawson to the authorities after seeing a series of photos on Facebook of the man with a number of youngsters.

The victim said: “It was seeing this that made me think to myself that ‘no, this is not right’.

“I didn’t want this to happen to anyone else so then was the right time.”

Clawson’s abuse was reported initially to the Metropolitan Police in 2012.

The incident was then passed on to Thames Valley Police.

Detective Sergeant Malcolm Wheeler, of the Buckinghamshire Child Abuse Investigation Unit, was leading the investigation.

He said: “This was an historic case which happened in the Amersham area and although the offences date back to the 1980s, this conviction shows that Clawson has not been able to escape justice.

“The victims have shown great courage in coming forward to tell police about the horrific acts that Clawson carried out, and I hope that the knowledge that Clawson has been found guilty of these offences and will be punished for his crimes will help the victims to move on from their ordeals.”

Clawson will be sentenced on October 10.

The 37-year-old victim said that he cried when he heard of Clawson’s conviction.

“But the most over-whelming feeling was vindication,” he added. “We had to wait 22 years for this.”