One of the UK’s worst paedophiles found dead in cell

Probe after he is found ‘stabbed’ in prison

A man who is described as one of the country’s worst ever paedophiles is thought to have been stabbed to death in his prison cell.

Richard Huckle, who originally came from Ashford, was convicted on 71 counts of serious sexual assaults against children while spending time in Malaysia.

The former Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone student took on the personas of a teacher, photographer and devout Christian while there to gain access to his victims.

He abused children ranging from three months to 12 years old over a 10-year period.

In June 2016, he was handed 22 life sentences with a minimum stint of 25 years before being able to apply for parole.

The 33-year-old, who regularly attended the Ashford Baptist Church, has often been described as one of the worst paedophiles in British history despite being arrested at the age of 28.

He was discovered in his cell at the Full Sutton prison near York, and an investigation is under way.

His death is being treated as suspicious with unconfirmed reports suggesting he was stabbed.

Humberside Police said: “An investigation has been launched following an incident at HMP Full Sutton on Sunday.

“We were called shortly after 12.30pm reporting that a man had died at the prison.

“Humberside Police are working closely with the Prison Service to investigate the death of an inmate and at this time we are treating the death as suspicious.”

A suspect is thought to have been identified but no arrests have been made.

At the time of his conviction, a court heard Huckle awarded himself points for how vile the offences were and even wrote a 60-page instruction manual ‘Paedos in Poverty: A Child Lovers Guide’ on how to groom children and how to distribute videos secretly on the dark web.

He boasted online that it was easier to abuse poor Asian children rather than wealthier Western ones.

His crimes included filming child rape and sexual assault which he posted for sale on the dark web via website called True Love Zone (TMZ) and for which he was paid in Bitcoin.

Some of his victims were living in children’s home while they were being abused, and Huckle would gain the trust of a community by providing English language tuition.

He first visited Malaysia in 2005.

Serial paedophile Richard Huckle was discovered dead in his cell at the weekend - and police are treating it as suspicious