Shoreham child abuser jailed after fleeing to Malta

A SEX OFFENDER who went on the run has been jailed for 44 months after failing to tell police of his whereabouts.
Roderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex PoliceRoderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex Police
Roderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex Police

Cops tracked convicted paedophile Roderick MacDonald, also known as Robinson, 77, to Malta from where he was extradited on October 17.

In 2012, he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for two sexual assaults, suspended for two years at Lewes Crown Court, after he touched two girls aged under ten in Shoreham. At the time his registered address was Upper Rock Gardens, in Brighton.

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Following his conviction, Robinson changed his name by deed poll to MacDonald and left the UK – a direct breach of his court-imposed registered sex offender requirement to notify probation and police of any proposed travel plans.

Roderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex PoliceRoderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex Police
Roderick MacDonald. Picture supplied by Sussex Police

In October, 2014, following a protracted investigation by Brighton and Hove detectives and other agencies including the National Crime Agency, he was located and arrested in Malta on an European Arrest Warrant. After this arrest, MacDonald appeared at a Maltese Court charged with importing and possessing indecent images of children found on his computer at the time.

He pleaded guilty to these charges on 18 October, 2014, and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in Malta.

He was handed over by Maltese authorities this October and was flown back to Sussex via Gatwick airport. He appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on October 19 and pleaded guilty to three offences of failing to comply with notification requirements while a registered sex offender, and was remanded in custody for sentencing.

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At Brighton Crown Court last Friday, he was sentenced to a total of three years and eight months imprisonment.

He had admitted failure to notify foreign travel before leaving the UK, failing to notify change of name, and failing to notify change of address, all in October 2012.

Thirty-two months of his sentence were imposed for breaching the terms of his sex offender registration requirement and 12 months of the sentence related to his breach of a suspended sentence.

The National Crime Agency said it had ‘developed intelligence’ around MacDonald’s travel, tracking his movements and identifying a permanent address in Malta.

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“This case reflects the ongoing activity of the NCA in tackling the threat of transnational child sex offenders,” said a spokesman.

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