Twisted Sussex paedophile who trained other abusers is jailed

David Mould, 68, from Seaford, has been jailed for 21 years imprisonment and seven years extended licence period after travelling to to Nepal and the Philippines to sexually abuse children, and coached others online how to groom victims.

A National Crime Agency investigation was launched in 2019 into a prolific user of a dark web child abuse site called ‘Boyvids4’, after it was identified they were likely based in the UK.

Mould had been using the pseudonym ‘Globetrotter’ to share his own experiences of abusing children, and gave extremely detailed advice to a large number of users on where best to travel to find victims, as well as how to approach them.

Hazel Stewart from the National Crime Agency said Mould was ‘respected and admired’ among fellow paedophiles

He also gave technical guidance on encrypting devices and how to avoid detection by law enforcement.

Investigators were able to attribute the online pseudonym to Mould, and he was subsequently arrested in April 2020.

On the same day, NCA officers searched his house and workplace, seizing a large number of electronic and digital storage devices.

Mould had saved some of his chat logs from the site which highlighted the standing which other paedophiles placed him in, with many thanking him for his advice.

One said, ‘you have been a great deal of help to me, you should write a paedo guide to help rookies like me not to make stupid mistakes and take advantage of opportunities.’

Another stated: ‘Well you have done just about everything except buy me a plane ticket, bring the boy to my room and unzip him… This gave me the information to come up with a real plan of attack.’

Mould had arranged to meet with that same user in Nepal and introduce him to some young boys who he had abused in the past. The user later confirms he travelled to the country, and describes how he took one of the boys back to his hotel room and engaged in sexual activity with him.

The user was identified by the NCA as an American man named Michael Taylor and this information was shared with US partners.

Taylor was arrested in Nepal in March 2021 and is serving 14 years in prison there for child sex offences.

Investigators matched Mould’s travel history to the frequent trips to the Philippines and Nepal he discussed with other users, during which he abused children. He also had a collection of indecent images and videos of his victims.

They were also able to prove that Mould had made several payments to individuals in both countries. This included money sent to an adult in the Philippines who introduced him to children as young as 13 to abuse.

Mould travelled to Nepal four times between 2016-2019. Officers analysing his phone recovered chats with young Nepalese boys, in which he makes arrangements to meet them at his hotel when they finish school.

The NCA shared evidence from the investigation with international law enforcement. Three children have since been safeguarded in the Philippines.

In total, over 100,000 indecent images of children in categories A-C, together with four interactive paedophile manuals detailing techniques on how to abuse children and avoid detection, were recovered from one of Mould’s hard drives.

Mould pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including four counts of engaging in sexual activity with children as young as 13, and 10 relating to encouraging or inciting the exploitation of children.

He was sentenced yesterday (Friday, June 23) at Lewes Crown Court to 21 years imprisonment and seven years extended licence period. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life, placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life, a forfeiture order for the destruction of devices where indecent image of children were found and a restraining order against victims.

Hazel Stewart from the National Crime Agency said: “David Mould is a prolific sexual predator, who dedicated his time and money to abusing children and encouraging others to do the same.

“It was clear that he was respected and admired by other like-minded individuals online, where he provided offenders with a safe environment in which their sexual inclinations were validated.

“Mould took gratification from knowing that the advice he gave led directly to others carrying out abuse.

“Offenders like him think that by travelling to remote parts of the world to conduct their abuse, and by using anonymisation techniques online, they won’t get caught.

“However, the NCA has the capabilities to identify and disrupt the most dangerous offenders. Borders are not a barrier; we work closely with international partners to ensure that Britons committing offences abroad are prosecuted in the UK and vulnerable children are safeguarded, wherever they are in the world.”