Andrew Whiddett

Andrew Whiddett, a 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel from the British Army, has been sentenced to 38 months in prison for a series of grave child sexual abuse offences. The case, prosecuted by the National Crime Agency (NCA), came to light following investigations into online child exploitation networks. Whiddett, who left the armed forces in 1997 to work in security services in the Middle East and was awarded an MBE in 1988, spiralled into criminal activity after the death of his wife from cancer in 2013.

According to court proceedings at Croydon Crown Court, Whiddett began online dating as a means to cope with loneliness but soon veered into the dark web of child abuse. From 2015, he paid thousands of pounds to a woman in the Philippines for live-streamed sexual attacks on a child via webcam. The NCA revealed that Whiddett used Skype to contact known Filipino child sex abuse facilitators. In 2016, he planned to travel to the Asian nation to personally assault a child, though this did not materialise.

Sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Nicholas Ainley addressed Whiddett directly, stating: "The defendant had shown an interest in dating Asian women. There is nothing wrong or reprehensible about that but some way or other that perfectly legitimate interest in meeting women changed into a need to have some form of sexual relationship with people who were only children. And that occurred with two different children with whom I’m concerned." The judge highlighted the severity of Whiddett's actions, which involved instructing women on how to abuse their children for his viewing pleasure.

Whiddett's defence, presented by his lawyer Siobhan Grey, portrayed him as a man who had "given up his life" for his country, with testimonials dating back to 1988 demonstrating his personal sacrifices. Grey explained: "Following the death of his wife of 40 years Whiddett was at a loss, adrift. He let it be known that he was fine but he wasn’t. And he was lonely. And he started to a great extent online dating and he got sucked into that." Despite these mitigations, the court deemed the offences too serious for leniency.

Whiddett pleaded guilty in April to one count of intent to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of causing or inciting a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, one count of arranging or facilitating a sexual offence against a child, and three counts of possessing indecent images of children. The NCA's involvement underscores the international scope of the investigation, targeting networks facilitating child sexual exploitation across borders.