David Masters

David Masters, a 46-year-old man from Birstall in West Yorkshire, was sentenced to 11 years in prison at Bradford Crown Court following his conviction for a series of serious sexual offences against children.

The investigation began in 2024 when West Yorkshire Police received a report concerning a 16-year-old girl who had gone missing from home. This led to a complex probe involving multiple victims and culminated in Masters' arrest. He had previously pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of children and two counts of distributing indecent images of children. In November, a trial jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty of engaging in sexual penetrative activity with a girl, facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child, causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, and arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child.

One victim, aged 17 at the time of the offences, shared in her Victim Impact Statement: 'I am trying to rebuild my life after what he did. But sometimes it feels like I will never get back to normal, and I can never be the person I always wanted to be.' Another victim, who was 15 during the offences, stated: 'It feels like the colour has gone from my life and everything has gone grey. I don't think about my future now. I feel directionless and like I don't know where I'm going or what I can do.'

Following the sentencing on Monday, PC Helena Stroud from Bradford's Children Vulnerable to Exploitation Team described Masters as a 'dangerous individual who exploited children for his own personal gain.' In addition to the 11-year custodial sentence, Masters was required to sign the sex offenders' register for life and was issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, along with restraining orders against his victims. The case was handled by West Yorkshire Police, as reported by the BBC.