David Pickthall, a 66-year-old former choirmaster and teacher from Suffolk, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a catalogue of predatory child sex offences spanning over four decades. The offences, which involved 19 victims, primarily young adolescent boys, were committed between 1980 and 2021 in locations including Brentwood and Upminster. Pickthall, who resided on Ingrave Road in Brentwood, Essex, abused his positions of authority at Brentwood School to perpetrate these crimes.
Prosecutor Fiona Ryan detailed at Chelmsford Crown Court how Pickthall admitted to nearly 40 offences, describing him as having a 'penchant for touching and spying on young adolescent boys'. She explained that his desires were facilitated by his roles as a teacher and choirmaster, allowing him to sexually assault boys under the pretence of educational methods. 'He would begin by tickling them under the guise of a mild punishment for getting something wrong,' Ms Ryan said, noting that the assaults escalated to Pickthall placing his hands into the boys' underwear. Additionally, he provided alcohol to students who visited his home, further exploiting their vulnerability.
The offences included 16 counts of indecent assault, 10 counts of voyeurism, and three counts of making an indecent image of a child. In a more recent incident in 2021, Pickthall used a fake social media profile, pretending to be a 17-year-old, to groom an underage boy by repeatedly requesting a photograph of his penis, which the boy eventually sent. Pickthall's criminal history was uncovered following his arrest, revealing a pattern of manipulative behaviour that Judge Mary Loram KC described as that of a 'predatory and manipulative paedophile who has adapted his offending over the years'. She added, 'If you hadn’t been arrested you would have carried on.'
Mitigating, Eve George highlighted Pickthall's early guilty plea, stating he 'did see the good sense in pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity'. She read a statement from Pickthall expressing that he was 'profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed of myself', and noted that 'perhaps the greatest punishment is his fall from grace'. Despite his public accolades, including an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2015 for services to education and charity, and work on projects like Wallace and Gromit and 28 Days Later, Pickthall's secret life of abuse came to light. He had previously admitted the 29 offences at an earlier hearing at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.
On 11th November 2024, at Chelmsford Crown Court, Judge Loram imposed a 12-year custodial sentence, extended by a four-year licence period, and made Pickthall the subject of a sexual harm prevention order. The case was reported by the East Anglian Daily Times, drawing from court proceedings and highlighting the long-term impact of Pickthall's actions on his victims.