Douglas Anthony Whitelam

Douglas Anthony Whitelam, a 70-year-old former scout leader from South Derbyshire, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for the historical sexual abuse of two young boys. The offences, which spanned from the 1970s to the 1990s, involved grooming and indecent assaults, leaving lasting psychological damage on his victims.

Whitelam, who worked as an apprentice at Rolls-Royce in Derby during his teenage years, targeted his first victim in the 1970s. As detailed in court proceedings at Derby Crown Court, he plied the boy with alcohol before subjecting him to sex acts, which contributed to the victim's development of alcoholism. This abuse isolated the boy and caused significant psychological harm, as outlined in the victim's impact statement: 'The impact this has had on my life has been devastating. Plying me with alcohol was the start of my alcoholism which has stopped me from holding down a job and a number of sexual relationships. The memories of what he did to me will stay with me for the rest of my life. No sentence can be long enough.'

• Whitelam made the victims touch him sexually and reciprocated on numerous occasions.
• The second victim was abused in the 1990s while Whitelam was involved in the Derby North scout movement.
• The abuse occurred over a sustained period, exploiting the boys' vulnerability.

The case came to light in 2016 when the first victim reported the abuse to police, followed by the second in 2018. Whitelam denied the charges, forcing a trial where the victims had to relive their ordeals. An initial trial in 2021 ended without a verdict, leading to a five-day retrial in March 2023, where he was found guilty of multiple counts of indecent assault on a boy under 14 and indecency with a child. Prosecutor Robert Underwood highlighted Whitelam's actions during the trial, noting the severe impact on the victims.

Judge Martin Hurst, in sentencing Whitelam of Hilton, described the abuse as deliberate grooming and isolation, stating: '(The first victim) suffered significant psychological damage as a result of what you did to him. You deliberately isolated him, took him into your bedroom and you clearly groomed him. The psychological impact on (the second victim) has been severe, your behaviour took place over a sustained period of time and he was particularly vulnerable. It seems to me your latent homosexuality was the root cause of this and you felt unable to reveal it to either your ex-wife or your children.' The second victim's impact statement echoed this devastation: 'He deserves everything he gets and I have no bad feelings about him going to prison. He totally ruined my life from a young age. His huge facade was him being a pillar of the community and a scout leader, he’s an absolute fraud. His sexual abuse of me took away my trust and caused profound mental issues.'

Despite his community involvement, including receiving a Medal of Merit from the Scouts in 2003 as Assistant District Commissioner and a life-saving award for rescuing a child, Whitelam's defence, presented by Gregor Purcell, acknowledged his age and family support but could not mitigate the severity of the crimes. The Scouts Association issued a statement post-sentencing: 'We are aware of the case involving former Scout volunteer Douglas Whitelam... Following this conviction, he will never again be able to volunteer with the Scout movement. There is no place in the movement for anyone who behaves in this way.' Sergeant Mark Sharma of Derbyshire Police praised the victims' bravery: 'The trauma of the abuse caused by Tony Whitelam has had a lasting effect on both victims... His sentence will hopefully give the victims some form of closure.'

In addition to the 13-year custodial sentence, Whitelam was placed on the sex offenders' register for life and received a lifetime sexual harm prevention order. The case was reported by DerbyshireLive and Staffordshire Live, based on court records from Derby Crown Court in June 2023.