Watford man in landmark child abuse charges (From Watford Observer)

Watford man in landmark child abuse charges

9:13am Friday 21st May 2010 in News By Michael Pickard

A 53-year-old man from Watford will appear in court this morning charged with a series of child abuse offences, including the rape of a child under 13.

A landmark case, this is the first time a person from Hertfordshire has been charged with abusing a child who lives overseas, this time in Goa, India.

Detectives from Hertfordshire Constabulary flew to India to interview the girl at the centre of the alleged offences, which took place between 2005 and 2007.

Barry McCloud was charged after a two-year investigation led by Hertfordshire Police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Child Exploitation and On-line Protection centre (CEOP), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and a non-government agency in India called Justice and Care who work to support poverty stricken families vulnerable to abuse.

Detective Inspector Paul Doran, who is based within the force’s Citizen Focus Department, said: “This has been an exhaustive inquiry which involved officers from the Constabulary travelling overseas to India to undertake specialist investigative work with local authorities and non-government agencies.

“The case would not have been able to move forward had it not been through the work, support and guidance of agencies such as CEOP, SOCA, the CPS and authorities in India whose operational guidance is much appreciated.”

District Crown Prosecutor Tamsyn Wilcox added: “The CPS has advised the police throughout this painstaking and lengthy investigation and decided that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the defendant, Barry McCloud.

“Under Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, a person can be charged with an offence committed abroad if they are a British citizen or resident, and the crime would be an offence in the country in which it is committed, as well as here.”

Mr McCould has been charged with three counts of the rape of a child under 13, offences of gross indecency, administering a stupefying a substance with the purpose of committing sexual abuse and the downloading of indecent child abuse images.

He is due to appear at Hatfield Remand Court today.