Paedophile handed 26 years

A paedophile whose “horrific” sexual abuse only came to light in full in police interview has been jailed for more than two decades.

Anthony Goodridge, 59, sexually assaulted two young girls, including a toddler, filmed another and secretly recorded a fourth victim showering and getting changed.

He was arrested in October last year after one girl confided in someone she trusted.

In police interview he claimed that touching the girl, who was under 10 at the time, was accidental and not sexual. He tried to blame someone else for the abuse.

Two phones were seized when Goodridge was arrested, which were analysed and found to contain indecent images of children. In total there were 716 category C images, 356 category B images and 416 category A images – the most severe.

Amongst the material was a category C video and indecent images, which Goodridge had filmed himself, showing a different victim – a girl who was also under 10.

When further arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children, Goodridge likened himself to a “junkie” when it came to material of that nature and said viewing the material was a “fantasy” and that he got a “high” from doing so because it was illegal, not because he gained any sexual pleasure.

He admitted taking video and photos of the girl naked, but claimed he didn’t think they were indecent as you couldn’t see all of her.

When asked again about the sexual abuse of his first victim, he changed his story and admitted he had touched her once, but not for sexual gratification.

When officers asked if he had sexually touched other children, he paused and then confessed to sexually assaulting another girl when she was two to three years old.

He told police he had restrained the toddler and sexually abused her before performing a sex act on himself - and he had filmed the entire incident on a camera.

A further video filmed in a bathroom, showing a teenage girl showering and getting changed, was also found on the devices. Before she entered the bathroom Goodridge was seen on the footage looking into the camera repeatedly and checking its position.

When interviewed about the footage Goodridge admitted to filming the teenager in 2016 and repeatedly stated that she was an “attractive young lady”.

Goodridge, of Ramsden Square, Cambridge, later admitted 16 offences including:

• Three counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13 by penetration
• Four counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13 by touching
• Six counts of making an indecent image of a child
• Two counts of taking indecent images of a child
• One count of voyeurism

He was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court today (Wednesday, 9 October) where he was handed a total of 26 years in prison.

A restraining order preventing him from contacting his victims, and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to monitor future offending, were both made indefinitely.

Sentencing, Judge Matthew Lowe said Goodridge chose to gratify his "depraved sexual interest in children" with no regard to the consequences of this on others, prioritising acting on this interest above everything else.

Judge Lowe added that the number of victims, the amount of offences and the degree of planning involved in Goodridge’s behaviour highlighted his “entrenched and deep-rooted sexual interest in children”. 

DC Molly Halksworth, from the force’s Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), said: “Goodridge’s sexual abuse of his victims was nothing short of horrific; he abused their trust in the worst possible way.

“The full scale of his abuse only came to light when he was asked in interview if he had abused anyone else. What happened next, and the abuse he disclosed, is something hard to forget.

“We are pleased Goodridge has now been brought to justice and we hope the sentence imposed gives his victims and their families some closure from this traumatic period in their lives.

“Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”

For more information and advice about child abuse visit the force’s dedicated web page.

Anyone who is concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, and could be posing a risk to a child, can apply for disclosure information through Sarah’s Law.

Anyone who looks out for the welfare of a child can make an enquiry. This can include parents, carers, guardians, extended family, friends and neighbours.