Police chief defends use of child rapist as spy in sex abuse inquiry

A chief constable said dangerous men would not be behind bars if he had not decided to pay a convicted child rapist almost £10,000 to spy on parties where it was suspected under-age girls were fed drugs and sexually abused.

The NSPCC was “appalled” Northumbria Police chief Steve Ashman authorised the paedophile’s deployment, which can only be reported now that 18 people have been convicted or admitted offences prosecuted in a series of trials related to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Newcastle.

The informant, known only as XY, was recruited despite being a sex offender who had drugged an under-age girl and invited another man to rape her after he had done so, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Years later, the force recruited him to work as an informant on the massive Operation Sanctuary inquiry, one strand of which, known as Operation Shelter, has just finished going through the courts.

Mr Ashman, who is due to retire, said in a statement: “We know concerns have been raised about our use of a police Informant known as XY.

“XY was an authorised covert human intelligence source (CHIS), an informant, who was able to report on criminality including CSE.

“He was a convicted rapist and to some of us the thought of the police engaging with such a person and paying them for information may appear repugnant, however he proved he was in a position whereby he could, and did, alert police to situations which allowed them to prevent offending and provide safeguarding measures towards potential victims.

“The lawful and regulated use of such tactics is always overseen by a senior police officer and is also subject to review by an independent body.

“Furthermore in this case the handling of XY by Northumbria Police was the subject of an independent investigation by the IPCC in which no misconduct was found nor any recommendations made whatsoever.

“In the case of XY it is clear that his relationships with others have allowed the police to prevent and detect some of the most serious crimes occurring in our communities, this would not have been possible through conventional methods.”

But Jon Brown, of the NSPCC, said: “We are appalled to learn that police paid a child rapist and planted him in the midst of vulnerable young girls. You just couldn’t make it up.

The force’s police and crime commissioner Vera Baird said it was a difficult decision to use XY.

She said: “I would have wished this man not to be used, in particular because of his conviction for rape.

“But, I have questioned the chief constable and, in liaison with other senior officers, Mr Ashman has satisfied me that the difficult moral decision to use the informant was taken with care and with particular regard to the welfare of victims.”

The startling information about XY came out during pre-trial hearings in Newcastle which attempted, but failed, to halt prosecutions against a number of men accused of a range of serious offences including drug dealing and sexually abusing girls.

During the proceedings in October and November, more than 20 prosecution and defence barristers in wigs were in court arguing whether the cases of more than 10 men should be thrown out.

Defending barristers argued the public’s confidence in the justice system would be “diminished” if the trials went ahead, given that the rapist XY had acted as an informant, formally known as a covert human intelligence source, or “CHIS”.

Robin Patton, representing one of the defendants, said XY was paid £9,680 over 21 months by Northumbria Police for informing.

Mr Patton said XY was a “convicted child rapist who drugged a child and invited someone else to rape her after he had” and was subject to a suspended sentence when he was deployed by police in 2014.

Mr Patton said police claimed they carried out a risk assessment, but that the “very next day” after he was recruited, XY was in court for a dishonesty offence.