Barry Radford, a paedophile sought by Australian authorities for nearly two decades, was at liberty to perpetrate several offences against adolescent males in the North East.
Barry Radford, 53, a spray painter from Northumberland, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for multiple grooming offences, including the acquisition of indecent photos of one victim and the possession of over 1,000 abhorrent images of other minors.
His transgressions were revealed last year when one of the victims spoke to the police, subsequently disclosing that Radford had been sought by authorities in Australia for sexual assaults purportedly committed in 1999.
The perpetrator was thought to have relocated to the UK the subsequent year.
In 2007, Australian authorities filed arrest warrants, prompting Interpol to approach Northumbria Police when the latter apprehended him in the North East for a traffic violation.
However, this did not result in his repatriation to Australia for the alleged acts in 1999, and in 2009, the authorities removed the warrants.
Barry Radford, of no fixed address but previously of Greystoke Avenue, Whickham, Gateshead , pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including inciting a child into sexual activity, grooming and possessing indecent images.
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