British Pedophile Trapped By Freckles Confesses

[sriracha john]

Freckles trapped British child molester

A paedophile caught out by the freckles on his hands in a case said to be the first of its kind was jailed yesterday.

Father-of-one Dean Hardy, 50, took photographs of young Thai girls being sexually abused during a trip he made to the country, He was careful not to include his face in the photographs but police noticed a male hand touching the young girls in some of the pictures.

The furniture salesman from Orpington, Kent, was jailed at Southwark Crown Court, London, after admitting two counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 13, four counts of taking indecent photographs of children during March and April 2004 and one count of possessing indecent photographs.

He had no reaction as he was given a six-year sentence.

Judge Gregory Stone, sentencing, said: "It's plain from the evidence that you went to Thailand where you molested young girls and took indecent photographs of these young female children. As many as four children were involved in these crimes.

"This was sex tourism of the most offensive kind.

"You were plainly exploiting their and their families' poverty and vulnerability without caring what harm you were inflicting, and caring only for your own depraved gratification."

The photographs were discovered when police searched his home and discovered images from two cameras and a computer.

Two of the 63 indecent photographs found showed young South-East Asian girls between the ages of eight and 10 being abused by an adult.

A forensic anthropologist compared the freckles and blemishes on the hand in the photograph with those on Hardy's left hand and found they were identical.

Police discovered he had travelled to Thailand at the time the pictures were taken.

They analysed the electronic information contained within the picture files to reveal the date they were created and cross-referenced that information with date stamps in Hardy's passport and his credit card records.

Peter Zinner, prosecuting, said the comparison technique meant this case was "the first of its kind because Mr Hardy was subsequently identified".

- The Herald (UK) / 2009-04-24

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Composite of Dean Hardy (50) and his thumb.

'Freckled hand' paedophile Dean Hardy is jailed for six years

A paedophile was jailed for six years today after the freckles on his hand were matched to those in an image of a child being molested, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.

Dean Hardy, 50, took photographs of himself assaulting young girls on a business trip to Thailand and was careful not to include his face. But police noticed the freckles and an expert from the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee compared them to those on Hardy’s hand and found that they matched.

Confronted with the evidence, Hardy confessed to two charges of indecent assault of girls under the age of 14 and a string of child abuse charges.

Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Gregory Stone said: “It’s plain from the evidence that you went to Thailand where you molested young girls and took photographs, indecent photographs, of these young female children.

"As many as four children were involved in these crimes. This was sex tourism of the most offensive kind."

"You were plainly exploiting their and their families’ poverty and vulnerability without caring what harm you were inflicting on these children, and caring only for your own depraved gratification."

"You only accepted your guilt after overwhelming evidence that it was your hand that was shown in these photographs. Your hand molesting those girls."

The pictures were discovered when detectives from the Metropolitan Police paedophile unit raided his house and discovered downloaded images of abuse on his computer and two camera memory cards. Two of the 63 indecent photographs on the memory cards showed young South East Asian girls - aged between 8 and 10 — being abused by an adult.

Police discovered that he had been in Thailand at the time the pictures were taken. Electronic information contained within the picture files revealed the date on which they were created and police were able to cross-reference that information with date stamps in Hardy’s passport and his credit card records.

Hardy will be on the sex offenders’ register for life and was also banned from working with children or being in the company of a minor under the age of 16 without the permission of their guardian.

The Crown Prosecution Service also intends to apply for a foreign travel ban, to stop Hardy committing further offences abroad.

Peter Zinner, for the prosecution, had earlier told the court: "On the computer they found five indecent photographs of children. In all of these pictures there is no facial image of Hardy but it was clear there was an adult hand touching a young girl."

A forensic anthropologist who studied the images and Hardy’s hand was in no doubt that it was Hardy in the pictures.

Hardy also admitted taking other shots that showed a girl being raped by another man.

Mr Zinner added: “In the Crown’s submission he is a sex tourist, to use a colloquial phrase, who travels abroad to commit these types of offences.”

The furniture salesman from Orpington, Kent, admitted two charges of indecent assault, four charges of taking indecent photos of children and one of possession such images.

Detective Constable Dave Adams, from the Met's Child Abuse Investigation Command, said: "This case demonstrates the lengths we will go to in order to ensure that children are protected. This innovative identifying technique was key to proving that Hardy wasn't just involved in possessing indecent images of children but was actively involved in that abuse."

- The Times (UK) / 2009-04-23

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Police photo of freckles on Dean Hardy's left thumb. Freckles and blemishes on the male thumb were identical to Hardy's

Dean Hardy

The hands that revealed his secret

Hands can distinguish one person from the next, but it is rare that a person's hand can lead to a conviction.

For paedophile Dean Hardy, from south-east London, the distinctive freckles on his left thumb led to six years in jail.

The Metropolitan Police and forensic scientists discovered Hardy's blemishes matched those in a photo showing a man illegally touching a young girl.

The team behind the investigation have revealed that without the image of a face, it was a long process to get the evidence to secure a conviction.

Det Con Dave Adams, from the Met's child abuse investigation command, said: "In the last five years I have never had a case like it.

"We took photos of Hardy's hands while he was in custody and decided to see if it was the same person in the photos."

Accident scars

As an anatomist and forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black studies the human body for a living and it was her research that led to the conviction of Hardy.

"When we look at someone it does not matter what part of a person it is, we look at them in a different way," said Professor Black, from the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee.

Professor Black identified Hardy as a suspect through a process of elimination.

From looking at the photo the anatomist could tell that the perpetrator was a white, middle-aged man, but it was the discovery of an accident scar that led to a breakthrough.

She said: "We started looking at similarities and differences. We have all got scarring, but any scars from an accident are more useful for identification than a scar from surgery.

"Any hand that had the same surgery would have the same scar in the same place.

"If we find an accident scar we can build a 3D profile and the likelihood of this being two separate people becomes very slim."

Groundbreaking case

At the centre, scientists look at forensic anthropology and analyse soft tissue and vein patterns to identify people. The centre also has a database of more than 2,900 images of fingers and hands.

Hardy was jailed for six years and could be banned from travelling abroad

"Our hands tell us so much about the way we live, a bricklayer will have very different hands from a surgeon," said Professor Black.

"We can try and conceal our age, but our hands and necks are areas you cannot not conceal."

After seeing the evidence against him Hardy admitted indecent assault and taking indecent photos.

The case has been hailed as the first of its kind.

However, Professor Black revealed the technology is now being used at a case in Edinburgh's High Court.

She said: "In the fight against crime we need an arsenal of tools.

"This technique will not replace things, but it means if all we have is a photo of a hand we can still tell something."

- BBC / 2009-04-23