A mother serving a prison sentence for killing a man her sons said was abusing them has warned “if you touch children, there must be consequences.”
Sarah Sands made the comments as part of a campaign to tighten legislation on identity checks for convicted pedophiles.
She was convicted of stabbing Michael Pleasted eight times in 2014 after her boys said they were assaulted by him.
It later emerged that the neighbour, whom residents thought was a friendly face on their East London estate, was hiding a long history of sordid crimes.
The 77-year-old had changed his name from Robin Moult to avoid detection and had a string of convictions.
CCTV footage captured Sands wielding a knife and making her way to his address where she told police she intended to confront him but ended up killing him.
All three of her sons are now young adults and have waived their legal right to anonymity to talk about what their mother had done and serving life sentences during her seven-and-a-half-year sentence.
Bradley, who was 12 when he said he was abused, told the BBC: ‘I thought hats off. I’m not going to deny it.’
Alfie, who was 11 at the time, recalled how learning of his death “made us feel safer.”
He added, “It hasn’t slowed down the nightmares. But it did give us a sense of security, because you didn’t have to walk down the street thinking he’d come around the corner.’
Twin Reece said it was “nice to know he was dead,” but said the brothers “woke up crying many times” [saying] “Where is mommy?”‘.
Ms Sands was convicted of manslaughter on a loss of control basis following an Old Bailey trial in 2015.
Her sentence was increased by the Court of Appeal after it was found to be unjustly lenient.
She revealed how she had befriended the neighbor and cooked for him, unaware of his past and that he would be able to take care of her children.
She called for the law to be changed to prevent child molesters from changing their names, telling BBC Breakfast: ‘If you touch children, there should be consequences for pedophiles.
‘And hiding behind name changes… it must be taken away from them. That right to change their name must be taken away from them.’
Labor MP Sarah Champion told the BBC some offenders are using name changes to avoid criminal record checks being required for jobs including working with children.
She said: ‘Once they change their name, they can get a new driver’s license and passport in that name. As a result, they can get another DBS check.
“And we find that these people then go to schools and other places where there are children and vulnerable people and exploit their position of trust in the most horrific ways.”
The Home Office said it has already assessed the matter and the UK already has strict rules for dealing with sex offenders living in the community.
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