He tried to claim in court that his five victims were telling ‘wicked lies’
Darren Richardson appeared at Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A serial sex offender who targeted five different victims – a woman, three boys and a girl – during a series of “sinister encounters” later tried to talk his way out of trouble by pretending that they were “wicked liars”. Lorry driver Darren Richardson tried to “duck and dive” and “weave around the allegations” but the offences “came back to haunt him” in the end, Hull Crown Court heard.
Richardson, 58, of Thompson Avenue, Beverley, denied 11 offences, including indecent assault, sexual assault and indecency with a child, but he was convicted by a jury after a retrial. A previous trial last year had to be stopped part way through, on June 11, because of problems.
Charlotte Baines, prosecuting, said that Richardson intimately touched the woman, the three boys and the girl during a series of completely separate sexual incidents. Other sexual behaviour was also involved in some of the offences.
The offences started to come to light in October 2020 after one of the boys contacted the police to say what had happened to him. Richardson was interviewed in January 2021 about those and other matters but he “completely denied the allegations”.
He tried to claim that the allegations against him were all “lies” that had been “concocted” or “made up” but this was not the case, said Miss Baines. He tried to say that it was “just an unfortunate series of events that just happened to be of a similar nature”.
Richardson claimed that there had been “collusion” between the victims and that there had been “wicked lies and false allegations” against him.
“He is far from being a victim here and he is far from being a wronged man,” said Miss Baines.
The victims gave “reliable and compelling evidence” during the trial. “The reason they are doing so is because they are telling the truth,” said Miss Baines. “The complainants have not concocted these allegations.”
She said that Richardson claimed that he was the victim of “terrible untruths” but this was wrong. “It’s smoke and mirrors,” said Miss Baines. A “thin veil” was being drawn over the allegations by Richardson.
He tried to “duck and dive” and “weave around the allegations being made” but he had “sinister encounters” with the victims. Miss Baines asked the jury to dismiss the idea that the victims were “wicked liars or master manipulators” in what they had said. “These allegations are not made up,” she said. “The only person who is telling untruths here and is lying is Darren Richardson.
“He does not have sexual boundaries when it comes to anyone, whether it be adults or children. Darren Richardson’s chickens have finally come home to roost.”
During the trial, Richardson denied any wrongdoing and he claimed that all the victims were lying. He claimed that the sexual incidents did not happen.
Richardson had no previous convictions. He was on bail during the two trials but he was remanded in custody after the jury’s guilty verdicts to await sentence the next day.
Richardson was jailed for 11 years and he must register as a sex offender for life.
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.