He was banned from returning to his home in Spain before he was sentenced
John Sandell has been jailed(Image: Hull Live)
A “paedophile” pensioner who lived in the sunshine hotspot of Alicante has been jailed for three years after being convicted of serious sexual offences against a young girl. Ex-hotelier John Sandell had been banned from returning to the popular Spanish beach-and-sun coastal city – and was ordered to surrender his passport – after a jury found him guilty following a trial in March.
It would have been too great a risk to allow him to return to Spain before sentencing, Hull Crown Court heard. The victim had been left suffering “flashbacks” and “horrendous depression”.
Sandell, 75, recently living in the Withernsea area, denied six offences of indecency with a child but he was convicted by a jury after a trial on majority verdicts of 11 to one. He also denied two other similar offences and two of indecent assault and he was cleared of those.
The victim said in a statement that she had suffered continuously and the sexual abuse had impacted every part of her life, causing emotional and psychological harm. There was “so much darkness” and she suffered flashbacks.
“I don’t sleep peacefully,” she said. “I can’t physically relax. It has affected relationships and friendships.” She could not focus or concentrate and she lived with the “trauma”.
Deputy circuit judge Peter Kelson KC said that the victim “found the courage and strength” to report the matters to the police. “There is no sentence that I can pass that can recover the complainant’s lost childhood and there is no sentence that I can pass that can come close to easing the pain that she has suffered,” he said.
“I hope that she can take strength and comfort from the fact that she has been believed.”
He told Sandell: “You are now a convicted paedophile. It would be wrong for me to overlook the danger that you present to children, even though so much time has elapsed. There was clear grooming. Rewards were offered.”
Julia Baggs, mitigating, said that Sandell had no previous convictions and there were “exceptional” references for him. It was isolated offending. Sandell, a widower, had previously worked full-time and was well-regarded.
“He has settled status living permanently in Spain and he has been living in Withernsea since the convictions,” said Miss Baggs. “He has been assessed as a low risk of reoffending and general harm to the public. He has never been in custody before.”
Sandell was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for life. After the convictions at the earlier hearing, the deputy circuit judge said that allowing Sandell to continue living in Alicante until the sentencing hearing “complicated” the situation.
“I am not comfortable with the defendant returning to Spain,” he said.
“I impose a condition of bail that the defendant must reside in the UK and he must surrender his passport to the police within 24 hours.”
During the trial, the court heard that Sandell was caught with the young girl while they were in a caravan at business premises in Holderness. The girl’s mother heard laughing and discovered them together.
“He just froze and didn’t say anything,” said the woman. There were two girls in the caravan.
“I didn’t expect to see such a sight,” said the mother. “All I could think was to get the girls out of the caravan. He was saying it was not what it looked like and nothing had happened. I didn’t believe him.”
During his defence evidence, Sandell, also a former Blackpool hotelier, denied any indecency with the girl. “No, never,” he claimed.
But prosecutor Ben Hammersley told him: “You are lying to this jury, aren’t you?” He claimed that Sandell groomed and sexually abused the girl.
“She had no reason to make it up,” said Mr Hammersley. “These things happened, didn’t they?” Sandell replied: “No, they didn’t. Not true.”
Mr Hammersley said: “You gave her cakes and treats.” Sandell replied: “No.” He denied taking the girl to Hull Fair and showing her videos that were inappropriate for her age.
Mr Hammersley claimed: “You were doing this to try to gain her trust and favour. You wanted to make her feel special, didn’t you?
“You wanted to build a closeness with her. You were grooming her.”
Sandell replied: “No.” Mr Hammersley said: “You knew it was wrong. You told her not to say anything. Your conversations with her became sexual.”
Sandell replied: “Never.” Mr Hammersley said of the caravan incident: “You were caught red-handed and tried to cover your tracks.”
Sandell tried to pretend that there was “no hankypanky” involving the girl. He replied: “No.” During police interview, Sandell made no comment to all questions.
“I didn’t know what to do because I had never been in court before,” he claimed. “I was told to say ‘No comment’ so that’s what I said.”
Sandell told the court that he was arrested in Manchester and was taken to a police station after hearing that the police wanted to speak to him about something. “I thought I was going to be giving information about an ongoing trial,” he claimed.
Mr Hammersley told him: “Until you were faced with these allegations in 2022, you thought you had got away with it.” Sandell replied: “Not true at all. I didn’t know I was going to be arrested. I was in shock.”
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