A man who ‘admitted’ being one of a gang of paedop

A man who ‘admitted’ being one of a gang of paedophiles who
sexually assaulted 14-year-old rent boy Jason Swift walked free
from the Old Bailey on Friday.

Edward Gough, 30, confessed to detectives that he was in the
flat in the Kings Mead Estate, Homerton, in 1985 when the tragic
15-year-old was subjected to an attack that defied belief.

Jason’s body was later found buried in a shallow grave in Essex
farmland, not far from Epping Forest.

He had been drugged, seriously sexually assaulted and suffocated.

But Gough’s confession to the sexual attack was ruled inadmissable
by the Old Bailey’s most senior judge because it breached the Police
and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).

Gough, who was later diagnosed as ‘mentally impaired’, should
have had an appropriate adult with him when he was interviewed
even though his impairment was not apparent, the judge ruled.

The prosecution case against Gough, a self-employed painter
and decorator of Hoxton Street, Islington, relied wholly on his
confession.

Prosecutor Mr John Bevan offered no evidence on the charge of
conspiracy to seriously sexually assault (buggery) and indecently
assault.

Gough, now living with his pregnant girlfriend in (19) Cloth
Workers Road, Plumstead, admitted three unrelated domestic burglaries
in Leyton in 1990 and 1991.

The defendant, who spent more than 16 months in jail awaiting
trial on the Jason Swift indictment, was placed probation for two
years.

The Recorder of London, Judge Lawrence Verney QC, ruled
Gough’s ‘confession’ inadmissable after nine days of complex
legal argument about the defendant’s mental state.

One psychologist with 30 years experience rated Gough’s
intelligence in the bottom five per cent of the population, with
an IQ of 76 or 77, the judge said.

‘That puts him in the borderline mentally retarded category.

‘At the time of the crucial interview, the tenth in one day,
it is likely that stress and fatigue could have lowered his
intelligence to the retarded range.

‘In that interview there was considerable potential for strain.

Gough was feeling tired and said so.

‘
The 10th interview, 15 hours after his arrest, was the first
admission of involvement in the Jason Swift assault.

Gough ‘specifically stated that he did not require a solicitor’
but rules of PACE required an appropriate adult to be present
if there was any suspicion of mental inability.

At the time of the interview, he would be ‘psychologically
vulnerable’, the court heard.

‘I am satisfied that the evidence I have heard shows substantial
impairment of intelligence.

‘A person who is mentally handicapped must not be interviewed
without an appropriate adult.

‘The custody officer failed to inform the appropriate adult.

‘
Even though the mental handicap was ‘not apparent’ PACE was
contravened, making the interview inadmissable, the judge said.

Gough was formally cleared of the conspiracy charge, which
dated back to December 1, 1985.

Sentencing him to probation, the judge urged him to take
advantage of the help they could provide for his illiteracy.

ENDS