A chronic sex offender, David Pearce, who targeted children by masquerading as a caretaker will serve 18 years in prison, after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police provided clear forensic proof.
David Pearce, now aged 70, from Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to seven sex crimes during the prosecution’s opening statement at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, 6 May.
The same court sentenced him today, Friday, July 3.
In 1990, Pearce impersonated a caretaker and approached a group of four children at a lido in Barking, east London, pretending to hunt for misplaced keys. Under the guise of finding the keys, he enticed them into a changing area, forced them to undress, and inappropriately touched them.
The youngest was only eight years old.
After the occurrence, the children exhibited outstanding cognisance by racing to a neighbouring police station to report the crime. This enabled detectives to gather statements – helping develop a picture of the criminal – and allowed forensic officers to implement a cordon and avoid contamination of the area.
In the changing cubicle, forensic officers found semen on a wooden bench. They recovered a DNA profile, but sadly, it did not match anyone in the database.
Specialist cops brought one of the kids to a nearby gym as part of their investigation to identify the perpetrator, but nobody there matched the suspect’s description.
The case was filed pending the discovery of additional investigative leads after the first lines of inquiry were exhausted.
Pearce was detained in 2019 for a different voyeurism incident. His DNA was a one-in-a-billion match to the suspect at the Lido.
Detectives discovered victim accounts from a 1996 event that followed a startlingly similar pattern of offending after receiving this evidence and reviewing related records. Once more, the 13-year-old victim alleged that a guy had abused her while forcing her into shrubs in a Barking park while purporting to be looking for two misplaced keys.
Pearce was questioned about the 1996 incident shortly after his initial arrest in 2019. At an identification parade, the victim-survivor verified that Pearce was the man who had attacked her.
Detectives had enough information to charge Pearce thanks to concrete forensic evidence and successful identification, which were supported by circumstantial evidence showing he owned a food truck near the park in 1996 and had lived in the region in 1990.
For the latest updates and offender details, follow us on the Offender Register Facebook Page. If you or anyone you know has been affected by the individuals highlighted on this website, please report them to the Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details on how to report a crime. You can also report to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.