In 2023, the appeal of a blind paedophile, Keith Gilding, to have his sentence reduced for the absence of a guide dog in prison was denied.
Keith Gilding, then 72, is currently incarcerated at HMP Norwich, where he is serving an 18-year sentence for historical sexual offences against children.
His eyesight is deteriorating, and he asserts that he is dependent on a guide dog to navigate safely.
Subsequently, he endeavoured to mitigate his “manifestly excessive” jail sentence, which was partially due to the judge’s failure to consider his disabilities in their entirety.
After being sentenced at Norwich Crown Court in December 2022, Gilding, a resident of Dereham, Norfolk, appeared before the Court of Appeal via video link.
His application to reduce his sentence to prevent his death in prison was denied by a panel of three judges, who cited his involvement in “very serious sexual offences of escalating gravity” against two children.
The pensioner initially denied any of the offences. Still, he subsequently entered a plea of guilty to a total of 14 offences against children, including rape, indecent assault, and sex acts with a minor under the age of 13.
The offences were committed between the early 1980s and 1990; however, he was apprehended in 2020 after one of his victims reported the activity to the police.
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