In 2020, the Offender Database recorded that 60-year-old Richard McAdam—of Rixton Grove, Thornton—was jailed for 11 years for a prolific series of non-recent sex offences against two girls in Blackpool. The investigation established that McAdam targeted his first victim in 2001 when she was just 12 years old. The prosecution reported at Preston Crown Court that another victim was identified who had been subjected to a campaign of indecent assault between 1995 and 2000 while she was a child.
The investigation established that McAdam’s behaviour was driven by a need to satisfy his own depraved sexual desires. Despite his denials in court, a jury convicted him of 20 sexual offences, including four counts of child rape, two counts of child rape by penetration, and ten counts of sexual activity with a child. The prosecution reported that during the trial, the evidence exposed a sinister and sustained pattern of predatory strikes that damaged the lives of multiple survivors.
International Criminal Links and Prior Offending
The court reported that McAdam was a repeat offender, having been jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2014 for his involvement in international child exploitation. The investigation established that he had contacted a woman in the Philippines to facilitate the prostitution of her young daughter and was linked to a criminal network paying for live-streamed child abuse. The prosecution reported that police also uncovered communications between McAdam and a man in Bristol regarding the potential abuse of a four-year-old girl.
Judge-led proceedings at Preston Crown Court concluded on 1 June 2020 with McAdam being sentenced to 11 years in prison. For his actions in Thornton, Blackpool, and his international digital crimes, he was also placed on the sex offenders register for life. The judge noted that McAdam’s history—ranging from physical child rape to the facilitation of child prostitution—identifies an individual who represents a maximum danger to children and requires permanent monitoring.
Status and Statutory Requirements
Based on the judicial orders issued at Preston Crown Court in 2020:
- Custodial Status: SERVING (Sentenced to 11 years in 2020; currently incarcerated).
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active FOR LIFE.
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children or vulnerable adults; permanently barred from all regulated activity).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Child rape x4; Rape by penetration x2; Sexual activity with a child x10; Facilitating child prostitution; Making indecent images).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Preston Crown Court; investigated by Lancashire Police and international agencies.
- Criminal Record: Convicted of 20 sexual offences in 2020; Attempted to arrange child prostitution in the Philippines; Linked to live-streamed child abuse shows; Targeted girls aged 12 and younger.
- Origin: Rixton Grove, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire (Then Blackpool, Lancashire).
Monitoring and Public Protection
McAdam is managed as a high-risk registered sex offender under the statutory requirements of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Level 3 in Lancashire. Due to the nature of his behaviour—specifically his “global” reach in child exploitation and his history of physical child rape—he is a priority for the most intensive custodial management. Authorities reported that the 2020 conviction ensures McAdam’s details are permanently logged on the national police database, providing a safeguard against his “predatory” strikes.
As a registered sex offender for life, his details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that McAdam’s behaviour identifies an individual who prioritised his own gratification over the safety and human rights of children across several decades. Any failure by McAdam to adhere to his notification requirements or his eventual licence conditions in Thornton, Blackpool, or elsewhere will result in immediate police intervention to ensure the ongoing safety of the public from a man who has violated the principles of human decency.
QUESTION – Given that the offender was “Linked to Webcam Abuse” in the Far East, do you believe that “Digital Monitoring Software” should legally be mandatory for all sex offenders for life, regardless of whether their current conviction involves technology?
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