Mid Wales

Newtown sex offender Anthony Milsom has sentence cut

Anthony Martin Milsom of Newtown
Image caption Milsom collected newspaper cuttings relating to high-profile child murders, the court heard

A "manipulative and predatory" sex offender who was jailed indefinitely for public protection has had his sentence cut to three-and-a-half years.


The original sentencing judge said his case would "chill the blood of the parent of any young child."


When he was first sentenced, Mold crown court was told that Milsom's large collection of indecent images revealed his fascination with the murder, abduction and rape of young female children.


Newspaper cuttings

Many of them were in the worst category, the court was told.

The court also heard that Milsom had newspaper cuttings relating to high-profile child murder inquiries including Milly Dowler, Sophie Hook, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, as well as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.


He was put behind bars indefinitely for public protection.

Milsom was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and he was made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order to curb his activities in future.

The jail sentence is almost identical to a life term and meant Milsom would not be freed until he could convince the Parole Board the danger he poses to society had passed.

But Mr Justice Simon, sitting at the Appeal Court with Lord Justice Moses and Judge Francis Gilbert overturned that.

He said Milsom was guilty of grave offences and it was right to describe many of the images he collected as "sickening".

But he said it did not justify an open-ended sentence from which he might never be released.

Substituting a total sentence of three and a half years, the judge concluded: "This reflects the overall criminality in respect of which he pleaded guilty."

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