Mum who killed sex offender calls for ban from changing their name

A mother is calling for the law that allows paedophiles to change their name to conceal their previous convictions be axed. Sarah Sands has put forward the campaign after she stabbed to death 77-year-old paedophile Michael Pleasted back in 2014 after she was told by her children that he sexually assaulted them. Pleasted, who was described as a ‘friendly’ neighbour in their East London estate, had in fact changed his name from Robin Moult to hide his long criminal history of offending against children, it later emerged.

Speaking about her campaign on BBC Breakfast, the 39-year-old mother said: “For paedophiles, if you touch children, there has to be consequences. That right to change their name has to taken away.” Following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2015, Ms Sands was convicted of manslaughter on the basis of loss of control.

She was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The Court of Appeal raised it after her original jail term was deemed “too lenient”, the Mirror reports. READ MORE: Named and charged: Ex-West Midlands police chief accused of drink-driving

Addressing the law, Labour MP Sarah Champion – who has been actively campaigning on getting the rule changed – said some offenders use name changes to avoid criminal checks for jobs including working with children. “Once they change their names, they are able to get a driving licence and passport in that name,” she told the BBC. “That enables a new DBS check. These people then go into schools and other places and exploit their positions of trust in horrific ways.” The Home Office has said the UK has strict rules to deal with sex offenders living in the community.

In Britain, people convicted for sex offences or those on the sex offenders’ register can apply to change their name for as little as GBP42.44 under a deed poll – allowing them to secure the documents needed to gain jobs where they could work alongside children and vulnerable people.

The law states that sex offenders must notify the authorities if they change their name or risk a five-year prison sentence.

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