Who was Richard Huckle, how did Britain’s ‘worst paedo’ die and what were his crimes?
Huckle targeted youngsters as he volunteered in churches and orphanages in Asia
RICHARD Huckle targeted up to 200 vulnerable youngsters while volunteering in orphanages in Asia.
The former English teacher was serving 22 life terms for the shocking abuse he carried out when he was stabbed to death in prison.
Who was Richard Huckle?
Richard Huckle was a prolific paedophile who targeted youngsters while volunteering in Christian orphanages in Asia.
The grammar school student turned serial sex offender attacked girls, boys, toddlers and even a six-month-old baby in a nappy over nine years.
Practising Christian Huckle first visited Malaysia on a teaching gap year when he was 18.
Targeting poor communities he sold photos and videos of the abuse to other paedophiles on the dark web.
Sick Huckle, now 31, even wrote a paedo guide titled "Pedophiles & Poverty: Child Lover Guide" - which was blasted by a judge as a "truly evil document".
He treated his crimes like a game, awarding himself "paedo-points" for particularly depraved attacks.
Huckle boasted online that it was easier to abuse poor Asian children than wealthier Western kids.
He wrote: "If I were to transfer my skills learned from India and tried to use them in the West, I wouldn't last a month before I found myself in a cell."
What were 'Britain's worst paedophile' crimes?
Richard Huckle was jailed in 2016 after pleading guilty to 71 counts of child abuse against 23 children.
Caged for 22 life sentences and was told he will serve a minimum of 25 years behind bars.
The court had heard that the number of children abused by Huckle could be as high as 200 and 20 more charges were left to lie on file.
The judge told him: "You have pleaded guilty to as many as 71 sexual offences.
"It is very rare indeed that a judge has to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale as this.
"Relentlessly, you preyed upon the very young - pre-pubescent vulnerable children from a minority ethnic community into which you ingratiated yourself.
"This was a prolonged campaign of rape of the children from a small community."
Huckle, 33, was found slumped in his cell at top security Full Sutton jail, East Yorks, on October 13, 2019.
Another unnamed con was in segregation today with cops set to launch a murder probe.
Last night a source told The Sun: "It looks like Huckle was stabbed to death with a makeshift blade.
"It's not clear yet if the weapon has been found."
How was Richard Huckle caught?
Richard Huckle's sick crimes were exposed by Australian cops investigating a notorious paedo website.
Brit Police later arrested him after he flew home to Ashford, Kent, for Christmas in 2014.
Officers seized Huckle's encrypted laptop and, although he refused to hand over passwords, they managed to uncover 20,000 indecent pictures and videos.
Using laws that allows British citizens to be charged with crimes committed abroad, the National Crime Agency (NCA) charged him with 91 offences.
most read in news
What was BBC3's documentary The Gap Year Padeophile?
The Gap Year Paedophile followed reporter Bronagh Munro as she investigated how teenage gap year student Richard Huckle became one of Britain's worst ever paedophiles.
Munro looked at how Huckle evaded cops for almost a decade and revealed missed opportunities to stop him.
The Gap Year Paedophile though is currently on iPlayer.