Former Exmouth mayor jailed

21 years for child sex offences

A former mayor of Exmouth has been jailed for a total of 21 years for historic sex offences against two boys.

John Humphreys, aged 59, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court today [Friday 20 August] after a jury this week found him guilty of ten charges following a trial.

Humphreys, of Hartley Road, Exmouth, stood accused of two counts of indecent assault and three counts of buggery on a boy aged 12 to 13 between 1990 and 1991.

He was also charged with five further counts of indecent assault on a second boy aged 14 to 15 between 1999 and 2002.

Both victims went to police independently of each other as adults more than a decade apart. 

Humphreys, pictured, a former town and district councillor, was first questioned by Devon and Cornwall Police in 2005. He was arrested in May 2016.  

The first victim’s allegations were then revisited in light of the second male’s separate complaints.

The trial heard that Humphreys met the first boy at public toilets in Exmouth before going on to abuse him at an address in Alexandra Terrace, at his home in the town, and in a shelter on Woodbury Common.

Jurors were also told the second boy was abused by Humphreys in his home while on work experience after meeting the defendant through his gardening business.

Police Sergeant Angela Galasso, who led the investigation, said: “This has been a long and protracted investigation involving historic sexual offences that date back more than 30 years to the early and late 1990s.   

“The sentencing today shows that nobody is above the law, regardless of their standing in the community. 

“I can only thank the complainants in this case for their tenacity, patience and the trust that they have continued to place in myself and colleagues investigating these matters.

“Both victims have voiced separately that they feared they would never be believed or that their complaints would not be taken seriously. 

“I sincerely hope that this guilty verdict will now provide this validation and allow them to feel that they can move on with their lives.”    

Devon and Cornwall Police takes offences such as these very seriously and encourages any victims to come forward.

Anyone who may have been affected by anything raised in this article can contact police in their local area by emailing 101@dc.police.uk or calling 101.

The freephone NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000 is available for anyone to report or seek advice about non-recent abuse. Calls can be made anonymously.