Man who groomed girls online and travelled to sexually abuse them has prison sentence increased

 

In November last year (2025) Derek Johnson, aged 59, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court to 15 years in prison and five years on extended licence after admitting to fourteen counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a chid to engage in sexual activity.

 

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

 

His sentence was then referred to the Court of Appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

 

At a hearing on Friday (17 April), the Court of Appeal heard how Johnson befriended and groomed three girls online before travelling to meet them and sexually abusing them.

 

The Court concluded that the original sentence was unduly lenient given the serious nature of the offending against the girls, who were aged between 13 and 17 at the time, and the long-lasting harm after being exploited by Johnson.

 

Johnson's previous sentence was quashed and substituted with a new sentence of 19 years and 6 months imprisonment. The 5-year extended license period remains unchanged.

 

Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough from Gloucestershire Police said: "Johnson is a dangerous man who subjected children to horrific crimes that will have an enduring psychological impact on them. I welcome the Court of Appeal's decision to increase his sentence.

 

"I also want to renew my thanks to the victims and survivors in this case for their tremendous strength and bravery. I hope it encourages other people to feel confident in reporting rape and sexual offences to police and demonstrates that our officers will stop at nothing to ensure justice for victims."

 

Gloucester Crown Court previously heard how Johnson filmed himself sexually abusing the girls, and groomed them into sending him videos of things he had asked them to do.

 

He persistently showed levels of abuse, degradation, control and manipulation against the children.

 

He had committed sexual offences against at least three children between 2020 and 2023, who were all aged under 16 at the time and who lived in Gloucestershire, Cornwall and West Yorkshire.

 

Gloucestershire Police's Child Exploitation Team launched an investigation in November 2024 after a victim from Gloucestershire came forward when aged 17 to report what Johnson had done to her.

 

She disclosed that Johnson first got in contact with her on the micro-blogging website, Tumblr, when she was 14 years old.

 

After grooming the child and communicating with her online for around a month, Johnson travelled to Gloucestershire to meet her in person by taking her to a hotel, and he went on to commit a number of sexual offences against her.

 

In police interview she described how Johnson tried to scare her and how she would cry when he used items to hurt her while he sexually abused her.

 

He then moved to the county to be closer to the girl and continued to abuse her for a further two years.

 

Johnson, who was not already known to police, was identified by Gloucestershire Police in January 2025 and arrested the following month at his home address in Stevenage by officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary.

When his home was searched by police, numerous electronic devices were seized along with items which matched descriptions provided by the child.

 

To allow for further enquiries to take place, Johnson was released on police bail with strict conditions, however he breached those and then failed to answer police bail.

 

He was known to have links to multiple places around the UK and officers conducted extensive enquiries to locate him, including the publication of a wanted appeal.

 

Johnson was found to have travelled to the Republic of Ireland and on 6 May 2025 an extradition warrant was issued for him.

 

He was arrested the same month in Galway by the Gardaí and he appeared before the High Court and was extradited back to the UK on 3 June 2025.

 

Johnson was arrested upon his arrival at Heathrow Airport and charged with offences against all three children.

 

Following a review of the devices seized from Johnson's address, officers from Gloucestershire Police's Child Exploitation Team subsequently identified two more victims outside of Gloucestershire.

 

They too described how Johnson had made contact with them online when they were aged under 16, and had communicated with them for a period of time before meeting up with them and sexually abusing them.

 

One of the girls, who was aged 13 at the time, thought Johnson would kill her if she did not meet him. The court was told that he picked her up in his car, took her phone off of her and then took her to a secluded woodland area in Dartmoor and raped her in a tent.

 

The child tried to end contact with Johnson afterwards, but he told her that he would show her family what had taken place if so.

 

Digital police forensic work carried out on Johnson's devices revealed folders titled with different female names which included videos of child sexual abuse, including 42 Category A videos of one of the girls, and six Category A videos of another girl.

 

Officers also discovered that Johnson had logged details of his offending in a calendar app on one of his devices.

 

Gloucestershire Police traced a third victim in West Yorkshire and she spoke with officers about how Johnson had sexually abused her when she was 14.

 

Johnson pleaded guilty to 14 counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

 

To report a rape call 999 in an emergency or report by calling 101 or online: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/.../rape-sexual.../

 

First Light provides support for all victims and survivors of sexual violence, for more information visit: https://www.firstlight.org.uk/

 

Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre provide support for all victims and survivors of sexual violence, for more information visit: https://www.glosrasac.org/