Sex offender admits child assault in London park

A sex offender has admitted posing as a figure of authority to assault children in London parks.

In 1990, David Pearce, now 70, masqueraded as a police officer or a caretaker, approached four children aged between eight and 11, told them some keys were missing and assaulted them at Barking park lido.

It is alleged that in July 1996, he indecently assaulted two 13-year-old girls at a recreational ground.

Pearce, 70, of March in Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday to seven sex offences, including six counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child.

The court heard that police matched semen found on a bench after the 1990 incident to Pearce after he was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of voyeurism, for which he was cautioned.

Pearce had denied a further four counts of indecent assault, six counts of attempting an act of indecency with a child and two counts of indecency with a child relating to 12 other children - all in the 1990s.

The prosecution chose to leave those charges on file after his guilty pleas were entered.

Pearce was granted conditional bail, but was warned he faces a jail term when he is sentenced for the seven offences on 29 May.

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