Leeds predator branded ‘the stuff of nightmares’ after campaign of rape on four-year-old boy

Mark Hutchinson-Schofield was already banned for life from being near children for his previous crimes when he began the “campaign of rape “ against the helpless boy, which spanned four years.

Follwing a trial, the 55-year-old was found guilty by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on four counts of raping a child. He was jailed today for life, with a minimum term of of 14 years, minus the 176 days he has spent already on remand.

Judge Simon Batiste did not hold back, telling him: "I do not detect the slightest shred of remorse for what you have done. You are, in my judgement, an extremely dangerous man who violated a child in the most vile way. You are a horrible human being. Society needs protecting from you.

“You accused him (the victim) of lying and denied you had done anything. He said it may have happened 100 times. In short, you engaged in a campaign of rape.”

He warned Hutchinson-Schofield, of Lovell Park Heights, Sheepscar, that he “may never be released”, telling him he would only taste freedom once the parole board is satisfied he is no longer a danger.

His offending came to light last year after the boy told a teacher at school, saying the abuse had been going on for several years.

The jury took just one hour and 50 minutes to reach a unanimous guilty verdict on all counts.

A victim impact statement, written by the boy’s guardian, said assaults by Hutchinson-Schofield had been “life changing” for the youngster and that he continues to suffer from nightmares.

Read out by prosecutor Michael Greenhalgh, he said: “He has lived with this nightmare for so long. I do not know the long-term effects it will have on him. He does not trust anyone. His innocence has been taken away from him.”

It was only after the verdict was returned that it was disclosed that Hutchinson-Schofield was jailed for 14 years in 1989 for an incident Judge Batiste said was the “stuff of nightmares”.

He broke into a house in the middle of the night wearing a balaclava and brandishing a knife and repeatedly raped a terrified 16-year-old girl in the property.

Following that conviction, Hutchinson-Schofield was given a sexual harm prevention order banning him for life from having unsupervised contact with children.

He was then found with thousands of indecent images in 2010 and jailed for 15 months.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Mark Tester, of Leeds District Safeguarding Unit, said: “Hutchinson-Schofield was responsible for an appalling and sustained catalogue of abuse against this vulnerable child. He systematically sexually exploited the victim for his own gratification.

“This was a challenging investigation where the officer in the case, Detective Constable Nicki Vincent, supported the victim at every stage to comprehensively capture all the evidence that has helped to secure these convictions.

“We hope the significant sentence that Hutchinson-Schofield has now received will provide some reassurance to the victim and his family as well as to the wider community.”