Detective: now he can't hurt anyone else

A RETIRED detective who was part of the team which brought Goad to justice said that parents could "rest a little easier" now he was dead.

Former detective constable Shirley Thompson said the pervert was no longer able to hurt children.

She said: "This was the worst case I have ever known."

A second officer on the inquiry said victims were saved the prospect of ever bumping into Goad on the street as a free man.

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Sgt John Livingstone, who opposed his bid for parole over the last two years, said: "I think this is the right result. I don't think he should ever have been released."

Both officers said that his death would bring closure to victims – but Goad had never admitted nor apologised for his crimes.

Mrs Thompson said: "I was one of the officers working on the William Goad case. He was a monster likely to have abused thousands of children.

"I worked very closely with many victims involved and my thoughts are with them as I know this will bring about some difficult and confusing emotions.

"Some will feel a sense of relief and closure, while others will feel completely cheated out of the justice they deserve. There is so much more to this case than meets the eye.

"Parents can rest a little easier knowing that William Goad, then Britain's worst-ever paedophile, is no longer able to hurt their children."

Sgt Livingstone, then a child protection officer, added Goad never confessed his crimes nor tried to tackle his sick interest in young boys.

He added: "He was convicted of offences but after the case a multitude of victims came forward and he was never convicted in relation to them.

"At least they know they will never have to face him again. Most of them are adults now but they still have that in-built fear in them.

"I still have vivid memories of the reactions of the victims when they were being interviewed.

"This may bring them some sort of closure, something they have never had.

"But he never accepted his guilt and never showed any remorse, which must have been something which went against him as he applied for parole. He never said sorry."

"He stuck to what he said in the trial. He sought to blame the victims and say it was somehow their fault."

Sgt Livingstone said he kept in close touch with the probation service and the prison and advised the parole board "on the multitude of his crimes".

Parole officers turned Goad down for early release at the end of 2010.

Sgt Livingstone, now a beat officer in Ivybridge, said the sheer number of victims needing help led to the start of the professional counselling group Twelve's Company.

He added victims were left gaining support from each other in the weeks after Goad's conviction.

Judge William Taylor, then Plymouth's senior judge, praised the police team after the trial, saying the investigation was "superb".