Gloucestershire man jailed for 16 charges of child sexual abuse
Derek Johnson has been jailed for 15 years
Last updated 25th Nov 2025
A man from Gloucestershire who befriended vulnerable children online before going on to abuse them has been jailed.
Derek Johnson admitted to 16 charges relating to child sex abuse which took place in Gloucestershire and across the UK.
The 58-year-old fled to Ireland whilst on police bail and was extradited back here where he's now been handed 5 years behind bars with a 10 year extended sentence, totaling 15 years in prison.
The case has involved multiple police forces and partner agencies.
Officers from Gloucestershire Police's Child Exploitation Team worked with the Gardai in the ROI and the National Crime Agency to get Johnson extradited back to the UK to face trial for his crimes.
Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough from the Child Exploitation team said the case was a complicated one: “This was the highest priority case that we had at the time.
“It was a daily event that we would come in and the information would change and then we’d have to change our tactics, or change enquires and we sought support from across the constabulary and our colleagues in the national crime agency.”
Detective Sergeant Bernadette Harding also worked on the case: “We want to thank the victims in this case for their bravery in coming forward, they didn’t come direct to the police we found them in most cases so if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be where we are now.”