LONDON: Notorious British paedophile Richard Huckle, convicted of sexually abusing children in Malaysia, has been found stabbed to death in prison, British media said on Monday (Oct 14).

He was reportedly attacked at Full Sutton Prison in York with a makeshift knife.



A Prison Service spokesman confirmed Huckle had died on Sunday.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further while a police investigation is ongoing," he added.

Huckle, 33, was serving 22 concurrent life sentences for his crimes. He had posed as a freelance photographer, English teacher and volunteer working with Christian communities to gain access mostly to impoverished communities in Kuala Lumpur between 2006 and 2014.

His victims were aged between six months and 12 years.





At his trial in 2016, Huckle pleaded guilty to 71 offences involving 22 children, but it is thought there were many more child victims across Southeast Asia.

An Australian detective unit eventually discovered his activities in an encrypted room on the "dark web", where members exchanged child sex abuse images and tips.



Huckle was arrested at London's Gatwick Airport in December 2014 as he returned home from Malaysia to spend Christmas with his parents.



He was carrying a heavily-encrypted computer and camera that contained more than 20,0000 images of child sex abuse - over 1,000 of which showed him committing offences including rape.

The laptop also contained a ledger in which he detailed the abuse of 191 victims, but officers were unable to press charges on all cases as there was no photographic evidence.

He also wrote a manual called Paedophiles And Poverty: Child Lover Guide.



During the trial at the Old Bailey court in London, Judge Peter Rook said that the manuscript was a "truly evil document proselytising paedophilia", and that Huckle had intended to publish it for profit.

