Predator 'could die in prison' for years of abuse against young boys in Wakefield
A predatory peadophile who abused two young boys could die behind bars after being handed a 17-year jail sentence.
Simon Kirkby, who has previous convictions against children dating back more than 30 years, admitted a string of new offences against the boys at Leeds Crown Court.
The 64-year-old is in poor health and he may never be free again, his barrister Soheil Khan said.
The court heard that Kirkby, of Rill Court, Hemsworth, had abused two boys over an eight-year period in the 1990s and 2000s.
He had worked as a marshall at motor race meetings and would use it to abuse boys, one from the age of six, the other from the age of 11.
He was finally arrested in 2023, and gave a no-comment interview to officers. He later admitted four counts of indecent assault, one of rape, two of causing or inciting children to engage in sexual activity, and one of sexual assault of a child under 13.
He had been jailed for four years in 1990 for abusing children.
Mr Khan said Kirkby’s best mitigation for his latest offences were his guilty pleas. He told the court: “He has been candid, he has been waiting for this to catch up with him.
“In that craze of offending, he simply did not acknowledge the effect his offending would have had on his victims.”
The judge, Recorder David Gordon gave Kirkby 15 years’ jail, with a two-year extended licence period.
He was also put on the sex offender register for life, and given a life-long sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) stopping him from having unsupervised contact with the children.