Ex-RAF man from Stowmarket, formerly based at RAF Honington, jailed for sex abuse of boy scout 30 years ago

Ex Royal Air Force Serviceman Richard Philpotts, of Stowmarket, Suffolk was sentenced on 16 January 2017 to three years imprisonment following conviction in relation to a single victim of one offence of indecent assault on a child below the age of 14, committed between 1986 and 1987. (Image: Archant)

A former RAF corporal and scout master has been jailed at a court martial for three years for the sexual abuse of a boy scout more than 30 years ago in Germany.

Richard Philpotts, who was previously based at RAF Honington in Suffolk and lived in Stowmarket, was sentenced at Portsmouth Naval Base for a single offence of indecent assault.

He was found guilty at trial at the Colchester Military Court Centre in Essex in December last year.

Judge Avocate Robert Hill told the court that the 62-year-old had abused the boy, who was aged about 13, some time between 1986 and 1987 at RAF Gatow in Germany.

He said the youngster had gone to lie down after becoming unwell and the defendant had gone into the teenager’s room and sexually assaulted him before being disturbed by one of the other boys.

Philpotts, who served 24 years before retiring from the RAF in 1995 and who had earned the General Service Medal for Northern Ireland, was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

Judge Hill told him: “This happened when you were in a position of trust – you were a scout master.”

The victim said in a statement read to the court: “I felt I could not get into a relationship, I questioned my sexuality and asked ‘Did I lead him on? Was it my fault in some way?’”

He added: “I still feel what he did was wrong; when I look back I feel I was put through a type of grooming.”

Speaking after the sentencing, an NSPCC spokesman described Philpotts as a “sexual predator who betrayed a position of trust and subjected a young boy to sickening abuse”.

He added: “The 62-year-old probably thought he got away with it but justice has finally been achieved for a crime that will have had a long-lasting effect on his victim.

“Survivors of abuse are never to blame for what’s happened to them and it’s vital they know they’ll be listened to when they speak out, no matter how much time has passed.

“Anyone concerned about abuse can contact the NSPCC’s helpline on 0808 800 5000.”