Paedophile Andrew Thomson Jailed 24 Years for Multiple Child Sex Offences in Lancashire

Andrew Thomson, a 53-year-old from Clitheroe, has been jailed for 24 years after admitting to serious sexual offences against two young boys aged six and eight, including attempted rape and multiple assaults. He groomed the victims, forced them to watch him perform lewd acts, and threatened them not to disclose the abuse. Upon his arrest, two additional victims came forward, revealing assaults that occurred when they were between eight and ten years old and had been befriended by Thomson years earlier. Judge Sara Dodd also imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and lifetime registration on the sex offenders' register. Separately, Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho was sentenced to nine years in prison after DNA evidence linked him to sexual assaults on two girls aged 10 and 15 in Surrey in 2017; he was identified when applying to become a Police Community Support Officer in 2024. Both cases underscore the enduring trauma suffered by victims and the importance of law enforcement in bringing perpetrators to justice.