A Lower Kingswood man has been found guilty of 40 counts of historic sexual abuse.
68-year-old Stephen Henry Walker, who worked as a salesman and police officer and was also a children’s football coach, was found guilty on 40 charges of sexual assault relating to 15 victims between the late 1960s and 2007.
He will be sentenced in May.
During a seven week trial beginning in January, Walker was found guilty of 33 accounts of sexual assault. He was found guilty of a further seven counts during a second trial which began on 8 March. Both juries returned unanimous verdicts.
An investigation into his activities first began in 2018 after a victim came forward. The investigation revealed a catalogue of offences including sexual assault, gross indecency with children and inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.
Walker fled to Malta once his crimes were uncovered a lived under an alias before returning to the UK in 2019, when he was subsequently arrested.
While the majority of his offences were committed in Surrey, Walker has also abused children in France and Malta, as well as other locations outside of UK jurisdiction.
Detective Inspector Paddy Mayers from the Complex Abuse Unit, said:
“Walker was a vile sexual predator who used his position as a football coach, trusted member of the community and friend, to gain access to children and then seriously abuse them for his own gratification. The scale of his offending, which went unchallenged for years, cannot be underestimated.
“I would like to pay tribute to all the victims and witnesses involved in this case who were brave enough to come forward and give evidence, which meant re-living the ordeal they had endured as a result of the abuse Walker inflicted upon them. I would also like to thank them for their continued patience and support that resulted in the trial being delayed due to covid. I hope that the fact that he has been found guilty will give them some sense of justice after all these years of having to live with what he did to them.”
DI Mayers continued:
“I would also like to thank all those involved in the investigation for their hard work and dedication under extremely trying circumstances, with not only a huge number of victims and witnesses, but also the substantial delays to the trial as a result of the pandemic.
“I hope that Walker’s conviction sends a clear message that we will always do everything we can to ensure allegations of sexual abuse are investigated thoroughly and that we will leave no stone unturned to get to the truth.”
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