Elizabeth pensioner Andrew William Richards jailed for 10 years for online abuse of overseas child sex slaves

For five years, he gave bizarre excuses – including cannibalism – for his crimes, but now this Elizabeth pensioner has been punished for causing children to suffer.

A man who paid overseas slavers $65,000 to abuse children while he watched online, then gave bizarre excuses of organ “chop shops” and cannibalism, has been jailed for more than a decade.

On Monday, the District Court sentenced Andrew William Richards to 10 years, one month and 25 days’ jail, with a five-year, nine-month non-parole period.

Richards’ sentencing brings to an end a near five-year legal saga involving the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team’s investigations into Richards in Australia and overseas.

Andrew William Richards outside court. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Police officers search the home of Elizabeth man and pedophile Andrew William Richards, who directed the abuse of children overseas via the internet. Picture: AFP

AFP Sergeant Stephen Hegarty said offenders should not think they could hide behind their computers and stay anonymous by directing and watching abuse from a distance.

“The AFP and partners in Australia and around the world are committed to combating this crime and bringing perpetrators to justice,” he said.

“Everything you do online leaves a trace and we are working tirelessly to identify it.

“Our goal is to protect children wherever they live and ensure anyone trying to harm them is brought before the courts.”

AFP Sergeant Stephen Hegarty and Detective Senior Constable Jordan Dowling from the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team. Picture: Matt Loxton

Police officers search the home of Elizabeth man and pedophile Andrew William Richards, who directed the abuse of children in the Philippines via Skype. Picture: AFP

Richards, 67, was found guilty at trial – after withdrawing his earlier guilty pleas – to offences including engaging in sex with a child outside of Australia.

Police officers search the home of Elizabeth man and pedophile Andrew William Richards, who directed the abuse of children in the Philippines via Skype. Picture: AFP

Caught red-handed by JACET in July 2020, the Elizabeth pensioner gave a bizarre explanation to both The Advertiser and jurors for his offending.

He claimed that, after his wife was eaten by Papua New Guinea cannibals, he took up undercover work to rescue girls from sex slavery and boys from organ “chop shops”.

That work, he claimed, was the reason for his communications with and payment to the traffickers, so he could “buffalo them” and facilitate the rescue operations.

Jurors rejected his claims and found him guilty of the offences as charges.

Richards’ sentence and non-parole period were backdated to September 2021, when his bail was cancelled and he was first remanded in custody.

Outside court, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre National Coordinator Law Enforcement, Markus Erikson, said digital money trails unmasked child abuse offenders.

Those trails, he said, revealed not only who they were, but how they operated.

“Financial transactions are helping us piece together the full picture of offending and connect perpetrators across international borders,” Mr Erikson said.

“We must dismantle this vile trade and ensure that the system enabling profits becomes the tool that catches the offenders.”