In a shocking turn of events, a former police informant has been sentenced to life in prison for a litany of depraved sexual offences against children. Nick Gratwick, a 68-year-old from Mitcham, South London, was found guilty of 38 charges, including plotting to rape children as young as six both in the UK and abroad.
Judge Harden-Frost, who presided over the six-week trial at Guildford Crown Court, described Gratwick’s crimes as “utterly depraved and manipulative, and the stuff of nightmares.” The disgraced former informant had exchanged hundreds of encrypted messages with other abusers, arranging to pay a Romanian mother to allow him to rape her 10-year-old daughter, and discussing ways to drug and sexually abuse children.
Gratwick’s sordid double life came to light when he was arrested at Stansted Airport last March as he was about to board a flight to Bucharest. Authorities discovered over 1,300 images and videos of children being sexually exploited on his devices. The judge ruled that Gratwick, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, would not be eligible for parole for 19 years, deeming him a “dangerous” paedophile.
The court heard how Gratwick had previously worked as a police informant, spying on environmental and animal rights activists in the 1990s and 2000s. For six years, he had infiltrated protest groups, including the high-profile campaign to prevent the construction of a bypass around Newbury, Berkshire, by gathering information on campaigners and passing it on to the police.
Activists involved in the Newbury protests have confirmed that Gratwick, who was known as “Radio Nick,” played a key role in organising the demonstrations, helping to acquire and distribute equipment such as ropes and harnesses, as well as setting up a network of CB radios to warn fellow protesters of police movements.
Thames Valley Police, which policed the Newbury protests, declined to comment on the revelation that they had hired a private security firm to infiltrate the activist groups, which in turn employed Gratwick as an informant.
The case has sent shockwaves through the UK, with many questioning how Gratwick’s abhorrent crimes could have gone undetected for so long, despite his previous role as a police informant. The sentencing serves as a stark reminder of the need for robust safeguards and thorough background checks to prevent such individuals from positions of trust and influence.
