Judge's 'discount' for sex informant

AN INFORMANT who is said to have given vital information to detectives investigating paedophile rings involved in the murders of several young boys and the possible production of snuff movies, was given a 'discounted' sentence by a judge yesterday.

After a hearing in private at the Old Bailey, Ian Gabb, 38, a building worker, of Brixton, south London, was sent to prison for three and a half years after admitting wounding his former homosexual lover. His plea of not guilty to attempted murder was accepted.

Judge Michael Coombe said that he had considered a prison term of 15 years but, since Gabb had given detectives 'exceptional information' regarding paedophile rings he had infiltrated, he deserved 'a very large discount'.

The secret hearing is understood to have referred to information concerning the murders of two London boys, Barry Lewis, 5, and Jason Swift, 14, both victims of homosexual killers. Gabb claimed he was a 'crusader' against paedophiles and determined to help to track them down.

Andrew Campbell-Tiech, for the prosecution, said that Gabb, who had served eight years for trying to rape a schoolmistress, was married and had been having a long-term relationship with Leonard Walkley, 58, a bookkeeper described as chairman of the Dr Who Appreciation Society.

The court was told that Gabb believed Mr Walkley was a member of a paedophile ring and wanted to extract information from him by torture to pass to the police. Last September, Gabb went to Mr Walkley's flat, bound him in metal chains, wired the chains into a mains socket and sent shocks through his victim's body. Mr Walkley would have died if the fuse had not blown, the court was told.

Gabb told police that he attacked Mr Walkley as part of his 'crusade' against snuff movie traffickers, and believed his former lover knew where such films could be found.

Passing sentence, Judge Coombe said that there was no evidence that the victim was connected with any paedophile group or had ever been in possession of video films involving children.