Lecturer who plotted child sex offence kept university post; Royal Holloway says it was not told

Right · 2Barry Langford, 61, a film studies lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for three years at the Old Bailey after admitting a child sex offence plot. 1 2 Right · 1He admitted one count each of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, making an indecent image of a child, and possessing extreme pornography, after being charged in November 2024. 1 Right · 2The offence concerned a plan, made with a woman in May and June 2023, to sexually assault an eight-year-old girl. Langford messaged a person on a fetish website whom he believed was offering a child, but no child existed and he was speaking to an undercover police officer. 1 2

Right · 1The Mail reports that the pair chatted to the officer on Telegram and WhatsApp and held phone calls, and that police saw 'clear intent' to meet and abuse the girl. Langford dropped the plan over fears of 'ending up in prison', but only after suggesting the girl attend a swingers' party in France. 1 Right · 2His co-defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received a community order. Langford was also given a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, according to the Mail. 1 2 Right · 2Langford was arrested in October 2023 but, both papers report, did not tell his employer. Colleagues did not know he used the name 'London Pervert' on a fetish website. 1 2

Right · 2Royal Holloway said it 'was not informed of the criminal proceedings by either the relevant authorities or the individual concerned', called the conduct 'utterly abhorrent', and said Langford is no longer employed there. It said it has support in place for students and colleagues and would not comment further. 1 2 Right · 2The Mail says the university first learned of the case when the Mail contacted it at the start of the new academic year, and that Langford's profile stayed on the university website into the autumn term before being removed. The Express says the university was made aware only the week before sentencing. 1 2 Right · 1Langford's lawyer told the court he resigned on 29 June this year, the day he pleaded guilty. The Mail reports that police were understood not to be obliged to tell the university because Langford did not work directly with children. 1

Right · 1Defence counsel Peter Clark said Langford has serious heart problems, that his relationship with his son was damaged, and that he has engaged with Sex Addicts Anonymous. Judge Angela Rafferty KC said the adverse consequences to his life were 'your own responsibility'. 1 Right · 1Detective Constable Nikki Jones of the Metropolitan Police's Child Abuse and Sex Exploitation Unit said the case shows such offenders 'walk among us' and described 'a double life'. The Met said evidence-gathering and the court backlog meant it took three years to reach court. 1