Wednesday, 1st February 2017

Serial child abuser, and retired English teacher, Mark Frost, formerly Andrew Tracey, has pleaded guilty to 45 counts of rape and sexual assault of children in the UK and Thailand, in what has been called by prosecutors as one of most serious cases in British court history. 

Authorities have identified more than 10 child victims across two continents. The NCA’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK expects more potential victims to come forward after details of the case were released today. 

A global effort involving UK, Canadian, Thai, Dutch and Spanish authorities finally led to his capture and extradition under a European Arrest Warrant in 2016.

Frost first came to the attention of UK authorities in 1992, fined just £200 for viewing child abuse images. He was later jailed for twelve months in 1998 for the sexual assault of a boy and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. However, this did not prevent Frost from travelling to Thailand, where he raped and sexually assaulted at least nine boys in a three-year period. 

The mother of one of the victims in Thailand told The Guardian: 

“I drown in sorrow about what Andrew has done to my son and other boys. He deserves severe punishment.”

ECPAT UK has documented hundreds of cases of British sex offenders traveling abroad to abuse children, many of whom are never prosecuted in British courts. It has accused the UK Government of failing to show the urgent and requisite political will to acknowledge and clamp down on what it calls “the export of child sex offenders” around the world. 

In 2015 alone, more than 100 offenders had been held in custody overseas for sexual crimes against children.

ECPAT UK’s Bharti Patel said: 

“We’re relieved to finally see Mark Frost face justice. This is a man who evaded police across the globe and subjected children to heinous abuses for more than 25 years. 

“As he faces the full force of the law, it is vitally important for the NCA to work with law enforcement authorities and local NGOs across borders to help identify victims of Frost’s crimes against children. Every child that has been abused by Frost, no matter where they are from, must then be enabled to access the best possible support through UK courts to rebuild their lives.

“Our Government must also accept some responsibility for the failure to manage sex offenders and prevent these crimes against vulnerable children in the UK and abroad. They must demonstrate urgent commitment now if we are to stop this vile export of sex offenders to other parts of the world."

ENDS

Press contact

Bharti Patel, CEO, ECPAT UK: 020 7607 2136, [email protected]