Paedophile Allowed to Stay in Britain, Claims Right to Family Life

A convicted foreign paedophile who abused his own granddaughter has been allowed to fight to stay in Britain on the grounds that he has the right to a family life. VDS, an Italian national, first came to this country more than 50 years ago and had two British children with his first wife. He served a prison sentence in Spain for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old child in 2016, but was released in January 2023 and subsequently expelled from Spain. He returned to Italy, where he made an application for leave to enter and remain in the UK under the Government's EU Settlement Scheme. Despite his history, he was allowed to return and secure indefinite leave to remain under post-Brexit rules.

Key Takeaways:

• VDS, a convicted paedophile, abused his 20-year-old granddaughter just days after returning to the UK from a prison sentence in Spain for sexual offences.
• He was previously sentenced to prison in Spain for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old child in 2016 and served a 3-year sentence before being released in January 2023.
• Despite his history, VDS was allowed to return to the UK and secure indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme.
• The Home Office initially ordered his deportation after his latest conviction, but VDS launched a legal challenge claiming he has the right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
• The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber partially threw out VDS's argument, ruling that the Home Office had based the deportation decision entirely on the 2023 British offence.

Statistics:

• VDS has been convicted of sexual offences in both Spain and the UK.
• He served a 3-year prison sentence in Spain for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old child.
• VDS was recorded as having committed a pattern of predatory sexual offending with vulnerable victims.
• The Home Office initially ordered his deportation after his latest conviction, but he was allowed to launch a legal challenge.

Sources:

• A 2023 court judgment by a judge stating that "you are a serial, predatory sex offender who has shown a blatant disregard for the laws of the UK and the impact of your offending on your victims".
• The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber's ruling in January 2024 that "the Home Office had based the deportation decision entirely on the 2023 British offence, which took place long after Brexit, meaning that the UK's tougher domestic deportation regime applies".
• A report from the UK's Reform Party criticizing VDS's appeal, stating that "this is another example of why we need to withdraw from the Human Rights Convention".