Prolific paedophile Richard Huckle blames child abuse on his 'immaturity'

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A paedophile who admitted to an unprecedented number of child sex offences has told an Old Bailey court he blames his "immaturity".

Believed to have abused up to 200 children from poor areas of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Richard Huckle said he was "deeply remorseful" for his actions.

During the sentencing, his lawyer asked for leniency and read out a statement from the 30-year-old, which said: "I am open and eager to rehabilitate from this offending behaviour.

"I don't want to become a martyr to sex tourism in Malaysia. This was all my doing as a consequence of my own immaturities.

"I am deeply remorseful and regretful of what has happened and will do all I can in being proactive towards rehabilitating myself."

A practising Christian, he posed as an English teacher doing good deeds to gain access to children from poor Christian families.

Huckle said in his letter to the court he had "completely misjudged the affections I received from these children", according to Sky News.

he added that he was influenced by a "pathetic, perverted lust of those who drew me into the dark net".

Huckle was arrested by the National Crime Agency when he landed at Gatwick airport en route to spend Christmas at home with his family in 2014.

The Old Bailey heard he had written a paedophile manual entitled Paedophiles And Poverty: Child Lover Guide as well as a 'Pedopoints ledger' in which he detailed rapes and various sex acts.

The manual was on an encrypted space on Huckle's laptop ready for publication on the "dark web" through a hyperlink.

In online discussions, he bragged: "Impoverished kids are definitely much easier to seduce than middle class Western kids."

Huckle has admitted 71 child sex offences, including multiple rapes, against 23 identified children aged between six months and 12 years old.

Some 22 of the charges carry discretionary life sentences. He will be sentenced on Monday.