EXCLUSIVE Paedophile who tortured, raped and starved four children with his partner was reported to police by a child THREE YEARS before officers launched probe, but prosecutors chose not to take action

• Andrew Hadwin, 39, and partner Cheryl Pickles, 35, were found guilty of abuse
• The couple abused and tortured youngsters, forcing them to walk miles for food
• Hadwin was found dead in his jail cell earlier this month following his conviction

A paedophile who tormented four children could have been stopped three years earlier if prosecutors had taken action when a girl told police he’d sexually abused her, we can reveal.

Andrew Hadwin was found dead in his prison cell earlier this month while awaiting sentence for offences of rape and the appalling mistreatment of children with his partner Cheryl Pickles in a case that horrified the country.

The vile couple tormented children by starving them, feeding them soap, forcing them into boiling hot showers, shutting them in a cupboard and forcing them to stand in ‘stress’ positions for hours on end.

The malnourished youngsters walked miles to scavenge for food in supermarket bins and they were made to watch Hadwin and Pickles eat takeaway meals and sweets while being deprived of food themselves.

But a MailOnline investigation has found that evil Hadwin could have been stopped in 2015 – three years before police launched a probe in 2018 that finally brought him to justice.

Hadwin was convicted of three counts of rape, seven counts of neglect, and one count of perverting the course of justice. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child

Cheryl Pickles, 35, and Andrew Hadwin, 39, of Fishburn, County Durham, tormented children by starving them, feeding them soap and pushing them into boiling hot showers

Back then a young girl told police that Hadwin had been sexually abusing her.

READ MORE: CHILD ABUSER FOUND DEAD IN HIS POLICE CELL AFTER CONVICTION 

Police sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, but a decision was made there was ‘not a reasonable prospect of conviction’ as the case amounted to Hadwin’s word against the child.

Had action been taken at this earlier opportunity, years of suffering by children may have been prevented.

At his trial prosecutor Anne Richardson told the jury: ‘Even as recently as 2015 sexual allegations made by children were not viewed in the way that they are now by the authorities.’

The same child was interviewed again in 2019 after police opened a fresh inquiry into Hadwin and his then partner Pickles.

Allegations of neglect, sexual abuse and rape were made by the girl against Hadwin, who was ultimately convicted of multiple offences.

But during the intervening period between police inquiries Hadwin and Pickles were responsible for the appalling mistreatment of other children, with one child left with life-limiting injuries as a result of the abuse.

A family member told Mailonline: ‘The kids wouldn’t have been abused if they had done something the first time he was reported.

The couple’s home in Fishburn, County Durham

‘If the authorities had done their job in the first place he would never have been near those kids. If there was enough evidence to convict him this time then surely there would have been enough evidence the first time?’

Neighbours of paedophile who faces life for torturing children with his partner reveal how they would bring their children in from playing outside when they saw him 

She described the mistreatment as ‘shocking and appalling’ and had no idea the pair were behaving in this way. After the police intervention a relative discovered food was also buried in a garden by the young victims, she said.

‘In hindsight it’s upsetting to think good people were around them when they were starving and didn’t know to help,’ said the family member.

‘Children often complain of being hungry but you just put that down to being kids.’

At the end of a seven-week trial Hadwin was last month found guilty of three counts of rape, seven of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.

Pickles was convicted of five counts of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.

The media didn’t report on the Teesside Crown Court trial when it was ongoing and details of the case were revealed in a detailed press release from Durham Police immediately following their conviction.

But the press release made no mention of the first police investigation and the decision to reject prosecution in 2015.

Full details of the prosecution case against the couple have now been obtained by the Mail.

The court heard how the rape victim was also beaten by Hadwin and locked in a room with a bucket for a toilet, behaviour Miss Richardson said was ‘Medieval.’ After the CPS decided against charging Hadwin he started a relationship with Pickles.

They ended up living in a County Durham village and physically abused other children over several years, the court heard.

The couple were convicted of a prolonged campaign of child abuse by a jury at Teesside Crown Court after a lengthy trial

Cheryl Pickles was found guilty of five counts of child cruelty and one of perverting the course of justice. She was found not guilty of sexual activity with a child

Evidence was presented to the jury about a child having ‘freezing water’ poured over their head and being forced to take scolding hot showers.

As well as putting soap in a child’s mouth, the youngster’s mouth was rinsed out with shampoo.

When taking baths children were also said to have been ‘held under the water’ by Pickles and to the point they lost consciousness.

Youngsters were so deprived of food one was caught on CCTV stealing from a supermarket.

They were forced to watch the defendants eat sweets and chocolates in front of them.

The couple spent large sums on Just Eat takeaways but the meals ‘didn’t end up in the children’s stomachs.’

Instead the youngsters watched the couple eat them as a ‘peculiar form of torture,’ said Miss Richardson.

The children were also punished by being forced to stand ‘either on one leg or with knees crouched and their hands on their head’ sometimes ‘all day.’

They were slapped if they couldn’t maintain the ‘stress’ position. Hadwin walked with the aid of a stick and he used it to hit children, the court heard.

While Pickles was said to have stabbed a child in the hand with a knife. That same child was allegedly shut in a cupboard for prolonged periods ‘more than 50 times.’ One child told of going to school with no breakfast, feeling tired and hungry, and only sometimes being allowed tea.

At Teesside Crown Court, the couple were found guilty of multiple counts of abuse and were warned they face lengthy jail terms ahead of sentencing on April 28

Pickles and Hadwin were convicted for abusing and neglecting children, forcing them to eat soap and scavenge for scraps after a seven-week trial at Teesside Crown Court

Two of the children went out in search of sweets and were found by police in the early hours of the morning.

Police were also called when screams were heard from the defendants’ home in 2018.

Summarising the behaviour, Miss Richardson said children were ‘neglected in every sense, subjected to lack of food, clothing and toys, but also made to endure punishments which were cruel and totally inappropriate for their ages.’

The offences of perverting the course of justice related to the defendants producing forged letters they claimed had been written by a child admitting to telling lies about them and apologising.

Pickles is due to be sentenced on 28 April. Hadwin was found dead in his cell at HMP Durham on 2 February.

The cause of death is not known and an inquest into his death is yet to be opened.

The Crown Prosecution Service said evidence was originally not sufficient to prosecute Hadwin.

A CPS spokesperson said: ‘In September 2015, the Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence from Durham Police in relation to a complaint of sexual abuse against Andrew Hadwin. After carefully considering the evidence available to the CPS at that time, we took the decision that there was insufficient evidence to secure a realistic prospect of prosecution.

‘As a result of the subsequent Durham Constabulary investigation into Andrew Hadwin, the CPS was presented with significant further evidence in June of 2018. We used this evidence to build a robust case against Hadwin, which we successfully prosecuted to secure multiple convictions relating to his criminal offending.’

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