Paedophile Ringleader Faces Fresh Parole Review

​The mastermind behind one of Britain’s most disturbing online child abuse rings could soon learn whether he will be allowed back into the community, as his case returns to the Parole Board.

​Colin Blanchard, an IT consultant from Rochdale, has served 15 years behind bars following his conviction in 2011. Handed an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a strict minimum term of nine years, he was warned by the trial judge that the gravity of his crimes meant he might never be deemed safe for release.

​Blanchard’s previous bid for freedom was knocked back after parole reviewers concluded that his sexual interests remained “pervasive”. During that review, officials noted that while he claimed to have left behind his extreme fantasies, he was unprepared to accept that those urges could return, presenting a lingering threat to public safety.

​Operating over the internet, Blanchard functioned as a Svengali-like figure, drawing four women into a depraved network dedicated to the sexual abuse and exploitation of babies and toddlers. He orchestrated the scheme by manipulating the women into carrying out assaults and feeding him explicit imagery.

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​His co-conspirators included Plymouth nursery worker Vanessa George, who used her professional access to abuse young children, former sex worker Angela Allen, Portsmouth nursery volunteer Tracy Lyons, and Southport care worker Tracy Dawber. All four women have long since completed their prison sentences and been released, with George’s actions remaining a source of profound anguish after she refused to identify many of the infants she targeted.

​At his original sentencing at Bristol Crown Court, Mr Justice Royce branded Blanchard “warped, wicked, dangerous, devious and manipulative”, highlighting a case that provoked widespread national revulsion. Blanchard’0s admissions included multiple counts of sexual assault against children under 13, taking and distributing indecent photographs, and offenses linked to bestiality.

​With his latest parole review underway, authorities face the heavy responsibility of determining whether the offender has truly overcome the deep-rooted impulses that defined his crimes, or if he remains a profound danger to society.