Prolific paedophile convicted of abusing several children over three decades

A 67-year-old man has been convicted of abusing children over three decades in one of the biggest child sex abuse cases that the Crown Prosecution Service in Merseyside and Cheshire has ever dealt with.

On 24 June 2025, at Chester Crown Court, after a six week trial, William Woods, of Congleton, was found guilty of 57 offences.

These offences involved the abuse of six boys and two girls, aged between five and 15, at different periods between 1976 and 2006 inclusive.

He was charged with 59 counts. Today the jury found him guilty of 57 counts,  55 were unanimous verdicts, two were guilty by a majority of 10-2. The jury found him not guilty of one of the counts and they failed to reach a verdict on another. He will be sentenced on 15 August 2025.

Woods sexually abused his victims, as well as physically abusing one of them. He encouraged some of them to touch each other. Woods groomed the children with gifts and cigarettes and secured their silence with threats.

He was also convicted in 2006 of sexual offences against three boys, including rape.

It is one of the biggest child sex abuse cases within CPS Mersey-Cheshire due to the complexities of the investigation, the number of victims, and the volume of offences.

Crown Advocate Sarah Egan, a specially trained rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) lawyer within CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “The guilty verdicts delivered by the jury today are a recognition of the bravery and determination of the eight victims in this case. Without their testimonies, patience and courage, we would not have had a case to bring.

“This is now the second time William Woods has been brought to justice.

“He is a prolific, serial paedophile, who brought misery and suffering to these victims at various points over a 30-year period, via a campaign of grooming, duress and abuse.

“The extent of the damage that he has caused knows no bounds. It is a testament to the character and strength of these victims that we are here today; that convictions have been secured, and justice has been served.

“I would like to thank the dedication and tenacity of the team that worked on, or were involved with, this case, including the Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) who are part of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC), Cheshire Police the other members of CPS staff who have worked on the case, and the prosecuting barristers.

“Most importantly, I would like to extend my thanks to the eight victims on this case. This result belongs to them.”

Building the case: How the CPS and Cheshire Police brought William Woods to justice for a second time.

This investigation began in 2018, when one of the victims came forward to the police. He said that when he was 11, he had been abused. Woods sexually assaulted him and made the victim touch him too. There was another boy present for some of this and subsequently, Woods encouraged the children to touch each other. That victim named a further person that Woods abused, who was spoken to by the police.

This next victim told officers that he was abused when he was about eight or nine. Woods pretended it was a game. This victim kept quiet about the abuse initially because he said he felt embarrassed and ashamed. Woods sexually assaulted him, some of it while there was another boy present. Woods encouraged the children to touch each other too.

As a result, the police and the CPS decided to re-open investigations concerning four other victims.

One was a friend of another victim and the then girlfriend of a complainant from the 2006 prosecution. Woods told the girl that he would help her get back with her boyfriend if she began a sexual relationship with him. He sexually assaulted her. She was 16 years old.

Another female victim confirmed that between the ages of five and 14, Woods made her touch him sexually and he sexually assaulted her. He also physically abused her, such as burning her skin with a cigarette. She said that other children would make fun of these marks and suggest they were flea bites.

Subsequently, a further male victim confirmed he was abused by Woods, from when he 12 until he was 15. Woods befriended the boy via one of the other victims. He took him for days out and on holiday. As the abuse developed, he offered the boy cigarettes and money if he would allow him to sexually abuse him. The bribes increased, as did the threats. Woods told the boy that if he reported what he had been doing, the boy would go to prison as well. The victim later described how he hated what was happening and would cry.

Another male victim was spoken to by the police. He gave a similar account of Woods being friendly towards him and seeming like ‘a normal bloke’ to begin with. But then the abuse began and the bribes with cigarettes and money started. He was aged 13 to 14.

In 2021, a further victim approached the police. He said he had been sexually assaulted by Woods when he was aged between 11 and 14, including in a public toilet on one occasion. The boy was too young to understand what was going on and didn’t tell anyone what had happened. This victim named a further person that Woods abused, who was spoken to by the police.

This next victim told officers that he was abused when he was aged 13, after Woods told him to come for a walk with him. He pulled the boy into some bushes where he sexually assaulted him.  The victim managed to fight back and got away. That victim explained to police why he hadn’t been able to report the incident before. He told officers ‘you feel ashamed, you feel as if it’s your fault’.

The defendant was interviewed twice during the investigation in 2018 and 2019, as well as beforehand in other investigations. He completed a third and final interview in 2022 as part of the investigation, after his arrest in 2022. He completely denied all the allegations, claiming the victims had colluded with each other, and were only after compensation. He said  couldn’t actually remember who many of the victims were.

The investigation and case were legally complex, involving multiple pieces of legislation, case law and theory, and jurisdictional matters. It involved the re-opening of a number of previous investigations and cross-referencing the case from the 2006 conviction to this case. There was a volume of evidence and unused material that all had to be reviewed. Each set of allegations had to be thoroughly investigated. This was not withstanding the effect of the Covid- 19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.

The case has involved close work with other agencies such as Cheshire Constabulary, the Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) who are part of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC), and the independent barristers at the external bar (counsel). While we are all independent of each other, collaboration is a key component in building any prosecution case; this case highlights exactly how beneficial effective collaboration can be.

The case was charged by the CPS on 2 January 2024. On 19 April 2024, at the plea and trial preparation hearing (PTPH) at Chester Crown Court, Woods pleaded not guilty to all offences, and the trial was set for the end of April 2025. The trial started on 1 May 2025 and lasted several weeks. The jury was sent out on 18 June and returned their verdicts on 24 June 2025.