Predator who sexually assaulted underage boys jailed for eight years

Patrick Livingstone appeared at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this month where he was jailed for a total of 92 months for a string of offences, including sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy inside a public toilet.

The 54-year-old, who had been previously issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in 2017 for a separate offence, also pleaded guilty to an indecent assault on a child decades earlier – the offence only coming to light after the brave survivor found the courage to speak to police after seeing Livingstone’s image in the news.

Back in September 2020, officers from Newcastle City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team and Bedlington’s CID worked together to build the case against him after being contacted by a concerned mother, who reported Livingstone had been trying to befriend her 13-year-old son.

When officers began investigating, they discovered Livingstone had breached an order imposed on him which prevented him from having contact with children.

But, less than two months later, as police continued to prepare their case, Livingstone then approached a 16-year-old in a Newcastle toilet and sexually assaulted him.

In June 2021, he was arrested again after more information came to light which revealed Livingstone had taken a voluntary role in a Byker charity shop leading him to have contact with a nine-year-old boy, further breaching his order.

Livingstone, of Percy Main, North Tyneside, was later charged and appeared in Crown Court on May 17 where he admitted two breaches of Sexual Harm Prevention Order, sexual assault by touching and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. He also pleaded guilty to the historic offence believed to have taken place around 30 years earlier.

On August 12, he was jailed.

After the sentencing, Sergeant Kyle Brewis of Northumbria Police said: “Livingstone is a repeat offender who poses significant danger to children and I am pleased he is now behind bars.

“Livingstone showed a complete disregard for the law – he was subjected to previous court orders, and given a very strict set of bail conditions, but chose to ignore these and approached two teenagers and a nine-year-old boy, assaulting one of them in a public toilet.

“Thanks to the hard work of Bedlington CID and the Newcastle City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, a strong case was put before the courts, leaving Livingstone no choice but to admit his guilt and thankfully spare his victims from going to trial.

“Our communities are no place for predators like Livingstone and I want to thank the victims and their families for their cooperation and bravery in helping bring him to justice.

"They have courageously presented their best evidence to the court – and while we are pleased Livingstone pleaded guilty, he did so at the last moment and avoided having to account for his actions under oath.

“As a force we are committed to doing all we can to help victims. We will pursue dangerous offenders who pose a risk to children and bring them before our partners in the criminal justice system.”