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Teenage Sex Offender Had ‘Kill List’ And Harbored Dreams Of Becoming Serial Killer, Cops Say
Harry Leigh allegedly wanted to be known as the “Red Ribbon Killer of Hastings,” a killer who would take the lives of girls and leave red ribbons by their bodies
A convicted rapist and sex offender from England allegedly had aspirations to become a serial killer, and those apparent dreams led to his arrest on child sex charges.
Harry Leigh, 19, of Mountbatten Close, was given 14 years on Friday after he pleaded guilty to raping a girl under the age of 16. He also admitted to inciting four girls aged under 16 to engage in sexual activity over a three-year period, making seven girls between ages 12 and 15 watch a sexual act and making indecent images of children, according to the Hastings and St. Leonards Observer. The charges stem back to January 2018.
He will now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Leigh, who is unemployed, is also accused of wanting to make a career out of killing.
“We received a report from a girl that Leigh had messaged her stating that he wanted to be a serial killer and had posted some concerning tweets on Twitter about wanting to kill people,” Detective Sergeant Steve Shimmons of the Hastings Safeguarding Investigations Unit said, according to the Observer, adding that Leigh was originally arrested for threats to kill. Leigh allegedly claimed he wanted to be known as the “Red Ribbon Killer of Hastings,” a killer who would take the lives of girls and leave red ribbons by their bodies, according to The Argus in Brighton.
A supposed “kill list” was allegedly found at Leigh’s home, along with a collection of knives, maps, plastic sheeting and what the Argus described as a "murder manual."
“From talking to those mentioned on the list, and others, further evidence emerged that Leigh had carried out a series of sexual offenses against young girls,” Shimmons said. “These offenses included sending indecent images and videos of himself to young females and then asking them to return similar images and videos.”
There was not enough evidence to charge him with the threats to kill but there was enough proof of sex crimes to lead to convictions for those.
One of the victims, who has not been named, told the Argus that she is still struggling with what Leigh did to her.
“It’s hard to put into words all the ways this has affected my life and who I thought I was going to be. I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin and I feel that looking at me people can always tell. I have nightmares almost every night. I can’t stuff the feelings back inside."
