Brentwood music teacher jailed for child sex offences

Pickthall, ahead of his sentencing, had addressed a letter to the judge outlining his remorse for this actions.

In it, he said: “I am deeply sorry and ashamed of my charges. I recognise my actions were offensive and immoral. I wish I had behaved differently.”

Judge Loram told Pickthall: “If you hadn’t been arrested you would have carried on. This is decades of abuse… that is who you are.”

Some of Pickthall’s victims were in court to watch him be sentenced to 12 years with a four year extended licence period.

Before beginning her sentencing remarks, Judge Loram said “there can be no sentence that will ever adequately reflect [the victims’] experiences”.

She added: “It’s not a quantification of their distress.”

Survivors of Pickthall’s abuse read out their impact statements, in which many said their childhood had been tainted by his actions.

One said the former choirmaster had been a “pillar of the music community in Brentwood”, then added: “We are disgusted in you.”

After the sentencing, Det Con Det Con Chelsie Stamford of Essex Police said: “His actions indicate he believed he could offend with impunity and would never be caught.

“However thanks to the courage of the 19 men involved in this investigation, he has been proved wrong.

“And he is now where he belongs – behind bars.”