An ex-Royal Navy sailor who was jailed for raping a six-month-old baby has admitted further child abuse offences after being freed on licence.
‘Predatory paedophile’ Geoffrey Rooney was sentenced to 14 years in prison at Plymouth Crown Court in 2015 for a string of vile offences against children.
The former chief petty officer once had a decorated career including a posting at Whitehall and had been trusted to carry out important duties such as re-setting the nuclear codes each night.
After being released earlier this year, Rooney, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, made and shared hundreds of sickening images with other paedophiles, Bradford Crown Court heard.
Rooney appeared at the court via video link last week after he was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.
He also admitted two counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and breaching the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.
The most recent offences happened between July and November when he was arrested in a joint police operation involving West Yorkshire Police and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
During his sentencing in 2015, Judge Paul Darlow said Rooney, then 39, demonstrated ‘all the casual callous depravity of a predatory paedophile’.
And the lead investigator, detective constable Pete Shotton, branded Rooney, formerly of Devonport in Plymouth, Devon, as ‘one of the nastiest predatory paedophiles we’ve dealt with’.
‘(Rooney) was utterly driven by his preoccupation with child sexual abuse,’ he told PlymouthLive after the 2015 court case.
‘He gloried in it.’
Rooney pleaded guilty to raping a girl under 13; sexually assaulting a girl under 13 and sexually assaulting a boy under 16.
He also admitted taking, making and distributing child abuse images.
He was also messaging other men giving ‘real time commentary’ as he abused his victims.
Speaking outside the court in 2015, the family of one victim told how Rooney had subjected them to a ‘heartbreaking and horrific’ ordeal.
‘Seeing Geoffrey Rooney jailed for a very long time will go some way to helping us begin to heal,’ the family said in a statement.
They bravely shared their ‘devastating’ experience in a bid to help others affected by paedophiles – and urged victims not to stay silent.
The family warned: ‘Paedophiles don’t have a flashing sign around their necks.
‘Rooney appeared to be a normal, middle-aged man, with a good career in the Royal Navy, a mortgage and a long-term relationship.
‘Behind that he was a devious and manipulative child rapist who preyed on the vulnerability of families. He betrayed the trust of everyone around him.’
Rooney’s sentencing for breaching the terms of his licence has been adjourned for reports.
