What other crimes has David Boyd got away with?

The man convicted of the 1992 murder of 7-year-old Nikki Allan evaded justice for three decades. But what was he doing during this time?

Boyd in 1992

David Boyd was abusing children before he murdered Nikki Allan. In my forthcoming podcast series for Tortoise Media, one of the questions I will be asking is ‘How many other victims are out there?’

He used the names David Thomas Boyd, Jason Branton, John Eastman, David Smith, David Bell and David Thomas Smith. There is also a different spelling of one of these names on his court file.

Boyd admitted having what he referred to as a “phase” when he was aged about 22 where he “began to fantasise about both adults and children, in particular young girls”.

In 1986 he was convicted of a ‘breach of the peace’ offence from when he approached four children in Sacriston, Co Durham, and grabbed hold of a 10-year-old girl. Boyd asked her for a kiss before letting her go and warned the children “not to tell anyone” what he had done.

In 1999 Boyd was convicted of indecent assault of a young girl. In a pre-sentence report written in March 2000, Gillian Dixon, Boyd’s probation officer said he admitted to having “dirty thoughts” when he saw the girls and felt “excited” when thinking about touching them. Boyd said, “I would think about young girls being naked, touching their body and having intercourse with them.”

Now that Boyd is unlikely to ever be free from custody, perhaps other victims will come forward. I am 100% certain there are numerous. It is imperative that, whatever his sentence for the murder of Nikki Allan, police investigate each and every one of them.