Roy Whiting

On 1st July 2000, 7-year-old Sarah Payne was playing in a field with her siblings, close to her grandparents’ home in West Sussex. As the youngsters were separated whilst playing, Sarah suddenly disappeared. A massive search began.

Police and volunteers scoured the area for any sign of the missing girl. Her family made countless appeals on television, begging for their daughter’s safe return, praying that she was still alive. However on 17th July 2000, a girl’s naked body was found in a field just off the A29 road, about 20 miles from where Sarah had disappeared. Within 24 hours, the body was identified as Sarah’s.

Soon 42-year-old Roy Whiting was arrested. On 12th December 2001, he was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. It was later revealed that Whiting had a previous conviction of abducting and molesting an 8-year-old girl in 1995, but only served 2 years for that crime.

Since the loss of their daughter, the Paynes had been campaigning for ‘Sarah’s Law’, which would allow families to know if there is a convicted child sex offender living in the area, though no Bill has actually been introduced. Sarah Paynes’ parents split up two years later, as a result of the strain of this ordeal.