Paedophile who faked being a mute wheelchair user is jailed

A paedophile who pretended to be a wheelchair user to avoid being prosecuted for child abuse has been jailed for 15 years.

John Siddell, 41, sexually abused the children, who were under 14, between 2018 and 2021 while he was living in Leicestershire.

He had fabricated that he was suffering a severe illness when police began investigating his sexual offences against three boys.

He pretended to be a wheelchair user, mute and unable to hold up his own head, Leicester Crown Court heard.

His brother, 44-year-old James Siddell, helped him maintain the lie about his health, including by suggesting to psychiatrists that he was unfit for trial.

Prosecutor Claudia James told the court the brothers lived a "not-so-covert double life".

She said: "The brothers' busy social lives in part unravelled their deception, as documented by social media, photos taken on their phones and their own home CCTV."

Ms James said when John Siddell appeared physically impaired it "could not be more different" to him being pictured "walking, talking and engaging with others in his local social club", including to watch a Newcastle United match.

She added that he took selfies in which he was able to smile and pose with his head up and eyes open, and in one photo was drinking a pint of Guinness.

Video footage captured him walking unaided and using his wheelchair like a "trolley" to move household items over a mile in June 2022.

A statement provided by someone who cared for him in hospital in July 2024 said he was "the most verbal non-verbal person I have ever seen", the court heard.

After being charged with perverting the course of justice, the defendants did not attend a plea hearing in July last year, when it was claimed that John Siddell had suffered a seizure and was taken to hospital.

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In September, he pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, five counts of sexual assault, one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and four counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Both brothers admitted perverting the course of justice between November 2021 and August 2025.

On Tuesday, John Siddell was jailed for 15 years plus a two-year extended sentence, while his brother was handed two years and nine months in prison.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Keith Raynor said the brothers' behaviour was "scheming and devious".

He said: "They misrepresented John Siddell's mental and physical abilities, the behaviour of both of them entirely corrupting and undermining the course of justice."

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