'The whole world froze': Sarah Sands, who killed pedophile who abused her 3 sons, recounts the horror
This article contains information about sexual assault that could be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Sarah Sands, a mother-of-five who killed a pedophile for abusing her three sons, has opened up about her horrific experience. In 2014, Sarah Sands had two bottles of wine before going to the east London house of Michael Pleasted, 77, and stabbing him eight times. She revealed to BBC in a recent interview, "I didn't know what I was doing there. I realized I had made a huge mistake. He was not remorseful in any shape or form. He said 'your children are lying'. The whole world froze. I had the knife in my left hand and I remember he tried to grab it.”
She turned herself in at a police station a few hours later with her blood-stained knife and clothes. Sarah Sands was found guilty of manslaughter in 2014. The judge later said he did not believe she had "rationally thought through what taking a knife might lead to" but added, "I am sure the possibility of its use was in her mind." After it was determined that her original sentence of three and a half years in prison was too mild, the judge raised it to seven and a half years. However, Sarah had to spend only 4 years in prison and was released in 2018.
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"I had taken the law into my own hands. I've always been raised to take responsibility for my actions,” she remarked. Meanwhile, during the court case, it emerged that Pleasted had changed his name from Robin Moult and was a convicted pedophile. He had received 24 prior sentences for sex offenses during a three-decade period and served time. However, nobody in the area—not even the local council where he was living - was aware of his past.
Sarah’s sons claimed that they feel a lot safer now knowing that their abuser is no more. When asked about the incident, her eldest son Bradley said, "I thought hats off. I'm not going to deny it. It did make us feel safer. It didn't slow down the nightmares. But it did give us a sense of security because you didn't have to walk down the street thinking he was going to come around the corner. He lived literally across the road from us. I could open that window over there and I'd see his house."