After spending four years in prison, the British woman who killed her children’s abuser – a 77-year-old neighbor – broke her silence in an interview with the BBC. Despite repenting of the crime, she maintained: “I did what any mother would do.”
the woman of United Kingdom who killed the abuser of her three children, Sarah Sands, broke her silence after spending four years in prison. The man had already been convicted of sexual offences, but changed his name when he was granted parole.
The crime dates back to 2014, when Sands learned that her neighbor, Michael Pleasted, abused her children. They were all minors, the oldest was 12 years old and his younger brothers, twins, were 11.
According to recounts Profile, the woman drank two bottles of wine to “give herself courage.” After drinking and using a hood that covered her head, she went to Pleasted’s house and with a knife in hand, murdered him with eight stab wounds.
After the murder, the mother returned home, took off her stained clothing, and went to see her stepson. During that visit, she confessed to the crime and showed him the murder weapon: “A kitchen knife about thirty centimeters long.”
The woman was captured by the security cameras of her neighbor’s building. The 77-year-old man used to hang out with Sands’ children, as he earned the family’s trust through his sympathy. However, everything changed when the little ones broke the silence.
Pedophile used false name
But Michael Pleasted had abused children before. In fact, he was sentenced to 30 years for these crimes, but at the time he was on probation, under a false identity.
Indeed, the court found that his original name was Robin Moultand changed it to hide his past, getting a passport and a new driver’s license.
Sarah Sands pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Now, freed, she spoke publicly with her children for the first time.
Mother who murdered the abuser breaks the silence
“I bring life to the world, it never occurred to me that I would be guilty of taking someone’s life,” Sands lamented in an interview with the BBC. In the instance, she was repentant of the crime, while she was accompanied by her children, who waived her right of anonymity to offer her support.
Despite hurting what was committed, he assured: “I did what any mother would do.” Regarding the abuser, she pointed out that he never showed remorse and that he even told her that his children were lying to him.
“For pedophiles, if they touch children, there have to be consequences,” the woman launched.
The children defended their mother, although they did express mixed feelings about the consequences of the event. “I thought about taking off my hat… I’m not going to deny it,” one of them was honest. Another, meanwhile, stated that “it was nice to know that (Pleasted) was dead”, but that “did not prevent any further thought”. At this point he elaborated: “We often woke up crying, saying, ‘Where’s mom?’.” This, because during their confinement, the children were raised by their grandmother.
Ultimately, Sarah insisted that she never intended to kill her children’s abuser. “I realized that she had made a big mistake. My whole world froze; I had the knife in my left hand and I remember he tried to grab it.” Hours after that event that marked her forever, she turned herself in to the police.