Exmouth police are warning vile paedophiles ‘you cannot hide behind the passage of time’. Detective constable Mike Chalmers said paedophiles can still be brought to justice years after carrying out abuse. He urged victims of sexual abuse to come forward and speak to the police.

This week detective constable Mike Chalmers - the officer in charge of bringing sick pervert Tommy Dance to court - spoke exclusively to the Journal about the courage the sex beast’s victims showed by coming forward and speaking to the police after enduring decades of abuse.

DC Chalmers said the successful outcome of the case - where the 54-year-old paedophile, from Queen’s Road, Budleigh, was jailed for 21-and-a-half years for disgusting sex crimes against young girls spanning back 30 years - sent a stark message to other perverts.

The detective said new technology, including DNA and forensic evidence, meant paedophiles who had preyed on young children in the past could still be brought to justice.

DC Chalmers said: “There are no time restrictions. In this case we didn’t need forensic evidence because of the testimony of the witnesses was so credible and because the integrity of the evidence gathering process.

“When it was presented to Dance, he had no choice but to admit his crimes.

“There is a message to those who have been victims of crime and to those who have both recently or historically committed those crimes.

“The police and their partner agencies are now well equipped and specially trained to successfully deal with this type of offending, especially with the support mechanisms now available for victims.

“The passage of time does not prevent the police from investigating and does not protect offenders from being successfully prosecuted for committing these horrific crimes.”