Mum-of-five jailed after stabbing paedophile neighbour to death

The 32-year-old used to visit elderly Michael Pleasted at his London flat and bring him his meals before she found out that he was facing charges of child abuse.

On 28th November, Sarah Sands downed two bottles of wine and a bottle of brandy, before arming herself with a knife.

She stabbed the 77-year-old eight times, before disposing of her clothes and knife in the Isle Of Dogs.

She later confessed what she had done to her stepson and was eventually persuaded to hand herself in to the police.

Sands told officers: “I took care of it. I stabbed him.”

Earlier this week, she was cleared at the Old Bailey of murder but convicted of manslaughter by reason of loss of control.

Judge Nicholas Cooke QC reduced her sentence from seven years to three-and-a-half, taking into consideration her position as a single mother.

However, in a bid to dissuade others from doing the same, the judge stressed that Sands’s case was unique; she had lost control, rather than taken the law into her own hands and engaged in ‘vigilante conduct’.

According to The Metro, he said: “This was a case in which the defendant promptly gave herself up to the police in a highly stressed state, never disputed responsibility for the killing as a matter of fact, did not take the opportunity to get rid of evidence and demonstrated remorse.”

He added: “There must never be the slightest encouragement for mob rule.”

Sands has already been in custody for the past 10 months and could be released on parole and reunited with her family in as little as 11 months’ time.

At the time of his death, Pleasted - who also went by the name of Robin Moult - had 24 previous convictions for sexual offences between 1970 and 1991.

He was on bail awaiting trial on two charges of sexual assault on two children under the age of 13.