How Met Police investigated Romford abuser Michael Costin

Costin, 59, of HMP Pentonville, was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday (February 9) of sexually abusing seven former sea scouts in Suffolk.

He had already pleaded guilty to molesting five other scouts – three in Romford and two in the Suffolk village of Kirton.

Prosecutor Walton Hornsby told jurors at the beginning of the trial that the charges were brought after a “lengthy and complex police investigation”, involving officers from London, Essex, Suffolk and Northern Ireland.

One east London detective, who led that investigation for three years, tracked down six of the 12 victims – and believes there are potentially even more out there.

Now the verdicts are in, the Romford Recorder can reveal details of the five-year police investigation.

Michael Costin grew up in Romford as a boy scout. As a man, he volunteered as a scout leader, using his position to molest young boys. Then he relocated to Suffolk and did it again (Image: Met Police)

It began in Suffolk in 2017, where three former Kirton sea scouts approached the authorities to report historic abuse by Costin.

Mr Hornsby said they came forward after the Jimmy Savile revelations and the formation of the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

In 2018, another former scout came forward and said he had been molested by Costin, but 120 miles away in Romford.

He reported his abuse directly to IICSA, which handed the allegation to Essex Police.

Essex Police uncovered two more Romford complainants, after which the Suffolk and Romford investigations were merged and handed, in 2019, to the Met Police’s Operation Winter Key, where Det Con James Howlett took over.

Operation Winter Key, since rebranded as the Complex Investigation Team, investigates sex crimes involving multiple victims.

Over the following three years, DC Howlett found another six victims, all in Suffolk.

Costin was charged last year with abusing 12 boys.

Costin is already serving an indeterminate sentence at HMP Pentonville, handed down in Oxfordshire in 2011 after he was convicted of 12 prior sex attacks on teenagers (Image: Thames Valley Police)

Operation Winter Key was “a big operation,” said Det Ch Insp Tariq Farooqi, but DC Howlett did “the majority of the work” on the Costin case.

“DC James Howlett has done a phenomenal job, working extensively with other forces, collating all the evidence, gaining the support and trust of the victims,” he said, adding that he was handling press enquiries about the case because DC Howlett was unavailable.

But DC Howlett, who assisted the prosecution throughout Costin’s trial, did tell the Romford Recorder at Snaresbrook that he believed there could be more victims.

Det Ch Insp Tariq Farooqi (Image: Met Police)

DCI Farooqi echoed that sentiment, saying: “There may well be other victims out there and our message to them is, if you are a victim then please do report to the police.

“No matter how long ago it has occurred, I urge them to come forward and report it.”

DCI Farooqi said his detectives work hard to corroborate non-recent abuse allegations.

In Costin’s case, officers found multiple unconnected complainants with similar accounts. In each instance, they were able to place the victims and Costin in the same locality at the same time.

“When you layer that with other corroborative evidence: third parties who the victim may have told at the time; diaries; accounts; counselling notes – all of that comes into play,” said DCI Farooqi.

In Costin’s case, police obtained evidence that complainants had confided in others about their abuse many years before speaking to the authorities.

One of his victims from the Rush Green scout group in Romford had died, but had left behind a handwritten letter detailing his abuse.

Michael 'Mick' Costin abused boys at a scout group at St Augustine's Church, Rush Green, in the 1980s (Image: Google Streetview)

Costin admitted numerous crimes against scouts in both Romford and Kirton last year – which the jury in his trial were told about.

“Mr Costin was interviewed on multiple occasions,” Mr Hornsby said on day one of the trial.

“For the most part, he gave no comment interviews, but one in 2019 resulted in him making some significant admissions.”

But he denied eight counts involving seven of the 12 victims.

“It appears to be a theme for the defendant contesting these allegations that are before you – his refusal to accept that in any case he was involved in sexual activity with boys who were not awake and aware of what was happening,” said Mr Hornsby.

But jurors convicted Costin on seven out of eight counts.

DCI Farooqi said it was “not normal” to come across an offender as prolific as Costin, describing him as “someone that needs justice”.

He reiterated his call for other victims to come forward.

“My message, again, is do report,” he said. “You coming forward may actually assist and give others confidence to come and report.”