Convicted paedophile Paul Bickford has denied meeting fellow child abuser Tony Jones on the day toddler William Tyrell went missing.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the family of convicted paedophile Tony Jones said that he and Bickford were together on the day William disappeared in September 12, 2014 but Bickford – who is who is serving a suspended sentence for indecently assaulting a girl with Asperger’s syndrome – says that the meeting never happened.
Bickford told The Daily Telegraph today he and his wife were entertaining friends on the day William vanished from his grandmother’s house in Kendall on the NSW mid-North Coast.
“We went out to somewhere. I can’t remember exactly,” Bickford said. “Surely they (the friends) would have verified that (to police),” he said yesterday. “I’m pretty sure we went to a club, I think it was Westport (Club), I think.”
Bickford says he was not surprised when police came to question him shortly after William went missing.
“I would have expected to be interviewed because I would expect them to go through all the convicted paedophiles to have a look who was where,” he said of his two interviews with police.
Convicted paedophile Paul Bickford has denied meeting fellow child abuser Tony Jones on the day toddler William Tyrell went missing.
Tony Jones, 59, has not yet publicly addressed the claims made by his estranged family who say he told them about the alleged meeting with Bickford after coming home drunk on the day the little Spiderman fan went missing.
“Paul Bickford was living in the pub at the time of the Tyrrell disappearance,” a statement from the family of Tony Jones reads.
“He (Jones) knew Paul Bickford was in the pub as well as we do.”
While the family recall the details of the alleged meet up as being “sketchy” another close relative of Jones also told the Tele that they believed the pair were “close friends”.
“Paul Bickford and Tony Jones often went fishing and I can categorically, without any fear call bulls— on the fact Paul Bickford and Tony Jones were simply ‘acquaintances’,” the statement reads.
“They were close friends, no doubt about it.”
Tony Jones – who has more than 90 criminal convictions spanning four decades – including indecently assaulting a minor – has told police he was bush the day William went missing collecting scrap metal.
A spokesperson for the NSW Police said he was aware of the conversations that Jones had had with his family and the investigation continues.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, it’s not appropriate we discuss who is or who is not a person of interest,” he said.
Bickford says police working with the Strike Force Rosann – the specialised unit charged with finding William – have told him he is no longer a person of interest and hopes William comes home as the case has caused him a lot of grief.
“I’d like to know what happened to (William) too, it would save me a lot of grief,” Bickford said. “I would like to know where he is, I want the person found. I really feel for the family. It must be terrible, we have been through grief as well.”
Anyone with information, is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A trending video: Gwyneth Paltrow loses it at the 1999 Oscars
