Just adding some stuff to this thread and provide some updates. Firstly a few posts have suggested Kevin's bike was found at the shop. His sister alexandra has categorically confirmed that Kevin did not take his bike with him. It was left at home. Secondly, Alexandra said that the speakers Kevin had were bought with his own money, so she doesn't believe they were used for grooming Kevin. Thirdly, Mark Williams Thomas did a very in depth investigation into the Lee Boxell case and it's on his podcast "The Detectives" - it gives a useful insight into the area at the time. The police have ruled out a link between Lee and Kevin's cases. "The Shed" gang at the church in Sutton where Lee went was interested in young girls. It's thought Lee was killed when he witnessed something to keep him quiet. It's not believed that Lee was groomed or the victim of paedophilia himself. In the podcast, a local man came forward to discuss another paedophile he'd encountered in Sutton, who worked at a bike shop and workshop in the town. He said this man abused him from the age of 14-16, was into violent sex, had links to people in Brighton and others in the area and had discussed snuff films. The victim recalled one incident that left him in fear of his life. The abuse stopped when the boy turned 16 - he was told that he was too old and the abuser didn't like men with dark hair (so that probably rules out Kevin).
The sad thing is that Croydon and the surrounding area seems to have been a real hotspot for paedophile groups in the 80s so there's no shortage of possibilities. Apart from the shed gang in Sutton that's suspected of Lee's murder, Brian Field committed at least one murder in the are and we know Sidney Cooke was operating in the area with his gang. In recent years at least 4 other paedophiles have been convicted for crimes around the Croydon area in the 80s, ranging from teachers to a football coach to a janitor turned businessman. One of them, Nigel Clayton, seems to have been pretty horrific and very prolific. I don't know if anyone reading this grew up in the area at the time, but one of my friends who grew up in Thornton Heath also recalled gangs of men bothering kids in the local park and the park keeper having to ask them to leave.
For what it's worth with Kevin I think there are a few possibilities apart from the paedophilia angle:
1) he was involved in some form of crime that got him into trouble. Possible that the speakers were stolen or that he owed money for them and that got him into trouble. The drugs trade was also not unknown in Croydon at the time. He may also possibly have been involved in sex work. Many young lads drifted into it in the London area back then, both straight and gay, and the main train stations were notorious for it. Sex work brings its own dangers.
2) gay sex cruising. It's possible that Kevin headed out for casual sex in the park or somewhere else nearby. We don't know if Kevin was gay, but being gay back then really required having a secret life. Cruising areas like that are notoriously dangerous, with more than one person (even in recent years) having been killed by criminals or gangs looking to gay bash someone. It's important to note that his sister Alexandra does not believe Kevin was gay. It's interesting to note though that Kevin had apparently spent all day in the park. There seems to have been little said about what he was doing.
3) picked up off the street. People like Brian Field had a record of doing this. However, I think Kevin's age and height counted against that. It would have made it more of a struggle and again, I don't think that his age and height would have made him attractive to a lot of paedophiles.
4) it's possible that Kevin is still alive. It's far from unknown for people to disappear like that and show up decades later. It would make particular sense if Kevin was gay as many gay teenagers back then really did have to runaway. Again, we don't know if Kevin was gay.
www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
