Roger Florian Took (1944 – 29 July 2011) was a British art historian, museum curator, author and convicted child sex offender who lived in London, Ireland, and Russia.
In the course of his career, he ran several museums in England, was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society,[2] and a former director of the Barbican Art Gallery.
[5][6] In 1985, Roger Took founded Artangel, a London-based arts organisation that commissions work ranging from sculpture to film from international artists.
He explains the desolation of post-Soviet north villages and the details of everyday life there of both the indigenous and non-indigenous settlers,[12] expressing a "combination of respect and shock at their dismal lifestyle.
[9] A 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of History reviewed it as "quite an extraordinary book", but continued on that "the final sections of the work prove to be ... highly disappointing.
[citation needed] In February 2007, his 25th year of marriage, Roger Took joined his family for a trip to the Dominican Republic.
Took was arrested at Luton airport in April 2007 following a police investigation that uncovered 742 chat room logs in which Took boasted about a child rape and murder.
[15][16] Police raided Took's home where they found a locked case, which contained a large bundle of photographs of young Russian women.
[16] Judge Blacksell had reviewed thousands of pages of evidence, and was visibly shocked when he told the court, "It is unrestrained filth, depravity of the worst kind.
[3][15] During sentencing, Judge Blacksell, who stated that he had no doubt that Took suffered from an illness, took into consideration 23 letters of support and three character witnesses who spoke at the hearing on behalf of five people.
[19] Those who spoke were his older half-brother, John Michael Took; the Reverend Adrian Gabb-Jones; and Matteos Los, a schoolfriend from a Greek shipping family.