Pawned tablet

The iPad is useless to you.

Here are the Apple support pages that outline the Activation Lock - and the only mechanisms by which it can be turned off:

Activation Lock for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Turn off Activation Lock – Apple Support

As you will discover, unless you are the owner of the AppleID that was last used to activate the device, or unless you can secure the cooperation of the previous owner, you’ll not be able to defeat or bypass the Activation Lock. Without documentary evidence that you are the original owner (such as sales receipt showing the serial number), Apple won’t assist - and nobody here will be able to help you.

The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community

Apple will not assist with this. It’s a privacy issue.

The device is a essentially a brick and you should just recycle it responsibly.

DocKen2 wrote:

Is there any way to find out who the previous owner was? I am sure they would help if I can discover who it was.

Privacy Legislation in most countries would not permit Apple to share any personal or contact details.