July 2013

Chester-le-Street man jailed for 32 months for historic abuse of boy

A MAN in his fifties has finally paid for sexual abuse of a boy dating back three decades.

George Summers was today (Wednesday July 3) jailed for two years and eight months for offences which took place in the early 80s but which only came to light last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that the victim, who was aged ten at the time, was regularly abused over a six-month period after being shown pornographic videos by Summers.

Gavin Doig, prosecuting, said the victim was “embarrassed and ashamed” at what took place and so told no-one what had taken place.

“Nothing was said for years, but early in 2012 the injured party saw the defendant and recognised him.

“He told his wife and mother, and in April last year, he got very drunk in the street and police were called.

“He told the officers he had been abused as a boy.”

Summers was arrested and denied the allegations.

Now aged 51, and of Conyers Road, Chester-le-Street, Summers denied six counts of indecent assault and one of committing an act of gross indecency with a child.

But on the day his trial was due to start, in May, he changed his pleas to ‘guilty’ to four counts of indecent assault and to committing an act of gross indecency.

His barrister, Tom Moran, told today’s (July 3) sentencing hearing that despite implying to the Probation Service that he didn’t actually commit the offences, Summers merely felt “ashamed” over what he did.

“He’s reflected on it and he accepts he did do it.

“He is homosexual and grew up at a time and in a place where enlightened attitudes we see today had yet to arrive.

“He was only just an adult at 18 at the time and it may be that this was him experimenting as to his own sexuality.”

Jailing him, Recorder Amanda Rippon told Summers he had “groomed” the boy by showing him pornography before carrying out the acts of indecency.

She said it has had a great impact on the victim, whose drinking “spiralled out of control” at the prospect of having to give evidence at court, only for Summers to finally make his admissions on the day the trial was due to start.

Summers was made subject of a sexual offences prevention order restricting future contact with young males and must sign the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely

July 2013

Wood Green paedophile pensioner convicted of three rapes is denied cut in 25-year jail term at Court of Appeal

A “wicked” Wood Green paedophile jailed for a catalogue of appalling child rapes and sexual abuse carried out over three decades has failed to win a cut in his sentence.

Owen Bernard Courtney, 71, abused five vulnerable children, raping a 12-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy between the late 1950s and the 1980s.

He was jailed for 25 years last October after being convicted of three counts of rape, one each of buggery, attempted rape and indecent activity with a child, and 13 counts of indecent assault.

On Tuesday, Appeal Court judges Mr Justice Wilkie, Sir John Thomas and Mr Justice Jay rejected his bid to reduce his sentence.

Mr Justice Wilkie said the pensioner, of Trinity Road, began abusing his first victim in the 1950s when he was 18 and she was just 12, raping her three times.

He committed buggery with a young boy and assaulted him three times in the late 1960s, twice molested a girl under the age of eight, twice sexually assaulted a girl under 11 in the 1970s, and committed six sex offences against a teenage girl he tried to rape in the 1980s.

Mr Justice Wilkie said Courtney had previous convictions including a court martial for three counts of gross misconduct while serving with the armed forces in West Germany in 1964.

Courtney protested his innocence but was convicted by a jury, the sentencing judge calling him a “wicked sexual predator”.

The judges concluded that Courtney’s poor health and the fact he will serve at least two-thirds of his total sentence “were significantly taken into account by the sentencing judge” at the time, adding: “Though an extremely severe sentence, it was neither wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive and, accordingly, this appeal must be dismissed.”

July 2013

Harrowing pictures reveal how shameless drug addict parents grew cannabis near son’s cot in squalid flat where tot died of heroin overdose

• Simon Jones and Emma Bradburn admit manslaughter by gross negligence

• Daniel Jones was found dead at the family’s three-bedroom property

• Picture shows dummy on bed where he died after swallowing wrap of heroin

• Bedside draw contained dirty syringe and a spoon used to cook drugs

• Daniel’s hair sample also revealed amphetamines, cocaine and cannabis

• Jones admitted using heroin night he died and tested positive after arrest

• He was sentenced to six years and Bradburn handed four-year prison term

• A serious case review is being conducted into the toddler’s death

These shocking pictures reveal the inside of a couple’s drug-riddled home where their 23-month-old son died after swallowing heroin they left next to his cot.

Simon Jones, 30 and Emma Bradburn, 34, were jailed today after negligently allowing Daniel Jones to ingest the Class A drug.

While the shameless pair kept their downstairs living room clean and tidy, the upstairs of the property was covered in drug paraphernalia.

In one shot, Daniel’s green dummy lies on the couple’s unmade bed which is littered with beer cans and bottles of medicine.

A bedside draw shows a plastic kinder egg container next to a dirty syringe and a spoon used to cook drugs.

Another picture shows a red plastic child’s bucket overflowing with cannabis leaves which Jones grew in the loft before drying them in Daniel’s bedroom.

The toddler died in their bed after swallowing a wrap of his parent’s Class A drug on May 29 last year, making him one the UK’s youngest ever heroin victims.

Shockingly, despite social workers placing the boy on an ‘in need’ register on account of his parents’ drug addiction they removed him from the at-risk list weeks before his death.

A serious case review has been launched to discover whether social services should have done more to protect him.

Jones, 30, was sentenced to six years behind bars after previously admitting manslaughter by gross negligence.

Bradburn was also jailed for four years after she admitted allowing the young boy’s death.

Sentencing the couple at Wolverhampton Crown Court today, Mrs Justice Thirlwall said there was no doubt the two – both long-term heroin addicts – had loved their boy, but added: ‘It is one thing to risk your own health, but quite another matter entirely to risk your son’s.’

She said: ‘He (Daniel) was utterly reliant upon you for every aspect of care in his life.’

Daniel was pronounced dead after being found collapsed at the family’s three-bedroom property in Windsor Avenue, Wolverhampton, on May 29 last year.

His death was initially treated as unexplained, but following extensive tests it was determined that he had died from heroin poisoning, caused by an overdose.

Neil Moore, for the Crown, said it was not known exactly how Daniel came to ingest the drug, but that when Bradburn woke on the morning of May 29, she found her son lying next to her, ‘icy’ to the touch, ‘blue’ in colour and unresponsive.

The boy had also been sick and medics had to remove vomit from his airway.

Mr Moore, setting out the facts of the case, added: ‘She (Bradburn) said Jones had put Daniel to bed earlier that night.

‘She woke at 5.30am and felt an icy cold hand on her leg. When she picked up Daniel, stale milk came out of his mouth.’

Despite resuscitation attempts by Jones, paramedics and hospital doctors, nothing could be done to save the boy.

A medical examination revealed he was well-fed, and had ‘a normal appearance’ for a boy of his age and showed no signs of neglect.

A toxicological test on the boy’s hair suggested ‘chronic and repeated exposure’ to drugs in the environment where he had grown up, but it was impossible to tell how long the exposure had gone on.

The post-mortem also revealed traces of pneumonia ‘which is linked to the use of opiates’, said Mr Moore, and ‘there were also non-specific changes to the brain’.

In interview, Jones told police he smoked cannabis daily and heroin three times a week, but tried never to do so in front of his son.

He had taken the precaution of turning the drawers of his bedside table – where he kept a syringe, foil and cigarette papers – to face the wall so Daniel could not get at them, telling police his son was at the age where ‘everything goes in his mouth’.

Bradburn said she smoked cannabis in the garage.

Kate Thomas, counsel for Jones, said her client had a bad upbringing suffering sexual abuse for much of his early life, causing him to fall into drug abuse.

She said: ‘He accepts that it was his heroin that Daniel Jones took,’ but asked the judge to show mercy as the child was the ‘apple of his eye’.

Christopher O’Gorman, for Bradburn, said his client suffered serious injuries in a car crash and her reliance on drugs was in part to cope with the resulting pain, although he accepted her addiction pre-dated that accident.

‘Daniel was wanted and he was loved,’ he said.

Mr O’Gorman added: ‘She expects no sympathy for anybody but asks that all the circumstances are borne in mind as she meets the unenviable task of trying to rebuild her life.’

Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Jones and Bradburn: ‘You failed woefully to protect him from the very obvious dangers you exposed him to.

‘The danger was mortal danger as you should have realised.’

Jones fully accepted he was responsible for his son ingesting a tiny – yet lethal – amount of heroin as he had been using the drug around the time Daniel died.

Following his arrest, shortly after the toddler’s death, Jones tested positive for the drug while Bradburn did not.

Examination of a sample of Daniel’s hair revealed the presence not only of heroin, but also amphetamines, cocaine and cannabis.

Both Jones and Bradburn said they never smoked heroin or cannabis in front of their son.

But it was revealed that Daniel slept in his parents’ bed, where police found tin foil stained with a brown residue, empty clingfilm packets and other paraphernalia associated with the transport and use of heroin in the room’s bedside tables.

When police searched the rest of the family home, they found a cannabis factory in the loft where more than 30 plants were growing.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Jones he had set up the cannabis-growing operation ‘in the home your son was living’ and said to Bradburn that despite her claims not to have known the scale of that operation, she still knew of it and did nothing to stop it.

Bradburn and Jones were due to stand trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court last month, but pleaded guilty on the first day of the hearing.

The court also heard that just two weeks before his death, social services removed Daniel from a child in need plan as they were satisfied with the care he was receiving at home.

Detective Inspector John Smith, of West Midlands Police public protection unit, said Daniel’s life was ‘needlessly cut short’ because of his mother and father’s actions.

He said: ‘His parents were unable to prioritise their son’s needs before their own.

‘It was a gross betrayal of trust – they led a lifestyle which was not conducive to being responsible parents.’

Mr Smith went on: ‘There are no winners in this case. Daniel’s parents face lengthy spells in jail having lost their only son, while the wider family continue to grieve the boy’s unnecessary death.’

A serious case review into the death is being conducted by the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children’s Board.

Board chairman Alan Coe said: ‘In any instance where health, social care or other services knew and were involved in the family where a child dies, not as the result of an accident, we must always find out if there was anything that might have been done to have better protected them.

He added: ‘Once we have the final report, we will be in a better position to ascertain whether there are any actions the professional agencies need to take either individually or collectively to improve the way we identify potential risks to children and take action to address them.’

If he had survived, Daniel would have celebrated his third birthday last week.

July 2013

Sixmilecross man sent explicit text messages to teenage girls

A 40-YEAR-OLD Sixmilecross man who sent sexually explicit texts to three girls under the age of 16, was spared from going to prison because he did not make an attempt to meet his victims.

Sean McElhatton (40) of Main Street agreed to spend three years on Probation during which time he will participate in a Community Sex Offenders group work programme. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders register for five years.

At Dungannon Crown Court on Friday, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC also imposed a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which prohibits McElhatton from having any contact or communication with any child under 18 years and remain under the direction of a Designated Risk Manager.

He sent texts to three children between the ages of 13 and 16, with messages to two of the girls being of a sexual nature.

He was convicted on charges of attempted to incite a child to engage in a sexual activity and two counts of harassment. He sent the texts between November 2011 and January 2012.

Judge Miller stated that the content of the texts indicated that the defendant knew exactly what he was doing. Defence barrister Ian Turkington, instructed by solicitor Padhraic Cunningham, said his client’s abuse of alcohol had “desensitised him and allowed him to make the texts”.

Mr Turkington pointed out that, at no stage, did McElhatton reveal his identity to his victims or arrange to meet them, which would have meant him receiving a prison sentence. Suggesting that he participate in the sex offenders programme, defence counsel stated the programme is endorsed by other judges.

The court was also told McElhatton has been ostracised by the local community and his family because of his offending. Judge Miller said it was the duty of the court to make sure the issues regarding the offending were addressed.

He added that a prison sentence would likely have been a matter of months and rhetorically asked whether that would have addressed the sex offending. The judge added that McElhatton had “acted entirely inappropriately” and there was an issue of an underlying sexual motivation.

He also noted that the probation order and sex offenders programme would take a high level of commitment.

July 2013

Chat room pervert groomed undercover cop posing as ‘Juicy Lucy’

PERVERT Antonio Salamino is behind bars after he tried to incite a ’12-year-old girl’ to have sex with him.

The 36-year-old used the profile Tom Yard on an internet chatroom and began communicating with schoolgirl ‘Juicy Lucy’, who was in fact an undercover police officer with the Metropolitan Police.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Salamino was made aware the girl he was communicating with was aged 12 but still referred to matters of a sexual nature. And he went on to incite her to perform a sex act on herself.

Prosecutor Fiona Cortese said: “He would often ask her to meet up for the purpose of having sex.”

Police searched Salamino’s properties, in Abbey Hulton and Newcastle, and found hundreds of indecent images of children on his computer.

He was arrested and made full and frank admissions.

Salamino accepted he was responsible for all the images found on his computer. He said he was ashamed and added he did have a sexual interest in children but had not sexually abused a child and would never do so.

Salamino, of Albermarle Road, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to three charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; three charges of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act; 10 charges of making indecent photographs of a child between June 2008 and June 2012; and possessing 11 extreme pornographic images.

Robert Smith, mitigating, said: “His curiosity began about four years ago when he began to search for indecent images of children. Matters escalated from there.”

Judge Paul Glenn said the offending was so serious only immediate custody could be considered and jailed Salamino for two years.

He was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order and he will be on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Judge Glenn said: “I have read your chat logs. The tenor leaves me in no doubt you wanted to put what you said into effect.

“Police found a large number of indecent images. Many involved children under 13 – real children being abused for the entertainment of people such as you.”

July 2013

Judge explains sentencing constraints as Stockton paedophile avoids prison

A JUDGE spoke at length about sentencing constraints as he allowed a paedophile to walk free for downloading indecent images of children and bestiality.

Mark Mclucas, 39, was yesterday (Wednesday, July 3) given a suspended prison sentence with probation supervision and was ordered to go on a sex offenders’ treatment programme.

Judge Peter Bowers said he would not get the help he needs for his “unhealthy interest” in prison because any sentence would be too short for the course.

He told the pervert he was worried that in an interview with a probation official, Mclucas showed little insight into his offending and the impact on victims.

Teesside Crown Court heard how police found the vile pictures on a lap-top computer in the home of the former council road worker from Stockton last March.

Mclucas said he had borrowed the machine from his ex-wife and knew nothing about the images, but later said they must have popped up when he viewed adult porn.

His barrister, Duncan McReddie, said he has since come to terms with what he had done, while the judge described his recent realisation as a Damascus Road change.

Judge Bowers told Mclucas: “We get an increasing number of men of your age and older who feast their eyes on indecent images of children on the internet.

“To a large extent, the courts are bound by the guideline sentences. The guidelines in your case involve a period of months in prison and that’s after a trial.

“The problem with the guideline sentences of that length is that anyone going into prison in this country with a short sentence has not got a hope of starting the sex offender treatment programme or getting any help or therapy to address their unhealthy interest.

“Therefore, if a defendant is willing and susceptible to some treatment outside of prison, the courts take the view that it is far better to have a defendant engage in a programme in the hope that it can give insight and mend their future ways, rather than lock them up for a few weeks and let them come out no different from what they were when they went in, with their unhealthy interest.

“My problem is in your case the report seemed to suggest you showed little insight into what you were doing, you really had come across these pictures by mistake and you were really not prepared to engage with the Probation Service in addressing what is an unhealthy appetite.

“I hope that the sex offender treatment programme will give you an insight into the appalling abuse that some of these kids suffer.

“The longer people in this country download and view these images, the longer this unhealthy appetite will grow and more children will be abused day in and day out in this country and other parts of the world.

“I know you are not doing the abusing, but your interest feeds the people who make money out of this.”

Mclucas, of Whitley Road, Thornaby, admitted ten charges of making indecent images of children, one of possessing them and two of having extreme pornography.

He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after the judge told him: “In the end, I have decided to take a chance with you.”

Mr McReddie said Mclucas had found it hard to accept what he had done, and added: “We are all well aware of the climate that exists outside this courtroom to offences of this type.

“Your Honour will be aware that defendants are always worried that outside this courtroom, even when they have been punished, there are others who do not adhere to the rule of law and that generates a reluctance to be as candid as they should be.”

July 2013

 Pervert tax accountant avoids jail

A tax accountant who used a fake Facebook profile to share child abuse images in chat-rooms has escaped jail.

Barry Hallam, 53, posed as ‘Chloe’ with the username ‘taboodad’ to play out his fantasies with strangers.

Perverted Hallam discussed sexual preferences and told one of his warped web friends ‘sometimes I like them pre-teen’.

Analysis of his computer last August revealed 168 images in the level 1 category, two videos of level 2 and 4 and two images at level 4, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

July 2013

Teenager walks free from court after viewing indecent images of children

A teenager who viewed sickening images of children being sexually abused for ‘recreation’ walked free from court today (weds).

Christian Walsh downloaded the images as an 18-year-old to live out ‘fantasies’ in which he would pretend to be a child in an abusive relationship, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Walsh, who is now 21, was arrested after declaring he was a fan of ‘watersports’ and the ‘abuse of children’ in internet chatrooms.

He was caught with 25 indecent images of children, including nine at ‘Level 4′ which typically involve penetration between an adult and a child

July 2013

Disgraced Methodist minister admits possession of indecent images of children

A LEADING light in the Methodist church has fallen into disgrace after being found in possession of indecent images of children.

Reverend Kenneth Mankin, who was suspended from the church following his arrest last November, appeared before magistrates today (Wednesday, July 3) to face seven charges of making indecent photographs of a child – some of them of the second highest level of severity.

The retired minister once served as a circuit superintendent in County Durham and was chairman of the North-East Wesley Historical Society.

Asked to plead to the charges at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court, the 73-year-old replied: “Guilty . . . and I am very sorry.”

The court was told Mankin’s home in Richmond Road, Newton Hall, Durham City, was raided by police on April 18, 2011 following a tip-off.

John Garside, prosecuting, said: “Due to information (received) police executed a warrant at the defendent’s home address.

“Various items were seized, including computer towers, as well as hard drives and other storage devices.

“Contained within these devices 15 images were identified.”

He said six still images were of level one severity, four still images of level two and five still images of level four. Level five is considered the most serious.

Mr Garside said the possession of a small number of level four images had a starting pointing of 26 weeks in jail.

The court, therefore, had sufficient sentencing powers to deal with the offences and he invited magistrates to accept jurisdiction.

Mark Richardson, mitigating, said: “Clearly this matter cannot be dealt with until a report has been prepared.

“A three-week adjournment would be required, not only for a report to be prepared, but also for consideration to be given to a sex offender’s prevention order.”

Daniel Jones, safeguarding co-ordinator for the Newcastle and Darlington Methodist districts, said: “Kenneth Mankin was charged with making indecent photographs of children and appeared in Peterlee Magistrates’ Court.

“Kenneth Mankin was suspended from all office holding positions within the church when he was arrested on November 23, 2012 and this will remain the case.

“The Methodist Church takes the safety and well-being of children and young people very seriously and has stringent safeguarding procedures.

“Our safeguarding team is fully aware of this case and pastoral support is being offered to those affected.”

The case was adjourned for sentencing on Wednesday July 24 and Mankin’s conditional bail was extended.

July 2013

Suspended sentence for ‘addict’ with 700 child abuse images

A forklift truck driver who had more than 700 indecent images of children has received a suspended sentence.

An image involving bestiality was also found on the computer of Richard Scott, of Blandford Road, Whitley, a court heard.

The 54-year-old claimed to have stumbled upon the images which were contained on an innocent website which had been hacked in to. But the judge at Reading Crown Court said he believed Scott had deliberately found the “disgusting” images of children who were clearly under the age of 18.

The court heard police arrested Scott at his home on April 10, last year, and took his Dell computer.

Detectives traced him through his visits to the website.

Michael Harrison, prosecuting, said: “He was interviewed and admitted he was addicted to adult pornography and one day, while viewing that, he went to a link and found indecent images of children and when he realised what it was he shut the computer down.”

However, he continued to visit the site and detectives found 722 indecent images of children on his computer ranging from the least to the most serious involving bestiality.

Janetta Davies, defending, told the court: “What he told police was he had stumbled upon an image by accident and deleted it immediately.

“Then it became a strange fascination and something he couldn’t stop going back to look at over a period of two years.”

She said the divorced father had worked for a large company as a forklift driver for 23 years and had no previous convictions or cautions.

Judge Peter Ross, sentencing on Tuesday, June 18, said: “I have to deal with you for offences which are rightly regarded by the general public as disgusting.”

He continued: “Around the world, in order to satisfy the perverted desires of people like you, children are abused and that abuse is recorded and the internet, regrettably, makes these images available to the likes of you.

“It has been put before me you stumbled upon these images. No, you didn’t. You clearly were one of a trusted few people who were given the opportunity to access an innocent website which had been hacked and on that site had been placed images of child abuse.

“That demonstrates an additional sophistication in relation to these offences which I have yet to see before me in the course of my work and that is sitting as a judge or recorder for 14 years.”

However, Judge Ross said he had to take into account Scott’s previous good character and his early guilty plea.

He sentenced Scott to six months’ jail suspended for two years under supervision. He ordered him to pay a £5,000 fine, £340 costs and a victim surcharge of £80 and required him to sign the sex offenders register for five years.

July 2013

Hundon man raped two schoolgirls 20 years ago

A Hundon man has been found guilty of raping two schoolgirls more than a decade ago.

July 2013

Online dating addict Philip Scaife groomed schoolgirl, 13

A FARM labourer “addicted” to online dating has been jailed for two years and eight months for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.

Philip Andrew Scaife, 30, treated the child the same as the adult women he met through an internet dating site, despite knowing that she was a schoolgirl who lived with her parents, York Crown Court heard.

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, said the farm labourer tried to set up a sexual encounter with the girl.

The pair exchanged 654 text messages, almost all of them sexually explicit, from March 1 last year until the girl stopped answering in mid-April. During the exchanges, she sent him indecent photographs and videos of herself and he suggested acts she could perform on camera.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst told Scaife: “It is plain you revelled in that relationship online.”

He said: “You went into this relationship, I believe, with open eyes. You now, I am afraid, must bear the consequences.

Scaife, of Sheriff Hutton, pleaded guilty to one charge of grooming a child for sex, two of inciting a child to commit sexual acts and five of possessing indecent images of a child.

He was jailed, put on the sex offenders’ register and banned from working with children or having unsupervised contact with children, and his internet use was restricted, all for life.

Mr Cleasby said the girl put a profile of herself on an internet dating site claiming she was 18, but by the time they started the text messages, Scaife was “well aware” of her real age.

He tried to “engineer her departure” from her parents so they could meet.

For Scaife, Stephen Grattage said he was a hard worker who was not interested in children sexually and suffered from depression.

He had become “addicted” to meeting would-be sex partners through online dating and had treated the girl the same way as he treated adult women.

Scaife believed that had they met, he would have not had sexual relationships with the girl.

July 2013

Childrens home worker found guilty of raping vulnerable boy

A former children’s home worker has been found guilty of raping and sexually abusing a vulnerable boy in care.

Victim Aaron Leafe suffered months of prolonged abuse by Anwar Ismail, before going to the police, saying: “I just want it to stop.”

The traumatised 15-year-old committed suicide six weeks later.

A jury at Leicester Crown Court convicted Ismail (31) of seven charges and acquitted him of three other allegations.

Remanding him into custody to await the preparation of a pre-sentencing report, Judge Robert Brown told him to expect “a long sentence.”

During the trial, Aaron spoke from the grave when his 93-minute video account of what happened, recorded by the police, was played in court.

Aaron said on the tape: “Anwar always pressured me into having sex with him. I didn’t want to do it.

“He gave me money. He got me a flat. He let me drive his car.

“He bought me cigarettes and cannabis. I was scared of him. I just did what I was told. That’s why I did it.”

Prosecutor Mary Prior told the court Aaron took his own life in June 2010.

She said he left a note saying: “I can’t get over what happened with me and Anwar. I hate him so much.”

Ismail, of Matlock Street, Spinney Hill, Leicester, denied all the allegations.

Formerly a security guard, he became a care worker at Woodland Retreat children’s home, Chantry Lane, off Groby Road, Leicester, in 2007, where Aaron, then 12, was living.

Staff were concerned about their apparent closeness, but the defendant was acquitted of two counts of sexual activity with a child and attempting to rape him at the home.

Ismail was dismissed the following year for forcibly restraining Aaron, causing an arm injury.

He was convicted by the jury today of abusing Aaron after losing his job.

Contact continued privately between them after Aaron was moved to another children’s home, Duncanwood Lodge, near Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

Ismail drove from Leicester to meet him.

Aaron would climb out of his bedroom window at night to spend time with Ismail in his Audi in a secluded car park, just across the road from the home.

Giving evidence in his defence, Ismail said former colleagues who told the court he was “openly gay” at Woodland Retreat were wrong and that Aaron did not know he was gay.

He said he told Aaron he loved him, but only meant it in a caring way, not a sexual way.

He said he continued to see him to help him, because he was threatening suicide.

Ismail was found guilty of sexual activity with a child, rape and abducting a child in 2009 – when he took Aaron, then 14, to his home for three days.

He was also convicted of sexual activity with Aaron in a car in February 2010 and a specimen abduction count involving occasions spent alone together, between July 2009 and May 2010.

Ismail was found guilty of abducting him by taking him to a rented flat and sexual activity with a child, between March and April 2010.

He is due to be sentenced next month.

After the verdicts, Det Chief Insp Phil Brighouse, said: “Ismail took advantage of a vulnerable boy.

“He abused a position of trust and continued to abuse him over a number of months.

“This is a very sad case and there’s no good outcome.

“However, I am glad that the jury saw fit to find him guilty and hope that this verdict offers Aaron’s family and closest friends some form of closure.

“To successfully get a conviction in this case, when the main witnesses, the victim, is not alive to give evidence, is a tremendous achievement.

“Full credit must be given to the investigating officer Det Sgt Cat Partner, who I know has worked tirelessly to get Aaron justice.

“It has taken three years to get this case to court.

“It was an incredibly complex investigation requiring very detailed examination of all the evidence and documentation relating to Aaron’s life, because sadly, he wasn’t here to give evidence himself.

“We also have to thank the Barrister Mary Prior and the CPS for seeing the seriousness of the allegations and carrying forward what was always going to be an extremely difficult case to prosecute.”

July 2013

Pervert filmed children in Aberdeen shopping centre toilets

A PERVERT has been put on the sex offenders register indefinitely after installing a video camera in the family toilets of an Aberdeen shopping centre.

Tomasz Stozek, 35, who has previous convictions for sex offences, was jailed for 16 months and will remain on licence for a further 14 months.

Stozek, who was described as a prisoner in Aberdeen, admitted that between March 4 and May 12 at Union Square and elsewhere in Aberdeen he broke a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) banning him from possessing or using any camera equipment.

He also admitted he recorded people, including children, in the Union Square toilets in Aberdeen, without their knowledge or consent.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the footage lasted for 45 minutes and two women and two children were captured on film.

July 2013

Man, 73 jailed for historic sexual offences against young girls

A 73 year old man from Rostrevor has been jailed for 20 years for a mixture of 40 historic sexual offences against female children

Pensioner James Hutchinson appeared at Newry crown court this week to stand trial for offences carried out over three decades ago

The offences included a mixture of rapes, attempted buggeries and indecent assaults

The court found the local man guilty of sex offences which were carried out between 1980 and 1985 on two female children in the Newry area. 

The two young victims were aged between just six and eleven years old at the time

July 2013

Abuser, 82, jailed in his absence

A PENSIONER who fled the country while he was on bail after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl has been jailed in his absence.

Eighty-two-year-old Kenneth Wright had denied two charges of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 and two of sexual activity with a child.

But Wright, of Louth Road, Holton-le-Clay, was found guilty of all four charges following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this year.

Following his conviction, the case was adjourned for a report to be prepared by his doctor on his health and how he would cope with a prison sentence, given his age.

Despite facing a prison sentence, Wright was granted bail – and shortly afterwards he fled the country and is now believed to be in southern Europe. So, although no trace has been found of Wright since he fled, and it is not even known if he is still alive, the trial judge Mr Justice John Saunders decided to sentence him in his absence.

Now sitting at Warwick Crown Court, Mr Justice Saunders imposed an eight-year prison sentence on Wright and ordered him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

He said Wright’s offences against the girl began when she was nine.

Wright came into contact with her on a number of occasions, and his abuse of her continued for some time.

“After the convictions I adjourned the case, allowing the defendant to consult his doctor to put a report before the court; and almost immediately after conviction the defendant appears to have left the country. But I do not pass a sentence to reflect the fact that he has breached his bail,” said Mr Justice Saunders, who pointed out that Wright will have to be dealt with for that if and when he is arrested.

Of the eight-year sentence, the judge added: “He is now aged 82. He is likely to find any sentence of imprisonment that much more difficult because of his age.”

The court heard that if Wright is arrested and begins to serve his sentence, if his health then begins to suffer drastically, there are provisions for the Home Secretary to intervene.

July 2013

Child rapist organised fake fancy dress contests to lure victims

A man who organised fake fancy dress competitions to lure under-aged girls into bed has been found guilty of a catalogue of offences stretching back 30 years.

Some of Andrew Mouat’s victims were as young as three, the High Court in Edinburgh was told.

Mouat, 41, was found guilty on ten charges of indecency, indecent assault and rape in Castle Douglas, Dumfriesshire, including the rape of a girl aged between eight and ten.

The rape victim, who gave evidence by CCTV link, said Mouat forced himself on her on an occasion between September 2005 and July 2007. He had previously tried to force her to perform a sex act on him when she was six years old.

Three other women and a boy gave evidence against Mouat, who began abusing girls when he was 12 years old.

He took advantage of his victims while their parents were out at work, instructing them not to tell anyone.

The charges alleged that he would lick and touch the feet of the youngsters. Advocate-depute Alan Mackay, prosecuting, told the jury it was “done for some sexual gratification”.

Mr Mackay said some of his offences happened after he organised bogus fancy dress competitions. “He would offer the winner the somewhat dubious prize of going to bed with him,” the prosecutor said.

Mouat, of Donald Court, Castle Douglas, denied the charges against him and claimed his accusers were lying.

Judge Lord Burns remanded him in custody after the jury found him guilty and ordered background reports before passing sentence.

July 2013

Richmond paedophile addict had 2,000 child images

A porn addict whose collection totalled 250,000 images could face jail, after indecent images of children and animals were found among them.

Wayne Cook pleaded guilty to possessing 2,063 pornographic images of children, 58 movies and 11 extreme photographs of animals, when he appeared at Kingston Crown Court on July 3.

The 36-year-old production manager from Langham Gardens, Richmond, was cautioned in January 2006 for possessing indecent photographs.

His representative Kieran Galvin said: “He said that he’s had a very bad addiction to mainline pornography.”

July 2013

Paedophile sent to jail

The mother of a sex offender’s victim has spoken of her relief after her daughters abuser jailed for five years

Thomas Chant, 30 of the Quadrant, Droylsden has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register Indefinately and has been given a sexual offences prevention order for 10 years

He was jailed after being found guilty after a trial at Derby crown court of one sexual activity with a child under 16 years old. He committed the offence whilst camping in Derby

His victims mother said: “The sentence was fair. I believe it is the highest he could of got with the charge he was found guilty of”

“It was a nightmare going to court with the trial lasting a week and total trauma for our daughter and ourselves”

“We have to concentrate on our daughter now. She has been amazing but has suffered so much”

“At least she will know that we, and all the professionals involved, believed her and fought hard for this outcome”

July 2013

Man convicted of 39 counts of child sexual abuse

Leslie Burrell was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court today of 39 counts of child sexual abuse including rape, sexual activity with a child and taking indecent photographs of a child. He will be sentenced on 11 July.

Andrew Baxter, CPS London Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “Burrell is a prolific sexual offender who preyed mainly on young boys over a period of more than three decades. He carried out hundreds of acts of sexual abuse in the Bromley area between 1972 and 2007.

“Burrell gained the trust of his victims before cruelly exploiting this trust in order to carry out repeated sexual abuse.

“Today he has finally been brought to justice thanks to the courage of his victims to come forward and speak out against their abuser.

“I would like to thank all the victims for supporting this prosecution. They showed great bravery in giving evidence and we were able to support them with special measures according to their needs.

“This meant that some of the victims gave their evidence by means of a pre-recorded video and from behind a screen, shielding them from having to face the defendant.

“The Crown Prosecution Service has made tackling child sexual abuse a national priority and last month the Director of Public Prosecutions launched new interim guidelines for prosecutors dealing with child sexual abuse cases.

“CPS London is committed to working with its partners in the police and other agencies to ensure that those that abuse and exploit children are brought to justice.”

Convictions:

Victim A
1, 2, 4, 5: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)
3: Indecency with a child (Indecency with Children Act 1960)

Victim B
6, 7: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)

Victim C
8, 9: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)

Victim D
10, 11: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)
12: Buggery of a male under 16 (SOA 1956)

Victim E
13: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)

Victim F
14, 15: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)
16: Rape (SOA 1956)

Victim G
17: Indecent assault on a male under the age of 16 (SOA 1956)
18, 19: Rape (SOA 1956)

Victim H
20, 21: Rape (SOA 1956)
22, 23: Indecent assault on a male person (SOA 1956)
24, 26: Rape of a child under 13 (SOA 2003)
25, 27: Rape (SOA 2003)

Victim I
29, 31-33: Sexual activity with a child (SOA2003)

Victim J
35, 36: Rape of a child under 13
40: Inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity

Victim K
37: Rape of a child under 13
38: Sexual activity with a child under 13
39: Causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity

Victim L
41: Sexual activity with a child

Other convictions:
34: Taking indecent photographs of a child (Protection of Children Act 1978)