July 2014

 Holme man put on sex offenders’ register after grooming 14 yr old schoolgirl for sex

A HOLME man has been put on the sex offenders’ register after admitting grooming a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Craig Richard Mitchell, 34, of Pear Tree Park, pleaded guilty at Carlisle Crown Court to grooming the girl with intent to do something which would have amounted to a sexual offence.

The charge stated that he had contacted her on at least two occasions before meeting her, knowing how young she was, on February 27.

Mitchell also admitted that, after meeting her, he had sexual activity with her by touching her.

Mitchell, who had never been in trouble before, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register immediately, although the length of time he will be on it will not be decided until he is sentenced.

He was remanded on bail for probation reports and will be sentenced ol August 4.

July 2014

Pervert who sexually abused a seven-year-old girl has been jailed for eight years.

Stephen Maskell, of East Street, Grantham, denied four charges of indecent assault between March 1991 and December 1992 but was convicted following a trial earlier this year.

The 50-year-old was also ordered to remain on the sex offenders’ register for the rest of his life.

Judge Michael Heath described him as a “bully who had shown no remorse”.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the victim did not complain at the time because she was too scared.

She eventually confided in a relative and police were informed.

Maskell claimed the assaults did not happen.

July 2014

Kenilworth pensioner jailed for sexual abuse in 1970s

A PENSIONER from Kenilworth has been jailed for sexually abusing two young children in the 1970s, including raping one of them and committing acts now be classed as rape.

And a judge at Warwick Crown Court said Malcolm Blood, who was said to have been ‘a very good father’ to his own children, had caused his victims severe psychological harm.

The 69-year-old of Willow Meer, was jailed for 18 years, of which he will have to serve two-thirds, and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

After deliberating for almost six hours, the jury had unanimously found him guilty of six charges of raping a girl, who was just 11 at the time of the first offence, in the 70s.

He was also convicted of six charges of indecently assaulting the girl by performing a sex act on her and getting her to perform a sexual act on him – which the Judge Sylvia de Bertodano pointed out would now be charged as rape.

In addition Blood, who had denied all the charges, was found guilty of five charges of indecently assaulting an eight- or nine-year-old boy by touching him indecently and making the boy touch him in a similar way.

Prosecutor Peter Cooper had said the offences against the girl fell into three ‘batches,’ each of which involved two charges of rape and two of indecent assault.

He told the jury: “It’s one of those cases where things were done to children who felt unable at that time or for many years thereafter to tell anyone.”

His separate abuse of the two children took place at a time when Blood was living in Warwick, where they also lived.

Neither victim spoke to anyone about what had happened until one of them, now a woman in her 40s, heard a talk by the police in Stratford about child abuse, which finally prompted her to come forward.

The police investigation led to the other victim ‘who had his own sad tale to tell’ and revealed how when he was a boy Blood had fondled him and performed other acts on him.

Graeme Simpson, defending, said Blood was of previous good character and was now in poor health and had been awaiting an operation which had to be cancelled because of the trial.

Jailing Blood, the judge told him: “You inflicted appalling acts of abuse for your own sexual gratification. I am sure you don’t need me to tell you the appalling effects of such offending on people who have suffered this type of abuse.

“The fact it took over 30 years for these different children to come forward and tell their stories, and the effect it has had on their lives, shows how the offences you committed against them have been a constant presence in their lives.

“I very much hope your conviction and the sentence I’m going to pass will help bring them to a stage where their lives are no longer dominated by the abuse you subjected them to.”

July 2008

Life jail for toddlers’s killer

A BIRMINGHAM man who battered a toddler to death in an “explosive rage”, has been jailed for life.

Kamran Rose suffered horrific injuries at the hands of Nicholas Kirnon, who had been looking after him.

After a jury at Birmingham Crown Court found him guilty of murder, the defendant stormed from the dock shouting, and the sounds of a struggle could be heard as dock officers tried to restrain him.

Sentencing him in his absence, Mr Justice Butterfield, said: “This is a tragic case. No sentence of mine can reflect the value of the life of little Kamran.

“Nicholas Kirnon took that life from him in what must have been, upon the medical evidence, a vicious and prolonged assault committed in anger and temper inflicting those internal injuries on a defenceless baby.

“Nicholas Kirnon had been trusted to care for Kamran, but he grossly abused that trust.”

The judge said he had taken into account the lack of premeditation and believed Kirnon had not intended to kill the toddler.

“This was an act committed in a terrible rage in which the defendant repeatedly assaulted the child causing the terrible injuries and consequences which we have heard.”

He ordered that Kirnon serve a minimum of 17 years in prison before he could be considered for release by a parole board.

Det Insp David Wallbank later referred to the injuries suffered by the little boy and said: “I was present at the hospital and the post-mortem and I have never seen anything before coming close to it.

“This was someone trusted to look after him, that is the terrible thing about it.”

Of Kirnon, he said: “That sums it up. That is what he was like at the hospital, a man with an explosive and violent temper that he was prepared to use on a 15-month-old toddler.

“I am pleased for Kamran’s mother and her family that they can take a step to rebuild their family life.”

Kirnon, 22, had denied murdering the boy on May 10 last year.

Timothy Raggatt QC, prosecuting, said for the first year of his life, Kamran had been looked after by his loving and caring mother, Sarah Rose.

She met Kirnon in January last year and he moved in with her at an address in Kempson Road, Bromford.

He said Sarah Rose had a job at a betting shop and on May 10 had gone to work leaving her boyfriend to care for her son.

About two hours later, paramedics were called to the home of Kirnon’s mother in Castle Vale, where they found Kamran who was apparently lifeless.,

The boy was later pronounced dead at hospital and a pathologist found that he had sustained substantial and very serious internal injuries to his stomach.

Mr Raggatt said the exact nature of the assault was not known and that it may have been punches, kicks “or something else”.

July 2014

Old Kilpatrick man had child abuse images

AN OLD Kilpatrick man faces an uncertain future after being found with indecent images of children.

George Mulgrew, 59, appeared in the dock at Dumbarton Sheriff court and admitted to accessing over 100 examples of the images and movies between July 2012 and October last year.

Prosecutor Anthony McGeehan told Dumbarton Sheriff Court that police officers armed with a warrant turned up at Mulgrew’s address on October 25 last year and were met by Mulgrew and his wife.

Computer equipment was seized and a preliminary examination uncovered evidence of indecent images of children.

As a result, the pair were detained which prompted Mulgrew to tell cops “I might have gone in there by mistake”.

Both Mulgrew and his wife were then interviewed at Clydebank Police Office. Mulgrew’s wife told police she had no knowledge of any indecent images and was eventually released without charge.

Mulgrew admitted accessing the images for a couple of years out of curiosity and was subsequently arrested and charged.

A total of 60 indecent still images of children ranging between levels one and five were recovered on a laptop.

A further 83 indecent movies were also found ranging between levels one and five. Images classified at level five are considered the worst. Sheriff Simon Fraser deferred sentence until July 30 in order for reports and placed Mulgrew on the Sex Offenders Register. 

July 2014

Child abuse images pervert tried to blame relatives

A PERVERT who was caught with more then 1,000 images of children on computers at his home blamed friends and family for downloading them, a court heard.

Anthony Emmerson, 43, was arrested after police seized a lap top, mobile phone and two external hard drives from the home in Wakefield where he lived with his partner and two children.

Leeds Crown Court heard police received information that he had paid to access a website containing illegal indecent images of children.

Officers searched Emmerson’s home on Hillcrest, Havercorft on January 8 last year and seized the equipment.

The court hear Emmerson contacted police two days later and said he wanted to “get something off his chest”.

He told officers he had been taking anti depressants which had caused him to go onto the internet and look at the illegal images but insisted that he did not have a sexual interest in children.

Investigations revealed Emmerson had accessed 1,199 indecent images. The court heard 53 images were at level four and five were at level five – the two most serious categories of offending.

Emmerson was interviewed about the images in August last year and denied responsibility.

He claimed he had never seen them before and told officers the laptop had previously belonged to his brother and nephew.

He also named a friend who had previously had access to the computer and another who had installed an operating system on the laptop for him. Emmerson also said his children and partner had used the computer.

When asked about the admission he had previously made to a police officer, he said he had no recollection of doing so and said a record of the conversation must have been altered in some way.

The court heard Emmerson’s relatives and friends had to be spoken to by police during the investigation.

Emmerson pleaded guilty to 21 offences of making indecent images of children. Stephen Smithson, mitigating, said Emmerson had taken medication to treat a bone disease but it led to him taking illegal class A drugs.

Mr Smithson said: “That is when boundaries disappeared and we can see that his personal life in every aspect – health, work and family relationships – led him to eventually behave in the way that he has.”

Emmerson was made the subject of a three community order during which he must attend a sex offender treatment programme.

Judge Penelope Belcher told Emmerson: “You purported to point the finger at others. You denied responsibility.

“Plainly at the time you could not face up to what you had done.”

July 2014

‘Shame’ of pervert jailed for eight years

A man who repeatedly sexually abused a girl has been jailed for eight years.

Anthony Dawkins’ victim had suffered serious psychological trauma and was said to have been haunted by the memory of what happened to her.

Dawkins, 68, from Princess Avenue, Poulton, had pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault.

The offences date back some years.

Peter Warne, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Dawkins had groomed the girl.

It had started with inappropriate touching and led to other behaviour. The girl was under 16 years of age.

Dawkins was arrested in 2012 and was later interviewed on a number of occasions.

There were general denials, with him saying it never happened in a billion years.

He also said he was a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints and took his religion seriously.

When passing sentence, the judge said that remark by the defendant had been one of “supreme hypocrisy”.

Dawkins had suggested to police the victim had a vivid imagination.

In an impact statement, the victim, who is now an adult, said she went “off the rails” because of what happened.

Dawkins’ behaviour had a major effect on her.

The court was told Dawkins was a man of previous good character.

Rosalind Emsley-Smith, defending, said he had been candid and open about the events that had caused him “significant torment”.

“It is clear Mr Dawkins has been tormented for some time in respect of the memory and reality of his own behaviour”, she told the court.

“He has struggled to come to terms with his own behaviour. He accepted full responsibility for the abuse that he perpetrated.

“He is absolutely consumed by shame. He has regret and remorse.

“He describes his own behaviour as evil and despicable. He would wish to make his apology”.

Judge Robert Altham said in passing sentence the offences were serious.

He said the victim had suffered serious psychological trauma.

Dawkins will be on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.

May 2001

Church steward who groomed boys for abuse is jailed

A STEWARD at Chichester Cathedral who used his position to abuse young boys attending church functions has been jailed for 16 years.

Terence Banks, 63, a former BBC floor manager, molested 12 boys over almost 30 years since 1972.

After a three-day trial, a jury convicted him of serious sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy between January 1971 and December 1973. Banks, who denied both charges, had already admitted at a previous court hearing 31 sex offences against boys and young men. 

Sentencing him, Judge Richard Brown said “You presented yourself to children and their parents as a kindly, helpful and genuine person. Of course we now know that in reality you were a manipulative, wicked, serial sexual abuser of young men and boys.

You used the cathedral activities as a cloak to cover your targeting of potential young victims.”

Banks admitted 31 sexual offences, which included indecent assault and serious sexual assaults. He was also convicted of one serious sexual offence.

Philip Katz, QC, for the prosecution, had told Lewes Crown Court: “The offences range from touching to repeated buggery. The background to the case, the Crown say, concerns the systematic grooming and sexual abuse of young boys for nearly 30 years.”

The court was told that the victims were offered alcohol, meals out and trips to London, including tours of the BBC studios, by Banks.

The court was told how two of Banks’s older victims suffered severe mental trauma as a result of the abuse. One of them said that the abuse had made him feel “dirty, sick, angry and almost suicidal”; another had suffered a mental breakdown and is unable to work.

Banks had a flat in Hammersmith, West London, close to the BBC, and a home near Chichester Cathedral, where he often showed boys pornographic videos before molesting them.

Mr Katz said that it was one of Banks’s most recent victims, now aged 18, who had triggered the police investigation. “This victim told his girlfriend what had happened to him and then approached police out of concern for other young boys,” Mr Katz said.

“He told police that the abuse had ruined his life and led him to drink heavily and said he was an emotional wreck and the abuse had confused him about everything, including his sexuality.”

“His courageous declaration was the start of this inquiry and it well and truly opened the floodgates.”

Sonia Woodley, QC, for the defence, said that Banks had been abused as a child by a teacher and other adults. She said: “Because of a lack of love from his father he enjoyed the attention from his abusers.”

After the case one of the abused boys, now aged 32, issued a statement of behalf of all Banks’s victims. He said: “It has been noted that Mr Banks received support from the Church since his detainment, but at no time during this difficult period has the clergy offered any support to the victims.

It is no coincidence that the victims selected by Terence Banks were sought and identified from within the cathedral environment,
an environment which should promote Christianity and decency. In this case it harboured the opposite.”

“This sentence will shoot a warning bolt across anyone who has committed such offences – your days are numbered. We stand as one to show that unity works.”

Banks will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.

July 2014

New technology helps convict pervert for a series of child sex offences

A man is starting a nine-year prison sentence after new technology helped prove he committed a series of child sex offences.

Lee Matthews, 32, of Howard Close, Hailsham, was sentenced by Judge David Rennie at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday (8 July), having previously appeared at the same Court in April and June when he had pleaded guilty to 22 charges.

The charges, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, followed an intelligence-led investigation by the Paeodophile On-Line Investigation Team (POLIT) of Sussex Police.

Key to securing Matthews’ admissions to two of the most serious offences was new patented scientific work by Forensic Pathways Ltd on his mobile phone.

Eleven of his offences concerned a young girl known to him – one of sexual assault on a child, one of sexual activity with a child, two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, four of taking indecent images of a child, and three of distribution of indecent images of a child.

For these offences he received a total of eight years imprisonment.

Eleven other offences involved images from the Internet – five of distribution of Internet sourced indecent images, five of making indecent images of children by downloading nternet-sourced images, and one of possession of extreme pornography.

For these offences he received a further one-year sentence, to run consecutively to the eight-year sentence.  

Three other charges, one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and two of sexual activity with a child, were ordered to remain on the court file.

Matthews was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was served with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).

Detective Constable Chris Smith of POLIT said: “At the beginning of April last year we received urgent intelligence suggesting that not only was Matthews exchanging indecent images of children via the internet, but that he was also planning to imminently sexually abuse a young girl.

“We swiftly applied for a court warrant then searched his address, seizing his laptop and two mobile phones, and arrested him. He did not make any admissions at first, or in later interviews, but at court this April he admitted 20 of the offences when the evidence was put to him.

“In securing admissions to the other two offences, one of taking indecent video on his mobile phone and one of sexual activity with a child, which he was still denying right up to the moments before trial on those charges in June, we had valuable assistance from Forensic Pathways Ltd.

“They have developed a patented scientific technique to prove that digital images on a device were created on that device, as opposed to being sent to or copied into it – a form of ‘digital DNA’ created by the camera itself.

“Matthews had denied that the video on one of his phones, which showed sexual activity with a child, had been shot on that phone. Forensic Pathways were able to show that indeed it had.

Faced with this he pleaded guilty to those last two charges at the last minute, saving the victim having to attend court and give evidence.

“We understand that this is the first-ever conviction obtained using this technology, which provides law enforcement with an extra option to help detect offences of any kind in which the source of digital imagery is an issue.

“We would also like to pay tribute to the young victim who showed courage in supporting the prosecution and in being ready to give evidence in court had it been necessary.”

All Matthews’ offences are believed to have been committed within the past five years. There is no evidence that any other child has been abused.

July 2014

Newport man, who the judge said was ‘without sexual restraint’ gets 10 years’ jail for sex with 13-year-old girl

A NEWPORT sex offender with “no concept of sexual restraint” was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for having sex with a child under the age of 16 and breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

Jonathan Swift, 25, of Canon Street, Newport, was previously found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl in the Malpas area of the city on Saturday, March 1 but not guilty of rape.

Judge Tom Crowther QC said today at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court that Swift had “damaged” the girl due to his lack of sexual restraint.

He sentenced Swift to 10 years imprisonment, an extended sentence for the harm he had caused.

The father-of-two will not be eligible for parole until he has served four years and eight months.

Judge Crowther QC told the court that Swift had been “loitering looking for women, young women” when he met his 13-year-old victim on a bus.

He said “the balance of power” was in Swift’s favour and he should have had nothing to do with her.

Judge Crowther QC added: “Following it [the sexual activity], she was very much upset and since then has tried to take an overdose and cut her wrists. This is a child who has been damaged by what you did.”

Swift was also found guilty of breaching a sexual prevention order given to him in May 2010 after admitting a sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl. He was banned from approaching, speaking to, or being with any child who were not family members, for 10 years.

The jury in Swift’s trial previously heard from another girl Swift had chatted to on a bus who claimed he subsequently sexually assaulted her after getting off at her stop.

Judge Crowther QC added: “It’s plain to me that you have no concept of sexual restraint and you are prepared to use force to those who do not consent.”

He was given a new sexual offences prevention order banning him from having any unsupervised contact with any child under 16 or living in the same household as a child under the age of 16 without approval, indefinitely.

July 2014

Pervert sentenced to three years for sexually assaulting two girls aged under 10

AN 18-YEAR-OLD has been sentenced to three years in prison after he sexually assaulted two girls under the age of 10.

Rickie Watson (pictured), from Hampson Close, Bradwell, pleaded not guilty to two sexual assaults on the girls.

However, on July 1 at Aylesbury Crown Court all 12 jurors found Watson guilty on both counts.

Watson was sentenced to three years for the first count and eight months for the second which will run concurrently.

July 2014

What my uncle did will always be with me

The nephew of a Runcorn paedophile who was jailed on Friday has spoken of his ‘hatred’ for the man who abused him more than ten years earlier

George Hughes, aged 63, of Langdale road, was sentenced to two years in prison at Chester crown court after admitting a string of sex offences 

Hughes had pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a male child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, five charges of making indecent photographs of children and one offence of possessing an indecent photograph of a child

The offences occurred in Runcorn

Hughes was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and is subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

He is prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16 years old

Following the case, Marc aged 25, from Warrington waived his right to anonymity to speak out over the claims he had also been a victim of Hughes, a decade earlier.

He alleges separate abuse allegations against Hughes, his uncle, and that he abused him from the age of 11 for 10 years, using his position as a ‘respected head of the family’ to conceal his perversion.

‘I absolutely hate him,’ said Marc

‘What he did to me will always be with me, I don’t think Ill ever totally get over it. Before this we were a close family’

Marc claims Hughes would invite to his home, pretending he needed help using a computer.

Hughes would then allegedly abuse his young victim by touching him sexually, playing pornographic films and walking around naked

Marc said he kept quiet as he was frightened of his uncle, who would become angry and ignore his pleas to stop.

‘I was scared if I said anything he would do worse things to me, and no one would believe me’

The abuse has had a serious impact on the victim

He added, ‘I didn’t feel able to have a intimate relationship until I was 23 or 24 years old’

‘I wasn’t able to have the usual relationships you would normally have as a teenager. i don’t think the punishment is enough, for this type of crime’

‘You see people getting four years in prison for stealing from a house. This man got two years for stealing my childhood’

July 2014

Father jailed for eight years after killing daughter for crying while he played on his PlayStation

A father has been jailed for eight years for killing his baby daughter after being frustrated by her screaming as he tried to play a computer game.

Mark Sandland, 28, picked up five-week-old Aimee-Rose and shook her during a sudden loss of temper, prosecutors said.

He claimed he had suffered an epileptic fit and came round to find his daughter underneath him at their flat in Church Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.

Lewes Crown Court heard on Monday that police who attended the flat after Aimee-Rose was rushed to hospital on November 5 2012 found a PlayStation game controller on the sofa opposite the TV.

Prosecutor Sally Howes QC said: “It’s the Crown’s case that, frustrated by the distraction of Aimee-Rose screaming, the defendant picked her up and gripped her around her torso and shook her in a sudden loss of temper and loss of control.

“Despite his admission that the television was on that morning, by the time the ambulance crew arrived it had been switched off, thus covering up the fact he had been playing the game on his PlayStation.”

Analysis of Sandland’s mobile phone internet history showed a website offering tips on how to play the computer game, Assassin’s Creed 3, was accessed at 2.22pm, Miss Howes said.

The detail of the website, giving step-by-step instruction, meant there would have been little point accessing it unless the game was being played, she added. Some 16 minutes later, at 2.38pm, Sandland dialled 999.

On that day, Aimee-Rose’s mother was attending her first class for an applied social science degree course at the University of Brighton’s Hastings campus.

During a break at around lunch-time, she sent Sandland a text message asking after Aimee-Rose, to which he replied: “She hasn’t shut up since about half an hour after you left.”

Aimee-Rose was admitted to the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards with brain damage, and other injuries including bruising to her face, chest, abdomen and lower limbs.

She was then transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit at King’s College Hospital, London, but died on November 9 2012.

Miss Howes added: “The combination of the post-mortem findings of recent head injury, recent traumatic laceration of the liver and recent fracture of the left clavicle is consistent with inflicted injury of the shaking/impact type.

“It is the Crown’s case that the injuries sustained by Aimee-Rose were inflicted by her father, Mark Sandland, who, during a sudden loss of temper, gripped her around the torso and shook her.”

Sandland was charged with murder but went on to plead guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of lack of intent, which was accepted by the Crown.

He was diagnosed in 2008 with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition of the peripheral nervous system, following which he began experiencing seizures.

The court heard that no medical cause could be found to explain them and he was admitted to numerous hospitals between 2008 and 2012.

Dr Hannah Cock, a consultant neurologist, found it was “highly unlikely” that a seizure was a substantial contributor to Aimee-Rose’s injuries, the court heard.

Had he suffered a seizure, Dr Cock would have expected him to drop anything he was holding and remember later, Miss Howes said.

Miss Howes said: “Even if he had fallen on to Aimee-Rose, her pattern of injuries is not consistent with a fall and crushing alone. Dr Cock would have expected more disturbance to adjacent furniture than reported.”

Defence counsel Lewis Power QC said Sandland had asked him to convey “contrition and remorse”, adding: “He feels that one life is over, but his is too.”

July 2014

Bridgwater pervert admits setting up camera in bathroom to film teenage girl

THE founder of a Bridgwater majorettes group set up hidden cameras to film a teenage girl and her mother in the shower, a court has heard.

John Boobyer, 60, who set up the Chameleon Batonettes in 1990, appeared at Taunton Crown Court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of voyeurism – relating to a hidden camera set up in the bathroom of a woman he knew.

At an earlier hearing, Boobyer also admitted setting up a hidden camera in his own bathroom, at his home in Orchard Way, Woolavington, which recorded images of the woman’s daughter in the shower between January and April last year.

Boobyer pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images at that hearing and is due to be sentenced for those charges and the voyeurism charge on July 30.

Speaking to the Mercury after Wednesday’s hearing, the mother, who cannot be identified, said Boobyer had visited her home after offering to fit a light in her bathroom but had instead fitted the hidden camera.

She said: “I discovered the camera by chance when I went for a shower and I called the police. It’s disgusting and we couldn’t believe what he had done.

“My daughter is ok and is dealing with it but she has her up and down days, as do I. It’s frustrating but I’m glad something is being done.”

Speaking to the Mercury yesterday (Monday), Boobyer said he had been involved with the Chameleon Batonettes for many years as its treasurer but had stepped down when the allegations surfaced.

In relation to the indecent images charges, Boobyer said his setting up of the camera which recorded images of the teenage girl had been a “stupid, spur
of the moment thing”.

The Mercury was unable to contact anybody from the Chameleon Batonettes yesterday, but Boobyer said the group would continue to run as normal and that his daughter, Rachel, would remain as choreographer.

He said: “The Chameleon Batonettes are holding a committee meeting later in the week and will release a statement.

“My family members are still running the group, we have had regular meetings with the parents and they have seen all statements and know the truth.”

July 2014

Pervert performed sex act in front of children in Hartlepool McDonald’s

A PERVERT committed a sex act for half an hour in full view of fast food diners including schoolchildren.

James Scott, 34, was caught on CCTV carrying out a sex act on himself in front of customers in McDonald’s, on Marina Way, Hartlepool.

Scott, who claimed to be suffering from depression at the time, committed the shocking act on November 7 last year when schoolchildren were in the restaurant.

Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to outraging public decency when he appeared in front of a judge at Teesside Crown Court.

He walked free after he was given a three-year community order when he will work with probation officials to address his issues.

Prosecutor Sue Jacobs said: “There were people within McDonald’s. One described themselves as a student who saw him appearing to be committing a sex act on himself.

“His actions made it clear what he was doing. Women and children and students were present.

“The incident was captured on CCTV.”

The court heard Scott did not buy anything when he walked into the outlet and found himself a seat looking out onto the main floor.

He had his hands down the front of his trousers, prompting staff to raise concerns by calling the police.

Scott had been carrying out the sex act for half an hour, the court was told.

Scott’s barrister told the court that the former construction worker was on anti-depressants at the time and had suffered with mental health issues.

Scott, of High Street East, Sunderland, was made the subject of a three-year community order with the same length of probation supervision.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, said it had been “a prolonged act”.

July 2014

Perverted primary school teacher caught tickling and sniffing young boys’ feet for sexual thrills

A primary school teacher is facing jail after playing games of ‘sniff and tickle’ with his pupils’ feet.

Martyne Airey, 51, told misbehaving children to stay behind after lessons and take off their shoes and socks before sitting them up at a table and smelling their toes or tickling their soles.

He was caught after several pupils – all boys – were confronted by other teachers for being late to their classes. They explained that they had been with Airey and said what had happened to them.

It emerged in court that Airey would get the pupils to pick a playing card from a deck. Depending on which card was picked he would then sniff or tickle their feet. He was suspended from his position before being charged in April this year.

The court heard that the pupils have not reported any trauma from the incidents, but ‘just thought he was weird’.

Prosecutors said Airey, of Blackburn, Lancashire, carried out the offences for ‘sexual gratification’.

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual activity with a child under 13 at Preston Crown Court and will be sentenced next month.

At an earlier hearing before magistrates, prosecutor Miss Catherine Allan said: ‘The defendant was working as a teacher at a school.

‘The prosecution case is that he would play a game with children which involved him smelling their feet for sexual gratification. There is abuse of position, of trust, the age of children, numerous children.’

At the latest hearing, prosecutor Miss Abigail Hudson said: ‘Three of the boys came back from Mr Airey’s class and were asked why they were late and, at that point, disclosed the game they had been playing.

‘The parents made this public and other parents asked their children if they had played this game too. None of the children were particularly disturbed, they just thought it was weird. The parents were of course more perturbed.’

After the court hearing, a parent of one of the pupils said: ‘It was not normal behaviour. I was really angry and disgusted when it all came out. I’m just glad he has pleaded guilty and the children will not have to be put through another ordeal.

‘Lots of us were really concerned over whether he would plead guilty so it is a real relief.’

Another said: ‘You normally expect your children to be safe with their teacher, but this fellow obviously needs some help. Parents in the playground have talked of nothing else except what he did.’

Airey – who was given bail on condition he does not to have any contact with any children under 16 – was told by Judge Simon Newall that a jail sentence could not be ruled out.

But, the judge said, his early guilty plea would be taken into account as it had helped to avoid a long trial.

July 2014

Former doctor jailed for string of sexual assaults on patients including schoolgirls

A former doctor has been jailed for nearly 12 years after being convicted of sexually assaulting nine patients over three decades.

Andrew Johnson, 62, of Station Road, Bawtry, was found guilty of 15 offences of indecent assault and sexual assault following a seven-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

The offences were committed against women and girls aged as young as 14, between 1979 and 2006.

The offences took place at the surgery where he was based as a GP in Station Road in Bawtry and Main Street in Blyth.

He was jailed for five years for those offences on 2nd April, but had his sentence increased to nine years at the Court of Appeal on 19th June.

Johnson sexually abused a teenage girl, who was not a patient at his surgery, over a three-year period between 1990 and 1993.

The victim was aged between 14 and 16 when the abuse took place.

He pleaded guilty to that offence at Sheffield Crown Court and was sentenced to a further two years eight months, to run consecutively.

He was also added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

The police investigation into Johnson began in 2010 when a female patient reported she had been sexually assaulted by him in the past.

Johnson, who was a partner at Bawtry and Blyth Medical Practises, was struck off by the General Medical Council prior to a police investigation beginning.

As the investigation progressed officers identified further victims, who all stated that they had been indecently or sexually assaulted by Johnson while they were his patients at the surgery.

The first reported assault dated back to 1979 and the last was in 2006 and involved women and girls aged between 14 and 49.

All his victims had visited Johnson with minor ailments or for routine examinations, they were then subjected to indecent or sexual assaults.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Whittaker said: “The victims in this case have shown tremendous courage coming forward and I would like to praise them for their bravery.”

“I would also like to commend the victims and families for how they have conducted themselves throughout what was a lengthy and arduous trial.”

“Johnson denied his crimes throughout the investigation and forced his victims to relive their ordeal, which must have been incredibly hard for them.”

“Johnson’s crimes are inexcusable. He abused his position as a doctor by taking advantage of the trust his patients had given him, in my opinion, this is the ultimate betrayal of trust.”

“This man subjected his patients to sexual assaults for his own perverse satisfaction.”

“He has shown no remorse towards any of his victims, which again shows the arrogance of the man.”

“I hope that the sentencing will provide some form of closure to Johnson’s victims, many of whom have been living with what he did to them for almost 40 years – this shows that you cannot hide from justice forever,”

“South Yorkshire Police will do everything within its powers to bring sex offenders to justice, no matter how historic the offences may be.”

July 2014

Eight years in prison for man whose sex crimes date back to 70s

A RAPIST has been jailed for eight years for a string of sex offences that date back to the early 70s when his victim was six or seven-years-old.

Bar worker William Ashton, 54, from Breccia Gardens in Parr, initially preyed on his victim when she was a child, resuming the abuse when she reached 16 or 17.

She was one of three women to come forward to make complaints about sex attacks between 1972 and 1985.

Ashton was acquitted of abusing the other two.

He was convicted by a jury at Croydon Crown Court of two sample counts of indecently assaulting the victim in Cantrill Farm, Liverpool between 1972 and 1974 then two counts of indecently assaulting her again and raping her at an address in Sutton, south west London between 1982 and 1985.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry told the court: “This rape took place at the end of a lengthy period of grooming which started when she was six or seven-years-old.”

Ashton, who was acquitted of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at Liverpool Crown Court last year. claimed that the complaints were an “invention” and “false allegations.

But each denied lying adding that it was very difficult to come forward after so many years.

Ashton was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

July 2014

Paedophile is jailed for indecent assaults on a girl aged 7

A paedophile who “blighted” the life of a seven-year-old girl he indecently assaulted has been jailed for three years.

Martin Sturgess, 49, from St Neots, had previously been jailed for four years for sex offences against another girl.

Hull Crown Court heard how the victim had suffered in silence for 23 years and only gained the strength to go to the police last year after recovering from a nervous breakdown.

The woman and her partner were in the public gallery to see Sturgess locked up.

Sturgess, of Russell Court, was convicted of three offences of indecent assault after a four day trial.

Recorder Timothy Roberts told him: “This woman’s life has been blighted as a result of what you did to her.

“For that you will be receiving a prison sentence. She was only seven years old at the time.”

The court heard that Sturgess was a misfit who wandered the UK in his 20s, leaving St Neots in 1989 for Goole, East Yorkshire, where he indecently assaulted the seven-year-old.

He was arrested last October after the woman went to police.

In a victim impact statement the woman told how she had lost her happy childhood years and had spiralled into a nervous breakdown.

She said: “The effects have been much deeper than a sexual assault – I have been damaged as a person and I will never get those years back.”

Sturgess, who studied for a degree in psychology, returned to st Neots and in 1997 he was jailed for four years for attempted rape and three other sex offences on an 11-year-old girl.

Mark McKone, mitigating, said that since the 1997 conviction Sturgess’s life had been controlled by the authorities.

He said: “He has had difficulties in life ever since he was found guilty of sexual offences. He has not only been controlled by the authorities, he has become a recluse.”

After the hearing the victim said: “All I ever wanted was for it to be acknowledged that it had happened to me.

“I had not seen him for 23 years. I saw him at the court staring at me. It was weird rather than frightening. He looked like he was struggling with what he had done.”