December 1999

Sex case teacher gets six years

A geography teacher who “groomed and wooed” besotted teenage pupils before molesting them was yesterday jailed for six years.

Leeds crown court heard that Geoffrey Johnson, 52, indecently assaulted five pupils over the 20 years between 1968 and 1988, having sex with one 14-year-old girl in a storeroom at Woodkirk high school, Leeds, and another 13-year-old in his car on the moors.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Brian Walsh, QC, told him he was a disgrace to his profession.

Philip Standfast, prosecuting, told the court the offences began in 1968, when Johnson, of Morley, Leeds, started work at the 1,500-pupil school as a 21-year-old graduate. He said: “Over a period of years certain naive and perhaps vulnerable schoolgirls became attracted to Mr Johnson and it was the case that by flattery and persuasion he took advantage of their naivety in order to commit sexual offences against them.”

In 1968 Johnson fondled a 13-year-old pupil in a storeroom and the relationship developed into regular sex in his car on the moors.

It was this girl who finally went to the police earlier this year.

The court heard Johnson’s next relationship was with a 15-year-old pupil in 1970. While they were still having a relationship he started an affair with a 13-year-old pupil, and in 1978 he began another relationship with a fourth girl. They had regular sex in the school storeroom.

The final offence occurred in 1988 when Johnson kissed and cuddled a sixth former in the storeroom.

The teacher, who admitted 15 indecent assaults, originally pleaded guilty to eight rapes and seven indecent assaults. But yesterday he pleaded not guilty to the rape charges and they were changed to indecent assault.

August 2014

Rochdale sex attacker jailed for raping schoolgirl in 1980s

A sex attacker who raped and indecently assaulted a teenage girl in the 1980s is finally behind bars.

Wayne Whitworth, 42, from Rochdale, abused his victim repeatedly over the course of three years, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

She only plucked up the courage to tell police about her ordeal years later, last February.

An investigation was launched and Whitworth was arrested.

He was jailed for five years yesterday after admitting three counts of raping a girl under 16 and three counts of indecently assaulting a girl under 14.

Whitworth, of no fixed address, was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Inspector Caroline Ward, based at Rochdale, said: “Whitworth abused his victim systematically over a number of years.

“Years passed after the cycle of abuse finished and Whitworth must have been confident he had got away with his crimes.

“However, his victim bravely decided to contact the police and trusted us to conduct a thorough investigation.

“It is testimony to her courage that we are now able to say justice has caught up with Whitworth.”

Anyone who has suffered rape or sexual assault can report it to Greater Manchester Police on 101. Support is also available from the St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0161 276 6515.

August 2014

Child abuse images nurse struck off after pleading guilty

A NURSE who worked on a psychiatric ward in the Lothians has been struck off for ­possessing more than 200 indecent images of children.

Stephen McFarlane was kicked out of the profession by the Nursing and Midwifery Council after pleading guilty to child abuse images charges at an earlier court hearing.

The nursing watchdog was told how the mental health nurse was employed as a staff nurse on an acute psychiatric ward at the time police raided his home in December 2011.

They found 219 indecent images on his computer – 22 of which were classed as level four, the second-most serious category.

McFarlane pleaded guilty to offences relating to indecent images of children when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in October last year.

It led to him being placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for three years and he was also sentenced to a three-year ­probation order.

In a separate incident, McFarlane was also convicted of dangerous driving on the M8 motorway for speeding while being pursued by the police in May 2013.

The panel was told how McFarlane had worked for NHS Lothian for more than 15 years when police first swooped to his address.

A certified transcript of his sentencing hearing confirmed the charges brought and found the allegation proved, whichamounted to serious misconduct, they said.

Striking him off the register, the report said: “Mr McFarlane did not treat these children with dignity and respect and failed in his duty to protect the wider community. The panel was of the view that these were not victimless crimes. Mr McFarlane failed to be open, honest and act with integrity and he did not uphold the ­reputation of the profession.

“He did not adhere to the laws of the country in which he was practising.”

Alasdair Kennedy, representing the NMC, described McFarlane’s actions as “deplorable.” He added that McFarlane had also “put the public at risk whilst driving dangerously”.

It said little was known about what McFarlane was doing now, but noted he ­demonstrated “very little insight” and a “risk of repetition remains”.

Aggravating factors, including that it related to sexual misconduct, the number and level of images and that McFarlane had distributed some of the images, meant he broke fundamental tenets of the profession.

The panel concluded that striking off was the only ­sanction to protect the public interest, adding public ­confidence in the profession would only be sustained if McFarlane was removed from the register.

McFarlane was not at the hearing, but an NMC case officer said the former nurse had fully expected to be struck off.

An interim suspension order of 18 months was also issued following the hearing last month, in case of an appeal.

If no appeal is made, the interim suspension order will be replaced by the striking off order, 28 days after McFarlane is sent the decision in writing.

A spokesperson for NHS Lothian confirmed: “He is no longer employed by NHS Lothian.”

August 2014

Pervert got under-age boy drunk and put hand in his underwear

A MAN plied a youngster with alcohol at his Greenock home before indecently assaulting him

James Giff, 57, poured drinks for the 15-year-old before putting his hands inside the boy’s underwear.

When he pulled away, Giff began ‘growling like a dog’ and baring his teeth before being struck on the face by the terrified teen.

As he appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court, right, shamed Giff pled guilty to indecent assault and supplying alcohol to the victim in July 2007. The incident came to light when the boy told a teacher about the assault and he was encouraged to report it to the police.

Giff also pled guilty to a similar incident involving an 18-year-old male whose boxer shorts he tried to pull down.

That incident happened on 4 September last year and he was again struck on the face by his victim, who then fled his flat.

Depute fiscal Pamela Brady told the court that the first incident happened in Giff’s kitchen at his Finch Road home.

She said: “The accused had a bottle of alcohol and poured drinks.

“He recalls a number of drinks being poured for him which was a novel experience as he was just 15. Five drinks were poured.

“He sat with the accused in the kitchen area and he felt quite drunk.”

The court heard that Giff then made a disgusting inappropriate remark before groping the teenager. Ms Brady continued: “He was told ‘You don’t have to tell anyone about this, I’m going to bed’.

“The accused then stood up and began to act in a bizarre manner, growling at him like a dog and showed his teeth.

“The victim was scared and elbowed the accused, striking him on the jaw with his elbow.”

The other incident happened on 4 September this year when an 18-year-old male staying at Giff’s flat was given a vodka and orange.

The court heard that the victim was aware that there was a police investigation into allegations against Mr Giff at this time.

Ms Brady said: “The accused asked him to stand up and then grabbed his boxer shorts and pulled them down. The complainer pulled them back up and lashed out, punching the accused on face.

“He felt shocked and angry about what had happened. He had trusted the accused despite the ongoing investigations. He called a taxi company and the taxi driver noticed he was distressed and upset. When he asked him what was wrong, the complainer said that a man had interfered with him.”

Giff pled guilty to breaking bail conditions by allowing another 18-year-old male into his home in Finch Road on 27 March 2013.He also admitted breaking bail on 8 September 2013 by repeatedly contacting his first victim via Facebook.

Advocate Tony Lenaghan said his client had never previously been in any trouble.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton deferred sentence for reports until next month and Giff was granted bail.

He has been placed on the sex offenders register.

August 2014

Abuser ordered to pay victim £15k compensation

A pervert whose abuse of a young girl came to light after she watched a TV programme about paedophile Jimmy Savile has been told to pay his victim £15,000 compensation.

Charles Huggett, 50, was warned at an earlier court hearing he faced a “fairly substantial” financial order when sentencing was adjourned for reports.

Huggett molested his young victim more than 30 years ago when she was aged about seven or eight and he was 15 or 16. Huggett was living in Dartford at the time.

August 2014

Child rapist OAP is jailed

A PENSIONER from York who groomed, assaulted and raped a vulnerable child over a 12-month period has been jailed for more than 11 years.

James McLean, 76, made his scared victim feel sick and caused her psychological harm, and he would not listen when she pleaded for him to stop abusing her, York Crown Court was told.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC said McLean, of Marjorie Waite Court, Evelyn Crescent, Clifton, raped her about 12 to 15 times over 12 months, at a time when she was particularly vulnerable because she was nine and ten years old.

The other, sustained assaults happened over the same period. He said McLean had groomed the child, adding: “He offered her money. He offered her cannabis. He offered her cigarettes. He offered her alcohol and he gave her treats.”

The court was told that McLean took his victim on outings to places such as The Deep at Hull.

Laura Addy, prosecuting, said McLean’s victim had said that on some occasions, she had woken up to find McLean assaulting her. “She said it felt horrible and told him to get off. She tried to get him off but he never listened,” she said.

In mitigation, McLean’s barrister Emma Bennett referred to McLean’s guilty pleas and age but said she did not dispute the facts of the case and accepted a substantial custodial sentence would be imposed.

The judge said McLean had had no relevant previous convictions until he was in his 70s but, three years ago, he had been given a community order for sexual assaults on two other children aged under 13.

However, at that time the sentencing judge had not known about the matters for which he was now in court, which happened at the same time as or pre-dated the other offences.

Jailing McLean for a total of eleven-and-a-half years, he said he took account in his sentencing of the defendant’s age, and of the fact he had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two specimen charges of raping a child under 13, four of sexually assaulting her and one of causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity.

September 2011

Cigarettes used to lure girls, 12, to sex abuse

A CHILD abuser has been banned from Selby after he admitted abusing two underage girls.

James McLean, formerly of New Millgate, Selby, used the fact that his 12-year-old victims had just started smoking to lure them to his flat with the promise of cigarettes in exchange for sexual favours, York Crown Court heard.

McLean, 73, would meet them twice a week at his home and, on some occasions, also gave them vodka-based drinks.

But his crimes came to light when one of the girls told her boyfriend’s parents what had happened.

McLean spoke only to confirm his name when he appeared before York Crown Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to six counts of sexual assault on the two 12-year-olds between September and December last year.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, described his offences as “disgusting”.

The court was told the victim of McLean’s abuse who spoke out about what she had endured had later become severely depressed.

The court also heard that after he was arrested, McLean wrote to the girls and their parents asking to be forgiven for his “lapse of ethics”.

McLean, who had already spent 141 days behind bars on remand after being arrested, was given a three-year community order, a three-year supervision order and was banned from entering the Selby area for two years. He must also live at a hostel under conditions and a curfew set down by the court and undertake a sex offenders’ treatment programme.

Judge Ashurst said: “Hopefully, this will allow those affected by your behaviour to come to terms with your conviction.

“This was serious criminal activity. There was a huge age gap.

“What you did was quite disgusting.”

McLean has also been banned from giving gifts to anyone under the age of 16 or staying on the same premises as anyone under that age without the consent of their parents or guardians, who must have knowledge of his convictions.

August 2014

Offaly man jailed for six years for rape of 14-year-old girl

A man who raped a 14-year-old girl in Co Offaly after he arranged to supply drugs to her in exchange for a kiss has been jailed for six years.

Callan Ward (20) pleaded guilty yesterday at the Central Criminal Court to anally raping the girl on November 10th, 2013.

Mr Justice Paul Carney suspended the final two years of the sentence, taking into account his early guilty plea and lack of previous convictions other than road offences.

Ward, Kilcruttin Halting Site, Tullamore, was ordered to keep away from the girl forever and enter a bond of €1,000. He must also undergo 18 months of supervision by the Probation Service and attend any recommended treatment programmes.

Mr Justice Carney said Ward had supplied drugs in return for sexual credit in the form of a kiss, before he went on to anally rape the girl. “He was very quick to then ask her for his drugs money,” the judge added.

Garda Sgt Simon Murphy told Pádraig Hogan, prosecuting, that one of the girl’s friends told her to phone Ward to get drugs.

This friend told her to ask for one ounce of hash on credit. She did so and arranged to pay the next week.

Ward said he would give her the hash if she would “meet up” with him, which she understood to mean “kiss”.

The girl told gardaí she met Ward at the back of a sports club and he put his hands around her hips and was gentle at first.

He then put his hands on her although she kept saying “no”. When she resisted rape, he said: “Don’t be sly, I have your half-ounce in my pocket,” and he kept trying to turn her to face the wall.

Afterwards he asked if she would have the money for the hash the following week, and she said yes.The girl told her teacher the following day and a complaint was lodged. DNA samples of Ward were found in her rectum and underwear.

In a victim impact statement, the court heard the girl was afraid to leave the house by herself and had lost her confidence. She was depressed and lashing out at her family. according to the statement.

The court heard she was very stressed when she was getting calls from Ward about not going ahead with the complaint and feared he was going to “go after her”.

Ward has 10 previous minor convictions, mostly traffic offences. Colm Smyth SC, defending, apologised to the victim on his client’s behalf, and said Ward was greatly ashamed of himself.

Ward was declared a sex offender. His sentence was backdated to July 21st, with credit for three weeks in custody.

August 2014

‘Hardworking, kind and generous’ factory worker unmasked as paedophile

A factory worker who was given glowing testimonials in court has been jailed for four years for a string of paedophile offences.

Dylan Price, 46, of King Street, Pontypridd, told a jury of six men and six women that allegations being made against him were not true.

But they didn’t believe him and convicted him of seven offences against children at Cardiff Crown Court.

He was cleared of a further six charges.

Price committed the offences of inciting and engaging in sexual activity with a child almost a decade ago.

He said the things he was accused of had simply never happened and testimonials from people who knew him described him as honest, helpful and reliable.

A relative said he was “hardworking, kind and generous”.

“I have absolutely never had any concerns about him or his behaviour”, he told the court during Price’s trial.

Others who know him through work at Fibre Components Ltd on Treforest Industrial Estate spoke of him being reliable and conscientious.

His bosses said he had started as a machine operator and had become a supervisor, involved in the training of new recruits.

He was said to be “outgoing”, “easy to get along with” and someone who would “help you if he can”.

But his two child victims spoke of a different side to his character.

Price, who formally lived in Beddau, will serve half his four-year term behind bars before being released on licence. and his name will be on the Sex Offender’ Register indefinitely.

South Wales Police and Crown Prosecution Service also successfully applied for a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to be imposed, restricting his future contact with youngsters when he get out of prison.

August 2014

Babysitter had 400 images of child abuse

An pervert who downloaded images of children being sexually abused while he was babysitting has been freed on probation after having already served almost a year in jail.

November 2006

Convicted child sex abuser walks free from court

Convicted Ardfert sex abuser John Slattery escaped jail this week and is walking freely walking around his local community.

The convicted child sex offender walked from court in Tralee on Tuesday having pleaded guilty to two vile sex offences involving a young child.

Mr Slattery — a 38-year-old businessman from East Commons in Ardfert — admitted that he had committed two sexual assaults on a girl when she was aged three and four years of age.

The incidents, which took place in 2003, were described by Judge Carroll Moran this week as “not the most serious but pretty disgusting”.

“Everybody reacts to these type of offences with revulsion and the courts have a duty to reflect this,” Judge Moran said at Tralee Circuit court on Tuesday.

But Mr Slattery avoided being sent to jail for his vile acts and was handed a three-year prison sentence, suspended for three years on condition that he gets treatment and that he does no have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 17 years. Neither is to commit any offence with sexual connotations for a period of five years.

As Mr Slattery sat in the dock waiting for sentence to be passed, a doctor of psychology said that the accused man had responded in a sexual way to an emotional gesture made by the child. “It was an inappropriate response,” Dr Jeanine DeVolder said.

The defendant’s barrister argued that Mr Slattery was unlikely to re-offend and that he would be unlikely to get proper treatment were he sent to prison.

The court was also told that the self-employed businessman has a low level of intellectual function and that he struggles to come to terms with how his behaviour has impacted on his victim and on others.

“He’s not mad and he’s not bad. He’s not a man that goes out and looks for children. A misunderstanding arose,” Barrister Elizabeth Murphy said.

Judge Carroll Moran contrasted the crimes of Mr Slattery with those committed by convicted Kenmare sex offender Gustav Dahm who was sentenced to 10 years in jail last week.

“Fortunately, the young girl has made a recovery and doesn’t think about it any more,” Judge Moran said.

August 2014

Gloucestershire man avoids prison after becoming obsessed with images of children being sexually abused by adults

A pervert became obsessed with looking at images of children being abused by adults, downloading them over the course of nine years.

Adam Jakeway was finally caught with 247 pictures and videos on his computer after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in America notified Gloucestershire police what he was viewing.

Officers raided his parent’s home but found he was no longer living there and eventually tracked him to Grove Road in Churchdown, where they discovered four computers and a mobile phone containing both child and extreme pornography. 

Prosecutor Julian Kesner told Gloucester Crown Court: “The unusual feature was the period of time he had been looking and downloading for. It was a nine year period.”

Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he feared that in this case, like many others, what was found was just “the tip of the iceberg”.

Defending Jakeway, Stephen Ritter said: “He was very lonely and when his grandmother died, he became even lonelier.”

But the court heard Jakeway, a bespoke trophy engraver, had found a girlfriend around two years ago, which had made a substantial difference to his life.

Supporting him in court, his girlfriend took the witness stand and said when they first met he would stay at home, but as their relationship had progressed he had come out of himself and had new experiences.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent photographs of children between November 2004 and November 2013.

He also admitted three charges of making indecent movies of children, two of possessing indecent photographs and movies and one count of possessing extreme pornography involving animals.

The judge said he had a choice of locking him up or giving him a chance of rehabilitation.

He said: “I would prefer to give him a chance but if he makes a muck of it, he has got to go to prison.”

He told Jakeway: “You are a skilled man and you have a dark secret that you have been hiding for people for a very long time.

“You became obsessed with looking at images of children being abused by adults.

“I am pretty sure that if you had been walking past a window and saw this kind of abuse you would have either telephoned the police or walked in and stopped it. But when people view it by film or by the media their reaction is completely different.

“That means that the wicked people that make these films and take these photographs, devastating the lives of children, do it because there is a market and you are a contributor to this horrific market.”

He gave Jakeway a nine month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered him to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offenders Programme.

Jakeway will be subject to a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order and be on the sex offenders register for five years.

He was also ordered to pay £500 in costs and £100 victim surcharge.

The judge said he wanted Jakeway’s girlfriend to also have a copy of the prevention order so she is aware of the terms.

August 2014

Man performed sex act in front of schoolboys in toilets at Stoke-on-Trent tourist attraction

Stephen Turner performed a sex act in front of schoolboys in the toilets at a Staffordshire tourist attraction.

The 65-year-old’s behaviour shocked pupils from a Leicestershire school who were on a day trip to Trentham Gardens.

The incident happened three months after the defendant was found in possession of a large number of indecent images of children.

Now Turner – who was not medically fit to be tried – has been sentenced to a hospital order after a jury at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday found he did commit the acts.

Prosecutor John Butterfield QC said Turner was a patient at Florence House, a mental health hospital in Porthill, when on March 18 last year staff took him his to his old address in Hilton Road, Stoke, so he could collect some personal belongings.

But a social worker spotted he was packing pornographic material.

When they returned to Florence House Turner’s case was locked in an office. It was found to contain adult and child pornography in magazines and photo albums.

Police searched the defendant’s room and found more illegal images. In total they recovered 163 images at level one; 83 at level two; 32 at level three and 118 at level four.

Turner made no comment to all questions put to him in his police interview.

He remained a resident at Florence House and on June 27 he was treated to a day out at Trentham Gardens. At 11am he went to the toilet at the same time as a group of 13-year-old boys on a school trip.

Mr Butterfield QC said: “Two boys saw the defendant moving from urinal to urinal. He then turned and performed a sex act on himself. One boy noted he was walking towards them as he did that.”

Michael Walker, head of garden and estate at Trentham Gardens, became aware of complaints and followed Turner to another toilet block. He challenged the defendant who denied performing the act. Police arrested Turner.

The defendant, who now lives at a hospital in Romford, Essex, was charged with four counts of possessing indecent photographs of a child and two charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The jury was satisfied he did commit the acts.

Kevin Mortlock, mitigating, said Turner has mental health problems. He said: “He has brain damage which affects his memory and ability to behave appropriately in social settings.”

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Jason Taylor said Turner suffers from two conditions – bipolar disorder and fronto-temporal dementia, a progressive condition which leads to changes in personality.

Judge David Fletcher made Turner the subject of a hospital order. He said it was necessary to make an indefinite restriction order to protect the public from serious harm. Turner will be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

December 2007

Children’s trampoline pervert caged

A PERVERT who had a “fascination” for young girls filmed them jumping on a trampoline and then used his computer to make indecent images, a court heard.

Paul Todd, 47, who has a record going back to 1975 for indecency offences with females, was sentenced to jail for public protection.

Judge James Stewart QC, sitting at Leeds Crown Court, jailed Todd for a year after he admitted three offences of making indecent pseudo-photographs of a child and two further offences of voyeurism.

The judge said Todd’s behaviour was “every mother’s nightmare” and stressed he was likely to spend longer behind bars and would not get parole until it was considered safe to release him.

Michael Smith prosecuting, said police went to his flat in Hawksworth in Leeds with a warrant and found a disturbing quantity of material involving children.

Todd, he said, had been spotted using a digital camera by neighbours and he was arrested when they complained.

In his home, said Mr Smith, police went through a lock system to get into his kitchen where they found the curtains drawn and a video camera on a tripod.

A lead from the camera was linked by various wires which ran through into his lounge and plugged into the TV.

On the kitchen worktop, officers seized a pair of binoculars and they found in other rooms over 300 videos and DVDs containing many images of children, generally under the age of seven.

Mr Smith said there were disturbing videos many of them where he had filmed himself in children’s underwear and clothing.

Police also found over 1,000 pictures, almost exclusively of children and many cut from naturist magazines.

Mr Smith added Todd also altered images by super-imposing images of the youngsters onto his naked body to make it look as if sexual activity had taken place.

In interview Todd said he was a loner who lived with two cats and said the video camera was to watch down the street as protection and also to watch our for debt collectors.

Thomas Rushbrooke, for Todd, said his client accepted he had a fascination with young girls.

“He has said he would like some help but how he is going to get that I am not in a position to say,” he said.

Passing sentence Judge Stewart said it was every mother’s nightmare to have their children photographed by a person who they would describe as a paedophile.

But he added that although the taking of the photographs was a gross invasion of privacy none of the youngsters had been exploited for sexual purposes.

November 2012

Brave teenage girl speaks of horrifying moment her father raped her during a weekend access visit… having abused her since the age of 14

A brave teenage girl today told of how her father raped her in a sickening attack when she visited him for the weekend.

Twisted Robert Hawksworth, 54, plied daughter Emily, then 17, with wine at his Derbyshire home before putting her to bed and then climbing in with her.

The teenager had been sexually abused by Hawksworth since the age of 14, but had remained silent until the rape last year, when she reported the crime to the police.

The 18-year-old, whose parents divorced when she was seven, has now waived her right to anonymity to bravely speak out about her ordeal to help other teenagers in similar situations.

‘When I woke up in the morning I felt sick and I felt like something had happened,’ said Emily, who was a virgin until the horrifying attack. ‘I felt violated.

‘I stayed in bed all day and on the Sunday he kept asking me to go to town with him and make me take the Pill.

‘I refused to take it because I did not want to believe what had happened.

‘I was blunt with him and I didn’t want the conversation to be brought up.

‘When I went home on the Sunday night, I wasn’t going to say anything to my mum but as soon as I walked in I burst into tears.

‘She knew something had happened so I told her. She was distraught and rang the police.’

On Wednesday Hawksworth, who denied rape and sexual assault, was caged for nine years after a trial at Derby Crown Court.

Emily said she had not initially reported what had happened because she felt scared.

‘I was young at the time,’ she said. ‘I did not know how to handle it.’

Hawksworth, from Findern, Derbyshire, denied raping his daughter when he was arrested, forcing her to give evidence at his trial.

Jailing him, Judge John Burgess told Hawksworth: ‘She was visiting you as she regularly did for the weekend.

‘During the course of that Friday evening you and she were drinking both wine and cider, alcohol you provided.

‘She became very drunk and was very sick. You tended to her and she was put to bed.

‘During the night you came into her room, removed her underwear and had full sex.

‘She was a virgin until that happened. This was a gross breach of trust and the violation of a vulnerable girl.’

Hawksworth split up with Emily’s mother in 2001 after he subjected her to an ‘extremely abusive’ relationship, the court heard.

Today Emily’s mother Karen Atalay, 53, described her daughter’s ordeal as ‘terrible and heart-breaking’.

She said: ‘I felt quite guilty. I felt it was my fault.

‘My marriage to him [Robert] was extremely abusive but I was too frightened to tell anybody anything.

‘I’m relieved that at last we have some justice.

‘We have all found it very hard to lead a normal life.

‘I think we have got through the worst but we are just trying to come to terms with what has happened.’

Emily, who burnt all photographs and gifts given to her by Hawksworth, is having her surname changed by deed poll in a bid to wipe away any trace of her father.

August 2014

Yeovil paedophile jailed for four years after grooming 10-year-old girl

Police have said they fear that a “predatory” man has committed more disgusting offences against children after finding hand-drawn posters the paedophile used to lure children into his home that date back to when the paedophile lived in west Somerset.

Paul Francis has a 30-year history of offending was jailed today for abusing a girl of 10 – after he went unchecked and was allowed to live overlooking a playground. Francis was first convicted in 1973 and has served sentences of up to nine years.

When police raided his home they found a diary and pictures of young girls.

Posters were also found dating back to the time he spent living in Williton, prompting police to appeal for any victims to come forward.

The court also heard Francis was not under supervision as he had been removed from the sex offenders’ register in 2010 and his last conviction was in 2005.

Sick Paul Francis, 62, was given a home next to a local park, nursery and youth group by a housing association that failed to spot his background of child sex crimes.

The Yeovil paedophile who groomed a ten year old girl for sex and planned to distribute her photo on a paedophile network has been jailed for four years with an extended sentence of six years for dangerousness and will not be released from prison until the parole board consider he is no longer a risk.

Sixty-two year old Paul Francis, of Milford Park, was also served a Sexual Offences Prevention Order controlling any contact with children under 16 for the rest of his life.

Taunton Crown Court was told Francis, who had a record of serious sexual offending against under-age victims since 1973, which included rape and a sentence of nine years, targeted children of both sexes under the age of consent.

He befriended his latest victim in March, touching her buttocks over her clothes, and tried to place her hand and that of a second girl on his private parts over his clothes. He rubbed her shoulder and back and showed her a picture of him performing a sexual act, and took her photograph which, documents showed, he was likely to distribute to a man in Holland “no doubt for distribution to a paedophile network”, said the judge, Recorder Philip Mott, QC.

He added “Great credit is due to the young girl for making an approach to a police community support officer who, by chance, came to visit the school and then talking to that officer and disclosing what happened”.

“As a result, and very fortunately for all concerned, the grooming you were engaged upon so assiduously did not go as far as you had in mind. Nevertheless the conduct you did carry out was enough to be extremely worrying to her and her young friend”.

Malcolm Galloway, prosecuting, said Francis had “an entrenched attraction to children” and there were “numerous examples” on his record. The girl approached an adult at her school in March, saying she wanted to tell them of something that happened out of school when she went to see a man about singing lessons. He had written her a number of letters, one of them saying “I want to hug you and touch you – an inappropriate comment to her of a sexual nature”.

He described a “paper chase” which ended with a 50p piece in a condom, and how Francis told her he would show her how to make a man excited and that she was “beautiful”. Police found he had photographs of her in a park and a number of images of young children with names he had put on the back. He indicated taking nude photographs of the girl but none was taken. He had written a note saying “Quite sure …. will”, indicating “she would go further than she had so far”, he added.

Francis admitted two offences of sexual assault on a child under 13, and one each of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, causing or inciting a child in prostitution or pornography, and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Rebecca Bradberry, defending, said he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had committed the offences when he was emotionally at a very low ebb. Following his last offence in 2005 he was put on a sex offenders’ programme which he described as “marvellous” because it gave him an opportunity to check his behaviour and understand the triggers that caused him to act. He knew prison was inevitable but wanted help “so he doesn’t find himself in this position again”.

August 2014

Paedophile church elder and well-known former council clerk convicted of abuse in 1970s

A CHURCH elder well-known across North Devon has been found guilty of abusing a 14-year-old boy he molested after offering him a job on his North Devon farm.

Philip Huxtable was a lay preacher, clerk to numerous councils, governor of two North Devon schools and leader of a Boys Brigade troop who had been running a youth club in a Chapel hall when he met and befriended the teenager in the early 1970s.

At the time was also working with the National Farmers Union and went on to abuse the boy again in the union’s offices in the centre of Barnstaple.

Huxtable groped the boy and made him touch him after giving him a Saturday job at his farm at Shirwell, near Barnstaple, where he bred pedigree Dexter cattle and Dorset Devon sheep.

The abuse lasted for around three months during and after a summer holiday and took place in a cowshed and in a van when he gave the teenager a lift to his home in a nearby village.

The youngster kept his abuse secret for almost 40 years before telling his family, a counsellor and the police.

The verdicts at Exeter Crown Court exposed 78-year-old Huxtable as an abuser after a life in which he has been a pillar of the community.

He was a farmer with his own smallholding but also worked for the NFU, where he toured farms all over North and Mid Devon sorting out insurance problems for members.

After moving from his farm he went to live in Braunton and then Barnstaple and was an elder of the Christ Church Methodist and United Reform chapel at Braunton and Captain of its Boys Brigade for 18 years.

He was also chair of governors at Shirwell Primary School for eight years and a governor at North Molton school for 20 years. He has served as clerk to the Pilton, Shirwell and Fremington parish councils and chairman of the Dexter Cattle Group.

Huxtable, aged 78, of Westaway Close, Barnstaple, denied four counts of indecently assaulting the boy in the mid-1970s when he was aged 13 to 15.

He was found guilty of three of the counts and cleared of the fourth on the instructions of judge Erik Salomonsen, who adjourned sentence for a probation report and further details about Huxtable’s health problems.

The Judge said he had been impressed by the references he had already seen which paid tribute to the defendant’s lifelong contribution to the local community in North Devon.

He said: “We have heard from his character witnesses of the creditable life he has lived over many years. In terms of disposal, the maximum sentence is ten years but I am enjoined to follow the current guidelines.

“I am prepared to ask the probation service to prepare a report.”

He told Huxtable: “You have lived with this for very many years. You were entitled to plead not guilty and that is what you decided to do, although you had acknowledged at an early stage in your police interviews there had been sexual activity of a lesser sort on three to four occasions.”

The judge also noted that the boy had also been abused more seriously at around the same time by an older youth in his village, who has since died.

He asked police to prepare a victim impact statement which sought to distinguish how much of the psychological damage could be attributed to Huxtable.

During a three day trial the jury heard how Huxtable ran a youth club for local teenagers in the early 1970s and employed the boy with a Saturday job at his farm in the summer and autumn of 1973 when he was 14.

The boy said the farmer exposed himself to him as they were cleaning a cowshed and went on to touch him repeatedly there and in his van.

He said he had been abused again five or six years later when he went to the NFU offices to get car insurance.

He explained why he had not made any complaint back in the 1970s. He said: “It is hard for people to understand it now, but things were different then. The discipline and everything were different. If I had told my father he would probably have hit me for telling tales.”

Huxtable said his only sexual contact was in the cowshed and had been initiated by the boy and rejected by him. He denied abusing the victim in his van, saying he needed both hands on the wheel to negotiate the winding lanes around his farm.

He explained his apparent admissions in police interview by saying he had been browbeaten into saying thing he did not mean by the detectives.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

August 2014

Waltham sex offender had indecent photographs of child

Mark Hurst, 47, of Sunningdale, Waltham, admitted being in possession of ten indecent photographs of a child, on September 11, 2013.

He was made subject to a community order, with a requirement to complete a 48-day Sex Offender Treatment Programme and register as a sex offender for five years.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victims’ surcharge.

August 2014

Retired teacher banned from classroom after indecently assaulting schoolgirl

A retired science teacher who indecently assaulted a schoolgirl has been permanently banned from the classroom.

Former head of chemistry David Lewis has been retired from teaching for 15 years, but has now been banned from the profession indefinitely.

And the 74-year-old registered sex offender cannot appeal the decision, made by a professional conduct panel.

The decision comes after the pensioner was convicted of indecently assaulting a schoolgirl while he was head of chemistry at a school in Greater Manchester.

Lewis was placed on the sex offenders register for five years after admitting three counts of indecent assault at Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court, in June 2013.

He was handed a community order with three-years supervision and ordered to attend the Northumbria Sex Offender Group Work Programme.

But the National College for Teaching and Leadership heard that Lewis “had not quite come to terms with the seriousness” of what he did.

The panel found Lewis did not observe ‘proper boundaries appropriate to his professional position’ and ‘acted with no regard to the victim’s wellbeing’.

His offences were also said to have had a lasting impact on the victim, whose ‘childhood memories were tarnished by these events’.

And though he has an ‘exemplary record’ as a teacher and was a low risk of re-offending, the panel said the age of the offences did not diminish their seriousness.

A report of the Panel’s findings said: “Although the Panel finds the evidence of Mr Lewis’s teaching proficiency to be of note, the Panel has found the offending behaviour that led to the conviction to be so serious that it considers that it must be relevant to his ongoing suitability to teach.

“The Panel considers that a finding that this conviction is a relevant offence is necessary to reaffirm clear standards of conduct so as to maintain public confidence in the teaching profession.

“The Panel considers that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Lewis was not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession.”

August 2014

Mobile phone left in taxi in Grimsby contained indecent images of children and bestiality

POLICE found child abuse images and images of bestiality on a man’s mobile phone after he left it in a taxi and it was handed in by the driver, a court heard.

Jeremey Fowler, 45, of Danesfield Avenue, Waltham, admitted three offences of possessing indecent photographs of children and three of possessing extreme pornography on December 2.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Fowler left his mobile phone in a taxi.

The driver handed it in to her manager, who spotted an indecent image of a child.

The police were alerted. They contacted Fowler, who thought it was the taxi firm.

His then home in Stanley Street, Grimsby, was searched. The mobile found in the taxi had 320 illegal images of children and three of extreme pornography.

Another phone was found to have 415 illegal images of children and eight of extreme pornography. A third phone had 17 images of children.

Videos showing bestiality, involving a dog, were found.

Andrew Bailey, mitigating, said Fowler had no previous convictions and the offences had already had severe consequences for him because he had lost his job.

“He has fully confessed,” said Mr Bailey.

Fowler was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, a two-year supervision order, including a sex offenders’ treatment programme, and an indefinite sexual offences prevention order. He must register as a sex offender.

August 2014

Pervert used dog to attract kids

A PREDATORY paedophile used a dog and an Etch a Sketch to befriend little girls before sexually assaulting them, a court heard.

Samuel Smith, 29, caused terror among residents in Castleford as he preyed on children in the town earlier this summer.

Leeds Crown Court heard Smith targeted girls as they were playing out in the street or in local parks.

On another occasion Smith took an indecent photograph of one of his victims.

Smith was jailed for seven years yesterday and told he must serve an extended licence period of three years after being released from custody because of the danger he poses to youngsters.

Smith, of Greek Street, continued to offend after being arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a five year old girl in Leeds and was released on bail. He was arrested again on June 6 this year and found to have more than 16,000 images of children on computers at his home.

Smith pleaded guilty to seven offences of sexual assault on a child under 13 and 12 offences of possessing or making indecent images of children.

On one occasion Smith approached two girls with a dog in a park in Castleford and let them play on an Etch A Sketch toy.

The court heard one of the girls let out a “blood curdling scream” when he later sexually assaulted her.

Smith sexually assaulted sex victims in total aged between four and seven.

Jailing Smith, judge Geoffrey Marson, QC, said: “It is perfectly obvious to me that each of these occasions was planned and in some of them you went equipped in order to attach yourself to children with the use of a dog. These offences have had a psychological affect, not only on the children but also on the parents.

Insp Dave Bugg, Neighbourhood Policing Team inspector for Castleford, added: “Smith’s actions caused real distress among residents in Castleford and I want to thank residents for keeping calm during our enquiries to find him in what was a very testing time.”