August 2014

Elland man jailed over possession of child abuse images

A 38-year-old man has been jailed for 10 months after police acting on a tip-off found hundreds of child abuse images and films on his computer.

Bradford Crown Court heard today (Wednesday) how officers went to Ian Nash’s home in Dewsbury Road, Elland, back in October last year after receiving information that he was using the internet to download images of children.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson said Nash’s computer was seized and when it was examined more than 300 child porn images and 23 movies were discovered on it.

Nash pleaded guilty to possessing the indecent images at a previous hearing before Calderdale magistrates and today it emerged that in 2009 he had been convicted of sexual offences against young boys.

Judge Jonathan Rose sentenced Nash to 10 months in prison for the latest offences and told him he would also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the next 10 years.

August 2014

West Reading man jailed for second time for child sex offences

A 42-year-old man was jailed for 20 months for downloading more than 40,000 images of children – including babies – being abused.

Nicholas Stebbing-Allen, of Zinzan Street, West Reading, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to two counts of making indecent images of children.

Jane Davies, prosecuting, said police went to the defendant’s home and the images, which had been deleted, were found on a laptop and a computer hard drive.

They included still and video images. There were a total of 158 pictures in the worst ‘level 5’ category. Miss Davies said there were also messages which suggested “file-sharing” although there were no charges of distribution of indecent images of children.

She said Stebbing-Allen was convicted in 2002 on a similar charge and imprisoned for six months.

Then in 2007 he was given a community order for attempted voyeurism involving trying to take pictures of boys in a changing room.

Kerry Waitt, defending, said Stebbing-Allen had recently completed the Lucy Faithfull Foundation course for sex offenders.

He said the defendant had “felt revulsion and shame” after looking at the images and deleted them.

He had been in full-time work but following the recent charges he felt he had to disclose what was happening to his employer.

Mr Waitt said following discussion with his employer, Stebbing-Allen resigned. Judge John Reddihough told the defendant: “You are intelligent enough to realise the effect of the offences such as this. You downloaded and looked at indecent images of children.”

He went on: “These were real children who were exploited and abused for these photos to be taken.”

He said because of people looking at and downloading images, those who made a business out of taking them would carry on.

“So the number of children around the world who are abused in this way simply increases,” he added. “We all know that such abuse has a lasting effect on their lives.”

He said as soon as Stebbing-Allen came off the sex offenders’ programme for his last offence, he carried on committed the offences.

As well as jailing him for 20 months for each of the offences to run concurrently, the judge made a sexual offences prevention order forbidding the use of computers except for business and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

August 2014

Selby child abuser jailed for 15 years

A Selby man has today (27 August 2014) been jailed for 15 years for sexual offences against two children.

Phillip Jon Haddock, 43, was jailed at York Crown Court after pleading guilty to seven offences, including one of raping a teenage boy, four charges of sexually assaulting a girl aged under 13, one rape of a girl under 13 and one attempted rape of a girl aged under 13.

The offences took place between 2012 and 2014.

Detective Constable Charlotte Gregory of North Yorkshire Police’s Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit, said: “The sentence handed down to Phillip Haddock today will be of some comfort to the two children he has violated and taken advantage of during a period of their lives when they were very vulnerable.

“Although the sentence cannot reflect the impact that his actions have had on the victims, it does mean that they can now start to look to their futures and try to come to terms with the ordeal they have endured.

“There is no doubt that Haddock presents a danger to children and would have continued to do so had it not been for the courage of his victims and their loved ones in supporting the police investigation.

“The jailing of Haddock means that society and children in general are now protected from the depraved and sickening actions of a dangerous man.”

DC Gregory added: “I hope the outcome of this case gives other victims who are suffering from abuse, the confidence to come forward and report their ordeal to the police. We have specially trained officers who specialise in dealing with crimes of this nature and work with partner agencies who can offer further support.”

Anyone who is affected by sexual abuse, whether it is happening now, or occurred many years ago, should not hesitate to come forward to the police or contact one of the many agencies who can help.

If you do not want to talk to the police, you can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) directly on 01904 669339 www.turntobridgehouse.org

August 2014

Monster returns to Rotherham:

Paedophile, 26, jailed for sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with drugs is already back on the streets after serving less than four years in jail

Strolling outside his Rotherham home, one of the few men convicted over the grooming scandal was free to walk the street last night.

Mohsin Khan, 26, has been released from prison less than four years after he was convicted of grooming a 13-year-old girl for sex.

Free: Mohsin Khan walks the streets of Rotherham yesterday. He was given a four-year jail sentence for grooming a girl of 13, but has now been released 

He is now able to walk freely through the town where he and four accomplices sexually exploited teenage girls.

Meanwhile his victim – and hundreds of others like her – are forced to live in fear. Many are forced to endure the fact that their abusers never faced justice as a result of shocking blunders by police and council workers.

His freedom last night became a symbol of the catastrophic failure to protect vulnerable girls in the town from abusers.

Now, police in Rotherham are facing searching questions about how they are going to catch the ‘hundreds of child rapists’ who are thought to be still at large.

The South Yorkshire force pledged to ‘relentlessly’ bring the sex predators to justice after a damning report exposed the abuse suffered by at least 1,400 girls at the hands of Asian men.

But serious concerns over its ability to conduct such complex investigations have been raised because of its appalling failures in such cases to date. A lawyer representing the victims said police had missed ‘clear opportunities’ to bring sex offenders to justice.

Click this link for full info on Rotherham paedophile ring 

There has been only one successful prosecution, in 2010, for sexual offences by Asian men against Rotherham girls. This resulted in the conviction of five British-born Pakistani men – including Khan.

To outsiders, he lived a reputable, middle-class life.

By the age of 20, he had secured a job as a mortgage advisor, owned two semi-detached houses and ran a cafe and several other businesses. But beneath the facade of respectability, Khan was living a life of depravity.

In 2008 he began grooming the 13-year-old girl for sex.

He gave her cannabis, drove her around in one of his two cars, and persuaded her that they had a future together.

His victim later told police that he spoiled her ‘like a princess’.

Despite being well aware of her tender age, he promised the child they would settle down together.

But when he had gained the girl’s trust, he went on to viciously assault her, raping her in the car he had first used to impress her.

When his crime finally came to light, he told police he had only given her a lift.

He told officers: ‘She looked no more than ten or 11 years old – the same age as my little brother.

‘There’s no way I’d touch her.’

Khan received a jail sentence of four years and was placed on the sex offenders register. Last night, he was already out on the streets of his hometown.

By contrast, Khan’s victim, who had been abused by five different Asian men, said at the trial: ‘I don’t think I will ever be able to return to Rotherham and feel safe without looking over my shoulder.

David Greenwood of Switalskis Solicitors, who is representing 15 of the victims in a class action against the police, said yesterday: ‘South Yorkshire Police failed to act on information which could have led to the arrest of perpetrators.’

Simon Danczuk, the MP for Rochdale who exposed the Cyril Smith scandal, said urgent action was needed to catch the criminals who have committed ‘appalling child sex abuse on an industrial scale’.

‘There are many, many other perpetrators of this type of crime out there – hundreds of child rapists out there,’ he said. ‘What are South Yorkshire Police doing to catch these people?’ No police officer has yet been sacked or disciplined over the failures in Rotherham. The two chief constables at the helm during the height of the failings have since left on hefty pensions.

The devastating Rotherham report by Professor Alexis Jay revealed how officers from South Yorkshire Police treated victims with ‘contempt’.

They turned a blind eye to their plight and in many cases held them responsible. This included the case of an 11-year-old who was viewed by police as having ‘consensual sex’ with an adult man.

August 2014

South Shields blackmailer forced 14 year old schoolgirl to make web cam sex tapes

A Blackmailer who forced a 14-year-old girl to make webcam sex tapes has been jailed for six years.

Pervert Mark Yeeles warned his teen victim that unless she did what he asked her family and friends would be sent the sordid tapes to view.

Yeeles even urged the youngster to recruit another underage teen to take part in an online rape re-enactment.

Twenty-year-old Yeeles ordered the pair to perform sex acts over a period of eight hours, instructing them what to do over the internet.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the girl had been left severely disturbed by her ordeal and was now receiving psychiatric care.

Yeeles admitted blackmail, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and possessing indecent images.

He was jailed for six years with a two year extended licence period.

Judge Guy Whitburn told Yeeles: “It is quite clear you were reminding her from time to time of the power you held over her to post naked pictures of her where her friends and family would see them.

“It is clear she knew she was being blackmailed.”

The judge made a point of highlighting the need for children to be protected from internet predators.

He said: “These girls who are particularly vulnerable, very young.”

Prosecutor Gavin Doig told the court Yeeles, of St Vincent Street, South Shields, approached his young victim over the internet after he got hold of a picture of her wearing only underwear.

Mr Doig added: “He threatened to distribute the picture he had of her unless she performed for him.”

Yeeles would tell the teen “your family are going to love a naked picture or two”, the court was told.

The court was told the girl was considering suicide when Yeeles demanded she involve a friend in one of the sex videos.

Yeeles had pledged to destroy all the images he had of the victim if she complied with his demands.

Mr Doig said: “They both performed for Yeeles, he was instructing them what to do.”

Once the girls had taken part in the “vile and depraved practices”, the court was told Yeeles sent a picture to one of them, suggesting he had no intention of destroying the images.

Yeeles kept a collection of the videos which were later discovered on his computer.

Vic Laffey, defending, said: “He would not say boo to a goose but under the cover of the internet he was able to present himself as something he simply isn’t.

“There is no doubt he feels genuine remorse.

“He didn’t realise the torment he was putting people through but he does now.”

August 2014

Jail for pervert who used hidden cameras to spy on girls in Hartlepool

A PERVERT who filmed unsuspecting girls after secretly installing hidden cameras in a house has been jailed for more than four years.

Sick John Jukes, 49, set up cameras in a bathroom and living room to film young girls in intimate situations, including using the toilet.

He was one of a dozen people arrested on Teesside after a national agency monitoring perverts accessing vile images contacted Cleveland Police, who raided the property, in Hartlepool, on April 12.

David Crook, prosecuting, said: “It was cluttered with technology. There were multiple cameras, computers and network cables, but particularly sinister was when they looked in the bathroom they found a small camera had been concealed directly above the bath.”

Another camera was found hidden in a cabinet in the living room.

Both fed live pictures to a TV in Jukes’s bedroom.

Police discovered Jukes had used the cameras to spy on and record two teenage girls which he saved as movies on his laptop computer.

Officers also found hundreds of indecent images, including many in the top category of explicitness.

They included images he had created from his sick movies as well as others he had downloaded after trawling the internet looking for illegal images of young girls.

In total he had 1,172 indecent pictures, including 464 classed as Category A, the most depraved kind.

The court heard Jukes took advantage of one teenage girl, described by the judge as “exceedingly vulnerable” who had asked him to take intimate pictures of her.

Prosecutor Mr Crook added Jukes had shown a “significant degree of planning” and probation officials said he had been “cunning” and posed a high risk of harm to children.

One of his victims said in a statement: “Knowing he secretly recorded me undressing has left me feeling distrustful of almost everyone.”

But she added she also felt pity for Jukes, who had no previous convictions.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of voyeurism, five of making indecent photographs of children, five of possessing indecent photos and three of taking indecent pictures.

Jukes, who was jailed for four years and four months, told probation officers he set up the cameras to capture spirit orbs and denied he had a sexual motive.

But the Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, said: “That was a lie.

“This continued over many months if not years and you kept the images for your own sexual gratification. There are a number of aggravating features to this case.”

Judge Bourne-Arton added Jukes had “defiled” his victims.

Ian Hudson, mitigating for Jukes, admitted his behaviour had been “deplorable” but said: “He realises that his conduct was inappropriate. He has shown remorse.”

He added there had been no selling or distribution of any of the indecent images.

Jukes will be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely

August 2014

Community order for teacher caught downloading child abuse images on school grounds

A FORMER teacher at a Fordingbridge prep school has admitted downloading almost 200 indecent images of children.

“Dedicated and competent” John Paul Clarke, now of Banks Road, Poole, searched on Russian websites for photographs of young boys while living in a flat in the grounds of Forres Sandle Manor.

Police discovered he had used terms including ‘teen boy’ and ‘boy punishment’ as search terms, even accessing images on his laptop just hours before he was arrested.

Clarke was yesterday spared jail at Bournemouth Crown Court after a judge said it was in the public interest to rehabilitate the 35-year-old instead.

He had admitted 17 counts of making indecent images before magistrates.

Anita Gibson-Lee, prosecuting, said police had first started to investigate Clarke after he ordered a DVD involving footage of young children online using his personal email address.

She said: “He gave consent for his Toshiba laptop to be examined.

“He stated at that time that no indecent images of children would be found.”

However, officers discovered he had been accessing indecent images of children.

Mitigating, Richard Martin said parents at the school had taken the unusual step of writing letters to the judge in support of the defendant.

“He made a very full and frank admission to the offences. This is a defendant of previous good character and I am able to put before the court a bundle of references,” he said.

He added that Clarke was a “vulnerable” man who would “struggle in custody”.

“He has clearly suffered something as a child that may well be coming back to haunt him,” Mr Martin said.

Sentencing Clarke to a three-year supervised community order with a requirement to attend a treatment programme, as well as an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, Judge Samuel Wiggs explained that he would otherwise be limited to a six-month sentence of imprisonment.

“I have to consider what is the right sentence in the interests of the public, in the interests of the law and indeed in your own interests,” he said.

September 2007

Web predator jailed over sex assaults

A SCHOOLGIRL victim of three ‘disgusting’ sexual assaults by a man she met on the internet tried to commit suicide, a court was told.

Robert Bate approached the girl, then just 14, over the internet then met her in carparks, indecently assaulting her on three occasions.

Mark Roberts, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court that Bate took advantage of the girl, performing sexual acts with her and in front of her which left her ‘embarrassed and scared’.

The victim’s mother found out and even texted Bate, of Lancers Croft, Great Sutton, to call the relationship off.

The meetings left the girl psychologically affected and she tried to commit suicide.

But Paul Murphy, defending, said: ‘There were sexually graphic exchanges on both sides. This was the basis of his phenomenally bad error of judgment.’

In February and March 2002, Bate, then aged 26, met the girl on the internet.

He knew her age but they met in Safeway carpark, Ellesmere Port before driving to a layby in Frodsham where he got her to perform sexual acts on him.

Mr Roberts said: ‘She made an excuse and he dropped her off. They met again a week later and she thought something sexual was going to happen.’

But after the girl got a boyfriend and her mother read her diary, she reduced contact and he became abusive.

Mr Roberts added: ‘In June 2006 he phoned her to say he had been arrested and he said something about his credit card details being on child porn websites.’

The court heard that although Bate had no previous convictions, the assault was discovered because of a caution for 39 indecent images of children on his computer.

Bate pleaded guilty on the basis that it was a chance meeting and not an age-specific computer search, and that all acts were done with her consent. She also knew his age.

On Wednesday Bate’s girlfriend watched as he was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for each offence, to run concurrently. He cannot use chatrooms, is on the sex offenders register for 10 years and is disqualified from working with children for life.

Recorder of Chester Judge Elgan Edwards added: ‘This is every parents’ nightmare. He knew this girl was 14 and indecently assaulted her in quite disgusting ways.’

August 2014

Scout master admits gross indecency on boys aged under 13 years old 

A 74-year-old former scout master has pleaded guilty to two historical counts of gross indecency against boys under the age of 13.

Barry Warren, of Clifton Road, King’s Lynn, abused his “unassuming victims” during trips on the Broads in the early 1990s, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Det Con Debbie Payne said Warren had “clearly misused his position of trust”.

He was released on bail to be sentenced on 22 September.

Ms Payne, from the Norfolk Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Warren clearly misused his position of trust to take his unassuming victims on trips on the Norfolk Broads and swimming at the weekends.

“He then used these trips as an opportunity to abuse them.”

August 2014

Deacon convicted of sexually abusing 10 schoolboys at Greater Manchester school – Jailed for nine years

August 2014

Tenbury man convicted of downloading child abuse images in Chartered Surveyors Ludlow office

A TENBURY Wells man convicted of downloading indecent images of children on his work computer has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Steven Yates, 58, had stored the indecent images on his computer at the Ludlow offices of McCartney’s Chartered Surveyors over a period of more than two years.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court Yates was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Recorder Stuart Sprawson told Yates that his conduct had been “appalling” and been done for his own gratification

Yates, who worked in IT at McCartney’s offices at Ox Pasture, Ludlow, was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register and made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order for a period of five years.

In addition Yates, of Burford, Tenbury Wells, was ordered to pay £3,050 court costs.

He had denied having downloaded the pornographic images that police discovered on his computer’s search history, but was found guilty after a trial.

The police were alerted when a witness believed she had seen an image of a topless woman on Yates’ computer while he was sitting at his desk

Five of the most serious images were discovered by police and more than 180 further images at three lower levels of seriousness were also found.

Yates had denied four charges of making indecent photographs of children between January 2010, and July 2012, and had claimed that other staff members had access to his computer.

Andrew Davidson, for Yates, said his client had lost his job and his hitherto good character.

He said Yates faced the shame and humiliation of his convictions and it was catastrophic for both him and his family.

John Uffold, chairman of McCartneys and based at Ludlow, said after the hearing:”We are relieved the episode is over and that justice has been seen to be done.

“I am happy that the incident has been thoroughly investigated and no other member of staff was implicated in any form whatsoever.”

August 2014

Pervert admits downloading indecent photos of children

A 30-year-old man who admitted downloading indecent images of children was placed on the Sex Offenders Register at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday.

Police raided Kenneth MacKenzie’s home near Chirnside in Berwickshire after being alerted that someone in the house using the internet on three separate occasions had involved indecent images of youngsters.

Prosecutor Tessa Bradley said: “Officers attended at the address with a warrant. The accused was found in a bedroom asleep. The house was searched and in the course of that search a laptop and a hard drive were seized.

“They belonged to the accused and the items were examined and a number of indecent images were recovered.”

Ms Bradley explained that on the hard drive eight indecent images were recovered – one at level two, three at level three and four at level four. She said the search engine had the search term phrases usually associated with indecent images of children.

Ms Bradley said on the laptop 357 indecent images were found – the vast majority being at level one, which was the least serious. There was one at level two and two at level four.

Sheriff Peter Paterson deferred sentence until October 20 for a Criminal Justice Social Work Report to be produced and ordered MacKenzie’s name be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

August 2014

‘Dangerous’ child abuser jailed after a child seat was spotted in his car

A DANGEROUS child abuser has been jailed after he defied an order to stay away from children by befriending a couple with a young family.

Daniel Hall was arrested after police monitoring him in South Molton spotted a child seat in the back of his car and discoverer he had been giving lifts to the two boys and two girls.

Hall, aged 55, is a high risk sex offender who moved to Devon after completing a four and a half year jail term for abusing two boys who he picked up at a seaside amusement arcade.

He was subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which banned him from unsupervised contact with children, being in the company of a child for more than 15 minutes and loitering near schools.

The mother of the four children, who are all aged under ten, had no idea about his background and was horrified when she learned the truth from the police, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Hall, formerly of Barnstaple Street, South Molton, but now homeless and living rough in Barnstaple, admitted breaching a SOPO and was jailed for 16 months by Judge Erik Salomonsen. He ordered him to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The judge told him: “You had contact with these children for a considerable period of time in clear breach of the order. I have no doubt the police monitoring you made it entirely clear what it said.

“The probation officer who prepared the pre-sentence report considers you to present a continuing high risk to children and says supervision would consist merely of monitoring.

“I have to have regard for the protection of children and the risk you pose to them and might indeed have posed to these children if you had not been arrested.”

Laura Searle, for the prosecution, said Hall was subject to a SOPO because he was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Bristol Crown Court in 2007 for sexually assaulting two boys aged eight and nine after offering them sweets at a seaside arcade in Weston-Super-Mare.

He was released twice while serving his sentence but recalled on each occasion because police who were monitoring him were concerned he posed a risk to the public.

On one occasion he was observed hanging around outside a school and on the other he was found with a knife, duct tape and a child’s bicycle.

He moved to South Molton, where he was being monitored by a multi-agency team until police became suspicious of his behaviour this summer.

Miss Searle said the police officer who visited him noticed a child seat in the back of his car. He claimed it was there when he bought the vehicle but further inquiries showed this was a lie.

The police traced a couple with four children living in South Molton who Hall had befriended about six months earlier.

She said he made regular trips to their home and brought beer for the parents and sweets for the children and offered to help with the school and nursery runs.

The mother said the children had never been alone with Hall but another neighbour said she had seen two boys in his car unsupervised.

Miss Searle said: “Hall told the mother he had been to prison for a violent offence but she did not know his true past and said he would not have been welcomed at the address if she had.”

Hall has a string of convictions going back to 1985 and has sexually assaulted boys aged eight to ten on four different occasions.

David Sapiecha, for the defence, said Hall is keen to work with a Christian centre in Barnstaple and to receive support from the probation service to reduce his risk level.

He said: “He is a man who has become isolated from society and if he goes back to prison he will come out without support. He says he did not think about the SOPO when he met this family and his only interest was in friendship.”

August 2014

Forklift driver jailed for sex attempt with 14-year-old girl

A FORKLIFT truck driver has been jailed for two years for trying to meet and have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Kacper Belzek, of Burwell Drive, Witney, was found guilty after a trial on one count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between September 21 and October 2 last year.

The 24-year-old was accused of planning to meet the teenage complainant after they exchanged about 800 messages over the internet.

The jury unanimously found him guilty and on Tuesday Judge Patrick Eccles told him prison was the only appropriate sentence.

During a four-day trial Belzek argued he had been angry at the girl for lying about her age and claiming she was 16 when they had met a first time.

It was after that she revealed she was actually 14, the court heard.

Judge Eccles said the offence was made worse by the fact Belzek actually did meet and have sex with the girl before he knew her age, but then tried to arrange another meeting.

Belzek was not prosecuted for having sex with a minor.

Nigel Daley, defending, said his client was guilty of “stupid” behaviour that would never be repeated.

He said: “It appears that at the end he changed his mind and was not going to meet her.

“The disparity of age was not that much when you see the behaviour of the young girl towards him beforehand.

“He has never done anything like it before and your honour can be quite confident he will never do anything like it again.”

Judge Eccles passed a two-year prison sentence and said Belzek would spend 10 years on the sex offenders’ register.

He told the defendant: “During the trial you did not display any understanding of how wrong it is for a grown man like you to try and encourage a young girl to have sexual intercourse with you.”

Belzek will also have to pay a £120 victims’ surcharge.

August 2014

Telford sex offender is given last chance to complete therapy

A Telford company director with a history of indecent assault and possession of child abuse images has been given a chance to continue therapy to control his behaviour.

Matthew Whitehouse, 47, was found in possession of around 2,500 indecent images in January this year.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday Judge Peter Barrie told Whitehouse that he was now on “the precipice of a very long prison sentence”.

He said that despite Whitehouse’s previous convictions he was mindful of the best prospect of preventing further harm by the defendant’s behaviour.

The defendant had completed a sex offenders programme in 2007 but had “lost his self control” by committing the recent offences.

At court yesterday Whitehouse was given a three-year community order and must complete the sex offenders programme.

He must do 100 hours unpaid work and pay £600 court costs and will be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years.

Whitehouse, of Dallamoor, Hollinswood, who is already on the sex offenders register for life, had pleaded guilty to five charges at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that Whitehouse had three previous convictions which included being initially jailed for 10 years – later reduced to seven years on appeal – in 1998 for indecently assaulting boys under 16.

Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, said Whitehouse was arrested after police were received information from Canada that he was a customer of a naturist website which had closed down.

Officers discovered indecent images on a laptop and more than 2,300 stored on a memory card. Following analysis of the material by police Whitehouse had accepted that he had an interest in young males and  expressed remorse.

August 2014

‘Too long': Appeal judges’ verdict on 18-month sentence on man convicted of child abuse images offences… even though expert said he had showed no remorse

A remorseless man jailed for downloading indecent images of children and extreme porn has had his jail term slashed on appeal.

Gareth Rogers, 57, stashed hundreds of vile images of children as well as perverted snaps of sex featuring animals and adults on his computer.

Rogers, of Beaufort Road, Pembroke, was jailed for 18 months at Swansea Crown Court in July after he admitted making and possessing indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography and using threatening behaviour.

But three senior judges at London’s Appeal Court have now upheld a sentence challenge by Rogers – saying his term was “too long” and cutting it by almost half to 10 months.

Lord Justice Davis said the offences were committed in the wake of Rogers’ admission of an offence of voyeurism in October 2013.

The pervert had taken photographs of a woman while she showered using a secret camera. He received a 26-week sentence for the offence.

As a result of his conviction police analysed a computer seized from his home and discovered 392 indecent images of children, with the vast majority in the lowest level of seriousness.

There were also 19 extreme porn images, including some featuring adults engaging in sexual activity with animals.

After Rogers had been released from his voyeurism sentence in November 2013 he committed the threatening behaviour offence by verbally abusing a woman.

By the time he was locked up he already had a previous conviction for making indecent images of children and for driving offences, the appeal judge said.

The author of a pre-sentence report said Rogers “minimised” his conduct and showed little remorse or desire to change his behaviour.

On appeal Rogers’ counsel argued the judge had failed to apply the proper sentencing guidelines before handing him an excessive jail term.

The barrister also insisted the sentence was not “just and proportionate” given that Rogers had already served time for the voyeurism.

Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice King and Mr Justice Holroyde, said: “Having considered all of the points that have been put to us we do think that the sentence imposed by the judge was, with respect, too long.”

The appeal judge cut Rogers’ overall jail term from 18 months to 10 months.

August 2014

Hero fire-fighter who saved thousands of people in Japanese tsunami is jailed for child abuse images

A fire-fighter who helped save thousands of people following the Japanese tsunami has been jailed for downloading indecent images of children

Michael Buckley, who had been a fire-fighter for 30 years, was jailed for eight months after 3,800 images were found on computers at his home.

Of those, 77 were in the police’s most serious category

Buckley made the headlines in 2011 when he volunteered to help find survivors and recover bodies following a devastating tsunami that struck Japan.

The court heard the offences happened against a backdrop of depression, personal tragedy and ‘post-traumatic stress’ from his former career, which has left him plagued by ‘nightmares’.

Buckley was arrested after police raided his home in Blackley, Greater Manchester, following a tip-off.

They found a deleted cache of child abuse images, and Buckley, who gave an open interview, telling officers he had been downloading it since 2005, ‘more or less on a daily basis’.

He later admitted 16 counts of making an indecent image of a child, and one offence of possessing a prohibited image.

Alison Mafham, defending, appealed for Buckley to be punished in the community, saying his supportive, disabled partner of thirty years depended on him, and he acted as a carer for his mother.

“He served as a firefighter for thirty years, he was involved during that time as part of a search and rescue team recovering bodies after the Japanese tsunami”, she added.

“He has longstanding mental health issues – it’s clear the nature of his work has affected him profoundly. He suffers nightmares, his partner is certainly of the view that he has suffered some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, she certainly feels its led to some sort of breakdown.”

Ms Mafham added that Buckley was ‘surprised’ at the number of people prepared to write testimonials on his behalf to the court, despite the nature of his offences.

“He’s somebody who has saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. He recognises what he’s done, the effect these offences have, he’s deeply sorry”, she added.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Brown acknowledged Buckley’s years of ‘good service’, and his ‘very dangerous mission’ to Japan. But he said society had to ‘discourage people from ruining the lives’ of the youngsters in such images, and ‘protect other children from similar crime’.

August 2014

Tamworth naturist brought before court with thousands of indecent child images

A NATURIST from Tamworth who downloaded thousands of indecent images of children from the internet has been ordered to undergo sex offender treatment.

Police found nearly 117,000 pictures of children on a laptop and a desktop computer belonging to Ian Taylor.

Most of them were “innocent” photographs taken in a naturist setting, but amongst them were over 12,000 that were criminally indecent, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Laura Culley, prosecuting, said a total of 95 were of the most serious category A and more than 400 in category B.

The indecent material was found following a search raid on Taylor’s Wigginton Road home on December 7.

When questioned, the defendant said he was a naturist and he enjoyed pictures of naked children, but not ones that were pornographic.

Whilst looking for naturist images, he had come across the others and he denied any sexual interest in children.

The 59-year-old who admitted six charges of making indecent images of children, was given a three year community order with sex offender treatment and told to pay £400 costs.

Judge Mark Eades told him: “Your pre-sentence report takes a very sceptical view of your explanation for access to these photographs.

“That’s a reasonable view considering the quantity of photographs in your possession.” Ben Williams, defending, said: “The vast majority of the images weren’t at all indecent and perhaps were innocent.

“The more explicit images he would have encountered when looking for adult pornography.”

Mr Williams added that whilst Taylor earned a good salary, he had to make significant contributions to his legal aid.

“He is already £5,000 out of pocket as a result of these proceedings.

August 2014

Shropshire grocer spared prison after admitting possessing and distributing indecent images of children

A grocer has been spared a prison sentence after admitting possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

Andrew Cross, 46, had been sending on pornographic images to other people using an email address set up in a false name.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court Cross was given a three-year community order and three years supervision.

Judge Peter Barrie told Cross that these were not crimes without a victim and the defendant had a considerable number of images.

He said it was in the public interest to ensure that the defendant did not repeat this type of offence and told Cross he must complete a community sex offenders programme.

The defendant will also be on the sex offenders’ register and be subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for a period of five years.

Cross, of Roden, Telford, who had pleaded guilty to a total of 10 offences at an earlier hearing, was also ordered to pay £600 costs.

The court heard he had more than 700 images which included 10 images at the most serious level.

He was also in possession of items of extreme pornography including some still pictures and a movie involving sexual activity with animals.

The material was found on a mobile phone and a laptop last year. He told police he had been distributing material to retain the interest of people on chat lines.

Mr Andrew Holland, for Cross, said his client accepted these were horrendous offences, but were out of character and were committed at a time when he was under pressure both at home and in his business.

August 2014

Rotherham sex abuse monster flies to Pakistan and says: I’m living the high life

One of the abusers at the heart of the Rotherham child sex scandal today boasted he was “living the high life” – leaving his victim distraught.

Sick Umar Razaq – released from jail after appealing the length of his sentence – posted a picture of himself in sunglasses on Facebook as he flew off to Pakistan.

Earlier he had boasted: “Can’t wait… Roll on to the lifetime holiday.”

He added: “Three days and I’m outta this country for a very long time. Feeling happy.”

Taunt: Razaq’s online boast sickened victim

The 28-year-old sex attacker, one of the ring leaders of the child grooming gang, also whinged about women crying rape in a disgusting dig at his victim.

The taunt left the girl – now 19 and named only as Lizzie – in tears.

She sobbed: “This is beyond disgusting. How can he be allowed leave the country?

“He shouldn’t have a passport or be on Facebook. This man beat me, strangled me and abused me.

“He has stalked me since he got out.”

She went on: “Umar was the worse one. He was really violent. He strangled me twice and threatened to kill me.

“It’s disgusting he can do this to us. It’s horrible.”

Monsters: Zafran Ramzan, Umar Razaq, Adil Hussain, Mohsin Khan and Razwan Razaq

For details on the Rotherham paedophile ring 2010 – Click this link 

Umar – who lived close to a park where the Asian gangs preyed – left the message online just hours after police revealed there were 173 live investigations into grooming in South Yorkshire.

Umar was one of five vile predators jailed in 2010 for grooming school children in Rotherham.

Lizzie, who described the men as “pure evil” said she was 12 the first time she was raped and she was “abused hundreds of times”.

She said: “I was abused by all five of them. They passed me around.”

She added: “Not one of them has ever given us an apology.

“They dragged people in to cars and drugged them. They damaged my body and they took away my virginity.

“None of their sentences were long enough. They told me my family hated me and didn’t want me but they did and they would marry me.

“At first I believed it all and then they turned nasty.”

She said they threatened to set her house on fire and pour petrol down their throats.

Lizzie also claimed her family begged social workers for help but said: “They used to make me feel bad about it – one of them kept saying ‘Those men you’re seeing – do you know that’s wrong?’

“They never told me it was them that were wrong – they made me feel it was me.”

Reliving her first attack in an alleyway when she was 12, she said: “I felt disgusting. When one of them strangled me I thought I was going to die.

“He was strangling me so tight I couldn’t breathe. They put me through hell.”

At Sheffield crown court, Umar was jailed for four and a half years in November 2010 for sexual activity with a girl of 13. His sentence was cut to three-and-a-half years and he is now free.

The other men in the gang were Zafran Ramzan, his cousin Razwan Razaq, Adil Hussain and Mohsin Khan. Ramzan, then 21, was jailed for nine years for raping a 16-year-old girl and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Razwan Razaq, 30, was jailed for 11 years, while Hussain, 20, and Mohsin Khan, 21, were sentenced to four years in prison. It is believed only two are still behind bars.

Khan hid his life of depravity behind his middle class background. The mortgage adviser lived in a £300,000 house in Moorgate, a favourite choice of doctors from the nearby hospital.

A neighbour – an ex-consultant – said: “It was a shock when we discovered what he had been involved in.”

The final gang member Hussain, was recalled to prison last year. It is believed he breached his licence agreement by going to a children’s play area.

It also emerged Ramzan had links with a bogus bride network. His dad Mohammed Ramzan, 59, was jailed over a wedding plot in which women were preyed on before they were given £300 to pose as brides in fake ceremonies abroad.

Today Umar Razaq’s family confirmed he had gone abroad to join the “family business”.

The relative said the family home was pelted with eggs and added: “Our family just want to get over it, we just want to be able to move on.

“Umar applied for a million jobs. I saw how depressed he was getting.

“Now he has gone to Pakistan for the foreseeable future I don’t think he will come back to be honest.”

But today locals spoke of the arrogance of the sex abuse gang, with Umar boasting to cops before fleeing to Pakistan: “You can’t touch me.”

Laughing pervert Umar Razaq was seen by neighbours arrogantly strutting before he left the UK after serving his sentence.

One of Umar’s former neighbours said: “He has always been cocky and arrogant and didn’t show any shame for his crimes when he arrived back here.

“Recently couple of police cars arrived and Umar just strolled along the street with his rucksack on his back, without a care in the world.

“A neighbour, angry at his release, shouted: ‘Have they come for you?’

“But Umar was just laughing with his head in the air and shouted loud enough for everyone to you: ‘No they’ll not come for me – you can’t touch me.’”