October 2014

Kingswinford man admits making indecent images of children

A KINGSWINFORD man has admitted charges involving the making, possession and distribution of nearly 14,000 sickening indecent photographs of children.

George Clarke, aged 59, of The Portway pleaded guilty to six charges of making a total of 13,814 indecent images of children when he faced Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He further admitted possessing 52 images of extreme pornography and three further charges involving the distribution of a total of 23 indecent images.

Judge John Warner remanded Clarke on conditional bail until December 19 for the preparation of pre-sentence and psychiatric reports.

He told Clarke he must register immediately as a sex offender and warned him the fact he wanted reports did not tie the hands of the court in any way when it came to passing sentence.

Clarke was allowed bail with a condition he has no unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years of age, other than in the course of everyday life.

Bernard Porter, defending, told the court the reports were necessary before the case could be finalised.

Peter Grice, for the prosecution, said they would also be asking for a sexual offenders protection order to be made at the next hearing.

October 2014

Recycling centre found 2,000 indecent child images on Perthshire man’s computer

A Perthshire man who was caught with almost 2,000 indecent images of children will appear for sentence on December 10.

Garry Traill, 29, of Old Scone, admitted that between October 23 2009 and March 5 2011 he made indecent photographs of children.

He also pleaded guilty to having indecent images of children in his possession at Barker’s Buildings, Perth, between December 1 2012 and January 3 last year.

Traill was caught when his mother handed a computer into the Friarton Recycling Centre in Perth.

“While it was being reconditioned it was noted there were numerous indecent images of what were believed to be young girls,” depute fiscal Sue Ruta said.

“Believing they were under 16, the staff contacted police.”

Ms Ruta said the police found 1,822 indecent images of young girls and a video clip on the computer.

A second computer had 119 indecent images.

October 2014

Man sexually assaulted boy, 4, while mum slept while he was banned from being around children

A PERVERT has been jailed for sexually assaulting a four-year-old boy while he was banned from being around children.

Stephen Cloake, 50, molested the young boy at an address in the city in February, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

He was jailed for seven years today after a judge heard that Cloake had committed a similar offence in England and was banned from spending time with children.

Cloake, originally of Manchester, was convicted of the sexual assault following a trial at the High Court in Livingston last month.

The court heard how the boy’s 36-year-old mother had taken Cloake home after meeting him for the first time in a Capital pub on February 23

The court heard that after she put her children to bed she had sex with Cloake and fell asleep.

When she woke the next morning she found her young son in a distressed state. When she asked him what was wrong he told her Cloake was “a bad man”.

The youngster then revealed that Cloake had sexually abused him by groping his private parts and indecently assaulting him with his finger.

The jury heard the boy gave clear evidence of the assault via a closed circuit television link.

October 2014

Plymouth paedophile jailed again – and banned from using the internet when he comes out

A CONVICTED paedophile who accused police of planting indecent images of children on his computer and mobile phone was sent to prison today and banned from freely using the internet.

Brian Austin, 54, denied four counts of possession of indecent images and seven counts of distribution of indecent images after police confiscated two laptops and an iPhone from his flat in Devonport Road, Stoke, in March and July 2013.

But a jury at Plymouth Crown Court, made up of 10 women and two men, took just over an hour to find him guilty of all but one count yesterday (Wednesday Oct 29).

They recorded a not guilty verdict on one count of possession.

Recorder Andrew Langdon QC handed down a five-and-a-half year prison sentence and issued an indefinite sexual offences prevention order that stops him from using the internet without the ability for police to monitor.

“You have demonstrated that you have a continued perverted interest in underage boys and took the opportunity to view indecent images which you had on your computer and phone,” said Mr Recorder Langdon.

“You ran the defence that this was all a stitch-up, an account that the jury had little difficulty rejecting.”

He thanked the jury for considering evidence in what had been a “horrid case.”

The jury heard during the trial how Austin took part in three online conversations in February 2013, using the messaging service Kik, in which he sent indecent pictures of children ranging from level one to four.

Level five is the most serious category of indecency.

Austin, who told police during an interview after his arrest that he was sexually attracted to children, said it was not him that sent the photographs and alleged that police had planted the evidence.

The court heard on Tuesday that Austin had previously gone to jail for having sex with boys under the age of 16.

Detective Constable Sarah Rawlinson, lead investigator in the case, said she hoped this would deter future defendants from lying to try and get off similar charges.

“This was definitely the right verdict,” said Dc Rawlinson, speaking after the result.

“It sends a message to other people who are accused of having these kind of pictures on their computer and are thinking about making up excuses.

“The integrity of the police was called into question but the utmost care is taken with these kinds of exhibits to make sure nothing like what was alleged can happen.

“All the evidence is kept in serial number bags and those dealing with the exhibits have to sign to access them. That was shown during the evidence in court.”

Austin was given one-and-a-half years jail time for three counts of possession and two-years for five counts of distributing images, with the sentences running concurrently.

Mr Recorder Langdon gave him three-and-a-half years for two further counts of distributing “extreme” images, which will run consecutively to the above sentences.

The defendant was ordered to pay a £150 victim surcharge.

October 2014

Former taxi driver jailed for indecent texts sent to boy he friended on Facebook

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for eight months after admitting sending indecent messages to a boy almost half his age.

After befriending the 12-year-old on Facebook, Fred Beeby, formerly of Perth, requested his mobile phone number before bombarding him with explicit texts.

The convicted sex pest, who now lives on Woodside Road, Raploch, Stirling, told the unsuspecting child he was ”naked” in one particularly unpleasant message.

Perth Sheriff Court heard that the young boy, who cannot be identified, quickly switched his mobile off but later discovered one further communication asking if he ever touched himself in a sexual manner.

The former taxi driver admitted repeatedly sending texts of an indecent and sexual nature to the 12-year-old on April 23 and 24 last year.

Appearing in the dock on crutches, Beeby stood with his head bowed as Sheriff Robert McCreadie expressed his disgust at the offence.

Placing him on the sex offenders register for 10 years, the sheriff noted he had appeared on an analogous complaint in 2009, pleading guilty to a charge alleging he harassed a female colleague with hundreds of seedy texts.

One released from prison, the 23-year-old will have to spend a further year on licence.

Depute fiscal Nicola Manison detailed the facts that led to Beeby’s arrest at an earlier hearing.

She explained that the under-age victim confided in his mother as to the nature of the correspondence, who then contacted the police.

She had given permission for her son to accept Beeby’s Facebook ‘friend’ request.

On April 23 the boy began to receive text messages from the accused, Ms Manison said, but after reading that the 23-year-old was naked he switched his device off.

The depute fiscal continued: ”The following morning, when the complainer switched his phone on, there were several messages. A check was carried out and it was confirmed they had been sent from the accused’s number. He was later traced at his home address.”

Ms Manison noted that one message, which had been sent at 8.45pm the previous night, asked the youngster an intimate sexual question.

The court heard that, despite his guilty plea last month, Beeby refused to admit to his actions when quizzed by social workers composing a background report.

Sheriff McCreadie said denial was a trait often witnessed in sex offenders and concluded that it reinforced the need for incarceration.

”He has exhibited classic signs of this type of offence, denial being one of them.”

He went on: ”By lying to social workers he has lied to this court, because the report was meant for me. It suggests naivety on a massive scale and I have no faith in his credibility.”

Talking directly to Beeby, he added: ”You pled guilty to a serious offence relating to sexual remarks to a young boy. You then later denied there was any sexual element when talking to a social worker.

”I am satisfied that a custodial sentence is the only suitable disposal and it reflects society’s abhorrence of such conduct.”

October 2014

Abuse victims urge others to come forward

A WOMAN who was raped by her father is calling on victims of sexual abuse to come forward to put their attackers behind bars.

Retired diesel fitter George Slater, who raped his daughter and sexually assaulted his sister-in-law, was jailed last month for 13 years for a catalogue of historic offending.

Now Donna Slater and Marion Bradley have waived their right anonymity to urge other victims of sex offenders to come forward.

Ms Slater, 43, who lives in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, and has a 12-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter of her own, said: “We have suffered all lives for this. I want people to know what kind of a man he is. He should be named and shamed.

“He does not deserve to come out of prison. I hope he rots.”

Ms Slater said the abuse at the hands of her father has left deep emotional scars.

She said: “My life has been a mess, mentally and physically. I have tried to harm myself and relationships have failed because of it.

“I made numerous attempts on my own life.”

“I want other people to come forward. I know it has made me feel. Once you do you realise you are not the only person out there.”

Slater, 67, of Ouston, was jailed following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court last month.

He was convicted of one count of rape and ten charges of sexual assault against his daughter between 1974 and 1985.

He began molesting her when she was a little girl and raped her when she was 11.

Slater abused his wife Anne’s little sister, Marion, over a two year period between 1967 and 1968 and began when she was aged eight.

Ms Bradley, 55, who is a great grandmother-of-one, with two grandchildren and four children, and lives in Dunston, believes publicity following the revelations about sexual abuse carried out by Jimmy Savile made police take their case seriously.

She said: “I think it helped a lot. It is a hard thing to do, but I hope other people in our position will also come forward

“His victims were very young when it happened. He is a pervert. A sick pervert.”

Northumbria Police Superintendent Lisa Orchard said officers always takes allegations of rape and sexual offences seriously and urges victims to report abuse.

She said: “Their welfare and safety is paramount and we work closely with victims to make sure they receive the help and support they need as investigations are progressed.

“I’d like to commend the bravery of the victims in this case during what was an extremely difficult time for them. I hope this sentence gives others the confidence to come forward.”

October 2014

NHS manager jailed over child abuse offences

AN NHS computer manager who had more than 4,000 vile sexual abuse movies and pictures of children has been jailed.

Neil Dench, 50, was given a 16-month sentence yesterday after being told that the case was so serious only an immediate custodial term could be imposed.

Leeds Crown Court heard some of the images featured babies as young as four months old being horrifically abused.

Police also discovered a pair of children’s knickers and a book entitled Child Pornography; The Investigation when they raided his home on Newland Street, Agbrigg, Wakefield.

Matthew Gent, prosecuting, said officers executed a search warrant at Dench’s home in May last year after receiving information that he had been accessing an illegal file sharing network over a 12-month period.

Computer equipment was seized from his home and was found to contain a total of 3,810 illegal images and 522 movies.

A total of 175 movies were at levels four and five – the two most serious categories of offending.

Dench was arrested but refused to comment when interviewed on three separate occasions. He pleaded guilty to 21 offences of making indecent images of children. Mr Gent said the offences were aggravated by the very young age of the victims involved, the number of images in his possession and because he had accessed a file sharing network.

The court heard Dench has one previous conviction for indecent exposure in 1988.

Matthew Donkin, mitigating, said Dench was ashamed of his offending and had the book in his home in a bid to understand his offending. Mr Donkin said the discovery of children’s underwear in the property was of “deep concern” but his client had never approached youngsters before.

The barrister said: “His offending has not gone beyond what he has done in his own home.

“He has lived alone for many years and has an isolated existence. Seemingly, he has been a responsible and respectable employee in the civil service until these offences.” Jailing Dench, Recorder Richard Wright, QC, said: “These are not just images. These are real children whose lives are blighted by this sort of disgusting abuse that is then sold on the internet for the pleasure of people like you.”

He added: “Yours was a large collection and it is a particularly worrying and aggravating feature of your case that you also went out and bought yourself a pair of children’s knickers.”

October 2014

Tweedbank man carried out sex act in front of girl, 13

A 30-YEAR-OLD man who exposed himself and carried out a sex act in front of three teenage girls at the seafront in Eyemouth has been put on the Sex Offenders Register. 

Vjaceslavs Poplavskis – who used to live in High Street, Eyemouth, but is now residing at Carlin Court in Tweedbank – was said to be experiencing marital difficulties and was drunk when he carried out the offence last October.

Duns Sheriff Court was told one of the girls was aged just 13 and two were 14.

The offence did not come to light until one of the girls told a youth worker at her secondary school. Defence lawyer Rory Bannerman said the first offender accepted responsibility for his conduct but denied any attraction towards younger girls.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond deferred sentence until December 3 for background reports and ordered the name of Poplavskis be put on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

October 2014

Monmouth paedophile images “stomach churning” – judge

AN INTERNET paedophile who sent a child abuse image to a teenager and pretended to be a girl online has escaped jail, with a judge branding the images he downloaded “stomach-churning”.

David Pincott, aged 32, of Worcester Street, Monmouth, admitted distributing indecent photographs of children, six charges of possessing indecent images, and inciting a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, between November 1 and December 5 last year.

Appearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday, Pincott was said to have 342 images, including 52 videos.

John Warren, prosecuting, told the court that the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre tracked Pincott’s online activity last November at his Monmouth flat.

On December 6, 2013, Gwent Police were notified by Cambridgeshire police that a 12-year-old girl had been having Facebook conversations with Pincott, who was calling himself Mike Bevan.

The defendant admitted pretending to be a teenager after losing his job and suffering from depression, turning to drink and drugs and seeking out young girls.

Judge Philip Richards, who had to look at some of the images downloaded by Pincott, said: “I find the images stomach-churning.”

Andrew Jones, mitigating, said the knock at the door had been a form of relief for Pincott and he now hoped to set up a business with his uncle.

He cannot own any device or software where the internet history can be wiped and cannot have unsupervised contact with a child under 16.

October 2014

Labourer jailed for indecent image of child

A labourer has been jailed for possessing an indecent image of a child after a Facebook conversation with a middle aged man who posed as a woman

Alan Salisbury, 27 of Shones lane, Llay, admitted having an indecent image of a young girl

Prosecutor Owen Edwards said police were alerted after Salisbury’s Ex-wife saw his Facebook page

The defendant insisted he was drunk and as seeking adult pictures

Salisbury had showed a photograph of his groin area to the stranger who pretended to be a woman called ‘Karen’. The offence then occurred.

Judge Niclas Parry at Caernarfon crown court told him, ‘This is a classic case of adults enjoying sexual gratification at the expense of the safety and well-being of a child

The child was probably aged around 10 years old

‘You became willingly engaged in a conversation that involved you being told that there was this child available, you being told that this child was sexually active, and you asking for a image of that child’

The judge added, ‘ There is no indication that he would comply with a community order’

He must register as a sex offender for seven years and a sexual offences prevention order was made

Salisbury will serve four months custody after failing previously to attend court and to register his address with the police, and for breaking a supervision order for dangerous driving and drink driving

October 2014

Former scout camp warden jailed for sexual assault on boys at Buckinghamshire camp

A former scout camp warden has been sentenced to more than two years’ imprisonment yesterday (October 29) after carrying out indecent assaults at a scout camp in Chalfont St Peter in the 1980s.

Following an investigation by Thames Valley Police, Bryan Wright , 76, of Underhill Road, Charfield, Wooton under Edge, Gloucestershire, was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault on a boy under 16 on 22 May 2013.

Wright was then charged with three counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16 on 28 April this year.

The offences took place against boys at Chalfont Heights Scout Camp between 1 August 1984 and 31 August 1985.

Wright used to work as a camp warden.

The charges relate to two victims.

Wright was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment for count one, 27 months’ imprisonment for count two and 12 months’ imprisonment for count three.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

One of the victims told police he was ‘satisfied’ with the sentence, but that ‘the memory of Wright will stay with me forever’.

Investigating officer, Det Con Carolyn Bailey of the Child Abuse Investigation Unit said: “I am pleased with the sentence given to Wright. I hope Wright’s sentence will bring some closure to his victims, who showed bravery and courage in coming forward. Our thoughts remain with them during this difficult period.

“At first, Wright’s victims thought they wouldn’t be believed after all these years, but this case demonstrates that Thames Valley Police will always listen to allegations of this nature. We hope this result will give confidence to those living with abuse or past abuse that they can approach police.

“The case is evidence that the Force and Crown Prosecution Service can successfully bring offenders to justice even after a significant period of time has elapsed.”

Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Adrian Foster said: “Wright was employed by the Scout Association as a Scout Camp Warden 1970-1989.

“He took advantage of his status to prey on young boys for his own sexual gratification. It is only due to the great courage of the victims that the despicable behaviour of this man has been exposed. I would like to pay tribute to them for their strength and tenacity in coming forward.

“Due to the strength of the evidence against him, Wright recognised that justice had caught up with him and he had little option but to plead guilty to the offences, and on 3 September 2014 at Aylesbury Crown Court he pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault.

“His pleas prevented his victims from the added trauma of re-living their horrific abuse and giving evidence during a trial.

“The sentence serves as an important message to people who have been the victim of crimes such as these, or those that know such crimes are being committed, should come forward because time is no barrier to justice.

“The CPS will work closely with partners, as we did with Thames Valley Police in this case, to ensure that robust criminal cases are put before the courts.

“The emotional impact on the victims and their families of the abhorrent actions of this man is impossible to quantify. I hope that the conviction and sentence gives some small comfort to them. Our thoughts are very much with them all at this time.”

October 2014

Ex-Milton Keynes Mayor vouched for asylum seeker who is now a convicted paedophile

Sex scandal mayor Subhan Shafiq has admitted giving a character reference to ANOTHER serious sex offender – an asylum seeker who is now a convicted paedophile.

This time Councillor Shafiq vouched for would-be cab driver Malik Aftab Ahmed when he applied to come to the UK from Pakistan.

But after his application was granted Malik was arrested and convicted of four counts of serious sexual assault – two of them involving a girl under the age of 16.

He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Mr Shafiq resigned as Mayor of Milton Keynes in August after it emerged that a taxi driver he personally vouched for was a convicted rapist. Nadeem Ahmed Kiani had four previous convictions for serious sexual offences, where he and a friend worked together to threaten women with weapons before raping them.

Although Mr Shafiq is no longer mayor he has refused to step down as a councillor –and his party has encouraged him to stay.

October 2014

Latchford man abused nine-year-old after playing board games

A LATCHFORD man who sexually abused a sleeping girl after playing board games with her will not go to prison.

Ivan Hanley, aged 46, of Kingsway South, touched the girl, aged 9, sexually in a case of historic abuse.

Chester Crown Court heard on Monday how the attack happened following a party on New Year’s Eve in 1989.

Hanley, who was 21 at the time of the offence, denied the assault when challenged.

It came to light when the victim, now 34, worked up the courage to go to Cheshire Police in September, 2013.

Nearly a year later, Hanley pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault.

‘Hysterical’ immediately afterwards, in a victim impact statement, the victim said she felt ‘vulnerable’ and ‘unable to tell anyone’.

The court heard she experienced ‘feelings of guilt’ and felt like her ‘childhood had been taken away’.

She remains scared of being woken up at night, as it brings back images of what happened.

Hanley, who has committed no further offences since 1989, acts as a voluntary carer.

He was himself a victim of ‘disturbing’ sexual abuse, when kidnapped as a child in Northern Ireland, the court heard.

He wrote a letter to the court expressing his ‘regret and remorse’.

Judge Raj Shetty said he had decided to take an ‘exceptional’ course of action when not sending Hanley to prison, because he had been a victim, and not committed further crimes.

Hanley, wearing a black suit, white shirt and red tie in court, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

He will also undergo a treatment programme for sex offenders.

October 2014

Man jailed for sexually assaulting girl under 13

A man has been jailed for five years for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.

Paul Andrews, 47, from Greenbank Avenue, Plymouth previously pleaded guilty to three sex abuse charges.

Truro Crown Court heard Andrews had accused his victim of “stitching him up”.

Sentencing, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark said Andrews had committed the crimes “to gratify your sexual lust for adolescent girls”.

The judge said the offences “reflected frequent sexual abuse over a three-year period”.

On 22 September, the day his trial was due to begin, Andrews pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

The court heard Andrews later told a probation officer he had only pleaded guilty on the advice of his barrister.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was “haunted” by the sexual assaults and she still blamed herself.

In mitigation, defence barrister Ramsay Quaife said Andrews accepted full responsibility for his actions.

The judge sentenced Andrews to five years in jail for sexual assault and four years for each count of sexual activity with a child with all sentences to run concurrently.

Andrews was also subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and ordered to sign on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

October 2014

Dursley scout leader & teacher jailed over sadistic images of children

A SECONDARY school teacher and Dursley scout master obsessed with sadistic child abuse was jailed today for 10 months.

Many of the thousands of illegal images and videos in bachelor John Fleck’s possession were of children receiving corporal punishment, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

The judge said Fleck, of The Slade, Dursley, had brought “disgrace” to the scouts and the teaching profession.

The material, collected over a 16 year period, was on Fleck’s two computers and in a collection of so-called ‘naturist’ DVDs – one of which, called ‘A Century of Discipline’, was a compilation of eight hours of child punishment scenes, the prosecution said.

The court heard Fleck, 53, had worked as a teacher and served as a scoutmaster for the past 28 years, but there was no suggestion he had ever abused any of the children in his care in any way.

Jailing Fleck, Judge Jamie Tabor QC told him it was a serious aggravating factor that he had held a trusted position in society with children in his care both at school and in the scouts.

“You were highly respected for a long time but you had a dark secret which the parents of those children you taught, or who they took to scouts, would have been absolutely appalled about,” said the judge.

“Behaviour such as this undermines public confidence, both in schools and the Scouts.

“Every parent will now be asking this: ‘Do we have a Mr Fleck in our school?’

“You have brought disgrace on the Scout movement and indeed the teaching profession.”

Following Fleck’s arrest he was sacked from Severn Vale School, in Quedgeley, and removed from his post of leader of the 1st Dursley Scouts.

He pleaded guilty today to six charges of making indecent photographs of children between January 1998 and January 2014 and two offences of possession of indecent photographs on January 29 this year.

October 2014

Crosby choirmaster jailed for sexually abusing and attempting to rape young girl

A choirmaster who sexually abused a young girl was jailed for ten years.

David Mason, 71, said he stood up for “Christian values and ethics” but a judge who heard his trial told him those claims were hollow and he was a man of “warped values”.

Dad-of-two Mason, of Riverside, Brighton-Le-Sands, near Crosby, pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on his victim when she was between the ages of six and nine in the early nineties.

But he denied other matters including indecency with a child and attempted rape, forcing his victim to relive years of abuse by giving evidence before a jury.

He made her situation even worse by branding her “a fantasist” with a tendency to exaggerate.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the Mason encouraged her to engage in various disgusting sex acts despite her tender years.

During his trial he made claims which the judge branded “extraordinary nonsense”, saying that the abuse was: “light-hearted, it wasn’t horrible. There was no evil intent, no nasty hurting intent, it was a natural thing.”

He said the girl would sit “coquettishly” and showed a lot of leg and that she would take her clothes off and run around “teasing” him and even claimed she had “hoaxed” him into being alone with her, leading to “rough and tumble”. Mason said she was “exploring her sexuality with him”.

Judge Andrew Hatton, said: “She was an eight-year-old girl. You were suggesting that an eight-year-old girl was flirting with you.”

Speaking of the attempted rape he said Mason’s words to her had lived with her all her life and continued to chill her.

Mason, who was of previous good character was found guilty of three counts of indecency with a child, two of indecent assault and one of attempted rape.

He was found not guilty of one count of indecency with a child.

He was jailed for ten years and put on the sex offenders register for the rest of life.

DS Paul Donaghy, said: “His victim has shown an immense amount of bravery in coming forward and having to re-live the abuse she suffered at Mason’s hands. I hope his sentencing gives her some sense of closure and also provides wider reassurance that a dangerous and determined sex offender is now behind bars.

“I would like to reassure anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse that any complaint will be taken extremely seriously and investigated by specially trained officers who will offer support every step of the way.”

October 2014

Jailed Perth paedophile told trade in images leaves children facing lifelong suffering

A sheriff has jailed a Perth paedophile for 12 months, after telling him many of the youngsters who had been abused would “suffer in later life”.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Ross Aspinall, 30, of Rannoch Road, he and his fellow sheriffs have to view child abuse images and it was “patently obvious” that many of the children involved, most of whom do not live in the UK, were “distressed”.

Perth Sheriff Court had heard Aspinall had on one laptop computer 459 indecent images of female children being sexually abused. These were divided into 148 at level one, 27 at level two, 95 at level three, 163 at level four and 34 at level five of the Copine scale, used to categorise the severity of such images.

Police had received information about Aspinall, leading them to look over his home, and he was later questioned by officers.

On another hard drive, police found 51 indecent video files, which featured children aged between two and 12, the court heard.

Three of these were at level one, five at level two, nine at level three, 32 at level four and two at level five. Another hard drive contained 39 indecent video files, which had been downloaded using peer-to-peer software.

Aspinall admitted possessing indecent photographs of children at his home between September 12 2012 and June 28 last year.

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said her client had no previous convictions and described the offences as “not the most significant” number of images to come before the court. “However, there are level four and five images,” she said.

Sentencing Aspinall, Sheriff Foulis told him: “Cases such as this are always somewhat distasteful to deal with. To get a flavour of the images involved, I and my fellow sheriffs have to view a selection of these and you wonder as to the effect these have on the children concerned.”

Aspinall was also ordered to serve three years’ extended sentence on licence upon his release from prison and placed indefinitely on the sex offenders register.

October 2014

Teacher sentenced for child abuse images

A teacher from South Gloucestershire who bought child abuse images from Canada has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Timothy Arthur, 58, of Staple Hill, worked part-time at The Grange School, in Warmley, at the time of his arrest, but has since resigned.

Arthur pleaded guilty to 11 counts of making indecent images, at Bristol Crown Court.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Arthur was also made the subject of a 15-year sexual offenders prevention order and a 24-month supervision order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for five years.

The charges were made in connection with Operation Spade, an international investigation into the purchasing of child abuse materials from Canadian company Azov Films.

Information was submitted by Toronto police via Interpol to the UK, that Arthur had bought DVDs, CDs and downloads from Azov Films between December 2007 and December 2010, more than 70 of which contained indecent images of children.

He was arrested in February and his home was searched. Officers seized laptops, USB sticks, external hard drives and a large number of printed photos and DVDs.

The school wrote to parents to reassure them none of the charges related to pupils at the school.

Det Con Stuart Brooks said: “When Timothy Arthur was arrested he fully admitted that he’d bought materials from Azov Films.

“Although he made attempts to downplay the seriousness of the images and his motivation for buying them, he accepted his guilt and has now been punished for his crimes.

“Anyone who purchases indecent materials of children plays an active role in fuelling this horrific industry.

“While Arthur may not have known the identities of the children he had indecent images of, the inescapable truth is that they’re real children being sexually exploited and abused.”

October 2014

Junior doctor admits sexually abusing boys

A junior doctor working in paediatrics has admitted sexually abusing boys as young as 12.

Dr Raza Laskar from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, also pleaded guilty to possessing images of abuse.

He denied six of the 37 charges he is accused of when he appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Laskar, 32, was arrested as part of a police operation which targeted men who accessed abuse images online. There is no evidence his patients were abused.

Charges of grooming children online were ordered by the court to lie on file.

Det Insp Theresa Carter, said: “Like Jekyll and Hyde, he is vastly different in moral character depending on the situation, going from caring for and treating children to deliberately targeting, grooming and abusing them.

“I can stress that we found no evidence that he committed any offence during the course of his employment.”

NHS England confirmed Laskar had previously worked in a number of hospitals across Greater Manchester.

In May, police executed a warrant at Laskar’s home after 1,605 files believed to contain indecent photographs of children were uploaded from an IP address at his home.

The files had been uploaded between Christmas Day 2013 and January 2014.

Police found hundreds of chat logs and videos of Laskar engaging in sexual acts with a child who had been taken in a hotel room he had booked.

They also discovered he had more than 1.2 million images.

Some victims were based in the UK and others were from around the world, police said.

A NHS England spokesman said: ‘The charges against Dr Laskar did not relate to his work. However, we would like to extend our sympathies to the victims and families involved in this case. “

They are urging anyone with any concerns to contact them.

Laskar will be sentenced on 9 January.