October 2014

Man found with 300,000 child abuse images and 3500 videos on computer – Jailed

A man caught with more than 300,000 child abuse images has been jailed for four and a half years.

Paul Hirst, 59, was arrested after police officers discovered a total of 306,978 images and 3471 videos on his computer showing children being sexually abused.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Hirst started collecting the images in June 2007 and continued until June 2012.

Police arrested Hirst after examining his computer following a tip-off about his activities.

The story emerged following a hearing at the High Court on Friday in which Hirst appeared before judge Lord Brailsford.

Hirst, of New Street in Hopeman near Elgin, pleaded guilty earlier this year at Elgin Sheriff Court to possessing child abuse images.

A sheriff at the court felt the offence was too serious to be dealt with at sheriff court level and decided to send Hirst to the High Court.

On Friday, defence advocate Bill Adam told the court that his client was full of remorse for what he had done and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Adam added: “He has accepted full responsibility for his actions. He is very remorseful for what he has done. He is also determined that he will never offend again.”

Passing sentence, judge Lord Brailsford also ordered Hirst to be supervised by the authorities for three and a half years following his release from jail.

He told the first offender: “I take into account that you have previously been of good character and have no previous convictions.

“I also take into account that you have had a good work record. These are mitigating factors. However, I must send you to prison.

“The period of custody will be four years and six months. The period of extension will be three years and six months.”

October 2014

Rainham engineer jailed for grooming schoolgirl

A pervert who groomed a schoolgirl and went on to indulge in sex acts with her has been jailed for just under five years.

Daniel Sennett was told by a judge: “This was serious and wicked offending against a vulnerable girl.”

The 36-year-old building management engineer, of Berengrove Lane, Rainham, admitted inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and four offences of sexual activity with a child

Maidstone Crown Court heard Sennett was separated from his wife when he met the 15-year-old victim through a mutual interest in sport.

Contact developed between them and text messages were exchanged.

October 2014

Whitstable man has been jailed for 16 years for child sex offences

Michael Snyder, 69, of Regent Street, Whitstable, was responsible for a total of 15 offences.

Eight of the offences related to incidents which took place from 1998 to 2003 in Whitstable and Brixton.

The other seven offences were in relation to incidents between 1971 and 1973 in Carshalton, Surrey.

Snyder was charged in March this year after detectives uncovered the first series of offences before a second victim came forward.

In interview, Snyder denied any wrongdoing.

Detective Constable Sarah Bedford from Kent Police said: ‘I hope this sentencing brings some closure to Snyder’s victims who have shown tremendous courage in coming forward and supporting this prosecution.

‘I’m also pleased that Snyder is now where he belongs – in prison – where he can no longer pose a direct threat to vulnerable people.’

October 2014

Pensioner found guilty for string of indecent assaults against a girl in the 1980s and 1990s.

Alan Armstrong, 71, of Ribble Avenue, Southport, denied abusing the girl, who was aged between eight and 13, when he lived at his mother’s home in Acregate Lane, Ribbleton, Preston.

The victim, now in her 30s, told police she was abused by a man called Tommy Rushton, a married grandfather, who was trusted by her mum to take her to school from the age of seven.

The court heard he would assault her in his home or in his car, and then give her money afterwards.

The man then took her to the home of Armstrong, who was in his 50s, and he would abuse her in a similar way and tell her “not to tell anyone”.

Rushton has since died.

Retired Royal Mail worker Armstrong told the court he had sex with the her but claimed it happened on two occasions when she was 16, and that he gave her money.

The jury at Preston Crown Court heard him describe it as a “commercial arrangement”, but did not accept his version of events and he was convicted at Preston Crown Court of 12 counts.

DC Warren Gibson, of Lancashire Police, said: “The victim has had to live with this abuse for 30 years, during which her life has suffered.

“There is no doubt whatsoever the abuse suffered by her has contributed and played a significant part in her life as she fought to forget about what happened all those years ago.

“The victim initially made contact in 2011 to make her complaint but due to a number of health issues they were not followed up until 2013 when she had the bravery to confront her demons and make a full complaint to the police in trying to identify the one living offender.”

Armstrong will be sentenced on December 1.

October 2014

Child image pervert sentenced – No prison

PERVERT Robert Chubb ,65,claimed he looked at vile pictures of children being abused because he was doing ‘journalistic research.’

But Chubb,of Shottenden Road, Birchington, was a former post office worker with a ‘collection’ of 1,000 pictures on his computers.

He had previously pleaded guilty to six charges of making and down loading indecent photographs at Canterbury Crown Court.

Today (Friday) sentencing Chubb to eight months jail, suspended for two years concurrent on all six charges, Judge Simon James said:”You claimed you were doing journalistic research but you didn’t seem to accept the truth that you have a sexual attraction to children.”

Of the 1,000 pictures 127 were in the worst category and Chubb was arrested after complaints that he’d repeated images on social networks.

Judge James said earlier:”You and people like you who deal in this warped imagery bear responsibility for the continued abuse suffered by the children in this pictures.”

John Barker,defending, said Chubb was ‘embarrassed and remorseful’ over what he had done.He said his client was involved in an immigration battle over the status of his Thai wife who would have to go back to Thailand to apply for residence in this country which also preyed on his mind.

Chubb was given a five year sexual offences prevention order,banned from working with children ,given two years supervision and ordered to complete a 24 month internet sex offenders course where Judge James said Chubb would ‘face up to the unpalatable truth about himself.

October 2014

Pontypool primary school teaching assistant avoids jail for possessing “appalling” child abuse images

A PONTYPOOL primary school teaching assistant has been given a three-year community order for possessing more than 900 “appalling” indecent images of children.

Simon Williams, aged 39, of Blaendare Road, pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing indecent images between February 18 and April 10 this year.

Judge Eleri Rees said it was a “remarkable coincidence” that the teaching assistant, as a person seeking child pornography, sought a career working with children.

She added: “That is a very worrying development for somebody already showing a perverse interest in children.”

The court was told that the teaching assistant was working at George Street Primary in Pontypool at the time of his arrest and was also a cub scout leader.

Williams, a father-of-three, had a total of 929 indecent images of children, 219 of which were of category A, the highest category.

He was arrested earlier this year as part of Operation Notarise, a UK-wide police crackdown on people downloading indecent images of children using file sharing software.

The images of children found on his laptop were of children ranging from 18 months old to 12 years old.

Williams claimed he unintentionally viewed the images when opening what he thought was adult pornography.

Judge Rees rejected Williams’ mitigation that it was his “naivety and curiosity” that led him to begin actively searching for child pornographic images.

She said: “I’m not accepting this nonsense of naivety and curiosity, you knew exactly what you were doing.

“The photographs, particularly of category A, were appalling. What you have to bear in mind is that these are real children, real victims subjected to rape and assault for the gratification of men like you.

“You contributed directly to the abuse of these children. There are children around the world who are deprived of their childhood, their innocence. They are sentenced to a lifetime of psychological, psychiatric and physical damage.

“It’s difficult to understand how a father could for a moment show any interest in these images and offend in this way. You have paid the price in terms of your family and your employment.”

Judge Rees gave Williams a three-year community order and ordered him to attend a sex offenders programme.

He will also pay £100 towards court costs and a £60 victim surcharge and has been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

A sexual offences prevention order was also issued.

A Torfaen council spokesman said afterwards: “As soon as information was received about these allegations in April, safeguarding professionals from the police, local authority and other relevant agencies have been meeting in line with the all Wales Child Protection procedures to look at all the issues surrounding the case.

“Simon Williams was immediately suspended from his role and the following the completion of the court case is subject to disciplinary processes which will be completed as quickly as possible.

“While the police investigation showed no evidence that Williams’ offending involved any children from the Torfaen area, this has been a very distressing case for the parents and the school community. The schools have received lots of messages of support from parents for which they are extremely grateful.

“Parents from George Street Primary and the former Special Needs Resource Base at Pontymoile where Williams used to work have since had the opportunity to discuss the case and any concerns they have had directly with safeguarding professionals from Gwent Police and the council’s education and social care services.”

October 2014

Oxford man who had sex with girl of 14 branded ‘dangerous’

A “PREDATORY paedophile” who repeatedly had sex with a 14-year-old girl has been classified as dangerous and jailed for eight years.

Paul-John Saunders targeted two teenagers and was described by a judge in Oxford Crown Court as having shown no remorse.

The 22-year-old, of Horspath Road, Oxford, was found guilty after a trial of two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl between July 29 and December 20 last year.

He was also convicted of causing or inciting a second girl, who was 14 at the time, to engage in child abuse images between January and December last year.

Yesterday Judge Peter Ross branded him “dangerous” and handed him an extended jail sentence because of his complete refusal to engage with the probation service. He will serve a minimum of two thirds of his eight-year sentence, then spend a further four on licence in the community.

Judge Ross said the sexual abuse of Saunders’ first victim lasted months and was recorded in “voice notes” he left on her mobile phone.

During his trial, Saunders claimed these messages had been left by someone else, but yesterday Judge Ross told him they were “clearly your voice”.

The judge said after “exploiting” one girl, Saunders was trying to do the same to a second victim, but only got as far as getting her to send him naked pictures of herself.

He told him: “You treated these girls as nothing more than sexual objects. I’m not going to repeat the word you used to describe both of them in your discussions with probation, because I don’t want them to read what you think about them.

“It is clear that you used photographs that you had obtained from [your first victim] as a means of exerting control over her.

“She was 14, she was a child – I use that word deliberately – and she is entitled to the protection of the law. She was also extremely vulnerable.

“The phrase ‘predatory paedophile’ has appeared very frequently in recent months in the media, but I have no hesitation in using it about you.

“You targeted vulnerable girls, have certainly sexually exploited one, and started to sexually exploit a second.”

Barrister Jennifer Edwards, defending, said her client maintained he was innocent. She said: “Paul-John Saunders is a man of significant immaturity, and the comments he made to probation demonstrate that.

“But he should at least be given the chance to demonstrate that he can overcome his issues and stop being a threat to anybody.

Saunders pleaded guilty during his trial to possessing indecent images of the girls. He will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

June 2009

Man jailed for eight years for raping boy

A man who sexually groomed an under-age boy has been jailed for eight years and eight months at Northampton Crown Court.

Michael Leask, 26, admitted 10 offences of rape, sexual assault and engaging in sexual activity with a child over a two-year period.

Leask, of Gretton Road, Weldon, was also banned from ever working with children, made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

October 2014

Cromer man, 24, who sent sex texts to a schoolgirl is jailed 

A Cromer man has been jailed for 16 months for urging a schoolgirl to engage in sex acts. 

Geoffrey Leeder, 24, of Cadogan Road, sent a string of obscene text messages and Facebook messages to a 14-year-old girl, Norwich Crown Court heard today.

Martin Ivory, prosecuting, said Leeder asked her to engage in sexual activity, and that he also encouraged her to send a photograph of her partially nude, which she did.

The exchange of messages took place over six weeks, starting in February this year.

Leeder pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Michael Clare, mitigating, said: “This was phone sex, willingly entered into by both parties.

“The chances of anything happening or even being contemplated are quite small.”

He said that Leeder was “immature” for his age, suffered from mental health issues, had been on a course of anti-depressants and had previously dabbled in recreational drugs.

Leeder had the full support of his family, and had had four weeks of counselling since the incident

His father, Geoffrey Leeder senior, said the incident had had a real impact on his son.

“He’s been very embarrassed, very regretful and he seems very humbled by the experience,” he said. “It’s made him stop and think. “Something that was a laugh had got so out of hand.

“He’s actually taken responsibility and sought help.

“We’ve spent more time with him and he’s spent time with us.”

Judge Nicholas Coleman, sentencing, told Leeder junior: “You were well aware as to how old she was, and this went on for a considerable amount of time.

“You were getting a great deal of pleasure from what you perceived was happening in answer to your text messages.

“You know it was improper, as you were constantly urging her to delete what was going on between you.”

He said while the complainant took the view that she was in control of the situation, the custody threshold had been crossed.

Leeder was jailed for 16 months and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

October 2011

Postman admits abusing 11-year-old girl while babysitting

A postman admitted sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl while he was babysitting the youngster.

Philip McLean, 41, began abusing the girl when she was 11 and carried on for 12 months, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

McLean admitted the offences which took place at a house in Kilmarnock between April 2003 and June 2004.

The court heard that the father-of-two, from Kilmarnock, often babysat the girl and Ms Fraser added: “He rewarded her with treats and privileges such as being given presents.”

The court was told that the abuse continued at least twice a week while McLean was babysitting the girl.

She eventually broke down and told her mother that McLean had been abusing her.

When McLean was interviewed by police he admitted repeatedly performing lewd and libidinous practices on the girl.

Ms Fraser added: “This abuse has had a significant impact on the girl and her health.”

Defence counsel Louise Arrol said: “He pled guilty at the earliest possible stage.”

February 2008 

A court will hear an appeal by a serial rapist who claims the punishment part of his life sentence was excessive.

John Locke was sentenced to at least 15 years in jail after being convicted in the High Court in Inverness of the rape of a 15-year-old girl 10 years ago.

Locke, 51, was previously convicted of rape at the high courts in Glasgow and Airdrie in the 1980s.

In a newly-released opinion, the Lord Justice General moved that a hearing of the appeal case be held.

Locke’s appeal asserts that 15 years was excessive in the face of sentencing practice at the time he was convicted in August 1998.

A bid to have it heard by a bench of seven judges was declined.

However, two other judges, Lord MacFadyen and Lady Paton, agreed with the Lord Justice General’s ruling that the sentencing should be examined.

Locke was also sentenced to three years in 1983 in Glasgow for rape and to 15 years’ imprisonment in 1988 in Airdrie for an assault on a 16-year-old girl. 

He raped the 15-year-old girl on an estate in Inverness in 1998, three months following his release from jail after serving 10 years.

June 2004

A SERIAL rapist stashed cannabis in his prison cell fish tank and made £500 a week selling it to other cons. John Locke, 48, and two other sex offender cons who were in on the scam have now been moved from Peterhead jail.

Ringleader Locke, who is serving life for his third rape conviction, was transported from the Aberdeenshire prison to Barlinnie in Glasgow.

Other inmates had told prison bosses former boxer Locke was making a fortune from the drug, which sells for around twice its street price behind bars.

Prison officers searched his cell and he was moved early in the morning before other cons had their cells opened.

A source at the jail said: ‘Locke must have been making more than £500 a week.

‘He was supposedly keeping the gear in his fish tank. It’s like something froma film.

‘Everybody in the jail knew it was Locke supplying the cannabis but the warders have been trying to find evidence for a while.

‘Other cons went forward with information and he was moved out early in the morning.

‘His cell was searched and the word is that they found enough to suggest he’d been dealing.

‘At first, nobody knew where he had gone but news has spread round the jail quickly since.

‘A lot of people thought Locke was untouchable and his move has shocked them.’

The other cons involved are believed to have been moved to Dumfries and Edinburgh prisons.

Locke originally from the Coatbridge area of Lanarkshire was convicted in 1998 at the High Court in Inverness of raping a schoolgirl.

He had been freed three months before from a 15-year rape sentence, despite a psychiatrist warning he was likely to strike again.

Locke who once trained with Scots boxing champion Jim Watt dragged the 15–year-old girl into a garden and raped her as she walked home in Inverness late at night.

His first rape conviction was in 1983. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prison Service said: ‘We cannot comment on individual prisoners.’

September 1998

I was the second one he raped. He got out of prison early and raped another girl. When he is freed again he will rape.. again

MORE than 10 years have passed since John Locke raped Elaine, then felt for her pulse before walking away laughing, leaving her for dead.

The physical pain was almost unbearable and the emotional scars have never healed.

But it was the final moment that haunted her throughout Locke’s decade behind bars.

“He thought I was dead and was laughing at what he had achieved,” she said. “That’s when I knew he would rape again.”

Elaine’s fears were well founded.

She later learned he’d attacked her just three months after being freed from jail for a previous rape.

Then, just three months after Locke was given a third off his 15-year sentence for attacking Elaine, he left a schoolgirl covered in blood after subjecting her to a brutal rape.

This time he was jailed for life with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 15 years.

But Elaine has no doubt that when he is released he will rape another woman.

Now she is launching a campaign for a change in the law to ensure sex offenders must serve their full sentence.

“I knew Locke would strike again because he seemed to take such pleasure from what he was doing to me,” she said.

“Apparently a psychiatric report in the prison said he would re-offend, but as the law stands there was no way he could be kept in jail because he had been well behaved.

“There was no doubt in my mind he would rape someone else the first chance he got.

“I wanted to be wrong but I knew I wasn’t, and when he attacked that 15- year-old girl the only surprise was that he didn’t kill her.”

It was the early hours of January 15, 1988 – just a week after her 19th birthday – and Elaine was saying goodbye to her friends at the end of a night out.

SOME details of the horrific ordeal which followed have been blanked from her memory. Others she recalls as if it happened yesterday.

This is her shocking story.

“I was saying goodbye to my pals because I was going in one direction to get a taxi and they were going in another.

“Just as we were splitting up Locke came up to me and asked if he could walk me home.

“I’d never set eyes on him in my life and I could tell he was a good bit older than me so I said: ‘No thanks, I’m not into sugar daddies’.

“He started to walk away and my friends and I went our separate ways.

“But as soon as they had turned the corner he came back and grabbed me from behind.

“He stuck a knife at my throat and dragged me off the street and took me under a bridge over a disused railway line.

“More than 100 people saw him grab me but nobody did a thing to help because they all thought it was a domestic incident.

“A police car drove past while he was dragging me and I thought I was saved

but they didn’t see me.

“And while the attack was going on I could hear people on the bridge but they couldn’t hear me.

“He tied me up, beat me and raped me repeatedly. The whole thing must have lasted for about two hours – but it seemed to go on forever. I was pretending to be unconscious and he was calling me names because I would not wake up.

“I was sure he was going to kill me because at one point, when I was really desperate, I said: ‘Just wait until my father gets hold of you.’ And he said ‘You won’t see your father tonight, hen.’

“He ripped all my clothes off and shredded them and I was naked at the end.

“When it was over he tried to feel my pulse on my wrist and neck and then he walked away laughing at what he had achieved.

“He thought I was dead and I could tell he had got a kick out of that, which is why I thought he would kill his next victim.

“After he’d gone I could hear some workmen on a nearby railway line and they gave me clothes and called the police.

“They took me to the police station where I had to be examined and that was like being raped all over again.

IT was a male doctor who did it and it was a humiliating experience. I think that any rape victim should be able to insist that she is examined by a female doctor.”

Police knew almost immediately that Elaine’s attacker was likely to have been John Locke and they had him in custody within 48 hours.

It later emerged Locke had tried to abduct another woman with the same hairstyle and clothes as Elaine earlier that night.

But Elaine’s ordeal was still not over, because Locke, then 31, pleaded not guilty at his trial and she had to face him across the courtroom to give evidence.

“That was another nightmare,” she said. “Having to relive the whole thing with him listening to me.”

Ten years on, every day is still a battle for Elaine, who comes from Lanarkshire but wants her surname withheld as she has not yet told her two young daughters about her attack.

She cannot work and is unable to take public transport anywhere because of her fear of strangers. And she feels more comfortable with her doors and windows open when she has visitors to her house.

She has also been seeing psychiatrists on and off for the last 10 years.

PEOPLE think rape is just about the man trying to have sex with you,” she said. “But it’s not just that. It’s the violence and humiliation. Rape is worse than murder because I have to live with it day in and day out.

“John Locke has ripped out my soul. He has left me just a shell. I suffer from nightmares, panic attacks and hallucinations.

“Some days I feel like a prisoner in my own house and other days I go out because I am scared to stay in.

“I have suffered from eating disorders and at one stage my weight dropped to six and a half stones. Doctors said it was because of the mental strain I was under.”

Locke’s most recent victim was a 15-year-old girl in Inverness. At his trial last month, the High Court heard a psychiatrist describe him as a “dangerous” individual, prone to further offences when drunk.

It was hearing Locke had struck again after being released five years early that spurred Elaine into action.

The current law states that any offender sentenced to more than four years must be released after serving two-thirds, provided they have behaved behind bars

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “Even if a prisoner announces he will rape someone as soon as he is released there is nothing we can do to keep him behind bars.”

ELAINE has already met MP Helen Liddell, who has written to Scottish Home Affairs Minister Henry McLeish, bringing Elaine’s campaign for a change in the law to his attention.

A spokesman for Mr McLeish’s office promised to treat Mrs Liddell’s letter “very seriously”.

Elaine is also writing to every MP in the country as well as pressure groups and other campaigners.

She knows a change in the law cannot undo what she has been through. But she feels it will be worthwhile if it keeps other John Lockes behind bars.

In the meantime, she devotes her time to her husband and two daughters.

“I have known my husband since we were young children and we were going out together at the time of the attack,” she said.

“I honestly do not think I could have got through it without him.

“It is very hard for him to deal with too because I have never discussed the details of what happened. But he accepts that’s the way I want to deal with it.

“For a while, I did consider suicide, but I realised if I did that Locke would have won and there’s no way I’m letting that happen.

“I know I will never recover from what happened but I still believe I have a lot to live for – like my two beautiful little girls.”

October 2014

Three young Kildare residents have each received suspended sentences for the sexual abuse of a schoolgirl

Judge Mary Ellen Ring today apologised to the female victim, who was 14 years old at the time, for the four year delay in getting the case completed.

She said she was considering this delay when sentencing Leixlip men Edgar Ojo (20), Olajafar Adetoro (21) and Ismaheel Akinade (20) to two years suspended for three years.

Judge Ring criticised the time issue, saying: “These matters should not take four years to get through the prosecution process. All parties should endeavour to deal with the case.”

Ojo, of  Lough Na Mona Park, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexually assaulting the girl in the downstairs toilet of his home on March 25, 2010.

He also admitted attempting to defile the girl in his kitchen and defiling her in a forest clearing, also on March 25, 2010.

Adetoro, of Easton Close, admitted defiling the girl in Leixlip locations on 27 February, 2010 and again on March 25, 2010.

Akinade, of Rinawade Vale, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and attempted defilement at Ojo’s home on March 15, 2010.

He also pleaded guilty to attempted defilement on March 25, 2010 at the same premises.

None of the men have any previous convictions.

Judge Ring said: “It is not acceptable that the injured party has had it hanging over her for four long years.”

The judge acknowledged the case delay has added to the victim’s distress and also affected the three men’s lives.

She commented that three others accused of similar offences against the injured party had been dealt with before another circuit court 

The judge further noted that the three men will carry a sexual offence conviction with them, which may “cause them not to get employment, or to lose employment.”

She said this was punishment in itself and was likely to come back against them in many years to come.

At the sentence hearing in July, the court heard the offences all took place with several people present.

The three men, who were 16-years-old at the time, on one occasion took turns to have sex with the girl in a forest clearing.

The young woman read her Victim Impact Statement in court, describing how friends called her “a slut and a whore”.

She said she was still on anti-depressants, has had suicidal ideation and is constantly discussed on social media.

She revealed her family relationships have broken down due to attitudes about pre-marital sex.

The woman said though she feels isolated and depressed, she didn’t want people to feel sorry for her.

Garda Paul Carney told Roisin Lacey BL, prosecuting, that one of the men had sex with the girl three times in a friends’ sitting room while a number of others were present.

On March 25, the girl told gardaí that the three accused took it in turns to pin her to the ground and forcefully have sex with her.

Some days later the girl made a statement to gardaí and the men were arrested.

DNA from their semen was found on her clothing, and on two condoms found in the forest clearing.

Gda Carney said the girl revealed she had been in pain during the some of the sexual assaults but she let the youths abuse her “because that’s what they do and I had no choice.”

On March 25, 2010 she told gardai she went with a group of friends to a forest clearing, and one of the youths put a black leather jacket down on the ground.

The three men took it in turns to pin the girl down and have sex with her.

One of them said, “You look like you’re going to cry.” She said she slapped him across the face and asked: “Can you blame me?”

Gda Carney agreed with counsel for the three men that each had been co-operative and were remorseful.

August 2012

Ashby man jailed for sexually abusing two schoolgirls

A man who sexually abused two schoolgirls has been jailed for five years.

Craig Duffy had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old and indecently assaulted a 14-year-old.

Duffy (22), of Holywell Avenue, Ashby, was recently convicted of both offences by a jury at Leicester Crown Court.

He was sentenced by Recorder Martin Butterworth, the trial judge, at Northampton Crown Court on Friday.

Mr Butterworth said: “There is evidence of grooming behaviour from his practice of befriending young people for the purpose of committing offences against them.”

He rejected a suggestion in a psychiatric report that Duffy, who maintains his innocence, was unlikely to reoffend.

Duffy was told that after serving half the sentence he would be on a longer than normal licence period of four years.

He was also banned from having unsupervised contact with girls under 16.

During his trial, Duffy claimed the girls fabricated the allegations against him.

After the jury delivered its guilty verdicts, the court heard he had received police warnings about his conduct in relation to two other young girls.

Photographs of girls in various stages of undress were found on his mobile phone.

Andrew Vout, prosecuting, said no charges resulted from the pictures because it was difficult to establish the age and identity of the girls.

Duffy was also said to have contact details of girls under 16 on his phone.

During the trial, the 13-year-old victim said she came into contact with Duffy via her BlackBerry mobile phone’s messaging application. An arrangement was made for them to meet for the first time at his home and have sex.

Mr Vout said during the trial: “She agreed to go after school. She was wearing her school uniform. She spoke to him on the phone as she made her way to his home.

“He let her in and took her upstairs.”

Duffy elected not to give evidence in his defence, but in his police interview claimed he never had any dealings with the girl and did not know her.

However, the jury heard he made a call to her mobile, lasting several minutes, before her visit to his home.

She was also able to accurately describe his bedroom.

The court heard Duffy had given the 14-year-old victim a lift in his van. He parked in a country lane, tried to kiss her and grabbed her hair to pull her towards him.

Duffy disagreed during his police interview, saying he never gave the girl a lift in his van.

In mitigation, Duffy was described as “unsophisticated,” and as having “distorted thinking”.

May 2012

Middlesbrough sex offender jailed for six-and-a-half years

A CHILD sex offender who “haunted” the life of an under-age girl has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Simon Paul Draper sent the teenage girl a large number of sexually explicit texts and computer chat messages.

Knowing her young age, the 42-year-old asked for pictures of her and suggested meeting up, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She came to his home and had sex with him.

They went on to meet and have sex on many more occasions, prosecutor Shaun Dodds said yesterday.

He brought her to his home and Redcar office, he took her for drives and paid a woman £10 for the use of her bedroom in the Stockton area.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Draper got a “lock” on her life.

He became controlling and she grew scared of him.

He put pressure on her and made threats, including a threat to kill himself when she tried to end their meetings.

Another man took similar advantage of the girl at this time. Her father found explicit messages from him on Facebook and contacted the police.

It was then that she revealed her meetings with Draper.

The other man was jailed last August for two-and-a-half years.

He admitted six charges of sexual activity with a child.

Draper, of Normanby Road, Middlesbrough, admitted six counts of the same offence, his first convictions.

The girl said Draper haunted her life, which she described as “lonely, horrific and chaotic”.

Brian Russell, defending, said Draper felt remorse and shame but it wasn’t a “classic case of grooming”.

His wife stood by him and he wanted to get back to being a “responsible family man”.

He said the offences were improper but the girl reciprocated his advances and she “knew her own mind”.

But Judge Peter Bowers disagreed, saying: “It’s apparent that she didn’t know what was good for her.”

He said Draper’s messages were “entirely out of order”.

He said girls of that age explored sexuality but “they don’t perhaps understand where it can lead and the psychological effect of it”.

He said Draper introduced the girl to sex, damaged her psychologically and undermined her.

Draper was also given a sexual offences prevention order.

October 2014

Londonderry man, 52, pleads guilty to child sex abuse

A man accused of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy over 30 years ago has pleaded guilty at Londonderry Crown Court.

John Curry, 52, with an address at Duncans Road, Lisburn, but who is originally from the Newbuildings area of Derry, admitted four charges of indecent assault.

The offences took place between January 1979 and December 1982.

The court heard that Curry would be placed on the sex offenders register.

He was released on bail to be sentenced in December.

January 2004

Man gets four months for indecent images

A MAN from Basingstoke has been jailed for having indecent images of children on his computer.

For possession of the indecent photographs and other offences, Guy Cartawick, 48, of Blacklands Farm, Basingstoke, was jailed for a total of a year at Winchester Crown Court.

Passing sentence, Judge Guy Boney told Cartawick he found it difficult to accept the images had found their way onto the hard drive of his computer by some kind of “downloading accident”.

Charles Cochand, defending, had told the judge that Cartawick was not a paedophile who had actively sought out the images.

He claimed the pictures had arrived on the computer as the result of the use of a file-sharing program, when it was not entirely apparent what the files contained.

Mr Cochand added the images had been a very small proportion of the material on the computer.

“This isn’t a case where Mr Cartawick sat alone in a darkened room downloading filth involving children,” said Mr Cochand.

The judge viewed the moving images before sentencing Cartawick, who had admitted 13 counts of possession of indecent photographs of a child.

Prosecutor Charles Thomas said there was no evidence at all of the defendant having distributed photos elsewhere or of him having created them.

However, Judge Boney told Cartawick that even if the images had arrived without intention on his part, they remained on the hard drive and had been accessed.

He jailed Cartawick for four months for possession of the photographs – a charge he admitted – and a further eight months for an offence of child cruelty.

Cartawick had denied this count but was convicted of it by a jury.

Cartawick also received a concurrent sentence of one month for firearms offences, which he had admitted, relating to his failure to properly store two rifles and ammunition.

The judge ordered that Cartawick’s computer should be forfeited and revoked his firearms certificate

February 2005

Child abuse images man jailed for a year

An East Yorkshire man who had 11,000 indecent images of children on his computer has been jailed for 12 months.

Alan Goodrich, 47, of Barmby on the Marsh, near Goole, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court on Friday.

He had previously admitted possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children as young as five years old.

Humberside Police said: “We remain committed to the protection of children from all forms of abuse and will continue to prosecute these offenders.”

The officer in the case, Lynn Topham, said: “Goodrich had possession of some of those photographs with the intention of distributing them to other like-minded, sickening individuals engaged in this activity and had indeed done so on one occasion. 

“What must be remembered is that this is not a victimless crime but one where children are abused to provide these photographs and movies”

March 2014

Jailed for viewing indecent images

A MAN has been jailed for making indecent images of children – for the second time.

Samuel Wyn Jones admitted that he got sexual gratification from watching the movies of child sex abuse.

At Mold Crown Court the 21-year-old from St Asaph admitted that he had a problem, that he had a sexual interest in children and that his preference were girls aged 11.

His lawyer urged the court to send the defendant on courses to tackle his problems which it was claimed to better protect the public – particularly young girls – and benefit the defendant.

But Judge Niclas Parry said that Jones of Rhuallt Road, Cwm had been given the chance of such help when he admitted similar offences previously.

Jones was jailed for 10 months and a 10 year SOPO (Sexual Offences Prevention Order) was made. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

November 2014

Birkenhead man held thousands of indecent images of children on his computer

A young Birkenhead man was found to have thousands of indecent images of children on his computer equipment, a court heard.

Police went to the home of Richard Burns in August 2012 after receiving information from Interpol about his IP address being used to access child abuse image sites.

Burns denied knowing anything about such images but after his computer tower, laptop and two hard drives were taken away and forensically analysed he was re-interviewed and admitted it, said Derek Jones, prosecuting.

25-year-old Burns, of Whitford Road, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to three offences of downloading indecent images and possessing a total of 3,421 such images over the previous four years.

As well as photographs, they included movies.

Mr Jones said that Burns claimed that he had been looking for images of girls aged about 17 and 18 but the search names used indicated he had been searching for younger girls.

He had stored images in different folders though had deleted the majority.

Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, imposed a three-year community sentence with attendance on the stringent Northumbria Sex Offenders programme.

He also ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years and imposed a ten year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Gerald Pachter, defending, said Burns has no previous convictions and has had the matter hanging over him for two years.

He had been co-operative with the police and was remorseful.

November 2014

39yr old Pervert sexually assaulted 16-year-old drunk girl at Huddersfield party – as she slept next to her mum

A drunken girl was sexually assaulted at a party in Huddersfield while her mother was sleeping next to her.

The teenager had drunk so much vodka that she was taken to a bedroom where she was left to sleep, fully clothed and face down.

Later her mother joined her and also went to sleep and it was in the early hours of the morning that Steven Philip Woodbine was found in the room, Andrew Dallas prosecuting told the court.

He had already propositioned one woman at the party and been rejected and was interrupted in the offence when another woman opened the door and saw him pulling up his trousers.

She put the light on and realised the teenager, aged 16 had been moved on the bed, her dress pulled up and knickers removed.

Woodbine denied touching the girl saying: “I’ve not done owt, prove it.” She had memories of him touching her breast under her clothes.

He later accepted he had kissed her “to see if she was game” and admitted removing her knickers but claimed she muttered “no” and he had stopped.

Woodbine, 39 of Cowper Street, Chapeltown, Leeds admitted sexual assault in February and was given a 16 month prison sentence suspended for two years with supervision and a high level activity programme. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and pay £500 costs.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC said it was a serious offence against a girl in a vulnerable state but such an order would address the reasons for his behaviour by his attending the sex offender treatment programme.