November 2014

Married Liverpool man jailed for grooming and abusing 13-year-old girl

A married man who groomed and abused a 13-year-old girl has been jailed for seven years.

Ian Croston, 49, bombarded his schoolgirl victim with thousands of texts, as he organised secret meetings – at his mother’s graveside.

Croston was found guilty of three charges of sexual activity with a child after a three day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The jury heard heard how Croston, from south Liverpool, had taken advantage of the victim.

Nicholas Walker, prosecuting, said: “Mr Croston drew her into him and she became infatuated. While she knew he was 47, she said he acted more like he was 15.”

The victim told police how Croston took her on secretive fishing trips, and recalled how she had cried in the toilet after he had sex with her.

He even took her to his mother’s grave to kiss her in private.

A victim impact statement told how she became “insular and depressed” after the abuse – which was only uncovered when her mother found messages from Croston on her phone.

The family also spoke of their guilt over the abuse the young girl suffered, which has led to her struggling in school after the ordeal.

Judge Thomas Teague, QC, said: “You cultivated an unhealthy relationship with a child and sexualised her.

“The victim knew she was speaking the truth, and now the defendant admits it, too, it’s a period of custody you could have reduced if you had had the courage to admit your actions.

“Now you have admitted that the victim was telling the truth all along, but it’s too late.

“You clearly took advantage of her infatuation and not on just the three occasions you have admitted.

“This was plainly a highly predative offence.”

The pair exchanged an astonishing 9,000 text messages between late 2012 and June last year, including 433 on one single day.

Mr Walker told the court: “He took advantage of her. But now she is doing well at school, she has been able to put it past her and look forward.”

Croston will now be on the sex offenders’ register for life, and is banned from having any contact with a girl under 18.

The victim’s family applauded as Judge Teague gave his sentence after the three-day trial.

November 2014

Leeds womans fury at husbands lenient child abuse images sentence

A WIFE has slammed the criminal justice system after her husband avoided being sent to jail despite downloading 5,000 child abuse images behind her back.

Brenda Broomfield told the YEP she believes current sentencing guidelines fail to take into account the hurt and anguish felt by families of paedophiles.

Mrs Broomfield was hoping to see husband Allan jailed when he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after secretly viewing sickening images of child abuse at their family home.

Broomfield was caught when horrified family members discovered his offending and went to police.

His wife sat in the public gallery of Leeds Crown Court in the hope of seeing the 60-year-old grandfather being sent to jail.

He was instead handed a three-year community order after a judge heard he had been seeking help to address his sickening obsession in the 12 months since his arrest.

After the hearing, Mrs Broomfield told the YEP: “The justice system doesn’t take into account the hurt and anguish of the family of these paedophiles and how they destroy our lives and the girls lives involved in the videos and pictures.

“I am divorcing him as I can’t live with a convicted paedophile.”

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp described how the images involved girls as young as four being abused by adults. The court heard Broomfield would download images at the family home and view them when his wife was out.

Broomfield pleaded guilty to 20 offences of possessing indecent images of children. The court heard a total of 5,264 images in total were discovered on two computers.

Graham Parkin, mitigating, said Broomfield was sorry for what he had done. He said his client had paid to attend two courses – The Stop It Now programme, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation – designed to address his offending.

Describing the affect on the children in the images, Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier, QC, said: “The undoubted blight on their lives by their involvement in these activities is clear as it can possibly be.”

Broomfield was made the subject of a three-year community order, during which he must attend sex offender programmes.

The judge said he had to take national sentencing guidelines into account when imposing the punishment.

He explained that an immediate prison sentence, or even a suspended prison term, would not allow enough time for Broomfield to attend a programme.

Broomfield was also ordered to go on the sex offenders register for five years.

November 2014

Pervert found guilty of sexually abusing a disabled 8 year old  girl and her 11 yr old brother

A man has been found guilty of abusing a disabled girl and her brother after luring them to his West Lothian home for sweet treats and drinks.

Alex Purdie, 49, had denied two charges of carrying out lewd, indecent and libidinous practices against the girl, eight, and her 11-year-old brother.

The court heard that the girl is now 23 but has the mental age of 10.

Sentence was deferred until 7 January and Purdie’s name was added to the sex offenders’ register.

Livingston Sheriff Court heard the girl described how Purdie performed an indecent act on her more than 14 years ago when she was eight-years-old.

She said he regularly invited her to stay over at his flat in Whitburn with the promise of Swiss roll for supper.

Purdie, now living in Kyle of Lochalsh, took advantage of the fact the child had a medical condition that meant she had to wear nappies until the age of 10 and abused her while she was being changed.

The girl’s brother, now 25, said he was abused repeatedly by Purdie when he was 11-years-old. His treat was Mars bars, chocolates and juice.

The victim said the experience made him doubt his own sexuality and made him frightened of crowds.

The siblings’ mother told the trial she had taken pity on Purdie and housed him when he was homeless even though her eldest daughter thought he was “creepy”.

The 50-year-old grandmother – who cannot be named for legal reasons – told how he repaid her kindness by abusing two of her children.

She only found out about the sexual offences when her son told her last year what had happened during their sleepovers at Purdie’s home.

She said she had a lot of arguments with Purdie at the time of the offences because her son was “scared of Alex” but refused to say why.

She told the jury: “I wanted them with me 24/7 but I didn’t want to come across as the bad mum.”

“I hate him. I wanted to kill him.

How would any parent feel? I felt I’d let my kids down.”

August 2008

Scarborough child rapist jailed

A SCARBOROUGH man was today jailed for 12-years after being found guilty of raping a child under the age of 13.

Andrew Bishop, 38, who was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, had denied the offence but was found guilty at York Crown Court in May after a five-day hearing.

Sentencing, Judge John Taylor said: “I am aware of the effect it will have had on the victim and I note that you have not yet shown remorse for your offence.”

The victim’s mother told the Evening News after sentencing: “We have had a terrible year and are now relieved we can put all this behind us.”

May 2014

Sex offender jailed after travelling to France

A REGISTERED sex offender has been jailed for failing to notify the police when he travelled to France.

Gordon Leicester, 63, breached the Sexual Offences Prevention Act by not making officers aware of the trip abroad, St Helens Magistrates’ Court heard.

Leicester, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty and magistrates sentenced him to 20 weeks in prison, stating that he had a record of previous offending.

May 2006

Man jailed for sex assaults

A MAN who indecently assaulted two schoolgirls has been jailed for 30 months.

Gordon Leicester, 55, was convicted at Liverpool crown court of seven charges of sexual assault.

Henry Riding, prosecuting, said four of the charges related to the sexual abuse of a five-year-old girl and three a nine-year-old.

Leicester used his interest in naturism as an excuse to encourage his victims to cavort naked with him.

Leicester, of Syers Court, Warrington, had denied the offences, but now accepts his guilt.

Jailing him for 30 months, Judge John Phipps ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and disqualified him from working with children

June 2014

Man who groomed girls, 13, is jailed for 4 years

A MAN who groomed two school girls in North Yorkshire has been jailed for four years.

Christopher John Jones, 28, befriended the families of the girls in Malton and Scarborough, and even stayed with one of them at the time when the offences occurred, in January and February 2013.

York Crown Court heard Jones had kissed and hugged the 13-year-old girls on many occasions, touched them inappropriately through their clothes, and incited them to touch his genitals over his clothing, and led one to believe she was his girlfriend.

The incidents came to light during an argument, but Taryn Turner, for Jones, said neither of the girls had complained about the defendant prior to this, and said no force was involved.

Mrs Turner said: “There was no force, there was no violence here, and a lot of the allegations were low-level sexual behaviour.

“This man has had very troubled adolescence himself but that does not excuse in any way what he did.”

Jones pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of inciting sexual activity with a child, and one count of attempting to engage a child in sexual activity.

His Honour Judge Kearl sentenced Jones to a total of four years in prison for the offences, and said his actions in befriending the families of the girls showed a breach of trust, and had denied any wrongdoing in police interview.

He told Jones: “You have shown a degree of remorse but found that somewhat difficult. You say that you simply did not appreciate that what you were doing was wrong.

“One of the difficulties in this case is that you do not appear to have appreciated that what you were doing was wrong. You have blamed the girls for their part in it and therefore normalised your behaviour. You described what you were doing as ‘a normal relationship’ and ‘having a laugh’.”

July 2007

Pervert stunned at 11-year term

A PAEDOPHILE who groomed a 10-year-old girl before subjecting her to sickening sexual assaults has been jailed for 11 years.

Thomas Frederick Antley was visibly stunned and stared from the dock in disbelief as Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC handed down the sentence at Cardiff Crown Court.

In May the jury found the dental technician Antley guilty of three charges of committing a sexual assault on a girl under 13, but not guilty of rape.

He was also found guilty of causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity and sexual touching.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Antley, of Cwrt Newydd, Broadlands, Bridgend, still continued to protest his innocence.

He did not give evidence during the trial but jurors heard from the schoolgirl victim that Antley was fond of massaging people, both adults and children, at parties where groups of people were around and he had offered to massage her when she found herself in his company.

The court heard Antley, who appeared in court wearing a dark grey suit, white pinstriped shirt and black tie, encouraged the girl to perform sex acts on him and showed her pornographic films on a computer.

The girl claimed Antley told her: “Don’t tell anybody or we could get into serious trouble.”

Judge Llewellyn-Jones told 53-year-old Antley: “That material included the very type of sexual abuse to which you subjected her.

“It was the sort of material that no young girl of that age should ever have seen.”

The judge ordered the paedophile to sign the sex offenders’ register for life, never to work with children and never to be alone with children.

Antley’s trial heard the girl complained to her parents “bit by bit” after watching a Heartbeat episode on television in which a boy had a secret he could not tell his mother.

August 2005

Self-styled Mormon ‘priest’ jailed after he sexually abused two young girls

A self-styled Mormon ‘priest’ was behind bars today after he sexually abused two young girls.

Michael Davies, 38, abused the girls, both aged under 10, while taking them out on day trips after befriending their parents.

Police also discovered indecent images of children on his home computer after they raided Davies’ home in Pant Glas, Pentwyn, Cardiff.

Davies appeared in Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty to 13 sexual offences against the girls, and asked for four charges of making indecent images of children to be taken into consideration.

His crimes were uncovered after one of his victims persuaded the other to make a complaint to the police

Tom Crowther, prosecuting, told the court how Davies, who described himself to police as a ‘Mormon priest’ gained the trust of the girls’ parents, who allowed him to take them out on day trips.

Davies sexually abused the girls over a four-month period.

The court heard how Davies was previously convicted of indecently exposing himself to a 15-year-old schoolgirl while he was on a train 10 years ago.

Karl Williams, defending, said Davies was paralysed on one side of his body after suffering a stroke.

He added: ‘He now accepts that what he has done is clearly wrong.’

Judge Christopher Llewellyn- Jones QC, who jailed Davies indefinitely, told him he would have to serve a minimum of nearly three years before the parole board would consider him for release.

‘You have devastated the lives of those parents and caused enormous stress, worry and torment to the girls.

‘There is a high risk of you reoffending and there’s a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm and that you will commit further offences,’ Judge Llewellyn-Jones said.

Davies was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was banned from working with children for life.

October 2004

Ageing rocker jailed for having sex with two 15-year-old girls 

Guitarist Erich Burke, 44, let the girls drink and smoke in his house and impressed them with tales of his ‘racy’ past, Cardiff Crown Court heard yesterday.

Peter Heywood, prosecuting, said both girls were regular visitors to Burke’s home and that both had wanted to have sex.

He said: ‘The first girl said she had sex with the defendant several times over a 10-month period.

‘It is clear she was a willing participant and she may have taken the leading role.

‘While they were sat together in his living room she took Burke’s hand and led him upstairs.

‘She said she loved Burke and thought he loved her.’

The court heard the second girl said she had been drinking and then went into Burke’s bedroom to have sex.

David Martin, defending, said Burke had been a guitarist in a successful band and at one point played on a Top 40 hit.

He said: ‘He led quite a racy lifestyle as a pop star when he was younger.

‘He is an accomplished guitarist and has taught many young people how to play but no other such behaviour has been reported.

‘That is something which has required a great deal of restraint on his part on occasions.’

Burke, of Ton Glas, Bridgend, admitted three charges of having unlawful sexual intercourse and was jailed for eight months.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn- Jones QC told him: ‘What you were doing was taking your own sexual gratification from these two young girls.

‘It is clear they were willing parties in what took place. But a man of your age ought to know better.’

May 2002

Two jailed for abusing youngsters in cemetery

TWO men who repeatedly sexually abused a boy of 15 in a cemetery were jailed yesterday.

Paul Anthony Williams, 25, and 53-year-old Christopher Fagan, a married man, had up to 25 meetings with the schoolboy during a nine month period in the graveyard at Prestatyn, North Wales. 

Williams, unemployed, of York Road, Colwyn Bay, who had two previous convictions for sex offences including an indecent assault on a girl aged six, was jailed for a total of two and-a-half years.

Fagan, a security guard, of Bryn Court, Prestatyn, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

Caernarfon crown court heard that the boy was abused on a bench outside a gardener’s building near the cemetery entrance. After they had finished, Fagan would go to a bank to withdraw cash and give £20 to £30 to Williams.

Both defendants admitted a specimen count of indecent assault, a second charge on a specific day, and gross indecency with each other. Williams also pleaded guilty to four offences of having sex with an underage teenage girl.

Defence counsel Keith Sutton said Williams had a very unsettled and disturbed background. He added that the boy had been prepared to go along with what happened and the girl had made no complaint.

Gwyn Jones, defending Fagan, said he was a “weak, pathetic man” who had been drawn into what occurred.

Both defendants must keep their names on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Judge John Rogers QC said:“The duty of this court is to protect young people even when they consent to take part in unlawful sexual activity. It means only custodial sentences are appropriate.”

July 2008

Man jailed for child indecency

A PAEDOPHILE waved and gave a “thumbs up” sign as he was led to the cells to begin a five-year sentence.

David Davies, 60, from Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil, had been found guilty of being indecent with a child and indecently assaulting her in the 1990s.

He had denied the charges but the victim had described to a jury how she was taken to a wooded area and seeing him open the belt on his trousers.

Davies had previously been jailed for seriously assaulting a young girl in 1986 and before that was in court for having unlawful but consensual sexual intercourse with an underage female.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn- Jones QC said it showed a pattern of behaviour around that time although he had committed no sexual offences since.

He said the fact the girl could say now she had thought of throwing herself out of the window at the time because of what happened to her, showed what an effect such offences have.

Davies, whose wife was said to have health problems, looked towards people at the back of the courtroom as he left the dock, having been told how he would be expected to serve half the five-year term, and gave them the “thumbs- up”. They waved back to him.

After his release, he will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

December 2007

Wrexham council worker’s perverted double life

A COUNCIL official from North Wales who led a double life as a pervert was yesterday jailed for four years and four months for a string of sex offences.

Kelvin Arden, 56, of Caergwrle was a much respected council transport and planning manager until August last year, looked up to by his colleagues, family and friends, Mold Crown Court was told.

But what they didn’t know was that Arden was living a sordid, secret life where he exposed himself to young girls and had a history of sexually abusing a teenage girl.

Arden, of Rhyddyn Hill in Caergwrle near Mold, formerly operations manager for transport and planning for Wrexham County Borough Council, admitted offences of indecent exposure to a little girl in a Wrexham shop in June of this year.

He further admitted offences of indecent assault going back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, and outraging public decency by repeatedly exposing himself to another young girl.

He asked for two offences of exposing himself in April this year to a little girl on Hope Mountain and to a woman whose house he visited at Hope in March 2000 to be taken into consideration.

Judge Christopher Morton said that if he had been convicted after a trial the sentence would have been 6½ years.

Arden was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for life.

The judge said Arden had repeatedly indecently assaulted a teenage girl by touching her over her clothes and getting her to touch him.

He then repeatedly exposed himself to a young girl from the age of 10, and had more recently exposed himself to a young girl in a shop.

“The effect on each of the children was considerable,” the judge said.

Prosecutor Tom Morgan-Jones told how, in June, Arden exposed himself to a 10-year-old girl in the Homebase store in Wrexham.

The mother saw that the girl, who was with her younger sister, was pale and frightened, went to her and the girl said that the man had shown her his willy.

The woman shouted for help, the defendant approached and when challenged said “don’t be silly”.

He left the store, she challenged him in the car park and he said to her “do you realise what this can do to my career?”

He drove off leaving the children shaking and crying and when later interviewed, the little girl said that he had stared and then smiled at her, and then pointed down with his finger towards his exposed penis.

Seen by police, he denied doing it, described the allegation as “bloody ludicrous” and said in the police station “it is upsetting for me to be here.”

When the allegations were made public, others who had been subjected either to sexual touching or repeated indecent exposure came forward and the full extent of his offending became known.

One woman told how she had been touched over her clothes as a child, and he had got her to touch him.

Another spoke of how he had exposed himself to her an estimated 300 times.

It was said that he had a hole in his pocket so that he could expose himself and had also done it when he wore shorts.

The defendant then made full and frank admissions.

Andrew Jebb, defending, said Arden, who wrote a letter direct to the judge, clearly had two different sides.

He had joined the former Clwyd County Council in 1972, rose through the ranks and had a responsible job, but had resigned following his arrest before he was sacked from Wrexham council.

He had been holding down an extremely responsible job and was highly regarded by family, friends and work colleagues.

“On the face of it he was an upstanding member of the community,” said Mr Jebb.

“What of course these people who thought they knew him so well did not know was that all of this, what has now come to light, was going on.”

September 2011

Child rapist went on to lead respectable life until victim eventually spoke out

A PENSIONER who raped a child 50 years ago is today behind bars beginning a 10-year sentence.

For more than half a century, former steelworker and Spillers delivery man John Andrews, now aged 80, thought he had got away with his crimes.

He brought up a family of his own, had grandchildren and nursed a sick wife until her death.

But through all the decades his victims never forgot what happened to them at his hands.

And jailing Andrews yesterday, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC said it was clear from seeing those victims, who now have grown-up families of their own, that they were still profoundly affected.

One had been in hospital following a nervous breakdown and the another has received treatment for depression.

“If it had not been for your age, I would have given you 15 years,” he told the paedophile pensioner, who had led a life of outward respectability.

The ex-merchant seaman’s wicked sexual attacks on innocent children were hidden until last year when one victim found the courage to at last reveal the truth, and police became involved.

Andrews later admitted four offences against one victim and even told the jurors during his trial that he knew he had done wrong but had had “urges” when he was a young man and sexually frustrated.

But he always denied there had been other victims. He called their stories wicked lies.

But the jury found him guilty of 17 offences, clearing him of four charges and failing to reach verdicts on others.

The judge told him: “I take into account there have been no further offences and that you showed care for your wife until the end of her life.

“It is your own fault that you have destroyed what’s left of your own life.”

Andrews’ name will be in the sex offenders’ register until he dies.

January 2002

CARDIFF pet shop owner jailed for using a monkey to lure a schoolgirl into sex

The “infatuated” 14-year-old visited Guzzeppi Tanti’s shop called Reptiles R Us to see the playful animal.

But Tanti, 40, began flirting with her before abusinge her back at his flat.

Prosecutor Ieuan Morris said: “The girl would visit Tanti’s flat while his partner was out. It’s clear she had a crush on him.”

Tanti, of Cardiff, was jailed for 18 months after admitting indecent assault and unlawful sexual intercourse at Cardiff Crown Court. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC told him: “You were aware of her age and her infatuation but still proceeded with the relationship.”

January 2002

Shop owner jailed; Man guilty of sexual assault on child

THE former owner of a Cardiff pet shop who had an intense five-month sexual relationship with a schoolgirl has been jailed for 18 months at Cardiff Crown Court.

The 14-year-old girl used to go to the shop in Cowbridge Road East where she became “preoccupied with a monkey”.

Prosecutor Ieuan Morris said following that, she became infatuated with the proprietor, 40-year-old Guzzeppi Tanti.

Tanti, of Leckwith Court, Tidenham Road, Ely, admitted three charges of unlawful sexual intercourse and one of indecent assault.

The girl, said Mr Morris, had described herself as “besotted” by Tanti and had logged all their sexual activities in a diary.

The couple met regularly at his flat and became intimate for five months, but were found out when the girl’s parents discovered that she was sexually active and when her father found out that condoms belonging to him had disappeared.

Mr Morris said the girl would visit the shop, known as Reptiles Are Us, and at first became preoccupied with a monkey there, but eventually a relationship developed between her and Tanti.

Mr Morris said there had been “inappropriate language” by Tanti to her and he began taking an interest in her anatomy.

When the girl was interviewed by the police she told them: “For a 40-year-old, he was quite a nice-looking man.”

She had also written in her diary: “We had sex like there was no tomorrow from 1pm to 4pm.”

Claire Marlow, defending Tanti, said: “He accepts fully that he is to blame.

“She thought she was in love with him and her feelings were reciprocated.

“It was a fully-consenting relationship.”

Judge Christopher LlewellynJones told Tanti: “You were having and encouraged a full sexual relationship with a girl you knew was only 14.

“The purpose of the Sexual Offences Act is to protect young girls from older men.”

He said an aggravating feature was that Tanti had a fulltime relationship with a woman and had a child.

He was ordered to register as a sexual offender for 10 years.

June 2006

Judge can’t give pervert long enough sentence

A JUDGE has hit out at sentencing guidelines which mean he can only sentence a serial sex offender to 12 months despite him being a danger to the public.

Dion Newell yesterday admitted exposing himself at a rail station just hours after being let out of jail.

But despite having a record of 18 previous sex offences spanning two decades, including gross indecency with a child, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC, pictured, said he was restricted in sentencing.

He was the second Cardiff judge in a week facing a sex sentence dilemma, after the outrage caused by the jail term handed to paedophile Craig Sweeney.

Branding Newell, 39, a serious risk to the public, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC told Cardiff Crown Court: ‘I am not permitted to impose a long custodial sentence.

‘The maximum sentence and the maximum extended licence for this offence is two years. I am substantially restricted in the sentence I can pass on you. The only sentence I can pass is an extended sentence that cannot exceed two years. And the custodial element must be at least 12 months.

‘Taking into account your guilty plea and the circumstances of the offence, I will pass the maximum sentence I can.’

He sentenced Newell to a year in jail and a year on extended licence, enabling him to be treated in the community, including psychiatric help. He will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Prosecutor James Evans said Newell had been jailed for three years in 2001 for gross indecency with a child at Barry Island beach.

He was later released on licence twice and each time recalled, before being freed again on December 7, last year. Later that same day he found himself at Cardiff Central railway station.

Mr James said: ‘He approached police officers and asked them to arrest him, saying he had missed a bail appointment.

‘Then he said ‘I’m going to get my penis out’ and did just that. He has 31 previous offences – 18 are sexual offences – most similar to this one.

‘They started in 1984 and they continued through the next two decades, becoming more serious in 1998 when he was put on probation for indecency with a child.’

The case comes after another, last week, when Judge John Griffith Williams QC – following Government guidelines – told child abductor and paedophile Craig Sweeney that he could be considered for parole in just over five years.

The sentence saw politicians and lawyers drawn into the controversy.

And today Judge George Bathurst-Norman, a serving judge, took the unusual step of speaking out to say publicly that political decisions, including the 2003 establishment of the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), had tied judges’ hands and led to ‘silly’ sentences.

And he called for reform of the SGC to give judges greater discretion on how much credit they give offenders for making a guilty plea.

Meanwhile, a Government minister who criticised a judge has been forced into a humiliating climbdown.

Vera Baird QC withdrew comments she made last week about the Recorder of Cardiff, Judge John Griffith Williams, getting the sentence of paedophile Craig Sweeney ‘wrong‘.

October 2001

Flasher jailed for three years

A FLASHER who exposed himself to two little girls on Barry Island beach has been jailed for three years.

Dion Newell, 35, was said to have a history of indecently exposing himself with 20 convictions dating back almost two decades.

A judge at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday not only locked him up, but ordered that he be on licence for a further two years at the end of his sentence, making him liable for recall to jail if he is caught offending again.

Judge Peter Jacobs told him: “A distinction can be made between these offences and physical sexual assaults, but the line becomes increasingly blurred as you carry on doing it. Parliament has recognised that by raising the maximum sentence from two years to 10 years.”

He warned Newell, who at the time of the latest offences was living in a flat at Holton Road, Barry, that any future offending would lead to longer sentences.

Newell had pleaded guilty to two charges of committing an act of gross indecency towards a child after being confronted by the mother of one of the young girls involved.

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said:

“He positioned himself close to two 11-year-old girls on the beach earlier this summer and, hidden from the view of adults, undid his trousers and committed a sex act on himself.

“He was later confronted by the mother of one of them, who had gone looking for him with her daughter, ” he said. “She found him in Gladstone Park, Barry, watching other children playing tennis.”

Newell denied doing anything wrong, but later telephoned the police himself and confessed, saying he needed help. Judge Jacobs told him: “You certainly do need help and the public needs protecting.”

He said during the 1980s and 1990s, when Newell appeared before local courts for indecent exposure, he had been regarded as nothing more than a pest. But he added: “By 1998 it became clear your offending was directed at children.

“You were put on probation and, when that failed, sent to prison for 12 months. Today’s sentence puts you at risk of going back to jail even after your release, for the next five years.”

The judge said Newell would have to register as a sex offender for life and imposed a lifetime ban on him being involved in any work with children.

February 2003

Ice rink manager abused schoolboy

A ice rink manager who groomed a teenage skater before repeatedly indecently assaulting him was jailed for five-and-a-half years yesterday.

Darren Sinclair, (30), performed sex acts on the teenager, then aged 13, while helping to run Planet Ice in Pershore Street, Birmingham.

When police arrested the father-of-two, they found dozens of sickening images of boys aged between five and 16 on his computer.

Jailing him at the city’s crown court, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones told Sinclair he had a ‘sickening state of mind’ and said he would remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

The judge added: ‘You groomed this boy whom you took advantage of because he admired your skills on the ice.

‘He was flattered by your attention which in reality had lascivious motivations and you took advantage of that.

‘You groomed him, you shaped his young mind in such a way that you intended to satisfy yourself sexually.’

Sinclair, of Sheringham Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, had been convicted of four counts of indecent assault at a trial in September last year.

He had pleaded guilty to 14 charges of possessing indecent photos on his computer.

Morris Cooper, prosecuting, told the court that Sinclair and the teenager, who is now aged 17 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, became friends when the victim began visiting the rink at weekends in 1998.

Sinclair would lead the youth to’discreet’ parts of the ice rink, such as the engineering room, where he performed sexual acts on him.

On one occasion, Sinclair was caught by his boss, who agreed to keep quiet about the incident.

Mr Cooper told the court Sinclair was arrested after the boy told his mother what had been going on.

Police officers searched Sinclair’s car and found a bundle of cards from the boy to Sinclair, including a birthday card from Sinclair to the teenager signed: ‘You sexy beast’.

Christopher Morris, defending, told the court that Sinclair, who had no previous convictions, had continued to deny he was sexually involved with the teenager.

Mr Morris said: ‘That there was mutual attraction between Mr Sinclair and (the teenager) seems clear, but I accept that the age difference between the two was such that even if there had been consensual activity, he would still be guilty.’ Sinclair had ‘thrown away his life’ with his partner and son, aged six, and daughter, aged three, added Mr Morris.

Judge Griffith-Jones told Sinclair he had betrayed the trust of the teenager’s parents and abused his position, especially as most visitors to ice rinks were youngsters.

‘Your mutual enthusiasm for ice skating fooled (the teenager’s) parents into thinking your intention with their son was altruistic,’ the judge said.

‘In reality, you were grossly breaching their trust. Your sickening attempt to blame him for what happened will not add a jot to the sentence but there is no mitigation at all.’

Sinclair was jailed for five years for four charges of indecent assault and six months for possessing indecent photographs, terms to run consecutively.

July 2003

Stepfather given life for murder

A factory worker has been jailed for life for murdering his teenage stepdaughter and burying her body in a shallow grave.

Michael ‘Mike’ Baldwin, 36, of Pontypool, south Wales, was found guilty by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court of the murder of 15-year-old Jenna Baldwin.

Sentencing Baldwin, Judge John Griffith Williams did not set a minimum term, and said he would inform the Home Secretary at a later date.

Speaking after the verdict, Jenna’s mother Desiree said Baldwin had shown “absolutely no remorse” for the murder of her “most precious and beautiful daughter”.

But she said Jenna’s death would not be in vain as her children could grow up without Baldwin in their lives.

Baldwin had denied murder, claiming Jenna had accidentally fallen down the stairs at the family home in Abersychan, near Pontypool, during an argument.

But the jury decided on their second day of deliberations that Baldwin had intentionally killed Jenna and buried her body on a mountainside near Blaenavon.

He also tormented his family with phone calls and text messages purporting to be from Jenna in an effort to make them believe she was still alive.

The jury of eight men and four women took about six hours over a two-day period to reach a verdict.

The judge told Baldwin: “Only you know the precise circumstances of Jenna’s death and only time will tell if you are prepared to share your secret and so relieve your wife to whom you confessed your love.

“You are an arrogant man interested in getting your own way. You are short tempered and something of a bully.

“It is likely there was some row between you during which Jenna may have been abusive to you. But I’m satisfied that you would have been just as abusive to her.

“The likelihood is that you lost your temper and strangled her.

“After that you did not panic but made a clear and calculated attempt to cover up – motivated entirely by self interest.

“You have shown nothing but self-pity and not a trace of remorse for the death of a young and popular girl.

“Jenna would have grown out of the rebellious phase of her life to fulfil a life full of promise.”

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Ronayne, who was in charge of the investigation, said after the verdict: “We should remember why we are here today, that a 15-year-old girl has lost her life and had it completely ripped away from her.

“The family can now at least begin to grieve.

“Michael Baldwin has deliberately and cynically killed Jenna before then disposing of her body and deceiving her family in the worst possible way.

“Gwent Police would like to pay tribute to the way in which Desiree, Nigel Brookfield and other members of Jenna’s family have borne the pressures of the investigation and the trial.

“Without their persistence we would not have been where we are today.

Speaking about Baldwin, he added: “I think he is a calculating, deceitful liar who is determined to try and cover his tracks and put his wife and his family through the most horrendous experience that can ever be inflicted on anyone and I am pleased for them that he has been found guilty of murder.”

Mr Ronayne said Baldwin would go to any lengths to get himself “off the hook” even if that involved using members of his family.

Jenna first went missing in September 2002, but her body was not found for 12 weeks until Baldwin revealed its location to police in November.

During the seven-week trial, Baldwin said he and Jenna had argued frequently and her death had come about accidentally after she pursued him up the stairs and he lashed out.

He claimed that after Jenna died while he was driving her to hospital, he panicked and buried her at the roadside.

But in court, the prosecution offered evidence to back its claim that the stairs and landing were too narrow for Jenna to have been knocked backwards in the way Baldwin claimed.

The prosecution added that the idea of a 5ft 11ins, 15-stone judo expert feeling threatened by a 5ft 6ins 15-year-old girl was absurd.

Baldwin also made no attempt to revive Jenna, despite being a qualified first-aider.

He did not summon help and told the jury he did not double-check to see if she was dead before covering her grave.

After burying Jenna, Baldwin bought a mobile phone, which he registered giving false details, and then sent a series of false text messages and made hoax phone calls to give his family and police the impression that Jenna had left home.

Witnesses told the jury of at least two occasions when Baldwin was violent towards Jenna.

March 2008

A MAN has been jailed and put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years after admitting being involved in sexual activity with a child

Peter Thomas, 39, of Aberdovey Street, Splott, Cardiff, was banned from working with children for life.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC locked him up for 14 months. The judge added that, by pleading guilty, at least the child did not have to give evidence.

July 1999

Babysitter jailed for 10 years for sexual abuse

A babysitter who sexually abused young girls in his care has been jailed for 10 years.

Douglas Clark began the abuse in the 1960s and ended only last year – when a victim with learning difficulties said she had been fondled.

Clark, 55, from Peterhead, had an uncontrollable urge to touch young girls, which has left them deeply traumatised, the High Court in Aberdeen heard

He admitted abusing three girls – aged as young as just six – in the 1960s and 1970s, and three more in the 1990s.

The judge, Lord Eassie, told Clark he had breached his position of trust as a babysitter with abuse that had done lasting damage to his victims. One of the victims, now in her 30s, sobbed in court when the 10-year sentence was announced.

She could only bring herself to say: ”That’s not long enough – we have got a life sentence.” Advocate-depute Martin Jones, prosecuting, said Clark’s frequent abuse of girls became more and more serious as his victims got older.

He threatened some of the girls that if they told anyone what he was doing they would be taken from their families. The Advocate-depute said the young girls saw Clark as ”manipulative and persuasive”.

He told the court the girls had no real understanding of what had been happening, which was not surprising given their ”tender age”.

One victim, now a young woman, has been left too afraid of abuse by men to get married and has mutilated herself.

The most recent abuses happened between 1996 and after it was discovered, other victims spoke to police.

Defence counsel Mhairi Richards admitted there was little she could say on behalf of her client: ”Mr Clark accepts this catalogue of offences is inevitably going to lead to a lengthy prison sentence.

Lord Eassie told Clark his abuse had had a ”lasting and adverse” effect on the lives of his victims – and deserved a lengthy jail term. Clark, who showed no emotion as he was led away, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

November 2014

Pervert jailed for sending sordid pictures and videos in an attempt to lure young girls

A PERVERT was given a six-year prison sentence after he was caught grooming two fictitious girls over the Internet from his Hampshire home.

John Blatchford will be spending the next six years behind bars after sending sordid pictures and videos in an attempt to lure an undercover officer to provide his two daughters, aged seven and nine, for sex.

Southampton Crown Court heard how the 35-year-old had unwittingly sent pornographic images to the officers after contacting them through a website used by paedophiles to exchange sick images and videos of children.

Prosecutor Chris Stopa said: “There was an exchange of email that in effect showed that the defendant was interested in the two daughters of an undercover officer.”

He added: “The graphic exchange culminated with the offer [of sex] with the two girls.”

The court heard how in November 2013 Blatchford, from Blackwater Mews, Totton, was told that he could ply the girls with drink in order to get them to have sex with him.

Officers planned to arrest him in Kent after he decided to head there but he didn’t go due to railway problems in Southampton.

A jury convicted him in September of one count of sexual grooming and seven counts of distributing 18 images and videos of children.

In 2008 Blatchford was previously jailed for 12 months for downloading 2,500 sordid images on to a memory stick at a friend’s house.

Recorder Stephen Climie said that Blatchford posed a “significant danger” to the public.

He said: “By the end of last year you had found a website which enabled you to view and exchange effectively information of an obscene nature relating to sexual activity with children.

“In the first instance these exchanges were little more than that, however you took every opportunity to drive the process forward and found yourself in an exchange with these officers who had identified this particular website which was encouraging activity between paedophiles.”

Without going into detail, Recorder Climie added that the exchanges were “graphic in what was being planned” and were “planned in detail” with “considerable enthusiasm” on the part of Blatchford.

Blatchford was sentenced to a total of six years in jail, put on extended licence for four years, and ordered that he be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

He is prohibited from being alone with any child under 16 unless he is related to them and even then under supervision.

He is also prohibited from using the Internet without supervision, prohibited from deleting his Internet use history or using any software or technology to hide Internet use. He must also pay a £120 victim surcharge.