December 2014

Pervert wrote sexual note to 13 yr old girl

A man who handed a note to a 13-year-old girl asking her to come to his house for ‘a bit of fun’ has avoided being sent to prison.

Ashley Mumford (27) handed the note to the girl on April 14 this year as she walked past him in the street.

On Friday he appeared at Peterborough Crown Court where he was given a suspended jail term by Judge Sean Enright – and was told he only avoided an immediate prison term because of his lack of previous convictions.

Judge Enright described Mumford’s behaviour as utterly disgraceful.’

Claire Howell, prosecuting, told the court: “The defendant approached the girl as she walked past him. He handed her a note which said that he liked the look of her bottom, and to come to his hour for fun. The note also said not to tell anyone else about it.

“The girl was upset and reported it straight away.”

Mumford was arrested and charged with inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard he denied the charge, saying he was not aware of how old the girl was.

However, a jury found him guilty of the charge at a trial earlier this year.

Gillian McGivern, defending, said: “He has shown genuine remorse, and said he is exceptionally sorry for his actions.”

She added: “He has no relevant convictions to his name.”

Judge Enright passed a 36 week jail term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered Mumford, formally of Curlew Grove, Werrington, to carry out 200 hours of community service.

He said: “Your conduct is on any view utterly disgraceful. Your actions caused the girl tremendous distress, and also to her mother. No parent wants to find their child has been propositioned in this way or by an offender who may be near by.

“The one thing that saves you from immediate custody is an absence of convictions.”

There were emotional scenes as the sentence was passed, members of the victim’s family, who were sitting in the public gallery, walked out of court.

December 2014

Man admits making indecent images of children

A MAN has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children and possessing extreme animal pornography.

Norman Frank Fletcher, of Tees Walk, Bishop Auckland, admitted two charges of making a total of 1,218 indecent images of children between August 2011 and June this year.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornography involving dogs and horses on June 4.

Magistrates in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, today (Thursday, December 11) agreed their sentencing powers were insufficient and committed the case to Durham Crown Court on Thursday, January 8.

Fletcher, 32, who has no previous convictions, received conditional bail.

December 2014

Gwynedd paedophile handed himself in after being fooled by internet warning scam

A man admitted to police he was downloading indecent images of children from the internet after a pop-up screen warned he was acting illegally.

Nigel William Batterham, 56, of Cwmorthin Road, Blaenau Ffestiniog saw the warning and thought police were watching him, a court heard.

But the warning was a scam and was simply a ploy to get him to pay £100.

He was arrested and computer equipment seized from his home for detailed examination prosecutor Mathew Curtis told Caernarfon Crown Court.

“He went to the police station in March last year and told an officer he had been downloading material from the internet when the pop-up notice appeared.

“It warned him what he was doing was illegal but added paying £100 would mean he would hear no more about it.

“As he continued downloading the pop-up warning appeared again and because he did not want his family to find out what he doing he decided to go to the police station.

“Officers arrested him and searched his home and seized two laptop computers.

“In all more than 1,000 indecent images of children were found,” said Mr Curtis.”

Additionally, the barrister said, there were dozens of images of young children which were indicative of an interest in children.

The majority of the images showed young girls aged between six and 14 years old

There were also more than 80 extreme pornographic images on the computers

Mr Curtis said there was no evidence Batterham had been engaged in distributing the material he had downloaded.

Interviewed twice by officers Batterham simply confirmed his first account was accurate and refused to answer further questions.

He admitted five charges of making and possessing indecent images of children when he appeared before Dolgellau Magistrates Court last month.

He also admitted possessing the extreme pornographic images.

Magistrates decided their sentencing powers were insufficient and sent the matter to the crown court.

Batterham was said to be of previous good character.

Philip Clemo, defending, pointed out police had only found out the offences because he had handed himself in.

Urging the judge to suspend any jail term Mr Clemo said probation officers would need time to work with his client and address the issues he faced.

Judge Merfyn Hughes QC handed Batterham an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years.

“I have read the pre-sentence report and the very carefully thought out proposals and considered what has been said on your behalf.

“There are aggravating and mitigating factors in this case,” the judge said.

Batterham will be supervised by probation officers for two years and must undergo an internet sexual offences treatment programme.

He must also register as a sex offender for seven years.

December 2014

Paedophile who stored images of children as young as FIVE being sexually abused avoids jail

A paedophile who was caught by his employer storing images of children as young as five being sexually abused on his laptop has avoided jail.

Trevor Sharot, of Hillview Road, Pinner, admitted seven counts of having the graphic pictures – one named ‘Lolita sex party’ – last month.

The court heard that the 65-year-old was working for research company Ipsos MORI when he was warned about storing adult pornography on his work laptop.

Despite receiving a warning, the IT department later found extreme images of child exploitation on his laptop and alerted the police.

Sharot was arrested at Heathrow Airport when arriving back from Singapore, and police quizzed him on the pictures.

The court was told that he laughed when confronted with one image, entitled ‘Big breasted Asian schoolgirl’, and despite hoarding photos of girls aged 10 or 11 wearing suspenders, bondage gloves and wearing PVC dresses, he claimed his sexual habits were ‘completely normal’ and claimed he had ‘no interest’ in young girls.

He also told police that the photos were simply stored out of ‘curiosity’.

But Judge Alan Greenwood, who was also told how police officers found a photo on his computer of a young girl wearing a netball skirt which Sharot took himself at a social event, was unconvinced.

He said: “This shows an interest in children, and an interest in the abuse of children.”

“These offences are extremely serious.

“There’s a child being abused, and being damaged in these images.

“It will have to be a suspended sentence. The reality is that if it was not, then the prisons would be full to overflow.”

Appearing at Harrow Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday, Sharot only spoke once, to correct Judge Greenwood’s pronunciation of his name.

Judge Greenwood sentenced Sharot to four months imprisonment, suspended for a year.

He will also serve 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.

As a result of the findings, Sharot lost his job at Ipsos MORI and is no longer associated with the company.

December 2014

Man who sexually abused young boy warned he faces lengthy jail term

A MAN who has admitted sexually abusing a boy has been warned to expect a long prison sentence.

Richard Norsworthy, aged 21, also made and distributed vile images of children, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Smartly-dressed Norsworthy pleaded guilty to a dozen offences committed last year.

He accepted an offence of sexual activity with a boy aged under 16 between March and November.

Norsworthy, of Granby Street, Devonport, also admitted two charges of inciting him to engage in sexual activity.

He also pleaded guilty to a single matter of inciting a child to be involved in pornography – encouraging him to take indecent pictures.

Norsworthy also admitted four offences of making or downloading indecent images of children, of all levels of perversion.

He finally pleaded guilty to four offences of distributing indecent images of children.

Norsworthy denied three offences of sexual activity with a child – pleas which were accepted by the prosecution with no need for a trial.

Adrian Chaplin, for the Crown, said the prosecution would ask for those matters to lie on file at the point of sentence.

Recorder Paul Dunkels adjourned the case for a probation report to be prepared and released Norsworthy on conditional bail. He must not contact witnesses nor enter certain city streets.

He said: “You have pleaded guilty to serious offences likely to attract a substantial sentence of immediate imprisonment.

“Do not read anything into the fact that sentence has been adjourned. The court needs the full picture of you and your background and what the future risks may be.”

Norsworthy will be sentenced on February 13 next year, when the Crown Prosecution Service will ask for a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to restrict his access to children.

He will have to sign the sex offender immediately.

December 2014

Father-of-three shared ‘depraved’ images of boys involved in sex acts with animals including dog, horse and hen

A FATHER of three young children was today behind bars after sharing “disgusting and depraved” images of child abuse and bestiality.

Mohammed Kabeer said he thought the photos and videos of boys committing sex acts with a dog, cat, donkey, horse and hen were just a joke and sent some of them to colleagues, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

The court heard that the images of unknown youngsters appeared to have been taken abroad.

Kabeer, 31, a warehouseman, who lived at an address in the Bradford area, was locked up for a week by Judge Jonathan Rose while he decided what sentence to pass on him.

He pleaded guilty to eight offences, including possession and distribution of indecent images, voyeurism and possession of an extreme pornographic image.

Prosecutor Patrick Palmer said police seized Kabeer’s iPhone and found images of boys as young as three engaged in sex acts, some involving animals.

He had also filmed two women in a lavatory, in 2012, by holding up his camera over a bathroom door and through a window.

Kabeer’s barrister, Geraldine Kelly, said the indecent images were sent to him, he did not seek them out on the internet to download them.

Miss Kelly conceded they were “disgusting in nature” but there were not many of them and he passed them on to work colleagues as a joke.

Kabeer denied getting any sexual gratification from the photos and film clips.

“He is immature and naive. He thought it was a joke, but he doesn’t now,” Miss Kelly said.

Kabeer came to the UK in 2001 from Pakistan and still needed a Punjabi interpreter to assist him in court.

He saw filming the two women in the bathroom as a bit of “mischief”.

“He is remorseful and deeply ashamed,” Miss Kelly said.

He was now separated from his wife and children but working to support them and hoping for a reconciliation.

Judge Jonathan Rose sent Kabeer into custody until Friday.

Labelling the images “disgusting and depraved” he told him: “You are a hard working family man, perhaps not of the highest intelligence, but what you have done is wicked.”

Judge Rose asked the probation service to look at why Kabeer’s poor English made him unsuitable for a sex offender treatment course. He also wanted the service to explore the possibility of unpaid work as part of a punishment.

December 2014

Sex attacker who lured two teens into fake taxi jailed for 11 years

A SEX attacker who abducted two terrified teenage girls when they got into his car thinking it was a taxi, has been jailed for 11 years.

The teenagers got into Sail Uddin’s Polo and asked to be taken home, but were driven to Hendon, in Sunderland, and subjected to sex assault ordeals that left them hysterical and terrified.

Newcastle Crown Court heard one of the girls had managed to dial 999 from a mobile phone and was able to give a description of where she and her friend had been taken to by the stranger.

When officers stopped Uddin’s vehicle, which contained a collection of sex aids, at Hendon, both victims were in the car, crying uncontrollably.

Judge John Milford, QC, told Uddin: “They got, unwittingly, into your vehicle in the belief it was a taxi.

“You, I am satisfied, after you had finished work and despite being a married man with a large family, had gone into the city centre looking for exactly what you found, which was a young female, in fact you found two.

“I have no doubt what you were looking for was to have sex with such a young female, one way or another.

“This is a case where there was abduction and a significant degree of planning. It was a terrifying experience.” The court heard both girls, who the judge said were “young, intelligent and have everything to live for” have been left deeply traumatised.

The judge said he hoped the victims could go on to make happy lives for themselves.

During the trial Uddin had blamed the girls for making sexual advances towards him, which jurors rejected outright.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said the girls were so frightened by what happened to them that they struggled to talk to the police when Uddin’s car was pulled over.

The court heard a female police officer managed to pacify the girls enough for them to tell her what had happened.

Uddin, 43, of Hendon, Sunderland, had denied two sex assault charges, but was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court last month.

The girls were taken to a secluded spot at Hendon beach, where they soon realised they were in trouble.

One girl managed to get out of the car with a mobile phone, saying she was just going to call her mother, but instead called 999 and described the scene to the operator using local landmarks.

Uddin, who was working as a chef at the time, denied wrongdoing.

The judge ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

Deputy chief constable Steve Ashman, of Northumbria Police, said: “Uddin preyed on the vulnerability of two girls who were under the influence of alcohol in the early hours following a night out in Sunderland city centre.

“The driver purported to be taking the girls home, but instead took them to an area where they were both sexually assaulted.

“One of the females managed to call police and officers attended the area, where Uddin’s vehicle was stopped and he was arrested.

“These are absolutely appalling crimes which were terrifying experiences for the two girls involved, and I’d like to commend them for their bravery in speaking with police, and throughout the investigation and court proceedings.

“There’s absolutely no place in our communities for this behaviour and we welcome today’s verdict, which sends out a clear message that the actions of offenders such as Uddin will not be tolerated.”

November 2013

Pervert admitted flashing at a five-year-old girl in Cheltenham leisure centre

Carpenter Thomas Safe, 32, has been told to expect a 27 months jail term after he admitted flashing at a five-year-old girl in Cheltenham leisure centre

Safe, of Lincoln Avenue, Cheltenham – who has two previous convictions for indecent exposure – had denied the latest allegation until today, when a trial was due to start at Gloucester Crown Court.

The court heard he had turned to flashing after a scooter accident ruined his chance of becoming a professional footrballer.

But with a jury panel waiting, he asked Judge William Hart to give an indication of what sentence he would get if he pleaded guilty.

The judge said the maximum he would impose would be 27 months.

After half an hour’s consideration Safe returned to court and pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child at leisure@Cheltenham on May 22 this year.

Judge Hart remanded him in custody till November 28 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Prosecutor Mark Worsley said the five year old girl had been for a swimming lesson with two older sisters but finished first and went to her cubicle.

“She was sitting in the cubicle when the defendant opened the door of his cubicle and dropped his shorts,” Mr Worsley said.

He then appeared to commit a lewd act uponm himself.

Mr Worsley said the girl reported it to her mum and grandmother and police were called.

When Safe was arrested he said the girl was mistaken. He claimed he had been for a spa and sauna session and was in his cubicle drying himself when the door flew open and the girl saw him naked.

Andrew Hobson, defending, said he realised that Safe’s previous convictions aggravated the case.

While in custody for the last six months Safe had accessed rehab measures available to people like him, Mr Hobson said.

Safe had worked productively recently as a self employed carpenter having gone ‘off the rails’ at the age of 16 as a result of alcohol, drugs and a serious scooter accident, he said.

The injuries he suffered in the accident had ruined his prospects of becoming a professional footballer, he added.

If Safe’s trial had gone ahead the jury would have been told of his two previous convictions for engaging in sexual activity in front of children on trains in August and September, 2010.

Judge Hart had given permission at an earlier hearing for those convictions to be revealed to the jury.

Safe was on a train from Birmingham to Bristol when he sat near a woman and her 15-year-old daughter.

He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and was seen to be pleasuring himself. He was arrested and convicted of the offence.

A month later he was on a train from Worcester when he sat near a mother and her five-year-old daughter.

Again he was seen to be committing a lewd act and he subsequently admitted the offence, saying that he “did it for the thrill of being seen and caught.”

November 2010

Women and children’s shock over man’s lewd actions on train

A serial sex pest cut a hole in his shorts so he could masturbate while staring at women – on busy commuter trains.

Perverted passenger Thomas Safe, 29, sat close to women on mainline services and ”openly” pleasured himself.

One horrified victim – who caught him red-handed – had her five-year-old daughter sitting next to her.

After being arrested Safe told police he had done it because he ”liked the risk of getting caught”.

He was given a three-year community order and put on a sex offenders programme after admitting two counts of exposure and one of sexual activity in the presence of a child.

But Judge Roderick Denyer QC, sitting at Bristol Crown Court, warned him that any more offences would result in a jail term.

He told him: ”The seriousness of these offences are not as such that I have to lock you up.

”I take the view that you don’t pose a serious danger to far as your future is concerned.

”But if you don’t comply with this order you will be in breach and a judge can send you to prison for as long as he or she likes.”

The court hearing on Wednesday (10/11) was told how Safe sidled up close to two females on a train from Birmingham to Cardiff on July 28th this year.

They described him as ”openly masturbating” and reported him to the police.

Just days later on August 1 a woman was travelling to Bristol with her 15-year-old daughter when Safe got on and positioned himself three seats from them.

The shocked woman then saw the man staring intently at her, while sweating and pleasuring himself.

She confronted him – calling him a ”dirty pervert” – and he was arrested by police at Bristol Parkway Station.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, said: ”The woman felt angry and shocked that he was masturbating – she felt she had been targeted.

”His shorts had a hole cut in the front of them and had what appeared to be semen on them.”

But while on bail for the offence, he was again caught carrying out more dirty deeds on a train – this time on a trip to Worcester.

A woman was travelling on the train, on September 12, with her five-year-old daughter when Safe sat close to them and started masturbating.

He was arrested at his home in Cheltenham, Glos., after being identified by rail cops on CCTV.

Safe admitted to the offences, claiming the risk of getting caught made him feel like a different person.

The court also heard he had been convicted in 2001 after being caught masturbating in bushes in Cheltenham on three separate occasions while women were passing by.

Judge Denyer handed Safe, an unemployed carpenter, a 36-month community order and told him to complete the Thames Valley Sex Offenders Treatment Programme.

He was also made to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years and given a conditional discharge for possession of a small amount of cannabis.

December 2014

Paedophile basketball coach caught after police hear children on his phone

A paedophile basketball coach has been jailed after he moved to Devon to start a new life and inveigled his way into families with young children.

Steven Allan was banned from any contact with boys or girls under 16 but defied the Sexual Offences Prevention Order and made friends with at least four families.

He was caught when he took a phone call from the police officer who was supervising him and she heard children in the background.

Allan, aged 36, of Babbacombe Road, Torquay, admitted five breaches of his SOPO and asked for seven further cases to be considered.

He was jailed for two years and three months by Recorder Mr Andrew Oldland, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him:”These parents were completely unaware of your background and you were able to take one boy to a motorcycle rally and another to a festival.

“In my judgement your breaches of the order were not only flagrant but were also motivated by your sexual desires.”

Mr David Bowen, prosecuting, said Allan was barred from any contact with children after being jailed in 2000 at Liverpool for six indecent assaults on boys aged nine to 11 when he was working as a sports coach.

He moved to Devon in 2012 and befriended families in Torbay with young children. He did not tell them about his past and they trusted him to babysit their children, which included young boys.

Mr Bowen said:”He insintuated his way into the families and hid his past from them. He appeared to be grooming them. He was being supervised and after one call to the police officer he accidentally left his phone on and she heard children in the background and became suspicious.

“None of the parents were aware of his convictions and they trusted in good faith with their children.”

Miss Ann Bellchambers, defending, said Allan had not done anything inappropriate with the children and found himself unable to tell their parents the truth.

She said he has not committed any further contact offences since the original case in 2000.

December 2014

Pervert banned from every coffee shop in Bristol after carrying out lewd acts in front of young girls

A man has been banned from every coffee shop in Bristol for carrying out lewd acts in front of young girls.

In August Yusef Khan was convicted of performing two lewd acts at Costa coffee shop in Cribbs Causeway.

He was given a three months prison sentence, suspended for two years, with two years’ supervision and an order to continue his counselling until 2015.

But it then emerged that, while waiting to be sentenced, the 67-year-old struck at a Bristol branch of Starbucks.

Khan, of Pennyroyal Grove in Stapleton, pleaded guilty to exposure.

Recorder Ignatius Hughes QC deferred sentence on him for three months and banned him from coffee shops in the meantime.

He told Khan: “I don’t want to intervene with the programme you are on.

“You’ve really got to engage with the programme that you are involved with and stop doing this. It must stop.”

Neil Treharne, prosecuting, said a 15-year-old girl and her friend had a coffee in the Starbucks and noticed Khan performing a sex act.

Mr Treharne said: “She was very upset. She left the shop and called the police. She gave a very good description and the police made inquiries.”

When Khan was arrested he told police he touched himself intimately to comfort himself.

He said he did not gain sexual gratification from it but could understand how someone could be offended by his behaviour.

He added that he had been trying to keep under control by counselling, and had no idea the girl was aged 15 as he has poor eyesight.

Khan exposed himself at Costa coffee shop in May and June, the court heard. The incidents were reported to police and he told them he had been “fiddling”.

Jonathan Stanniland, defending, urged for his client’s Thames Valley sex offender’s programme to continue.

He said the former navy man turned caretaker may have offended in the way he did to deal with pressure.

Mr Stanniland said: “The best thing is that he is re-wired not to do it again.”

Khan has a previous convictions for outraging public decency in 2011 and exposure in 2012.

December 2014

Carer caught with 2,000 indecent pictures of boys aged as young as 4 is spared jail

A CARER was caught with more than 2,000 indecent images of boys aged as young as four.

John Thompson, who is a carer for his elderly mother, had been collecting the stills and movies for 10 years, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, told the court how the images, totalling 2,071, ranged from category A to category C.

He said: “On January 7 this year, police searched the defendant’s address after they received information from child protection agencies.

“The defendant was arrested and interviewed twice, he stated that all the images belonged to him and described them as ‘porn’. During the second interview he admitted that all the images had been downloaded by him and that he was unlawfully in possession of them.”

The court also heard how Thompson used search terms such as “teens” and “cross-dressing boys”.

Judge Penny Moreland described the images as depicting “pre-pubescent, pubescent and post-pubescent boys”, but said that none of the images showed boys in any physical pain.

Thompson, 57, of Darwin Street, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to all seven counts of making and possessing indecent photographs of children, and one count of possessing unlawful images.

Jonathan Devlin, defending, described Thompson as of previous good character.

He told the court: “There is no suggestion that Thompson meant to distribute these images, nor is there any suggestion that he attempted to make contact with any children.”

Thompson was ordered to sign the sex offender’s register and will no longer be allowed unsupervised contact with children under 16.

He was granted a three-year community order by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court, but spared jail.

December 2014

Man jailed for seven years for abusing girl in South Oxfordshire

A MAN has been jailed for seven years for sexually abusing a girl in South Oxfordshire.

Carl Crook, now of Pale Gate Close, Honiton, Devon, was found guilty last Friday of a range of sexual offences.

After a trial the 49-year-old was convicted of:

1. five counts of sexual activity with a child

2. five counts of sexual assault

3. one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity

4. one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

On the first day of his five-day trial he also admitted four counts of taking indecent photos and videos of his victim on August 25, 2010.

All the sexual abuse took place between 2003 and 2008. The victim cannot be named for legal reasons.

Yesterday at Oxford Crown Court defence barrister Jennifer Edwards said her client was still “loved and respected” by many people who knew him.

She said: “There has never been any meaningful suggestion of coercion or force used by Mr Crook.”

Judge Zoe Smith said the defendant had “incrementally” increased the seriousness of his sexual abuse over time. She said: “It was clear when [your victim] gave evidence during your trial that she found the memories of some of your actions to be distressing.”

Crook was made subject to an indefinite sexual offences prevention order banning unsupervised contact with girls under 16.

December 2014

Paedophile from Yorkshire flees to Thailand and is sentenced to six years in his absence

A RIDING instructor is on the run in Thailand from a six-year prison sentence for sexually attacking children during lessons.

Having been released on bail following his arrest, Damien Midgley fled abroad after he was charged with 11 offences of abusing four children under 13.

Some of them had been on their first riding lesson with him.

A judge has issued a warrant for his arrest.

A jury at York Crown Court heard some of the abuse occurred when Midgley took children for riding lessons in a wood near the North Yorkshire riding school where he worked and when they were accompanied by other people.

He claimed in police interviews after his arrest that he had not touched any of the children sexually in any way.

But when he had the chance to tell the jury the same thing, he decided not to return to the UK to stand trial.

Instead, he had given his legal team full instructions to conduct the trial in his absence and stayed in Thailand while it went ahead with an empty dock.

His not-guilty pleas meant the children had to go through the ordeal of telling the jury exactly what he had done to them and defence witnesses also gave evidence on Midgley’s behalf.

The jury were not told why the dock was empty.

They convicted him on all 11 charges, ten of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 and one of inciting a child under 13 to commit a sexual act, after spending more than a day in retirement.

Recorder Jamie Hill QC sentenced Midgley to six years in jail, put him on the sex offenders’ register for life and made him subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

He also issued a bench warrant before the trial began for Midgley’s arrest.

Midgley, 37, formerly of Becca Lane, Aberford, Leeds, denied all charges, which were committed at the Newthorpe Equestrian Centre near South Milford over several years.

He was the former owner of Newthorpe Equestrian Centre in South Milford

However his riding school no longer operates, and he has no connection with any riding school in the South Milford area.

December 2014

Child rapist bribed 12-year-old girl with promise of One Direction tickets for sex

A CHILD rapist who bribed his victim with the promise of tickets to see One Direction if she had sex with him has been jailed for 18 years.

50-year-old David Whatmore’s abuse – which lasted two years – was described by a Bolton Crown Court judge yesterday as “a campaign of rape”.

Whatmore began indecently touching the girl when she was 11 years old, Amanda Johnson, prosecuting, told the court.

Then the grooming progressed to raping her when she was aged 12 and 13 – only ending in February last year when the girl’s horrified mother looked at her daughter’s Facebook account and found sexual messages sent to her from Whatmore.

The girl told police that Whatmore had offered her gifts, including money, pets, concert tickets and singing lessons.

“But you have to have sex with me in return,” he told her.

Miss Johnson said Whatmore would rape the girl regularly, about once a month, sometimes in the back of his transit van and on other occasions at his home.

Whatmore even devised a coded message to inform her when he wanted sex, telling her to “take the dogs for a walk” or “do the dogs”.

“She was a fan of One Direction and he pretended to have VIP tickets and used that to bribe her to have sex with him,” said Miss Johnson.

On another occasion he sent her a message telling her to put on some “dressy up clothes” so she would look older than her age and they could go out to a bar in Bolton.

“The defendant demonstrated controlling and blackmail behaviour towards her,” said Miss Johnson.

She added that his victim now suffers from severe depression and has had to have specialist counselling.

“She describes herself as having gone through hell and that is still ongoing,” said Miss Johnson.

The court was told that Whatmore, of Knightswood, Deane, had pleaded guilty to five counts of child rape and one of attempted rape on September 1 – the day his trial was due to start, but then attempted to change his plea, a move he later abandoned.

Katy Appleton, defending, said Whatmore, who has no previous convictions, is remorseful and accepts responsibility for his actions.

“This is someone who has identified a young girl and, in order for his own gratification, has bribed her with gifts in order to have sex,” said Judge Peter Davies.

Sentencing Whatmore, Judge Davies told him: “These are truly dreadful offences.

“It was, and I use this word advisedly, a campaign of rape.”

He added that Whatmore had used the girls’ love of One Direction to get her to have sex with him.

“Of course, there were no tickets and you manipulated her in a cruel way,” he said.

Whatmore was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life, banned for life from unsupervised contact with children under 16 and banned from contacting any child under 18 on social media.

May 2014

Convicted child rapist back in Derry – and attending under-age boxing tournaments

A vile paedophile behind sickening sex attacks on young girls has returned to Derry, sparking fears amongst parents – after he attended an under-age boxing tournament.

Edward Joseph O’Kane – known as Eddie – was originally from Bigwood Road, Ardmore, in the Waterside area of Derry. He is now aged 67.

He was jailed for raping a 12-year-old girl.

And because he denied the offences, his victim was forced to give evidence at his trial and wept as she recalled the attacks which included committing acts of gross indecency.

The brave victim went to police in 2006 and he was jailed for eight years in 2008. He also attacked a second girl. The attacks took place in the Ardmore area between 1969 and 1975.

Now brass-necked O’Kane has been spotted living in the Lettershandoney area in recent weeks and has also been spotted in Derry city centre, Tamnaherin and Waterside areas on several occasions.

There is considerable anger in the community after he attended an underage boxing event recently.

“He’s walking about here smiling at everyone as if he owns the place,” said one angry parent in Lettershandoney.

“He must think people are stupid or have forgotten what he did to the girls in Ardmore. O’Kane shouldn’t be near children.”

Another mum told Derry Daily: “People need to know about this man. Parents need to be warned.

“He should be on the sex offenders register and we think he is. If that’s the case then the PSNI need to lift him because he has been seen in the company of young children in recent weeks.”

February 2008

On trial for raping schoolgirl

A woman wept in court yesterday as she gave evidence against a sixty-one years old man who denies raping her almost forty years ago.

Edward Joseph O’Kane, from Bigwood Road, Ardmore, denies raping the complainant when she was twelve years of age. He also denies one charge of committing an act of gross indecency with the complainant and five charges of indecently assaulting her.

The defendant further denies a charge of indecently assaulting another schoolgirl. All the offences are alleged to have taken place in the Ardmore area between 1969 and 1975.

On the opening day of the trial at Derry Crown Court, the jury of seven women and five men were told by PPS barrister Ms. Jackie Orr Q.C. that the trial, which is expected to last one week, centred on allegations of sexual abuse by the defendant against two young girls.

She said the complainant alleged that the abuse took place on an almost nightly basis over a period of time. She told the jury that, when the complainant made a recorded statement to the police in January 2006, she said the alleged abuse started when she was seven or eight years of age. In relation to the rape charge, the complainant told the police that “she was crying throughout the act of intercourse”.

The prosecution barrister said that, when the defendant was arrested in December 2006, he described as “lies” the allegations made against him and denied all the sex abuse charges.

In her evidence, which was given via a television link to the courtroom, the complainant said the defendant raped her after she’d gone to his house after school.

“I shouted was anyone in? He called me into his bedroom”, she said. “I remember he pulled my pants down and he lay me on the bed and had sex with me”, she added.

The witness said the defendant then forced her to carry out a sex act on him and then threatened her not to tell anyone about the alleged abuse.

December 2014

Devon child abuser jailed for 18 years after Exeter judge hears he stole victim’s innocence

A child abuser has been jailed for 18 years after a Judge heard how his assaults had stolen his victim’s innocence and led her into self harm and a lifetime of depression.

Handy man Martin Brick groomed the girl when she was just ten and abused her for eight years during which she became isolated from her family and school.

He met her when he was working at her parent’s home in the 1990s and ruined her life through sexual assaults which left her physically and mentally scarred.

The victim carved a message of self hate into her own thigh with a knife and has been treated for anxiety and depression ever since.

She wrote a heart rending victim impact statement in which she told how she could not relate to girls of her own age when she was a child because while they talked about Barbie dolls and sleepovers, her only experience of life was abuse.

Brick, aged 51, from Paignton, was jailed for 18 years after a Judge told him the effect of his betrayal was horrifying, even by the standards of abuse cases.

He denied 19 offences of indecency but was found guilty. He was also found guilty of possession of indecent images of children.

Jailing him at Exeter Crown Court Judge Phillip Wassall told him:”I found her victim impact statement completely shocking but also not surprising, having seen her giving evidence.

“It brought home what you did to this girl and the emotional damage you caused. She spoke of a childhood isolated from her family and feeling useless.

“You changed her life and led her into serious self harm because you made her feel dirty, cheap and unable to communicate with people of her own age. She even withdrew from the classroom because she could not deal with it.

“She grew up disassociated from her own age group and unable to make friends. When she says you ruined her life, that is not an overstatement. It summarises what you have done to her.”

Mr Gareth Evans, prosecuting, said Brick groomed the girl after doing work for her parents in the 1990s and went on to abuse her at their house while babysitting, and in his Reliant Robin three wheeler.

He got her a part time job as a carer when she was a young teenager so he could give her a lift to work and abuse her on a daily basis.

He read extracts from her victim statement in which she said:”He manipulated and changed me. I could not communicate with other children.

“They would be talking about Barbie dolls and chatting about clothes and sleepovers. All I knew was this older man touching me and hurting me and making me hurt myself.

“I simply cannot get back the time he took off me. Time he took off me for his own pleasure.”

She said she could not get a job because she left school without qualifications and has difficulty with a massive mistrust of men. She has scarring from self harm and is still receiving treatment for anxiety and depression.

Miss Emily Pitts, defending, said Brick had not targeted the girl for abuse but had met her by chance while working as a handy man for her parents. He had not made friends with the family for the purpose of abusing her, but had become involved when the opportunity arose.

December 2014

Pervert avoids prison after being convicted of possession of child abuse images

A Camlough man who pleaded guilty to a variety of child abuse imagery charges has avoided jail.

Adrian Patrick McKevitt of Old Road, Camlough pleaded guilty to a string of charges including:

• 13 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image

• 7 counts of making an indecent (pseudo) photo of a child

• 15 counts of possessing an indecent photograph and possession of a prohibited image of a child

McKevitt had the prohibited material in his possession on dates ranging from July 1 2011 to September 17 2012.

At the court hearing on Friday (December 5) it was ordered that 42-year-old McKevitt be subjected to a probation order for three years concurrent on all counts.

He was ordered to take part in an alcohol/drug counselling and/or treatment programme during the period of probation.

To sign the sex offenders register for a period of five years and prohibited from having any unsupervised access, association or communication with any young person under 16 years (save for inadvertent or unavoidable contact) without the approval of his Designated Risk Manager.

He was also prohibited from undertaking any activities in paid, private, voluntary or charitable capacity which affords access to children without prior notification to and approval of his Designated Risk Manager and prohibited from using any device capable of accessing the internet unless it retains and has the capacity to display the history of internet use, does not have any cleaning software installed and the defendant is able to make the device available for inspection by a police officer.

He is also prohibited from deleting the history of internet use on any device for internet access for a period of five years. It was also ordered that McKevitt’s computer and items seized be forfeited and destroyed.

October 2008

Child abuse images shame of pervert teacher

A deputy headmaster who was caught red-handed as he used the computer network at his special school to download child abuse images has been spared a jail sentence.

Simon Warner, 38, who is married with a young daughter, was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years after he admitted 11 charges of making indecent images of children.

Gloucester Crown Court heard that the IT manager at Cotswold Chine School near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, uncovered Warner’s depraved activities as he worked on the school website.

Prosecutor Jenny Tallentire said that on October 24 last year the manager was configuring new pages on the website and was astonished to see that someone was accessing child abuse images via the school network.

An image the manager saw on the screen was of a child of about 10 and further images appeared as he watched. It was clear to the manager, said the prosecutor, that the school network was being accessed remotely via the internet.

“Mr Warner was sitting at home using a computer which had been provided to his wife, who is also a teacher at the school,” said Ms Tallentire.

“The manager instructed staff not to break the link between the defendant’s home and the system and he called the police.”

Police went to Warner’s house in Church Lane, Hardwicke. He answered the door and was arrested. Police searched and found the computer still running with an image of an adult and child on it. “During the search his wife returned home with their young daughter,” said Ms Tallentire.

“She was horrified and stunned by the suggestion that her husband could be involved in this type of behaviour and she became extremely upset.”

Analysis of all the computers, hard-drives and memory sticks seized from Warner’s home revealed 3,000 images of children but only 454 could definitely be categorised as illegal.

Of those 409 were the least serious level-one category, 24 were level-two, 12 were level-three and nine were level-four. There were none at the most serious level-5.

Warner was paying $26 (£12.99) a month for access to one website and told police he had developed a morbid obsession with child porn but did not get sexual gratification from it.

Robert Duvall, defending, said Warner was in many ways a very troubled man suffering from clinical depression.

After the discovery of his offences his wife had left him, taking their daughter, for four months but had since returned although her trust in him had suffered, Mr Duval said.

Mr Duvall argued that Warner did not need to be locked up for the protection of society because he was not likely to offend again.

“He is someone who may not yet fully recognise the problems that he has and therefore someone who would probably benefit greatly from proper supervised and sophisticated lengthy treatment,” said Mr Duvall.

Warner had been doing an extremely difficult job at a school which works with pupils who have serious emotional and behavioural difficulties, he said.

He had often been assaulted by pupils and had worked up to 14 hours a day in a challenging post which required enormous patience.

Warner had been devastated when he was passed over for promotion to headmaster and the job was given to someone junior to him with less experience.

“He felt trapped in his job because of his financial commitments and he started accessing pornography. The vast majority of it was adult,” said Mr Duvall.

Judge Mark Horton told Warner: “Tragedy is too small a word to use to describe your appearance before this court for offences of such moral and sexual gravity.

“For the deputy headmaster of a school with vulnerable young children whose lives and personalities have been blighted and damaged by sad circumstances and probably ill treatment by adults to find himself here for these offences is incredible.”

He gave him a six-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered him to undertake work to promote personal behaviour change as well as to attend the a sex offender treatment programme.

March 2011

Child abuse images pervert snared in Stockport after transatlantic swoop

A pervert who downloaded and created child porn pictures on his computer was caught after a police investigation which started thousands of miles away across the Atlantic.

Mike Czyzewoski, 37, was snared when efforts to crack a porn ring in Canada and the United States revealed links to the UK, and finally led to a raid on his Stockport home.

When his computer was analysed, police found more than 30 images and pictures stored. Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Many were classed as extreme pornography, and 11 were indecent photographs of young children.

Czyzewoski was allowed to walk free from court but given a three year community order and ordered to attend a sex offenders’ programme.

Judge Timothy Mort told him: “It is an artificial thought to consider you were not personally involved. Somewhere a child was being subjected to a situation in which they were required to involve themselves in sexual behaviour – something that will scar them for life.”

Lisa Boocock, prosecuting, said Czyzewski’s terraced home in Edgeley was raided last May. Czyzewski accepted that the pictures had to be his, and in court pleaded guilty to possession of extreme pornography, and 11 charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Milena Bennett, defending, said Czyzewski was a loner, who had become sucked into communicating with others with similar interests, and downloading material from the internet.

She said: “What he has done however, is based mainly on his own sexual fantasies.”

She said he had no similar previous convictions, and bitterly regretted what he had done. He now accepted how wrong it had been.

December 2014

Phone images snare lying child sex pervert

A pervert who accessed indecent images of children has been jailed for a year.

Michael Harrison was spoken to by police when seen by two officers on patrol in Blackpool who knew he was on a sexual offences prevention order.

A mobile phone he had was checked – and it was later discovered he had downloaded indecent photos of youngsters.

Harrison, 25, of Hamlet Road, Fleetwood had pleaded guilty to ten offences of making indecent images of children.

Preston Crown Court heard police spoke to Harrison in the High Street area of Blackpool in May last year.

David Traynor, prosecuting, said Harrison was known to police and that he was on a sexual offences prevention order.

That required him to allow police access to any device he had which had possible internet access.

Harrison produced a mobile phone from his pocket and gave it to police, saying it was his friend’s. He claimed he himself did not use it for the internet.

Initially no images were found but a search term was discovered relating to pre teen sex involving boys.

Harrison was not arrested at that stage.

When the phone was checked a total of 32 indecent images were found. Fifteen were of the most serious group. Most depicted boys aged 11 or 12.

Harrison was arrested in March this year and accepted his wrongdoing.

He suggested the people shown in the images were over 18. He had previous convictions that included a sentencing in 2011 for possessing indecent photographs.

After that, he was dealt with for three breaches of a sexual offences prevention order and not complying with notification requirements.

Jacob Dyer, defending, said Harrison had accessed a relatively small number of images and he had not had them for very long.

“He was drunk when stopped by police and would have been drunk when he viewed them,” the barrister explained. “They were viewed by him when alone at home. The images were not shown to anyone else.

“His life was a mess at the time. He didn’t have stability. He recognises he has a problem and he hasn’t yet been able to deal with it.

“He is not assessed as a risk of direct physical harm to children.”

The judge, recorder John Jones QC, told Harrison he had not paid heed to the lessons of the past, but went on behaving as he had done before.

The defendant will be on a sexual offences prevention order until further order and on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.