February 2015

Horsham man, 49, jailed for child sexual abuse offences

A 49-YEAR-OLD man has been sent to jail for four-and-a-half years for historic sexual abuse offences.

Nigel Smith, of Livingstone Road, Horsham, He appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Friday [6/2] after originally being charged with seven counts of indecent assault of a child under 16, two counts of indecency with a child and one of actual bodily harm (ABH) between March 1995 and March 2003.

In July he was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault, one count of indecency and ABH. He was found not guilty of two other indecent assault charges and the jury was hung on the four remaining counts. In October, his appeal against conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

On December 15, he pleaded guilty at a retrial to one of the indecent assault charges and the other counts were left to lie on file. He has been placed on the Violent and Sexual Offender Register (VISOR) for life.

Detective Constable Simon Goulding said: “Smith has quite rightly been punished for his crimes and I thank those people who have bravely assisted us and ensured that justice has been done.

“Any such incidents, no matter how historic, will be taken seriously by Sussex Police. Your call will be treated confidentially and sensitively and we urge anyone who has been a victim, irrespective of when, to call us on 101 or email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.”

February 2015

Pervert sexually assaulted 14 year old girl 

A man has been jailed for 18 months for carrying out a sexual assault on a child.

Steven Baker, 33, formerly of Margate was sentenced when he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on 2 February.

He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders register for 10 years.

Baker pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a child

The charge relates to an incident in June 2013 in which Baker entered the bedroom of a 14 year old girl during a house party.

He got into her bed where she was sleeping and carried out an assault which lasted several hours.

The victim said she had been too scared to object and had lay in bed pretending to sleep until he left the room.

The following day the victim reported the incident to her family.

Baker was arrested by Kent Police officers shortly after.

He claimed he had been drunk and did not remember carrying out the assault.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Neil Martin said: ‘I am pleased with the result and it shows that due to the victim’s bravery in coming forward and reporting this incident we have had a successful prosecution of a predatory offender that seemed to show little remorse for what he had done.’

February 2015

Jailed: Pensioner and son who carried out string of sex attacks on young girls

A pensioner and his son have been jailed after a campaign of sex abuse against young girls which spanned several decades.

Joseph O’Neill, 82, and John O’Neill, 55, carried out sex attacks on a number of girls as young as five.

Joseph’s crimes date back as far back as the mid-1950s with John being convicted of offences from the mid 70s and late 80s.

They took place both in Eccles, Salford and London.

The pair denied the offences forcing their victims to have take the stand and relive the ordeal during the trial.

However they were found guilty by a jury and are now beginning long prison sentences.

John O’Neill, of Trident Road, Barton, was convicted of six rapes, nine indecent assaults and three acts of indecency against a child.

He was jailed for 18 years by a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court.

While dad Joseph O’Neill, of Cromwell Road, Eccles, was found guilty of six counts of indecency with a child and eight counts of indecent assault.

He was sentenced to six years behind bars.

Officers have now praised the bravery of the victims and have urged others who may have gone through similar experiences to come forward and report them.

Detective Constable Audra Corlett from GMP’s Child Abuse Investigation Team, based in Salford, said: “I am pleased with the outcome and with the sentence handed down.

“The sentence reflects the seriousness of the abuse endured by the victims over a prolonged period of time.

“I want to take this opportunity to recognise the bravery of these women.

“Both John and Joseph O’Neill pleaded not guilty and forced their victims to stand trial and relive their experiences all over again.

“This case proves that we will take all reports of abuse seriously, no matter when it took place, and we will thoroughly investigate the claims of victims.

“It also proves to those committing the crimes that we will leave no stone unturned and justice will eventually catch up with you.”

Anyone wanting to report sexual offences can call Greater Manchester Police on 101, or alternatively can refer themselves to St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0161 276 6515.

June 2007

Why didn’t we know paedophile was living here?

SICKENED parents have been left reeling after discovering a paedophile lives yards from their doors.

Families in Henshall Avenue, Latchford, are terrified for their children’s safety following the news that Neil O’Brien, aged 39, is a convicted sex offender.

Calls from disgusted parents have flooded in to the Warrington Guardian newspaper after anonymous letters were posted through their doors on Thursday.

O’Brien’s crime concerned a 14-year-old girl who he had sexual activity with.

A concerned parent, who did not wish to be named, said: “Why did we not know he was living here? How can a criminal be protected? It is an outrage.

“Since this news broke, I’ve noticed the street has gone quiet as concerned parents stop their children from playing in the street from the fear brought on by this.”

The street has gone quiet as concerned parents stop their children from playing in the street

The news was outed by activists, acting under the name of the Hood Manor Paedophile Awareness Group.

Mr O’Brien has lived at the address with his parents since his release from prison last June.

Parents also say it is a disgrace that they were not informed that a convicted paedophile was re-housed in the same road where 170 youngsters attend St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School.

Another resident of Henshall Avenue said: “Already a neighbour has been banging on the door with disgust that the parents are allowing the sick man to live with them.”

A spokesman for Preston Crown Court, where Mr O’Brien was sentenced in April 2005, confirmed he was a convicted sex offender.

The spokesman said: “Mr O’Brien received 30 months in custody and an additional 24 months on extended licence for his conviction. The charge was sexual activity with a female child under 16-years-old.

“He was also disqualified from working with children and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.”

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Cleworth – Head of Warrington CID, said: “I am responsible for the Police Public Protection Unit for Warrington and this department manages all registered sex offenders that reside within the borough.

“While as a parent myself I fully understand the concerns of people about the recent disclosures about sex offenders living within the community I am keen to put this into context and reassure to those residing in this area.

“The term registered sex offender covers a wide spectrum of previous offending behaviour and can be as minor as an indecent exposure or the indecent touching of another adult while on a night out for example.

“People who are placed on the Sex Offenders Register then have certain condition imposed upon them in terms of residence and a duty to notify the police of any change in this.

“They are all fully risk assessed and then managed under the Multi Agency Protection Panels.

“Those identified as being of high risk of re-offending are rigorously monitored and this can include covert surveillance by police.

“Any breaches are then dealt with in a robust fashion to ensure public safety.

“My concerns with the type of pressure group initiated in this case are that they will not make the public any safer as they will drive registered sex offenders underground and make them far more difficult for the police to manage.

“I fully understand why some people may wish to imprison certain types of offenders forever and throw away the key, but in a modern civilised society this is not going happen.

“Therefore on release all offenders do need to live somewhere and be managed by the police and other agencies.

“I am keen to assure people that our managementof all sex offenders ell established and structured to ensure that public safety is maintained at all times.”

February 2015

Masked vigilante attacked Welsh paedophile after he admitted child abuse images offences

A paedophile was attacked by a masked vigilante after admitting having stash of graphic child abuse images.

Peter Elliott Thorpe, 27, was the victim of an aggravated burglary after details of his offences became public when he admitted them in January.

He had pleaded guilty to 17 charges of making and possessing indecent images after films were found on his computer.

In all there were 840 videos – and 450 of them were of the most serious category A which showed young children being raped by adults

Judge Rhys Rowlands said he had been “punished by others in the community” ahead of giving him a three-year community order rather than jail.

But the judge, sitting at Mold Crown Court, said people taking the law into their own hands and dishing out vigilante justice “could not be justified at all”.

Judge Rowlands added: “That said, your punishment and the fact that you have been badly treated by others pales into insignificance compared to what those little children were put through.”

He described the films as “filthy material” and said that babies and very young children were abused for the sexual gratification of others behind their computer screens often thousands of miles away.

“If people like you did not access them, it would not happen in the first place,” he added.

Thorpe, who lived in New Road in Newtown, Powys, at the time of the offences, was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for five years and given a sexual offences prevention order for the same amount of time.

Defending barrister Oliver King said that when his client admitted the offences it created some significant local publicity.

A masked offender went into his flat and assaulted him – an attack now under investigation by police.

Thorpe had now left the flat because of his concern about further reprisals.

“Of course, he only has himself to blame for that. But I make the point that it has brought home to him the disgust with which society views such offences,” said Mr King.

Prosecuting barrister Caroline Harris told how the police executed a search warrant and found a number of indecent video films of children on his computer.

February 2015

University student had 50,000 indecent images of children

A university student who had about 50,000 indecent images of children on his computer has been put on the sex offenders register.

They were found following a search of a property in Fountainhall, Selkirkshire, last May, by Police Scotland’s cyber crime unit.

The images were discovered on a hard drive removed from the house.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court, Heriot-Watt student Christopher Murdanaigum, 25, admitted the offence.

During a police interview Murdanaigum, who stays at the Lord Thomson halls of residence, insisted he was not intent on looking for images of children.

The finance and management student was placed on the register for five year.

He will be sentenced in March.

February 2015

Abbey Hulton grandad had thousands of images of child sex abuse

Andrew Johnson downloaded thousands of indecent images of children.

The 53-year-old was arrested after police raided his estranged wife’s home where he was continuing to live.

Officers found the images on several devices and they included adults having sex with children. The young victims were aged five to 14 and one was aged just one or two.

Now Johnson has been handed a three-year community order as judge believes he is capable of being rehabilitated.

Prosecutor Neil Ahuja told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court police searched Johnson’s address on March 20 and seized a memory stick and two computer towers.

The equipment was analysed and found to contain:

1,464 category A images – the most serious;

942 category B images;

5,300 category C images;

21 category A movie images;

15 category B movie images;

15 category C movie images;

51 extreme pornographic images.

Johnson, of Eaveswood Road, Abbey Hulton, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent photographs of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images between June 1, 2011 and March 20, 2014.

Robert Holt, mitigating, said Johnson had no previous convictions.

Mr Holt added: “He is now accepting what he has done and the deep shame he has brought on himself and his wider family.”

Judge Paul Glenn said the offences merited an eight-month jail sentence but the defendant would serve less than half that term.

Instead the judge said the public would be better served by rehabilitating the defendant and sentenced him to a three-year community order with three years’ supervision and a requirement to complete the internet sex offender treatment programme.

He must also pay £240 costs and a £60 surcharge. And he will be on the sex offenders’ register for five years and was barred from a range of activities involving children and vulnerable adults.

Judge Glenn said: “These are real children being abused for the entertainment of people like you who resort to these websites and access this material.

“Some of the children were very young indeed and in pain and distress.

“I accept you plainly abused alcohol when your marriage was breaking down.

“You have sought professional help. I accept you are ashamed about what you have done.

“There is nothing to suggest it went further than this, no evidence of distribution and no evidence of any previous behaviour of this type.

“I think you are someone who is capable of being rehabilitated.”

February 2015

Police use fake on-line teen profile to catch paedophile

A MAN who thought he was sending sexual messages to a 13-year-old girl and asking her to send him naked photographs was actually in contact with a police officer, a court has heard.

Investigators had created a fake on-line profile for a young girl called “Lucy” to try to catch offenders which David Andrew Williams began to interact with.

Within a week of first making contact, Williams began sending messages to “Lucy” asking if she wanted sex, if she wanted to see pictures of his penis and whether she could send photographs of herself and friends — despite “Lucy” telling him how old she was

The messaging led to a police raid on Williams’s house in Caecoed, Llandybie, Ammanford during which officers seized a computer on which was found 26 indecent images featuring children.

Swansea Crown Court heard that six of the images were in category A, and that some of the pictures featured “very young children” and one child who was “clearly in distress”.

Williams had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to incite a person under 16 to engage in sexual activity — charges relating to the messages — and 18 counts of possessing indecent images when he appeared for sentencing.

The court heard that Williams has an autism spectrum disorder and also has the co-ordination disorder dispraxia.

Frank Phillips, in mitigation, said Williams had “mental scars” from experiences during his childhood, and that the online sex offences were “totally out of character”.

He added: “There is a correlation between the defendant’s autism and the offences.”

Recorder Christopher Clee QC said that while autism was not a justification for what had happened, “there was some explanation in the diagnosis”.

Williams was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months with a supervision order. He was also put on the sex offenders register for seven years and made the subject of a seven-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

December 2011

Drug dealer’s sex assaults on schoolgirls

A DRUG dealer who sexually assaulted two children has been jailed for three years.

Ricky Green, 28, previously of Lynn but now of Old Lynn Road, Wisbech, was sentenced on Friday having been found guilty of two sexual assaults on a 14-year-old girl and three offences of inciting sexual activity with girls aged 13 and 14 at an earlier hearing.

He had also pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possessing 617 grams of powder containing amphetamine with intent to supply on May 17 last year. The drugs had a street value of £5,500.

Recorder Christopher Moran jailed Green for six months for the drug offence.

Later, in a different court room, Green was sentenced to a further two-and-a-half years for the sex offences.

Judge Peter De Mille told Green he had been “trusted” by the girls he assaulted and their families and had “breached that trust.”

The court was told Green had asked the 14-year-old for sex and offered her £50.

In one incident, he exposed himself, touched the girl’s private parts and had kissed her.

He had twice persuaded a 13-year-old girl to tickle him, which had resulted in her touching his private parts.

In the drugs case, which was heard separately, Ian James, prosecuting, told the court that the Green and two other defendants were caught after an operation in Lynn and Wisbech.

A police helicopter tracked a silver Mercedes which Green was travelling in during a police chase in Lynn.

A consignment of 617 grams of powder containing amphetamine in 25 packets was recovered.

There was “clear inference” it was for supply because of the way it was packaged, Mr James said.

Two others were involved in the drug offence.

THE mother of one of Ricky Green’s young victims has spoken of her disgust for the man who sexually assaulted her daughter.

The woman, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s anonymity, says she and her family have been forced to move away from the area since speaking out.

She said: “I’m disgusted with him. I’m just glad the girls came forward about it, otherwise God knows what else he could have done.

The woman said the victims used to babysit for Green’s children and she said they trusted him.

Because Green denied the offences the girl, who is now 14, and the other victim were forced to give evidence.

Both are receiving counselling to help them come to terms with what happened to them.

Her mother said: “The justice system has let us down because the court case went on for 19 months.”

The family is relieved that Green is behind bars but don’t think his sentence is long enough.

The woman said: “I think they will be alright now he’s locked up.

“This will always be with them but at least they can walk about without having to look over their shoulder.”

They are still frightened about repercussions after speaking out and the woman said their windows had been smashed.

February 2015

Paedophile spared jail after downloading 1500 indecent images of children aged as young as 3

A 24-YEAR-OLD who downloaded more than 1,500 indecent images of children was spared jail after saying he wants to change.

Police raided Harry Ansell’s home in Hunsley Avenue, west Hull, after receiving intelligence suggesting the images were being downloaded on to four computers at the address.

Some of the images and movies were of an “extreme” nature and included girls as young as three.

Prosecuting, David Gordon said Ansell had confessed to police upon his arrest and said he was already getting help.

Mr Gordon said: “He admitted having a sexual interest in children but said that was no longer the case and described how he was seeking professional help.

“He said he was interested in girls aged 14-plus and said he had been interested in such images since he had been young, for the past eight years or so.

“This is not something we can accept in light of what was found on the computer.”

Of the images, which had been collected between 2010 and last year, 326 were of the worst kind.

Ansell pleaded guilty to possessing indecent and extreme images. Many had been deleted from his computer’s hard drive but were recovered by specialist police technology.

Mr Gordon said there was no evidence to suggest Ansell had created or distributed the images.

In mitigation, Richard Thompson described the case as “unusual” due to Ansell’s age and the length of time he had been looking at indecent images.

He said: “He has indicated to the probation service he would welcome and benefit from their input in respect of the problem he clearly acknowledges.”

Sentencing Ansell, who appeared in court alone, to a three-year supervision order, Judge Graham Robinson said: “It is sometimes thought by people like you that because the material has already been made, you are not doing any additional harm to the children who appear in these images.

“That is utterly fallacious because if no one was interested in downloading this appalling material, there would be no market for it and no one would produce it.

“Children’s lives are blighted having been involved in this pernicious treatment.

“This is not a victimless crime.

“The children featured in your images have undoubtedly been abused and had their lives ruined.”

Ansell was also given a sexual offences prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register for five years.

February 2015

Pervert jailed for seven years for sexual offences involving two young girls

David Bloomfield, 62, was sentenced following a retrial at Maidstone Crown Court, where he was convicted of crimes carried out between February 2011 and May 2012.

Bloomfield, formerly of The Beacons, Coxheath, gained the trust of his victims by cuddling them and allowing them to play computer games but then manipulated their trust to commit abuse.

He was initially arrested by Kent Police in May 2012, in connection with offences against four children. He denied all the allegations and following a trial last year a jury was unable to find him guilty in connection with offences relating to two of the children.

Members of the jury were unable to reach a verdict on charges relating to the two other children and a retrial was ordered, in respect of these victims.

At the retrial Bloomfield was found guilty of the following offences: One count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, two counts of causing and inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity and one of sexual assault.

A jury of six men and six women convicted him of all charges by a 10-2 majority

He was sentenced to seven years in prison on 6 February and must sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. He was also made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, until further notice.

Detective Constable Darren Smitherman said: ‘Bloomfield pleaded not guilty to all the charges he was facing which meant that unfortunately it has taken quite a long time to get justice for his victims. The courts have recognised that Bloomfield is a dangerous and predatory man and thankfully he now will be punished for his crimes.

‘I would like to thank the victims and their relatives who have been brave enough to come forward and testify against Bloomfield. Sadly, these children will no doubt carry the mental scars of his crimes with them for a long time but I hope they will be able to move forward from this, knowing that Bloomfield is now safely behind bars.’

February 2015

Shrewsbury child sex images man snared by Interpol with Cat A images

A former nurse from Shrewsbury has avoided jail despite police finding scores of indecent images of children on his computer following an Interpol investigation

Nearly half of the pictures and videos found on Alan Jones’ computer were at the most serious Category A level.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard Jones, 49, of Conway Drive, Monkmoor, came to the attention of West Mercia Police as a result of an international investigation focusing on “peer to peer networks” being used to share indecent images of children.

Mr Philip Brunt, prosecuting, said the two-month investigation in 2013 pinpointed “clients” from 22 different countries who were using such networks to exchange the images.

He said one of the computer IP addresses was for machines owned by Jones.

The court heard examinations of the laptop and the computer found 67 indecent pictures – 30 of which were at the most serious Level A – and three videos, which were all at Level B.

Jones,  who sat with head bowed throughout the hearing, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent pictures of children.

Mr Steven Scully, for Jones, said his client was, quite literally, at “rock bottom” and was “extremely remorseful”.

He said Jones had lost a job he had been doing for 25 years as a result and had now retrained as a lorry driver. His fiancee had also left him.

Judge Simon Tonking sentenced Jones to a community order for three years, to include supervision by the probation service and attendance on a sex offender rehabilitation programme, with £500 costs.

The judge said: “These offences are serious, because while you are sitting in the comfort of your home looking at images on your screen, these images are produced by children being abused by adults.”

Jones was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for a period of five years.

February 2015

Teenager ‘obsessed’ with watching child abuse movies had 3,000 sickening images

A TEENAGER who confessed he was “obsessed” with watching images of children being abused has been spared jail.

John King had almost 3,000 sickening pictures and movies when police came to his home after a tip-off in December 2013.

The 19-year-old told detectives what they would find on his computer when they arrived at his door, and admitted he had been viewing such images since he was just 12.

Prosecutor Paul Rowland told Newcastle Crown Court: “He said, during the course of police interview, child porn had become an obsession with him.

“He accepted he had last viewed such imagery on his computer that day.”

King, of Glencourse, East Boldon, pleaded guilty to making and possessing 2,879 illegal images of children. The pictures and video clips ranged from the most serious to the least serious categories.

Judge Simon Hickey sentenced him to a community order for three years with supervision, sex offender treatment programme requirements and a sex offenders’ prevention order for 10 years.

King must sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Judge Hickey said: “You immediately admitted what you had been doing, and immediately admitted how long you had been doing it. You were a child yourself when you started looking at such images and continued to do so, which is sad in the extreme.

“Imprisonment, while richly deserved, would not address the problem. No-one would help you, no-one would stop you.”

Vic Laffey, defending, said King has never been in trouble before and was of “exemplary” character.

Mr Laffey said: “His reaction on arrest was relief, he knew this day was coming.

“This is one of those cases where I can say, with some confidence, this young man will never appear before a court again.

“He acknowledges the impact and shame he has brought upon his parents.”

Mr Laffey said King has co-operated with the authorities since his arrest and will continue to do so.

February 2015

North Warwickshire College tutor jailed for sexually assaulting three students

This is Ian Jones – the North Warwickshire and Hinckley College tutor jailed for sexually assaulting three female students.

Jones sexually assaulting two girls by simulating sex with them and by grabbing the breasts of a third girl.

He had denied a total of 18 charges of sexually assaulting five girls at the Nuneaton campus where he was a tutor on a motor vehicle body repair course.

But Jones, 45, a father-of-three, of Swale Road, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield, was found guilty of five charges relating to three different girls at the college.

Following an adjournment for a pre-sentence report on him Jones, who the court heard still denies the offences, was jailed for a total of 20 months and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

His victims were girls who attended the college between 2008 and 2012.

February 2015

Paedophile special needs teacher jailed for appalling sex offences against child victims

The wife of a teacher convicted of sickening child abuse has spoken of her “ultimate betrayal” after he was jailed for 15 years.

Bevan Perry, 36, pictured of Chesterfield, was a special needs teacher at a Derbyshire school.

He was found guilty of appalling sex offences against child victims at Derby Crown Court this week.

Perry, who worked in a children’s home before starting at the school five years ago, repeatedly abused his victims from childhood into adulthood.

The offences included rape and sexual assault.

In the wake of Perry’s conviction, former wife Joanna has spoken out in a bid to set the record straight and move on from the horrific ordeal.

Joanna was married to the sex offender for 16 years. She said: “I had no idea he was a paedophile. This is the biggest betrayal anyone could ever do.

“It just feels like all my life has been a total lie. I don’t think I’ll ever get over what he has done to the victims.”

Joanna said she met Perry when she was 19-years-old. She described him as “mentally abusive” behind closed doors – but never suspected he was a child abuser.

She said: “For him to do what he has done is the ultimate betrayal. I don’t think I’ll ever get over what has happened.

“There’s been days when I feel like I can’t go on – like I’m going to break,” she added. “But you’ve got to try and move on, you’ve got to keep fighting.

“He might be in jail now, but his poor victims will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. I will live with this forever too.”

Joanna said she believed it was vital that Perry’s shocking crimes were reported in the press.

Perry was found guilty of nine offences in total, five of which involved a victim under the age of 14.

He was handed a 15 year jail-term and ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

February 2015

Paedophile pensioner jailed for breaching order for third time

A 71-year-old serial paedophile who has 15 sex offence convictions, has been jailed for six months in prison for breaching a prevention order.

Peter Ferguson, of Beverley Drive, Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching his Sexual Offence Prevention Order, for the third time when he was spotted talking to a three-year-old boy.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown  Court heard that an off-duty probation officer happened to stop at a junction in Stoke-on-Trent, when she saw Ferguson in his mobility scooter.

She recognised him as a registered sex offender and remembered the terms of his prevention order.

She then saw him reaching in to a basket on his scooter to show something to the young boy, as they spoke.

The court also heard how Ferguson has been convicted of 15 sexual offences since 1963, including serving a 13-year prison sentence for indecent assault on an under 14 and buggery on an under 16 in 1995.

Since being released in 2007, he had breached his Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which forbids contact with anybody under the age of 16, three times.

Mr Recorder Desmond said: “You present a serious risk of harm to children.

“If you do this again there will be no excuse of the boy started talking to you first.

“There will be no excuse that you simply forgot about the Prevention Order.”

Ferguson was sentenced to six months in prison, of which he will serve up to half.

February 2015

Woman discovered boyfriend was sex offender after granny spotted defendant picking up step-daughter from school

A sex offender’s girlfriend discovered his past after a grandmother spotted him collecting his step-daughter from primary school in Runcorn.

Peter Dillon, 29, of Grangeway was rumbled by the eagle-eyed granny as he picked up the youngster in November.

Back in 2010, Dillon had been sentenced to 20 months in prison and banned for five years at Warrington Crown Court from having unsupervised contact with children after he was convicted of inciting a teenage girl under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity.

Jo Maxwell, prosecuting, told the court that a grandparent spotted Dillon picking up his partner’s daughter from primary school and then alerted staff that he was a ‘sex offender’. CCTV confirmed the sighting.

It transpired that he had been in a three-and-a-half year relationship with a woman with whom he had a young child.

The court heard she had not known the details of his past and that her daughter was four-years-old when their relationship started in 2011.

The couple are no longer together and the woman, whose knowledge of his past up to this point had been ‘limited’, had reported him to the police.

Miss Maxwell said that had the woman known about the past offence, she would have reported Dillon to the police and ended the relationship earlier.

Police discovered that Dillon had also breached his Sex Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by moving house with his partner and not notifying officers.

David Rose, defending, said his client had not committed any offences since 2010 and had been trying to ‘live a normal life’.

He added that the probation service had recommended against imposing a custodial sentence and reported his ‘willingness to engage with the authorities as extremely encouraging’.

Recorder Of Chester Elgan Edwards, presiding, ordered another five-year SOPO and three-year community order requiring the defendant to complete the Northumbria Sex Offenders Programme.

Discussing Dillon’s SOPO breach, Judge Edwards said: “I want to make it quite clear that there’s no suggestion that you have done anything wrong sexually to anybody.

“If that were the suggestion, a different sentence would be appropriate.

“Your difficulty is that you have behaved badly in the past and you have been punished for that.”

Warning Dillon to comply with his latest orders, he said: “I will tell you what the court sees time and time again.

“They go to prison or get a suspended sentence, they do it again and go to prison, they do it again and go to prison for longer.

“It spirals out of control.

“You have got the chance to break that spiral with the help of your loving parents … you can be grateful to Mr Rose and your parents.

“Do not throw this chance away.

“It will not come back.”

February 2015

Teacher admits having sex with male pupil

A teacher who admitted having sex with a teenage pupil has been found not guilty of three charges of indecent assault against the boy.

Derek Lloyd, admitted sexual activity with the boy, then 15, on a trip abroad and later when the boy was 16.

But under the law, he could not be prosecuted in the UK for sex with a child abroad before 2008.

Mr Lloyd, who taught at a Cornish boarding school, appeared before Truro Crown Court.

He denied sexual activity with the boy in the UK between 1978 and 1981.

Giving evidence, Mr Lloyd, 70, of St John’s Court, Stratford-upon-Avon, told the court he felt “a very protective urge” towards the boy.

He said a physical relationship developed “unexpectedly” when abroad.

“I consider it deeply wrong. I have regretted it ever since,” he said.

Asked by David Sapiecha, for the prosecution, what had happened, Mr Lloyd said: “It was giving way to a sudden and very powerful temptation which I can’t explain.”

The defendant taught English at a boarding school for children with behavioural difficulties.

He told the court he had vowed to tell the truth if ever confronted by the boy.

He said he had been unaware that he could not be prosecuted in the UK for historic sexual activity with a child abroad until the case went to court.

It had not been possible for courts in the UK to prosecute UK nationals for sexual offences carried out abroad before 2008.

The law changed when legislation introduced under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 stated “proceedings may be brought against the person in that part of the United Kingdom for that sexual offence as if the person had done the act there”.

February 2015

Abuse victim forced to act out Kama Sutra finally gets justice after spotting GRINNING attacker in the street

A man who was made to act out scenes from sex guide the Kama Sutra as a child went to the police three decades later – when he saw his attacker in the street GRINNING at him.

Guy Beadle, who has waivered his automatic right to anonymity, was in London when he spotted his childhood abuser Barry Rosamund (pictured) by chance.

He said suddenly seeing Rosamund, who he described as a “monster” made him “sick to his stomach”.

It led to Mr Beadle, who has twin girls, calling 999 and Beadle being arrested.

Now Rosamund, of Looe, Cornwall, has been convicted of four counts of indecent assault, one of attempted buggery and one of indecency with a child

Recalling the first time he saw Rosamund since he was a child, Mr Beadle said: “The monster smiled at me as if nothing had happened. It made me sick to my stomach. I was exhausted of hiding the sordid secret.”

Mr Beadle told how he was nine when Rosamund, who was around 15, began abusing him.

The pair lived a few doors from each other in London. Rosamund was a friend of Mr Beadle’s older brother Mark.

Mr Beadle said: “Mum was a single parent to me and my two older brothers Gary and Mark. With four mouths to feed, there was hardly ever a penny spare. We didn’t have anything as fancy as Scaletric.”

So he was overjoyed when Rosamund invited him around.

He said: “I remember looking around Barry Rosamond’s front room. I felt like I’d just stepped into Aladdin’s cave.

“Barry asked me what I wanted to have a go on. It was every nine-year-old boy’s dream. It was like another world.

“I felt so grateful he didn’t mind me tagging along.”

The pair played and there were no problems. But one day Rosamund invited him around without his brothers.

“He said we could play table football,” he said. “I left Gary and Mark behind and went to Barry’s on my own.

“His mum was in the kitchen. But as we started playing the footie game in the living room something odd happened. He asked me to touch him intimately. 


“I supposed it was normal and didn’t want to be seen like a baby so did it. Afterwards he gave me £3. I thought it was what lads did.”

Mr Beadle said he bought an aeroplane model and the next time he was invited over he went.

“Most of the time we played in his bedroom,” he said. “It would always end with Barry forcing me to touch him as I cried.

“He even had a calendar of the Kama Sutra and would make me pick positions from it to try. Then he’d violently wrestle me into the pose.

“If I refused he’d put me in a headlock, choke me until I almost passed out. So I went along with it.

“One afternoon he forced me onto my knees and made me perform a sex act on him. Once he’d finished with me, he’d give me money and let me go.

“He threatened to kill me if I told anyone. I felt so worthless, but I was just a frightened child, didn’t know what to do.

“Then one day Barry got even more aggressive. He tried to rape me. He was 16 and I was 10, he was far bigger than me.

“I was in agony. I somehow managed to fight him off. I made a decision there and then. I was going to stay away from Barry Rosamond.

“So I began taking the long way to school and avoided Barry’s house. I stopped playing out with my friends, just in case he walked by. Then one day, Barry moved away. Finally I was free.”

But Mr Beadle said he realised after a time he could not escape what had happened to him.

“My memories chained me to the past,” he said. “They made me feel foolish and dirty. I tried to start again and aged 19, I met a girl and we had twin daughters.

“The four of us should’ve been so happy but I couldn’t forget my childhood. Another relationship failed and he moved back in with his mother.

“I’d never told her the truth,” he said. “I was terrified it would kill her, knowing she had failed to protect me from the predator on our doorstep.”


But on seeing Rosamund in the street in 2012 Mr Beadle told his mother about what happened, two months later she died suddenly from a massive brain aneurysm.

“They said there was no way of knowing but I thought the stress of knowing what Barry had done had probably killed mum,” Mr Beadle said.


In September 2014 Rosamond, then 50, appeared at Croydon Crown Court charged with four counts of indecent assault, one of attempted buggery and one of indecency with a child. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and jailed for three years.

“It’s nothing compared to the 37-year sentence I’ve served, Mr Beadle said. “But I now know I did the right thing by reporting him.