February 2015

Guilty plea over child abuse images

A man has pleaded guilty to 15 counts of making indecent images of children

Nathan Clarke, Northumberland Avenue, Hornchurch appeared at Barkingside magistrates court last week in relation to the charges dating back to October last year

The offences include five in the most serious category and involved over 2000 indecent images of children in total

The 33-year-old is due to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court for sentencing on 5 March

February 2015

Police joined forces to nail child abuse images viewer from Yate

INTER-CONTINENTAL dialogue between police landed a Yate man in court for having child abuse photos.

Police in Toronto investigating paedophiles identified Azovfilms.com, a company distributing illicit material in 2010, Bristol Crown Court heard

They established Ross Hamblin was a customer and liaised with officers in the UK.

Avon and Somerset Police then paid a call on him and found he had a sordid collection of stills and movies.

Hamblin, 35, of Badgeworth, pleaded guilty to nine charges of making indecent images of children.

Judge Graham Hume Jones told him many people would think that a person who committed such offences should face either an immediate or suspended jail term.

But he said that, due to present law, it was more practical to hand him a lengthy community order rather than a smaller prison sentence which would not allow time for him to receive treatment.

The judge imposed a community order under which Hamblin will be supervised for three years, with a condition he undergoes the Thames Valley Sex Offenders Programme.

Hamblin was told to register as a sex offender for five years and was banned from working with children.

His seized computer equipment was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

The judge told him: “Offend again and you will go to prison.”

Mark Hollier, prosecuting, said Hamblin’s computer devices were interrogated in March last year and he was found to have five still photos and 21 movies at the highest category of child abuse.

The court heard he had two stills and 40 movies at the second level of concern, and 305 stills and 51 movies in the lowest “indecent” category.

Mr Hollier said Hamblin, of previous good character, was interviewed and “could not bring himself to accept wrongdoing”.

Tristan Harwood, defending, told the judge: “He is very aware if he breaches the community order he would be back before the court.

Update: Now living in Middlesbrough

August 2007

Teenage dad raped girls

A TEENAGER who was a dad at 14 hunted down girls for sex like a lion picking out the weakest prey, a Teeside court heard.

Two girls aged 13 and 14 were drunk when Scott Watt, 16, raped one in a wood and the other in a house garage in Hartlepool.

He claimed that the older girl consented but he denied anything happened with the other one, a jury was told at Teesside Crown Court.

But Watt, now 17, was found guilty of the two rapes last December and in February at an earlier trial.

More girls had made similar complaints which were not proceeded with, said prosecutor Peter Makepeace yesterday when Watt was sentenced.

He had been bullied and assaulted by other prisoners while on remand for 186 days, the court heard.

Robin Denny, defending, said: “He is a very vulnerable and very young 17.

“He seems to have fathered a child when he was only 14 years of age.”

Mr Denny added that Watt had received a great deal of support from his family during the proceedings against him.

Judge Peter Bowers told him: “I can’t help but come to the conclusion that you were hanging around young people, and like a lion looking for the weakest and most vulnerable, the ones who had had too much to drink so you could have sex with them.

“I think that there is a significant risk of serious harm to the public unless you have some altered thinking while in custody.”

The judge added: “If you had been older the sentence would have been in double figures.”

Watt, now 17, from Borrowdale Street, Hartlepool, was sent to a young offenders’ institution for five and a half years and will be on licence for six years, and put on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The girls were watching over a court video link as he burst into tears before he was led from the dock.

February 2015

Judge’s Facebook warning as he jails dangerous sex offender who met up with girl (14)

A JUDGE has warned that vulnerable young girls could be targeted on Facebook and other social media by sexual predators who were “casting around” in the hope of meeting them for sex.

He warned that vulnerable people who were “aching for some contact” could be taken advantage of by people who were “after them for one purpose only”.

The judge spoke out as he jailed a “dangerous” sex offender for four years and branded him a sexual predator because of the way he targeted two girls for his “own sexual satisfaction”.

Benjamin Appleton, 27, of Cartergate, Grimsby, denied sexually assaulting a girl between December 2013 and March last year but was convicted by a jury.

He was cleared of raping her.

He admitted meeting a child following grooming and causing a child to engage in sexual activity and to watch a sexual act.

Geraldine Kelly, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Appleton contacted one of the girls on Facebook and asked her to be his friend. They had never met before.

He met the 14-year-old girl at Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes, and sent her sexual messages on Facebook, telling her she was “dead cute”.

Appleton lied about his age and pretended he was 20. He told her he would “show her how naughty he was” and made sexual comments to her.

When they met, he kissed her.

“She found him attractive and she liked it at the time,” said Miss Kelly.

Appleton wanted the girl to kiss him intimately.

After the first meeting, he continued to send the girl messages and “told her he was going to treat her like a princess” but she did not reply.

He sent her a message on Facebook telling her he was thinking about her and asking when they were going to meet again.

He later sent sexually explicit messages but the girl blocked him.

She then got a message on her mobile phone from a number she did not recognise – Appleton – and she told her mother she was meeting someone else.

She agreed to go to his home with him but told him she had a boyfriend.

He picked her up and sat her on his knee, carried her in to his bedroom and showed her a pornographic video on his phone.

“He told her he wanted her to do that to him,” said Miss Kelly.

He exposed himself to the girl.

The incident with the other girl involved him meeting her after contact on Facebook.

He put his hand around her throat and tried to kiss her. He was cleared of raping her.

Craig Lowe, mitigating, said the physical contact with the first girl was limited to Appleton kissing her with her consent.

Other sexual behaviour “did not happen”.

Judge Peter Kelson QC said: “Your intention in casting around on Facebook was to find a female of whatever age with whom you intended to have sex,” he said.

“You are, by any definition of the word, a sexual predator. You are, in my view, dangerous.”

Appleton had “no regard” for the age of the females he might meet and the age gap between him and the 14-year-old girl was “very substantial”.

“She made clear to you that she had no sexual interest in you,” said Judge Kelson.

“She was vulnerable. She had had problems. You did not care at all. All you cared about was your own sexual satisfaction.

“You are a sexual predator. You were pursuing her. You were being sexually explicit.”

The assault on the second girl was “sexually violent”, he said.

Judge Kelson said: “I hope that the public will begin to realise what a threat Facebook and other media can be when they are cast around by people like you.”

There was a danger that “people aching for some contact” with others might accept invitations from others who were “after them for one purpose only”.

The victims, in their “naivete and vulnerability”, hoped that they might meet “a decent individual who just wants conversation”.

Appleton was given an indefinite sexual offences prevention order, restricting his contact with girls under 16 and his use of the internet, and must register as a sex offender.

February 2015

Pervert who sexually molested schoolboy on bus is jailed

A pervert who sexually molested a boy on a late-night bus has been jailed for four and a half years.

Andrew Tooze, 54, denied grabbing at the gay 15-year-old boy’s trousers and committing a further sexual offence after putting his hand down his boxer shorts.

But a jury found him guilty of two counts relating to the incident on July 26, 2013, after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Prosecutors said Tooze, of Torrington Drive, Thingwall, who had been drinking, “practically confessed” during a 45-minute interview with police.

They said he was “extremely candid”, telling officers: “The lad invited me to touch him if I wanted so I did. I thought he was up for it.”

Tooze said he did not remember the boy saying he was 15, but added: “I do think that what I did was still wrong, because I knew he was only young.”

However, when giving evidence at his trial, Tooze claimed he did not touch the boy and said he gave police “the wrong answers” including that he was “sometimes” bisexual, because they were aggressive with him.

He told the jury: “Nothing happened on the bus.”

Tooze did accept he lied to the boy, by saying he was 46, rather than his real age.

He said he remembered the boy telling him there was “nothing wrong with being gay”, but denied that he thought the boy’s open attitude to his sexuality was a “green light” to him.

Frank Dillon, prosecuting, said the victim was unable to sleep after the incident, which changed his previously outgoing personality.

Mr Dillon said: “He said he felt physically sick every time he left the house because of the fact it happened on public transport.”

The court heard Tooze was a “hard-working” dad with three adult children and no previous convictions.

Eric Lamb, defending, said Tooze was at “quite a low ebb” at the time of the assault and had been drinking.

Mr Lamb said: “The consequences of the defendant’s behaviour are particularly damaging to his elderly mother. He is the primary carer for her.”

However, he admitted that unrepentant Tooze had shown “no contrition” and still denied any wrongdoing, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Tooze displayed no emotion as Judge Denis Watson, QC, handed him a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Judge Watson said: “Because this boy was so open about his sexuality you decided to touch him.

“He was shocked and close to tears and moved position on the bus.

“In the interview you made what the Crown said were admissions, which I accept and the jury accepted.

“You said that you realised that behaviour was wrong the very next morning, yet you ran a trial saying that your conduct was not the conduct of serious sexual assault but that you had been bullied into admissions by the police.

“The consequence was that he and two 16-year-old girls had to relive this experience in essence before a jury.

“You can only have carried this out it seems to me because he told you he was gay and you thought that you could.”

February 2015

WaterWorld staff praised for helping to send pervert dad to jail for groping girl in rapids

BOSSES at a popular water park have praised staff who helped secure a jail sentence for a father-of-four who groped a teenage girl on one of their rides.

Lifeguards and security staff at WaterWorld at Festival Park responded quickly after 36-year-old Shumon Ahmed was identified as the man who had touched the 15-year-old’s bottom on several occasions.

They immediately removed Ahmed from the water and called the police.

Ahmed, of Walsall, admitted sexual assault on the day of his trial and last week Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court jailed him for eight months. He has also been banned from returning to the attraction

WaterWorld’s general manager Tim Kiely said: “It was thanks to the due diligence of the team, including our vigilant lifeguards, that this man was arrested and ultimately sent to prison.

“We have worked very hard since the park opened 26 years ago to keep incidents like this to a minimum, installing CCTV cameras and putting stringent checks in place.

“We welcome over 400,000 visitors a year and will continue to be extremely vigilant to ensure WaterWorld remains a safe and fun environment for families to visit and enjoy.

“Our thoughts are with the young lady who was the target of this man’s unsolicited behaviour, and we hope that with the support of her family and friends she can recover from the incident.”

February 2015

Wannabe rapper escapes jail despite admitting having sex with 14-year-old girl

A WANNABE rapper has been spared jail after he admitted having sex with an underage girl.

Kyle Burns, 20, met the 14-year-old when she was out with friends.

Burns, of Motherwell, and the girl had left a group of youngsters after police moved them from a park in the town.

The pervert was arrested months later after boasting of sleeping with the girl.

He admitted having sex with a child under 16 between March and June, 2013.

Yesterday, at Hamilton Sheriff Court, Burns was given a two-year community payback order and put on the sex offenders’ register for two years.

He was already on
 probation and the sex offenders’ register for uploading a sex video of a different 14-year-old girl on to the internet.

February 2015

‘Calculated and cynical’ sex beast caged

A ‘calculating’ sex offender who left a young girl’s life in tatters has been jailed for eight years by a judge who said he had caused “serious and lasting harm” to his victim.

Jamie Sampson continued a “deplorable” string of sex offences against the girl despite being given the “clearest possible warning” when police got involved.

He only escaped prosecution on that occasion because his victim did not make a complaint.

Sampson had denied the offences, but a jury convicted him following a trial.

As he was jailed for eight years, Preston Crown Court heard how his victim had been left scarred by the aftermath of her ordeal 

She still suffers sleeplessness and nightmares about what happened to her and fears she will never get over the ordeal.

Mr Justice Holroyde, handing down the jail term at Preston Crown Court, told him his offences were “calculating and cynical.”

He added: “You ignored the clearest possible warning when, part way through the period, the police became involved.

“What saved you from prosecution was that the girl did not wish to make a complaint.

“Undaunted by that warning, you carried on committing these offences.”

The 50-year-old, of Dinmore Avenue in the resort, had been found guilty of six offences of sexual activity with a child.

The case involved an underage teenage girl.

In a victim statement the girl spoke of having sleepless nights, or waking with nightmares as a result of what happened.

It continued to haunt her and she felt she couldn’t get over what had taken place.

Sampson had previous convictions, but none of those were for sex offences, the court was told.

Jacob Dyer, defending, said his client continued to deny the offences.

He added: “He has not deliberately set out to target her. He took advantage of a situation in which he found himself.

“He knows he will remain in custody for some time.”

Sampson was told he will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order for an indefinite period.

The judge told him the case was far from being a single offence one.

He added: “I am left in no doubt you pursued a quite calculated and cynical course of making her feel special, reassuring her.

“Eventually you got her to the stage where you could do what you wanted with her and you did.

“This offending has caused serious and lasting harm to her.”

The judge spoke of having received letters from the defendant’s family which were loyal and loving to him.

Mr Justice Holroyde added: “The pictures which emerges is that members of your family suffer and I am afraid must continue to suffer from your imprisonment.

“You have shown no remorse whatsoever at any point throughout this process.

“You are unable to face up to and admit what you have done. Plainly, nothing other than a substantial term of imprisonment would be sufficient for offending of this 
seriousness”.

February 2015

‘Menace’ who exposed himself to child in Welwyn Garden City spared jail

A 20-year-old from Welwyn Garden City who got a ‘buzz’ from exposing himself to underage girls has been banned by a court from using computers with webcams.

St Albans Crown Court heard Connor Harlow had exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl through a window.

He did the same thing to an adult carer.

Prosecutor Sally Mealing-McLeod said the 12-year-old told her brother’s girlfriend what had happened and the police were called.

Harlow, of Great North Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of exposure in April and June last year at an earlier hearing.

He had previous convictions for masturbating over the web in the presence of a 12 year old girl and for having indecent images of children.

Carl Woolf, defending, said the previous convictions were when he was a young person.

Judge John Plumstead said: “He told a probation officer that he got a ‘buzz’ from masturbating in front of underage girls.

“There are children at risk of being traumatised by him. He is a menace.”

The judge said the offences meant he could not send Harlow to prison for long enough for him to go on a sex offender treatment programme.

He passed a three year community order with supervision and a condition that he attends a Sex Offender Treatment programme in the community.

He must abide by a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which bans him from using a computer with a web camera and a smart phone so he cannot make contact with underage girls.

February 2015

Truro man has been jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of raping a young girl and indecently assaulting a boy

Christopher Teague went on trial at Truro Crown Court last Monday accused of a series of sexual offences against the two victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on dates between 2000 and 2010.

Teague, 34, of St Clements Close, who the court heard had learning difficulties, denied two counts of sexually assaulting a girl aged under-13 and one of raping her.

He also denied two counts of indecency with a child and one of indecent assault in relation to a boy

On Thursday, the jury found him guilty of all of the offences.

Joanna Martin, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Teague committed offences against the boy first, when he was aged around 10 to 12.

She said Teague exposed himself and forced the boy to touch him intimately on two occasions and also touched the boy sexually on one occasion.

Ms Martin said the girl was aged under-13 when Teague abused her, some years later.

He touched her sexually and raped her on one occasion, she said.

In interview and during the trial, Teague denied that he had touched either child sexually or that he had raped the girl.

In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the girl described how the abuse had had an effect on her relationships and caused her not to show her emotions or open up to anyone.

She said: “I hate Chris for what he has done to me; it has affected my life immensely.”

Piers Norsworthy, for the defence, said Teague had returned to live with his mother and father following the allegations being made.

He said Teague had taken two overdoses in the past two years but was not currently on anti-depressants.

Sentencing Teague to 14 years in prison, Judge Simon Carr, said: “You have shown no remorse for what you have done and no empathy for those you have injured.

Teague was ordered to sign the sex offender’s register indefinitely and made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order.

February 2015

Doctor caught with hundreds of indecent images of children on laptop

A doctor was caught with hundreds of indecent images of children after police raided his flat.

Brian Morris, 29, was snared when police discovered the haul at the rented flat he stayed in at Glasgow’s Princes Terrace.

The Glasgow University graduate’s laptop was analysed and almost 500 still images of children were found. There were also 23 videos found on the computer.

Morris, who is now a patient at Gartnavel Hospital, pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to downloading and possessing the images between November 2013 and March 2014.

The court heard that at the time Morris was employed as a doctor at a local hospital.

Police were granted a search warrant to search his house in Hyndland, Glasgow, the flat he lived in at the time.

Officers took a laptop which was examined by an expert and indecent images, still and moving, were recovered.

The court was told that 481 pictures were recovered, ranging from level one, to level four. There were no images at level five, the highest and most extreme.

Of the 23 moving images found on the laptop most ranged from level one to level four, with one at level five.

The court heard Morris, who is currently suspended, made no comment during his police interview and when cautioned and charged by officers he made no response.

Sheriff Daniel Scullion deferred sentence on Morris until next month.

February 2015

Judge to Wells man who downloaded indecent images of children: “I hope every night, when you go to bed to sleep, you have nightmares.”

A WELLS father who downloaded pornographic images of children being sexually abused by men was asked by a judge how he would feel if his own young daughter was so ill-treated.

Simon Brewett, 38, was found with 112 indecent still photographs and 32 movies when police raided his home in Panborough on April 20th after receiving information on file-sharing, Taunton Crown Court was told.

Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said they included several of the most-obscene category A images of penetration involving girls aged from about six to 15.

Other images of about category B were of ‘slightly older girls’.

Brewett admitted downloading them and explained he started doing it because of difficulties in his personal life.

He suggested he had ‘come across’ the images, but a search of the computer ‘makes it very clear he was searching for images of children’, she added.

Brendon Moorhouse, defending, said Brewett was of previous good character, and handed in ‘a large number’ of character witnesses.

He did not have an established, long-term interest in child porn and a pre-sentence report showed he had a proper understanding of what had happened.

Judge David Ticehurst asked Brewett the ages of his own children and said his daughter was about the same age as a young girl on a video.

People like him derived perverted pleasure from watching such images and caused ‘devastating consequences’ on little children.

“I hope every night, when you go to bed to sleep, you have nightmares thinking of the effect you are having on children like that and if it could be your daughter or son being abused in this wicked way,” he said.

Imposing a community order with supervision for three years and attendance at an approved sexual offenders’ treatment programme, he said an appropriate sentence after a trial would be six months to three years in prison.

But a discount for his early guilty plea reduced that to 12 months, of which he would serve only six months. He said he was impressed by the number of references.

Brewett was also ordered to forfeit the computer and to pay £350 costs and a £60 statutory surcharge. He was given a sexual offences prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

February 2015

Man avoids jail for child abuse images

A MAN avoided jail despite down-loading more than 1,000 indecent images of children.

Lionel Heales, 64, of Estuary Gardens, Great Wakering, admitted making 1,135 images, which fell into all three categories of severity.

Heales was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years yesterday at Basildon Crown Court.

It emerged in court Heales formerly worked with children as a volunteer with the Dangerous Wild Animals Rescue Facility in Great Wakering, but police said they had no evidence to suggest he had abused any children while in that role

Sentencing him, Judge David Owen Jones, gave Heales credit for an early guilty plea and said he had an addiction and also ordered him to undergo an internet sex offenders treatment programme, a supervision requirement for 36 months and to sign on the sex offenders register for ten years.

He said: “I accept you have pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, for which I give you full credit.

“I accept that at the age of 64 you are a man of good character and I accept you are low risk.

“I accept you express remorse and shame that you feel for what you have done.

“I am pretty confident there will be no further offending.

“I am confident that in order to protect the public from further offending of this kind it’s necessary to put in a sexual offences order.”

The images were downloaded on Heales’s laptop between July 2012 and July 2014 and included 217 in category A – the most serious, plus 271 category B and 647 category C.

After he was sentenced, court staff allowed Heales to leave by a rear door and not the public entrance to the courthouse.

Investigating officer Det Con Ford, from the Online Investigation Team said: “We want to stamp out the downloading of images.

“The safety of children is paramount and we take it very seriously.

“We are looking to stamp out all child sex exploitation in whatever form.

“This is an aspect of child sexual exploitation and there are victims in this crime.

“We will continue to do what we can to safeguard children.”

Heales was also ordered to pay £750 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

His laptop was ordered to be destroyed.

February 2015

‘My ordeal at hands of serial sex abuser: Victim of jailed attacker speaks out

A MAN has told how he was sexually abused by a “predatory” Hull businessman who has been jailed for a second time.

Michael Wilson was assaulted by Nicholas Holbrook when he was aged between ten and 11.

Mr Wilson kept the abuse secret until he read in the Mail newspaper in 2013 that Holbrook had been jailed for seven years for raping and sexually assaulting two men.

He had abused those victims after they were referred to his business, Holbrook Training, to learn how to drive forklift trucks.

Holbrook, formerly of Hartsholme, Kingswood, stood trial for a second time last month at Hull Crown Court.

But after Mr Wilson gave evidence, Holbrook pleaded guilty to two indecent assaults and was jailed for a further six-and-a-half years.

Mr Wilson has now waived his right to anonymity to tell how the abuse has ruined his life.

He said: “I used to walk down Fountain Road, where there were back-to-back houses, bombed buildings and an old coal yard.

“He told me he wanted something. He abused me.

“I remember there was a bloke walking across the road with a Jack Russell. I ran all the way home.”

Mr Wilson did not report what had happened to police until seeing the Mail’s coverage of Holbrook’s case in 2013.

But the abuse haunted him into adulthood.

“I started drinking. My marriage went,” he said.

When Mr Wilson needed a licence to drive a forklift truck, he says he was sent to Holbrook Training by welfare-to work company A4E while he was on the New Deal employment scheme.

He claims he told the company of Holbrook’s abuse.

Mr Wilson said: “I said I’m not going. He abused me as a young kid.

“They told me you can’t make accusations like that against a pillar of the community. You’ll get your benefits stopped.

“I had a wife and three kids [so had to go].”

After Holbrook’s first trial, it emerged he had indecently assaulted two youths while serving as a sergeant in the Territorial Army in the 1980s, but no criminal charges were brought against him.

“He’s just a bully,” said Mr Wilson. “He caused me to drink and do drugs.”

One of Holbrook’s victims, who was described as vulnerable, treated him as a “father figure”, the court heard, but Holbrook repaid his trust by sexually abusing him.

Another said he was lured to Holbrook’s office on the pretext of a job offer before being attacked.

Both had been assaulted while they were on week-long training courses at Holbrook Training.

At the end of his first trial, police described Holbrook as a “dangerous, predatory man” who targeted vulnerable young men.

Holbrook was not employed by A4E and the agency has not had an office in Hull for more than four years.

A spokesman for A4E said: “We take the safety of our customers very seriously and we are sorry to hear of the ordeal experienced by this gentleman before he joined A4E’s programme.

“The claims relate to an alleged incident from more than 12 years ago about an employment scheme that no longer exists.

“There is no record of this complaint and we have not been informed of any abuse that occurred while customers were on an external training course arranged by us.

February 2015

Pensioner jailed for more than ten years after pleading guilty to a string of child sex offences dating back to the 1970s

Michael Ernest Leach, who used to live in Lyneham, Wiltshire, was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court to ten and a half years in prison after admitting attempting to rape a child and five counts of indecency with a child.

The court heard that the offences took place at two addresses in Lyneham over a period of several months in 1979.

“The victim lived with the horror of what Leach had done to her for some 35 years before she felt able to report it to police,” said DC Julie White.

“I would like to commend her bravery and we hope that the sentence today will give her some peace of mind, although no sentence could ever take away the pain she has suffered.

“This case highlights the dedication Wiltshire Police have to victims of sexual offences and no matter how long ago they happened, we will thoroughly investigate and bring offenders to justice.

“I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to report it to police or contact the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) on 0808 168 0024, 24-hour helpline,” she added.

February 2015

Pervert who sexually abused two young girls in the Reading area has had his jail term cut by top judges on appeal

A Wiltshire man who sexually abused two young girls in the Reading area has had his jail term cut by top judges on appeal.

James Nicholas Phillips raped one young victim in the 1990s, when he was a teenager and she was aged under 12.

He molested another young victim in more recent years – with one offence being committed when she was just four-years-old.

The 32-year-old, of Springfield Drive, Calne, was jailed for 20 years at Reading Crown Court in August last year, after being convicted of seven sex offences.

But his sentence has now been cut to 17 years by judges sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, who said the original term was ‘too long’.

The court heard Phillips committed the offences between 1997 and 2011 against two girls in the Reading area.

He raped one victim and threatened her that no-one would believe her if she told them what he had done.

That girl, who was aged under 12, was left with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse. The other victim was targeted by Phillips when he was in his 20s.

He denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty of three counts of inciting a child to commit gross indecency, two of rape, one of sexual assault on a child and one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

His lawyers argued his jail term was too long in light of the fact he was a teenager when he committed the first set of offences.

Allowing the appeal, Mr Justice Nicol said, while he later targeted a second victim, it was ‘arguable’ the judge did not take enough account of his youth at the time of the earlier crimes.

Sitting with Lord Justice McCombe and Judge Stephen Kramer QC, he added: “Putting all these matters together, we agree that the sentences passed by the judge were too high.”

September 2012

Judge praises courage of child sexual abuse victims

A judge has praised the victims of a serial child abuser for the courage in giving evidence as he jailed the pervert for ten years

Sentencing Colin Law, 52 of St. Barbaras walk, Newton Aycliffe for sexual offences against two young girls. 

Judge Christopher Prince said: “Having displayed their own courage, they can take additional comfort from the fact they know this is a repeat offender who is comparatively young. They have therefore, through that demonstration of courage, protected others from this happening again”

One of Law’s victims said, “What I did not expect was the closure and relief when (he) was found guilty on all charges”

“Perhaps there are those that have been victims of such offences who can be encouraged in the future to come forward to give account of what has occurred to them”

A jury at Durham Crown Court convicted Law of indecent assault and indecency with a child relating to one victim and of a number of indecent assaults on the second victim

Law was also found guilty of possessing dozens of indecent images of children

The defence read out a letter of apology, but judge Prince said Law had shown no genuine remorse

The judge told Law, “You are a highly intelligent but highly manipulative and devious”

“You have shown a complete arrogance and utter contempt for the prosecution, witnesses and victims and did not hesitate for a moment to call them liars and to accuse them of conspiring against you”

Law was placed on the sex offenders register for life

February 2015

Former teacher avoids prison after searching for fellow paedophiles on-line

A former prep school teacher who scoured the internet for ‘paedo pals’ while posing as nursery rhyme character Jack Sprat has been spared jail.

Nigel Kitchen, 53, used the Skype name JackSprattyBoy to search online for fellow paedophiles, and joined a chatroom for people interested in ‘little boys’.

He was snared by undercover cops after sending a sickening picture of a child being abused, and admitting to the detective that he ‘loves little boys’.

Kitchen was found guilty of possessing and distributing an indecent image at level 4 – the second most serious categorisation which depicts penetrative sex with children.

Kitchen, a former science teacher at Summerfields School, a boys boarding prep school in north Oxford, was jailed in 2003 for possession of child abuse images

November 2002

A SCHOOL teacher and a top surgeon have been arrested as part of Britain’s biggest child abuse images investigation.

Nigel Kitchen, 41, a science master, resigned after police informed Summer Fields School, Oxford, of allegations that he had a large quantity of indecent images of youngsters. Bachelor Mr Kitchen has now moved out of his home close to the school.

Detectives seized a computer from the home of vascular surgeon Christopher Lattimer, 39, who was bailed by police.

He has taken sick leave from his job as a consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Margate, Kent, and cancelled operations at the Chaucer Hospital in nearby Canterbury where he treats private patients.

The two men were arrested as part of Operation Ore, a worldwide crackdown on paedophiles which has thrown up more than 7,000 suspects in Britain alone

More than 100 suspects have been arrested here, including 21 police officers, six teachers, civil servants, magistrates and social workers. Detectives say that about 95 per cent of the suspects are so-called respectable middle-class men with no previous criminal convictions.

They include two policemen connected with the inquiry into the Soham murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.

Mark Taylor, head of classics at pounds 16,000-a-year Rugby School in Warwickshire, was suspended after being arrested and bailed. Alex Frazer, 43, responsible for all Customs IT services, was arrested at his Surrey home.

Fifteen children have also been taken into care.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carole Howlett, who is leading the investigation, said: “There’s been a feeling this is just like looking at pornography – it’s not. A child has been raped or buggered or defiled to create these images.

“We’ve seized pictures of a baby being abused literally just out of the womb. That poor baby was still attached to its umbilical cord.

“In some cases abusers force children into acts in front of a webcam in effectively a live pay-per-view service.”

“As a priority we are dealing with those who have direct access to children and those with younger families.”

But there are only three paedophile units in the country, run by the Metropolitan police and West Midlands and Greater Manchester forces, and they have fewer than 30 staff altogether.

In Scotland there are 700 suspects, 279 in Cambridgeshire, 200 in Kent and 1,000 in the London area. Police in Surrey have 200 suspects while Bedfordshire has 60 “solid” cases. Cheshire and Northamptonshire both have 70 suspects and Durham 20.

Investigators now believe as many as 90 police officers may be involved in child abuse images.

DAC Howlett said: ” The growth of the internet and the ease with which everybody has access has provided unforeseen opportunities for people who want to engage in this sort of crime.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers asked the Government for more money to tackle the problem last week. But Home Office Minister Hilary Benn, who chairs the Taskforce on Child Protection on the Internet, said police had already been given an extra pounds 25m for “hi-tech” crime.

But DAC Howlett said: “That covers everything from computer hacking to online fraud. Fighting child abuse receives only a proportion. Until child porn is a national priority, it is not going to get the resources it needs.

“There will be other major operations like Ore. We need help both with resources to look at the computers we seize, and also in manpower.”

“Ore has shown that there is no typical person who abuses children.

“It crosses over all boundaries – profession, age, location, even ability on a computer.”

February 2015

Scarborough man jailed for sex offences against schoolgirl

A Scarborough man has been jailed for four years for committing sexual offences against a schoolgirl.

Gareth Hudson, 36, of Stepney Road, Scarborough, targeted his victim, who was 14 at the time, via the internet.

Police say he encouraged her to send him indecent images of herself, and also contacted her on Skype, performed a sexual act, and asked her to engage in sexual activity.

Hudson pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He was jailed for four years at York Crown Court on February 20.

February 2015

48-year-old Pervert asked cop’s 13 year-old daughter for sex on Facebook

A 47 year-old sex predator was caught propositioning a 13 year-old on Facebook – after messaging her in front of her mother who works as a police officer investigating sex crimes.

The school girl was horrified when Paul Bowen told her how old he was and, despite her telling him to leave her alone, then messaged: “Can we have sex?”

She had previously asked him his age to which he had replied: “Age is just a number, does it matter?”

The girl’s mother noticed her daughter had become distressed while using the internet while they made breakfast and immediately reported the messages to police who arrested Bowen after tracing him through his Facebook profile.

Birmingham Crown Court heard Bowen had a conviction for “using a public communication system to send indecent matter” in 2005.

He also had a conviction for criminal damage.

But the now 48-year-old, of Warwick Road, Tyseley, avoided jail after pleading guilty to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Christopher Lester, prosecuting, said Bowen sent the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, messages on May 5 last year.

“(The girl) was in the kitchen preparing breakfast with her mother, her mother is a police officer who investigates crimes of this type,” Mr Lester told the court.

“The mum noticed her child was troubled.”

It was then the teen revealed the proposition from Bowen.

He began saying: “Morning beautiful xxx.”

And then, when asked how old he was by the teenager replied: “Age is just a number, does it matter?”

When he finally revealed he was 47 the girl told him to leave her alone to which he replied: “Can we have sex?”

During a police interview Bowen said he was been drinking and would rate his level of intoxication as five out of 10,

Her Honour Judge Elizabeth Fisher said she was “just” persuaded to keep Bowen out of prison.

Handing him 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, she said: “You are a person who has had a number of problems that need to be addressed.

“In your letter to the court you address the main problem, that being alcohol, and you have taken some steps to address that.

“I am just persuaded this sentence I am about to pass can be suspended.”

Bowen was ordered to sign the Sex Offender’s register for 10 years and sign a sex offences prevention order.

He was also sentenced to complete the community sex offender group programme.

David Murray, defending, said drink had played a part in all of Bowen’s offending and that his appeal for sex had been a “throwaway line.”

He said: “There was that very out of context phrase.

“It is almost meaningless in the context of the conversation.”