March 2015

Parents trace 14-year-old daughter to home of 26-year-old man who groomed her with cash and gifts

A mum tracked down her 14-year-old daughter to the home of a pervert who had groomed her with cash and presents by tracing a Facebook message.

She and her husband checked the teen’s profile and found a message she had sent to a friend which revealed where she was, then went door-to-door on his street until they found her.

She was marched out of his bedroom by her dad.

Former chimney sweep Craig O’Neill, 26, of Hyde, has been jailed for four years after he pleaded guilty to a series of charges including child abduction.

Unbeknown to the ‘vulnerable and naive’ girl, he had also built up a vile ‘library’ of indecent images of children on his home computer.

There was no evidence to suggest sexual contact, but judge John Potter said O’Neill was ‘very close to getting what he desired…sexual gratification’.

He said: “I have no doubt that what you were doing that night were acts that were designed by you to encourage her.”

Today, as O’Neill begins his sentence, the girl’s mother spoke of her terror and issued a chilling warning to parents over the dangers of Facebook.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard they struck up a relationship on Facebook but O’Neill knew her true age when they met twice in June 2013.

He gave her £400 cash on the first occasion then bought her clothing, pyjamas and £100 Ugg boots in Manchester .

The girl had told her mum that she was meeting a friend at McDonald’s, the court heard, but they went to his house that night where they drank vodka and he smoked cannabis.

Andy Smith, prosecuting, said her mum became anxious after she said she wanted to stay out then turned her phone off.

Her mum alerted her friends and a message she had sent to one of them on Facebook revealed her location to be on O’Neill’s street.

Officers attended with her mum, but they didn’t know which exact house he was in

The girl’s mum and dad however returned at 6.15am the next morning following more research on their daughter’s Facebook page and knocked on doors until a neighbour pointed them in the right direction.

Mr Smith said O’Neill answered the door in shorts and a T-shirt and they recognised him from her Facebook account.

He said: “O’Neill said he had not touched her. Her dad ran upstairs and pushed the bedroom door open. She was there.

“She was wearing the pyjamas he had bought her.”

The police were alerted and O’Neill was arrested. The court heard that in interviews, he accepted that he knew she was 14,

Analysis of his computer revealed a collection of indecent images of children and extreme pornography had been downloaded.

Lewis Bretts, defending O’Neill, said: “He has shown his remorse. He understands how serious these offences are.”

O’Neill was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to monitor his activity on release.

March 2015

Sex offender jailed for a total of 17 years

A Birmingham sex offender, who subjected three young girls to years of abuse, has been sentenced to a total of 17 years in jail for a string of historic offences.

Gary Jukes, of Highters Road, Warstock was sentenced after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to sexually abusing children over a period of 21 years, between 1976 and 1997.

The 52-year-old electrical fitter was sentenced to four years at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse and a series of indecent assaults against a girl aged 9-11 at the time.

This sentence will run consecutively to a sentence of 13 years given in 2014 for offences against two other girls, and a further 18 months to run concurrently.

Jukes was arrested in December 2013 after his victims, now aged in their 30s and 50s, found the courage to report him to police.

Det Con Nichola Thomas from the Force’s Public Protection Unit, said: “The trial of Gary Jukes was a traumatic experience for his victims and I would like to praise their courage in coming forward and speaking to police.

“They see the conviction as closure and I hope the fact that he is now behind bars will go some way to helping them recover.

She added: “We will always take reports of sexual abuse seriously and I would urge anyone who has suffered abuse, no matter how long ago, to contact West Midlands Police so we can investigate.

West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit can be contacted on 101, while the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) can be contacted on 00808 801 0331 and www.napac.org.uk

March 2015

Paedophile from Northamptonshire jailed for four years after sex assaults

A Northamptonshire paedophile has been given a four-year jail sentence for historic sex assaults against young children.

Michael Sharman, aged 73, of Arkwright Road, Irchester, was investigated by Northamptonshire Police after his victims contacted the force.

Sharman was found guilty of five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child after a trial earlier this year.

James Thomas, prosecuting, said Sharman’s victims had contacted police in 2013. The offences date back a number of years.

Judge Lynn Tayton sentenced Sharman a total of four years in prison for the offences. She said he would serve half in prison and then be released and serve the rest on licence. He will be placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

March 2015

Paedophile who abused girl starting when she was 7, raped at 12 caught after tarot reading

A waiter is facing years behind bars for raping a girl after he was caught out by a tarot card reading.

One of the victim’s relatives went to see a fortune teller who said that John Aguiler-Paez, 37, was harming the child.

The Columbian ex-pat was later arrested and charged.

The victim had initially denied the psychic’s claim, but later revealed that the waiter started touching her when she was just seven-years-old.

The girl was just 12 when Aguiler-Paez began raping her in his Hackney bedsit, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told.

He began touching her when she was just seven, showing her pornography, and gave her money and presents so she would keep quiet.

Gerard Pounder, prosecuting, said: “From an early age the defendant exposed the complainant to sexual material – she initially found some pictures that were sexually explicit and he told her about it.

“Later he showed her pornographic films – his sexual behaviour became bolder and bolder until he eventually had sex with her and she wasn’t really sure what was going on.”

Aguiler-Paez, of HMP Huntercombe, told the youngster he would go to prison if she told anyone, that everyone would hate her and people would call her a prostitute.

Following a trial, he was convicted of six counts of sexual assault, five counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration of a child under 13. He denied the allegations.

Aguiler-Paez who came to work in the UK in 2002, was convicted of smuggling cocaine into the UK from South America in December 2013 and jailed for six years.

Sentencing was adjourned until March 26 so the risk Aguiler-Paez poses to other young girls could be assessed by the probation service.

He is likely to be deported on his release from prison.

March 2015

Child rapist who led a “campaign of sexual abuse” against a young girl has been jailed for 14 years

A PREDATOR who led a “campaign of sexual abuse” against a young girl has been jailed for 14 years.

John Macneil, 63, had got away with his vile crimes for more than 20 years, but was eventually convicted by a jury of 14 counts of rape and six counts of gross indecency with a child.

His victim finally told the police of her ordeal after Macneil came to her home, years after the last time he raped her and asked her to show him her breasts “for old time’s sake”.

She started suffering flashbacks and nightmares of the abuse, which she had endured in silence for many years.

March 2015

Mother and lesbian lover guilty of killing 8 yr old girl found with bite marks and carpet burns

A mother and her lesbian lover were found guilty today of killing an eight-year-old girl after getting caught up in a twisted romance revolving around fictional Facebook characters.

Polly Chowdhury and Kiki Muddar both of Bedwell Court, Broomfield Road, Romford were on trial for the murder of the Chowdhury’s daughter Ayesha Ali at a house in Chadwell Heath in east London, in 2013.

The jury cleared them of murder but found them guilty of manslaughter after deliberating for more than 31 hours.

On the morning of August 29, 2013, Muddar dialled 999 to report Chowdhury had tried to kill herself in the bath and that Ayesha was dead

Paramedics discovered the child “cold and stiff” in her bedroom dressed only in a pair of pink pants

Although the cause of her death was a head injury, she suffered more than 40 injuries, including a bite mark and carpet burns

Ayesha Ali died after months of torture and abuse which included being terrorised in the night by scary masks worn by the very people who should have protected her

Weighing three and a half stone and 4ft 7in, Ayesha was not in a position to resist anything that was done to her

The eight-year-old was found dead in her bedroom having suffered a bite mark and carpet burns as well as numerous bruises and abrasions

Chowdhury had left a series of notes, appearing to admit the killing, saying: “I have taken my life and Ayesha’s life”. But during the course of the investigation, police discovered evidence implicating Muddar in Ayesha’s death.

Letters written by Polly Chowdhury found in her bedroom

Officers unravelled a set of alter egos on Facebook and text which Muddar had created to control and seduce Chowdhury, turning her against her daughter because she saw her as a threat.

One alias she created was spirit guide Skyman, who Muddar used to manipulate Chowdhury into believing Ayesha had “bad blood” and needed to be disciplined to get the “evil spirits” out of her.

Chowdhury became convinced daughter Ayesha Ali was ‘possessed’ and that she needed to be punished to ‘stop the gates of hell from opening’.

The women would give the little girl cold baths, force feed her until she was sick and make her scrub the bathroom floor to rid her of ‘evil spirits’, the Old Bailey heard.

Muddar had befriended Chowdhury when they lived next door to each other and she got sympathy by pretending to be fighting cancer.

March 2015

Man admits masturbating in front of pupils at school in Harrow

A man who masturbated in front of pupils at a school in Harrow is due to be sentenced later this month.

Noland Frederick of Malvern Road, Queen’s Park, was charged with a section 4 public order after he performed the sexual act in front of a class.

He then urinated on people while being arrested.

The 48-year-old appeared at Hendon Magistrates’ Court on Friday (February 27), where he admitted the offence.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday (March 20) and has been released on bail.

March 2015

Notorious paedophile once banned from an entire town has died in prison

A NOTORIOUS paedophile and sex menace who was once banned from an entire North-East town has died in prison.

John Wayne Locke, who was 70, was banned from Hartlepool because of his behaviour.

Locke was convicted and jailed in 2004 for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old boy. After his release in 2007 he was banned from entering Hartlepool for two years due to the danger he posed children after he did not tell authorities he had moved.

Further concerns about his behaviour led to him being given a Sopo in 2010 which he breached at least ten times.

Breaches included:

*Chatting to children aged between ten and 13 in Thornton Street, Hartlepool and trying to lure them into his then home in 2011.

The coroner was informed that Locke’s brother had refused to be acknowledged as his next of kin and had disowned him. A nephew was eventually found in New York who agreed to receive information of his uncle’s death for administrative purposes.

The inquest, held at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, heard that Locke, who wore an eye patch over his right eye, had been released from jail on December 16 but was back by December 23 for once

Teesside Crown Court was told on several occasions that Locke would sometimes want to be locked up in the winter months and could not fit into society.

Acting Teesside coroner, Malcolm Donnelly heard Locke, whose last address was Marton Road, Middlesbrough, died of a heart attack in Holme House Prison, near Stockton on January 6 this year.

The coroner found Locke had died due to natural causes.

March 2015

Rapist white witch who abused girls as young as four and treated them as his own sexual property is jailed for 22 years

A ‘white witch’ who abused young girls, the youngest of whom was just four, over a period covering three decades, has been jailed for 22 years.

Redvers ‘Barney’ Barnard claimed that he was a Pagan who practiced healing ‘white magic’.

But a Manchester Crown Court trial heard he was a ‘terrifying’ figure who manipulated and abused young girls in Greater Manchester over a twenty-year period.

The court heard that Redvers began abusing one underage victim, before raping her. Then he took indecent photographs of the youngster. 

She was subjected to such ‘grooming and coercion’ the sex continued into her adulthood.

By that time, Barnard was also abusing two other young girls.

The court heard that Barnard raped one of these girls and forced the second one into lewd acts

Barnard also abused three other young girls at addresses in Salford, bringing the total number of victims to six.

Barnard, 56, formerly of Eccles, was branded a dangerous offender by the judge shortly after being found guilty of abusing his six victims, who were as young as four when the abuse began.

He had denied all the offences, which stretched back to the early eighties, claiming the victims were all lying.

Barnard, who was last living in Middlesbrough, Teesside, has now been jailed for 22 years, with an extended licence period for the public protection.

This means that unlike ordinary prisoners, he must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence, rather than half, and can only be released when the parole board think it is safe to do so.

Even after his release, he will remain at risk of being recalled to prison until 2042.

In total, Barnard was found guilty of three rapes and sixteen indecent assaults.

Sending him down, Judge Michael Henshell said Barnard, formerly known as Peter Barnard, had treated his victims as his ‘sexual property’ and bullied them into keeping quiet.

‘I’m abundantly satisfied you are a dangerous individual so far as children and sexual offending is concerned.

‘Throughout your life you have demonstrated you are sexually attracted to young girls. You are also highly manipulative and have used coercion. You have corrupted children and by turns terrified them’, the judge added.

Thanking the jury, the judge added: ‘At a time when matters of this nature are on the news everyday…you have seen at first-hand the ordeal faced by people recounting events from their childhood.’

March 2015

Wheathampstead man convicted of sexually assaulting 14-year-old in Harpenden walks free from court

A Wheathampstead man convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at a bus stop in Harpenden was sentenced to a year in jail yesterday.

But Andrew Porterfield, 46, will be released from prison immediately because of the time he has spent on remand after breaching his bail conditions.

St Albans crown court heard that Porterfield had been drinking when he asked the girl if she had a boyfriend and other personal questions. As she moved away, he stroked her on the hip and leg.

Porterfield of Wright Close, Wheathampstead, denied any sexual assault, but was convicted by the jury. He had no previous convictions for sexual offences.

David Smithet, defending, said his client continued to deny the offence. He said he had spent 223 days in custody after breaching bail conditions in July last year. This was more than the equivalent of a year’s sentence.

He said Porterfield has now lost his accommodation because of the length of time he has spent in jail.

Judge Andrew Bright QC said the offence was aggravated because the girl was aged only 14. In addition to the jail sentence, Porterfield must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

March 2015

Dangerous, depraved, calculating child rapist jailed for 20 years

A child rapist has been caged for the next two decades after being found guilty of systematically abusing a young girl over a six year period.

A court heard how Michael Kay of Gordon Road, Chatham, first attacked his victim when she was in year six at primary school, aged just 10-years-old. He continued to abuse the girl until she turned 16.

His victim was too scared to speak out about the abuse, as she didn’t want to cause any trouble for friends or family. It was only when she told a friend about the abuse, that Kay’s depraved actions were finally revealed.

Kay denied two counts of rape and five counts of sexual activity with a child. He was found guilty, and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a judge at Maidstone Crown Court on March 3.

Detective Constable Ally Smith said: “Kay put his victim through a horrendous ordeal for several years, repeatedly attacking her and leaving her feeling as though she had no one to turn to.

“He targeted a particularly vulnerable young girl, who believed she could trust him, and his actions have undoubtedly had a terrible impact on her life.

“I would like to commend her for coming forward and assisting us with our investigation. That showed incredible courage.”

Detective Sergeant Dan Smith, who oversaw the investigation, said: “Kay is clearly a dangerous and calculating individual who had absolutely no regard for what he was putting his young victim through, and the length of his sentence should send a clear message out to perpetrators of sexual abuse: police will do everything in their power to track you down and bring you to justice.”

March 2015

Disgraced fraudster found guilty of sex offence against a girl aged under 14-years-old

A fraudster who embezzled £58,000 from a Blyth family has disgraced himself further after being found guilty of an indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14.

John Fagan, 65, formely of Watson Road. Worksop, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the historical offence at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday 25th February.

The sex offender is already serving a two year jail sentence for fraud and dishonesty after embezzling £58,000 from Northern Garden Supplies in Blyth, a business belonging to June Richardson.

During the court case in June last year, it was revealed that Mrs Richardson had decided to ‘give Fagan a chance’ and employ him as a handyman despite the fact he had a history of previous sexual offences.

It was when Fagan rose to being in charge of finances and running the swimming pool side of the business after Mr Richardson died that the company began to struggle financially.

An investigation took place and found that there had been numerous payments made to Fagan, or to an account on his behalf, totalling £58k.

Sally Richardson, June Richardson’s daughter, said her family had expressed delight to see justice done.

She told the Guardian: “Turns out as well as being a fraudster, this dangerous man is also a paedophile.

“It’s frightening because we have known him for a long time. We decided to give him another chance despite his past.”

March 2015

‘I hope he gets what he deserves in prison’: Victim speaks out

A woman who has lived with the devastating effects of child abuse for 25 years has spoken out after seeing her attacker jailed.

Now in her thirties, the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was subjected to horrific sexual abuse by Matthew Lungley in 1990 when she was just seven years old.

Vile Lungley, 41, preyed on the child, who was a family friend, when he was 17 and she went to his home in Pitstone to play.

He was sent to prison for six years on February 13, after his brave victim came forward, and appeared in the witness box during his indecent assault trial.

Now she wants to encourage other people who have been abused not to suffer in silence.

She said: “When I had my daughter it was supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life.

“Things like that are supposed to make everything better, but my first thought was ‘how could anyone do that to a child?’ It made me so angry.”

The woman, who has suffered depression and anxiety as a result of the abuse, added: “I feel so relieved that justice has been done, I feel like a weight has been lifted off.

“I have been through 25 years of hell and it hasn’t really sunk in yet, I still can’t believe that he is behind bars and I hope that he gets exactly what he deserves while he is in there.”

And, although giving evidence and revisiting that part of her life has been hard, the woman says she hopes speaking out will give other victims the reassurance they need to come forward.

She said: “When the jury said guilty I just sobbed, I was trying to say thank you to them, I fell to the floor and I couldn’t walk. He was doing everything he could to try and delay it, like turning up without a solicitor, he wanted me to crack.

“But I couldn’t because, as nervous as you get you find inner strength. I just thought how would I feel if he was able to just go back and start his normal life again.

“He will be on the sex offenders’ register now, his life is over and children are safer.”

When the assaults first took place the victim told her parents who reported it to the police, but at the time they were advised not to take it any further, as putting a seven year old through a trial would be traumatic.

The woman said: “Justice has been done and my parents did the right thing at the time, times were different then, I would like to thank my police officer Paula Benson who has been brilliant. I just want anyone out there reading this to know that you can get justice no matter how long ago it was.”

March 2015

Pervert jailed after sending schoolgirls sexually explicit Facebook messages and texts

An Orpington man has been jailed after inciting children to engage in sexual activity.

David Hill, 25, was jailed for 19 months on Monday (March 2) after pleading guilty to two counts of incitement to engage a child in sexual activity and one count of witness intimidation.

He was also required to sign the sex offenders register for seven years.

On October 1 last year police were informed that Hill, using the nickname Kemz, was sending messages of an extremely sexually graphic nature to girls aged 14 and 15.

Hill, of no fixed address, was contacting them through Facebook under the name Realke Mzme.

Hill went on to meet his first victim, the 15-year-old, on a train in Orpington and subsequently arranged to meet her at Bickley train station.

The girl took along a 14-year-old friend, but they became unnerved after meeting Hill and returned home.

He then bombarded the 15-year-old with texts, telling her he wanted to have sex with her.

Hill became nasty when she would not respond.

He then turned his attention towards the 14-year-old, sending her sexually explicit texts.

Hill resorted to threats towards both girls when neither responded to his texts.

On October 10 last year Hill was arrested at Bromley police station, after he answered his bail for an assault and affray in Canterbury.

Hill denied the offences when interviewed, and maintained that a friend had accessed his Facebook account sending the messages and texts without his knowledge.

An additional charge of witness intimidation was added to the case after an allegation that Hill sent numerous sexually graphic messages to another 14-year-old girl.

When he became aware that the case had been reported to the police, he threatened the victim and her parents in an attempt to get them to drop the case.

Detective Constable James Coldham, from Bromley CID, said: “Hill targeted the young girls in this case by sending them vile and sexually explicit messages and then resorted to threats of violence when he was rebuffed.

“We would urge parents and guardians to teach your child to be very careful to befriend and communicate with only trusted people that they know. 

“Above all, assure them that it’s OK to come to you, or another trusted adult, if they feel threatened by or uncomfortable about something they have seen or done on a social networking site”.

Hill was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to 10 months for witness intimidation, five months each for two counts of incitement of child sexual activity to run concurrently, and four months for assault and affray in Canterbury.

In a separate case Hill was sentence to 12 weeks’ imprisonment on February 26 at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, after pleading guilty to harassment.

Hill had sent his 23-year-old ex-girlfriend a number of messages of a sexual nature through Facebook after setting up an account under the name of Steven Harris.

March 2015

‘I’m glad to be caught’, child abuse images addict told police after they raided his home

A child abuse images addict’s first words to police who raided his home were “I’m relieved to be caught”, a court was told.

Married Wayne Thompson was tracked down by officers from Cleveland Police’s Child Exploitation and On-line Protection team acting on information that his email address had been involved in downloading indecent images of children.

Officers from the Middlesbrough-based unit analysed the 34-year-old’s computer and uncovered 227 images including movies and stills of some of the most serious categories A, B and C.

They executed a warrant to search his Guisborough home on April 10 last year and also his parents’ address in Loftus, where he had previously lived.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh told Teesside Crown Court that Thompson, who was of previous good character, claimed he had never intended to download indecent images of children but they appeared when he was searching for music files.

Miss Haigh told the judge: “Significantly upon arrest he said ‘I’m relieved to be caught, to be honest, even though I am not doing it now because my phone won’t allow me to download to the website’.”

She said: “He said he found that he had downloaded images of 11 to 12 year old boys.

“Initially he felt sick but then he went back again and again and again and it was something that he described as an addiction.”

Rachel Dyson, defending, said Thompson had co-operated with the police and he had pleaded guilty in Teesside Magistrates court at the earliest opportunity.

He had received psychiatric care in his late teens and early 20s, and he and his wife would both benefit from support.

Miss Dyson added: “It is clear that he feels that some form of intervention would very much assist him.

“He acknowledges that there is an issue here and he needs help in addressing that.

“The pre-sentence report refers to him as someone who has a very narrow if at all any social circle.

“He has never had any intervention at all and he would very much benefit from it at this moment in time.”

The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC told him: “You say you found the images by accident but you viewed them enthusiastically.

“You, and more importantly the public, would benefit from you being given some form of supervision so that your problems can be addressed by the probation department.”

Thompson, of Somerset Road, Guisborough, was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years with supervision and a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from unsupervised contact with children.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years after he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children between October 2010 and September 2013.

The judge ordered the destruction of the material seized from his computer.

March 2015

Dundee man caught with indecent images spared jail

A man who created and distributed indecent images of children narrowly avoided jail by agreeing to abide by a raft of strict conditions.

John Charles Alexander Stewart, 35, of Happyhillock Road, Dundee, was convicted of three charges relating to creating, possessing and distributing indecent images of children and was sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court.

The possession charge was over almost two years, from April 2012 to February 2014, while the creation and distribution was over a two-week period in February 2014.

As a direct alternative to custody a three-year package of measures was put in place to monitor Stewart, including banning him from entering certain places with children, possessing internet access or taking on employment or accommodation without permission from his supervising officer.

Part of the community payback order included a treatment order for Stewart to take part in the Tay Project which runs programmes for convicted adult sex offenders.

Stewart is also only permitted to have access to one phone, which he must surrender to police for examination at any time without notice.

Other conduct requirements are that Stewart must inform his supervising officer of any contact with children under 17 years old, he must not knowingly enter any park, children’s play area, school, nursery ground or other place where children under 17 habitually reside.

He was also sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work in the community which must be carried out within one year, and he is subject to the standard notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

Sentencing Stewart, Sheriff Way told him: “You brought yourself to the brink of going to prison and the only thing keeping you out is that you want to undergo the Tay Project.

“If you do not comply there will be no second chances and no other way forward than for me to put you somewhere I can be sure, and the public can be sure, you will not be a risk to anyone.”

March 2015

Pervert sent under-age girls explicit Snapchats

Ryan Hamilton, 22, pled guilty to a series of offences at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week.

The court heard he befriended a one girl on the popular image-sharing app Snapchat in August 2013 when she was 13.

He asked to meet her in person and she declined but continued to speak to him online.

Fiscal depute Jeanette Maclean said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was heading to school on the bus when Hamilton sent her a picture of a naked man in a bath.

The girl was “shocked and distressed” by the image which was also sent to her friend, a 13-year-old boy, who was also shocked.

They both then received a series of explicit images from Hamilton and the girl told her mother who went to the police.

Hamilton also admitted sending an indecent image to a young girl in Campbeltown — who thought he was “weird and creepy”.

He pleaded guilty to causing a 15-year-old girl in the town fear and alarm by sending her Snapchat messages telling her she was “really hot”.

Sheriff Gerard MacMillan ordered Hamiton, of Bryson Street, to be place on the sex offenders’ register.

He deferred sentence until March 24 for background reports.

March 2015

Glan Conwy man given sex offenders prevention order

A SEXUAL Offences Prevention Order has been granted to stop a man of 48 from giving lifts in his car to unaccompanied young females.

District Judge Gwyn Jones said at Caernarfon magistrates’ court last Wednesday it was “to ensure members of the public are protected from serious sexual harm”.

Barry Hill, of Glan Conwy, who already has a conviction for sexually abusing an under-age girl did not attend the hearing to oppose the order but it continued in his absence and he must pay £710 costs to North Wales Police, who brought the case.

“It’s clear there’s a pattern of behaviour in this case which indicates that the respondent has been using his car and approaching lone females and then offering to provide lifts for them,” remarked the judge.

That of itself was of concern but a greater worry was that the lifts to vulnerable females led “to sexualised conduct and discussions, albeit no touching”.

Judge Jones said Hill had accepted stopping to give a lift but “maintained his behaviour is not sexualised or inappropriate.”

Gill Jones, for the police, said an interim order had been made in January, and that Hill had claimed people had “misinterpreted how he had behaved towards them.”

PC Mike Butlin, who had collated evidence, said last autumn Hill appeared to be “increasingly bold in his behaviour.” He added : “Since the order was made he hasn’t come to notice.”

The court heard that in 1995 he’d been jailed for nine months for indecent assault on a girl under 16, and the same year there were convictions for causing actual bodily harm.

A previous hearing had been told that a Skoda Octavia estate care was involved. Police had received numerous reports last September that Hill was offering rides to lone females.

There had been an alleged incident involving a girl of 14 at Old Colwyn, another in which a young woman was followed while she walked there, and at Bangor two university students had been handed a business card stating “In Safe Hands”. Hill had told police this referred to a massage business.

Hill had stated that at Bangor seven police cars and a helicopter were involved and that a knife used for work had been discovered. In December he got a suspended sentence for having the knife.

Yesterday when he imposed the five year order, which includes a ban on following or intimidating females, Judge Jones said : “I’m satisfied that the order is both necessary and proportionate and ensures members of the public are protected from serious sexual harm.”

March 2015

Dawlish teenage sexual predator jailed for sex with schoolgirls

A sexual predator has been jailed for having repeated sex sessions with one 15-year-old girl and giving refuge to a second 14-year-old girl.

Lewis Stewart befriended the victims when he was already banned by a court order from having any contact with under aged girls because of concern about his grooming of girls in Dawlish and Teignmouth.

He persuaded the mother of the 15-year-old to let him move into her house by claiming to be homeless but then abused her hospitality by starting a secret sexual relationship with her daughter.

The autistic youth started his affair with the girl just weeks after police tracked down a 14-year-old girl to his home, where they found him half naked and her hiding in his bedroom.

Stewart, aged 19, of Third Avenue, Dawlish, admitted six offences of sexual activity with a child and four breaches of a restraining order which prohibited any contact with under age girls.

He was jailed for a total of 21 months by Judge Phillip Wassall at Exeter Crown Court and banned from having any contact with girls under 16 for ten years.

He told him: ”These are a very serious series of offences. One of these girls was 14 when you smuggled her into your bedroom. There was plainly a risk of an offence being committed because you were barely dressed.

“You said you had no option but to let her in but that is not the case. You could have told your mother or phoned the police or social services. These were clear and persistent breaches of the order.

“The high risk is demonstrated by what happened next with the 15-year-old girl, all of which was also in breach of the restraining order. It was not sufficient to stop you having sexual activity with her when you were aged 18.

“The troubling features of this case are that the order had no effect. You had a succession of relationships with under age girls, who you put into vulnerable positions. It was grooming, in a way.”

Miss Anna Midgley, prosecuting, said Stewart was made subject to the order which banned him from seeing under age girls in 2013 but flouted it repeatedly.

He had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl whose parents tried to supervise the contact but who found him alone in her bedroom shortly after they had kicked him out of their house.

He had returned by another entrance and was with the girl, although she said no sexual activity had taken place.

The girl ran away from home three months later and was found by police at Stewart’s home, where he answered the door wearing only a pair of tracksuit bottoms.

She said he then tricked the mother of the 15-year-old into letting him stay by telling her he was homeless and playing on her sympathy. He started having sex with her daughter on the day after her 15th birthday.

The final breach of the restraining order happened in October, when Stewart was actually awaiting sentence for the earlier offences. He was seen chatting to a 15-year-old girl.

Mr Tom Bradnock, defending, said Stewart is autistic and has difficulty understanding social boundaries but is working on improving his attitudes and behaviour.

He said: ”He has experienced mental health difficulties and chaos during his teenaged years. He is immature and needs to learn how to react appropriately when sexual opportunities arise.

May 2012

Halifax ex-teacher given suspended sentence for sex attacks on pupils

A PERVERT teacher who indecently assaulted his young male pupils has walked free from court.

Alan Birkby, 68, of Ryburn Buildings, Sowerby Bridge, was given a 16 month suspended sentence at Bradford Crown Court.

Birkby pleaded to nine counts of indecent assault and a further three counts of indecency with a child during his time as a teacher at Parkinson Lane Primary School, Halifax, between January 1972 and January 1981.

The court heard that the disgusting series of offences related to six boys who were aged between seven and 11 at the time.

But he was able to walk free with just a suspended sentence as Judge Colin Burn was forced to senetence him according to guidelines at the time of the offending.

Addressing the length of sentence Judge Burn said: “I have to sentence you against the background of the prevailing sentencing regime at the time of committing these offences and as a school teacher who has recently retired due to a mental breakdown.”

Prosecutor Hilary Manley described Birkby’s behaviour and his penchant for boys in short trousers – he would even be angry with boys who didn’t wear shorts.

“One of the complainants recalls having to walk up to the front of the class,” she said. “The defendant would put his hand on the inside of his leg and rub up and down.

Similar activity took place with the other boys with Birkby caressing their testicles through their shorts.

On one occasion he took boys into a storeroom and made them strip down to their underwear while he stroked and hugged them.

Judge Burn, sentencing, said: “The offences are many and various, as are the victims, in this case.

“These were pupils who looked to you as their teacher to teach and instruct them. To safeguard them and provide an example for them.

“On a significant number of occasions and with a number of pupils you failed to do that.

“When they sought distance or to avoid you, you could become unpleasant to them and even intimidating.

“You took advantage of your position as their teacher.”

The judge told the court that victim impact statements showed that the victims, now all in their 40s, had suffered long standing effects.

Speaking after the verdict, one of Birkby’s victims told the Courier of his frustration that Birkby had avoided jail.

“I’m disappointed with the sentence. It would have been good to know that that man was going to prison.”

He said it was the judicial system that had tied the judge’s hands.

“Credit to the police, they couldn’t have done any more,” he said. “And the judge wanted to give him more.

“He was in a position of trust, he was a teacher.”

On top of the 16 month suspended sentence Birkby was made subject to a sexual offences preventino order and oredered to pay £800 in prosecution costs.

Detective Insp Gail Lawrie, head of Calderdale’s District Safeguarding Unit, said: “As a teacher Birkby had a responsibility for the welfare and safety of children in his care.

“Primary school years are key to the development of all children and should be a place where they feel safe and secure.

“Sadly Birkby chose to abuse his position of trust and devastated the lives of his victims for his own sexual gratification.

“I would like to commend the bravery of those who had the courage and confidence to come forward and work with Police to help bring Birkby to justice. We hope the sentence passed today will go some way towards helping his victims to deal with the trauma he has caused them.

“All allegations against a teacher or other professional working with children are always thoroughly investigated by specialist officers who work in partnership to ensure victims are fully supported.”