March 2015

Lincoln Man Sentenced for Indecent Images of children

Noah Yabbacombe, aged 24, formally of Newport, Lincoln, was sentenced today at Lincoln Crown Court, to one year imprisonment with a ten year sexual harm prevention order.

Yabbacombe was charged with:

• Three counts of making indecent images of children in Lincolnshire

  Possession of 811 indecent images

  Possession of 21 extreme images (bestiality)

  Possession of seven prohibited images

  Distribution of indecent images of children

  Two counts of attempting to incite a child into sexual activity

Whilst on bail in Nottinghamshire, Yabbacombe was arrested again and was found to be in possession of indecent images of children.

He was further charged with three counts of making, and possession of 717 indecent images of children.

The indecent images covered all categories including the most extreme.

Yabbacombe pleaded guilty to all offences.

“The breadth and gravity of the young man’s offending, especially as he offended on bail, makes this one of the most horrific cases I have been involved with.

He is a depraved individual. Some of the detail Officers have had to consider as part of the investigation is amongst the most hideously graphic I have seen.” Detective Sergeant 973 Vicky Midgley, Internet Child Abuse Team

March 2015

Former musical director of Devon Opera admits making indecent images of children

A CHOIR leader and concert pianist from Buckfastleigh has admitted making indecent images of children and breaching the terms of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Former Devon Opera musical director Jonathan Watts, 56, who has also performed with the Dartington International Summer School, pleaded guilty to nine offences of making indecent images of children when he appeared before magistrates in Torquay.

He also admitted a tenth charge of breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order — imposed in 2006 — by downloading adult pornography and indecent images of children.

The offences took place in Buckfastleigh on dates between 2006 and 2014.

Until January Watts was musical director of Devon Opera.

Robert Hough, chairman of Devon Opera said: “He resigned in January saying it was for personal reasons, which we accepted.

“This will come as a shock to a lot of people.

“In the context of his musical activity his involvement with Devon Opera was small.

“He was never employed by Devon Opera he was just engaged by us as the musical director when we needed him.”

On a website advertising his availability as a musician Watts describes himself as a ‘soloist and accompanist specialising in choral, vocal and instrumental accompaniment’.

“I also specialise in teaching aural tests in the upper grades particularly to adult pupils,” he says.

Dartington International Summer School also released a statement.

It said: “We’re saddened to hear that one of the previous musicians at Dartington International Summer School has recently been convicted of downloading indecent images.

“We take our duty of care and commitment to responsible safeguarding very seriously, and Dartington has robust procedures in place that are regularly reviewed to ensure the safety of adults and young people taking part in our activities and to protect them from harm.”

Magistrates said the offences were too serious for them to deal with and sent Watts for sentence to Plymouth Crown Court on April 24. They ordered a pre-sentence report.

Watts, of Dart Bridge Road, was granted conditional bail until then.

March 2015

Community work for Monifieth pensioner found with indecent child images

An Angus man who downloaded indecent child images on his home computer has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.

Neil Pattie, from Monifieth, was found to possess 390 images, predominantly of boys aged between one and 15 years, after police searched his home on a tip-off.

He appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to possessing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children at home between November 29 2010 and March 21 2014.

The 69-year-old’s home was searched on March 25 last year after the police received information that he had downloaded indecent images.

The accused admitted possessing them.

The court heard a Dell desktop computer was seized and sent to the cybercrimes unit in Dundee for forensic examination.

He confirmed using a credit card to download films from a website but thought they were legal as there was a disclaimer on the website to that effect.

He denied downloading the 360 images for gratification.

Defending Pattie, solicitor George Donnelly said there were a “small number of images” and his client had already taken steps to confront his addiction.

Sheriff Pino Di Emidio said: “In this case, because you have taken steps yourself, I can deal with this by way of a community payback order.”

Pattie was given 200 hours of unpaid work, to be undertaken within two years, and was placed on the sex offenders register for two years, backdated to February 4.

March 2015

Pervert snared by US police

A pervert from Blackpool who preyed on young girls was snared when American police posed as one of his victims online.

A court heard Alexander Mackay, of Ventnor Road, manipulated one of his victims into making an indecent video of herself – but incriminated himself by sending it to a police officer posing as the girl.

The 42-year-old threatened to sell the footage of the American girl to pornography sites if she did not comply with his demands.

But his campaign of abuse was brought to an end when police in Idaho, where the girl lived, began investigating.

Mackay, who also went by the name Cameron, was jailed for eight years by a judge at Preston Crown Court after he admitted a string of sex offences.

The court heard a complex investigation involving Lancashire Police revealed he used a range of aliases to target three other victims – all thought to be American girls aged between 13 and 15.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “Mackay is clearly a predatory sex offender who targeted young girls and then threatened to expose them unless they continued to commit sexual acts for his vile gratification.

“We would like to thank colleagues in the United States for their invaluable help in bringing Mackay to justice.

“This shows there is no hiding place for people who use the internet to target young victims in this way.”

The court heard Mackay first made contact with one of his victims, from Boise, in Idaho, when she was 12.

The pair met online and they started texting after he gave her his phone number.

He asked her to send naked pictures of herself and threatened to post her number online if she did not.

The court heard the threats continued and she went on to send him a video of her performing a sexual act.

Eventually, she worked up the courage to tell her parents, who informed the local police.

One of the American detectives eventually snared Mackay after he posed as the victim online.

Richard Archer, prosecuting, said: “The defendant said he wanted to create a website he could use to show her videos.

“Conversation culminated with him repeating threats he had made.

“He said he would post the images as media files on sites for exchanging files.

“He said the files would be available to download for free to millions of users on the internet”.

Mackay went on to be asked if he had a video of her to post on sites. As proof, the defendant sent a video of the girl as an attachment.

He was arrested by Lancashire Police in October 2012.

Detectives then discovered he had targeted three other youngsters, all thought to be in the US, by threatening them in a similar way.

He had also downloaded indecent material of children, including a three-hour video featuring two girls, possibly from Russia.

Mackay had no previous convictions and the court heard he had stopped offending by the time police tracked him down.

Rachel Woods, defending, said the threats made had been very deeply unpleasant.

None of the images were ever sent to any other forum, apart from one to the undercover officer.

She added: “Little can be said by way of explanation.

“He describes himself almost as a Jeckyll and Hyde type character.

“He has had a very solitary, lonely existence.

“The internet provides a form of escapism.”

Judge Pamela Badley told Mackay: “These are very grave offences.”

Mackay pleaded guilty to a total of 14 charges, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He will be on the Sex Offender’s Register for life and subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

March 2015

Paedophile jailed after leaving memory card on bus

A “depraved” paedophile who was caught after mistakenly leaving his camera’s memory card on a bus has been jailed.

In order to return the card to its owner, a man who found it on the bus in Eccles, Greater Manchester last October decided to look at its contents.

After finding a number of sexual images of children, he reported it to police.

Salford man Anthony Jolly, 50, admitted possession of thousands of indecent images of children and was sentenced to three years at Manchester Crown Court.

Among the images were photographs of children which appeared to have been taken from a bedroom window.

Detectives were able to trace the pictures back to Jolly’s home address on Rosa Grove, Higher Broughton and arrested him.

A number of electronic devices were seized which contained thousands of indecent images of children.

Det Con Jill Vescovi of Greater Manchester Police said: “Anthony Jolly is a depraved predator who obviously doesn’t care and hasn’t given a second thought to the children in the images he kept and the impact this abuse will have had on their lives.

“Whilst none of the children who appear in the indecent images were directly abused by Jolly, the downloading and sharing of vile images like this fuel the trade of child sexual abuse.”

As well as a jail term, Jolly was also given a sexual harm prevention order.

March 2015

Schoolgirl waitress sexually assault by boss – Jailed

A teenage waitress sexually assaulted by her boss has described him as a “disgusting” predator after he was jailed.

She said was terrified when Lokman Gunbat said he would pay her to lose her virginity to him while she was working at his Dalkeith cafe.

Gunbat was jailed for three years for a string of sexual assaults.

The girl was one of three under-age waitresses whom Gunbat preyed upon at ­Coffee Express, the cafe he ran at ­Eskdaill Court, Dalkeith.

The father-of-six inappropriately touched the teenagers over a year-long period – and his youngest victim was just 14 at the time.

Gunbat, who denied the allegations, was found guilty of four charges following a week-long trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Sheriff Michael O’Grady told the 37-year-old this week that he had no option but to jail him to “offer protection” to his victims.

The Dalkeith High pupil had just turned 15 when she started working at the busy local cafe.She said: “When you’re 15, you’re buzzing to get a job. I was so excited about it. I started off on a Saturday and then he asked me to go in on a Friday as well. After I started going in on Fridays, that’s when stuff started happening.

“He said to me, ‘what happens in these four walls will stay in these four walls’.”

She said she kept quiet at first as she was intimidated by Gunbat and worried that no-one would take her complaints seriously.

“It started off with small things, he would touch my bum. But he would say, ‘I didn’t mean it’. He used to come up behind me and push himself against me. But I was scared. I ignored it,” she said.

The youngster finally broke her silence and went to police when Gunbat cornered her in the stockroom, covered her mouth and inappropriately touched her.

She said: “I started panicking. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get out of there. I shouldn’t have to be scared for my life. He was stood in front of the door. He was threatening me. He asked if I was still a virgin, and he offered me money and kept putting the sum up.”

When Gunbat found out that she had reported him, she claims he said he had the “best lawyers in Edinburgh” and told her she was a “stupid little girl who wanted attention”.

The trial brought back traumatic memories for the girl, who gave evidence behind a screen to avoid having to see her attacker in person.

She said: “Every time they asked me a question and I gave a brief description they would make me go into other details.

“I didn’t want my dad hearing what happened to me, and the extent. My dad broke down. It was the part about my virginity and offering to pay me money.”

The girl, now 16, added: “I don’t know if he’s done that to other kids. I just want people to know what he’s like. Just because [Lokman] is a family man, it doesn’t mean he is a nice guy. I’m a private person. At first I thought I didn’t want anyone to know. But I have stopped feeling like it was my fault. I started having nightmares about him. They had eased off but once the court case was coming up, they started again. I’m glad that something has come of it.”

The jury took just an hour to return a guilty verdict for all four charges he faced following a five-day trial last month.

Gunbat was found guilty of sexually assaulting the girl on various occasions between August 9, 2013 and October 5, 2013 at Coffee Express by seizing hold of her body, pressing his body against her, making sexually inappropriate remarks to her and offering money in exchange for sex.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting her by seizing hold of her, placing his hand over her mouth, putting his hands down her lower clothing, touching her, lunging towards her and attempting to kiss her on the face on October 5, 2013.

The jury also found Gunbat guilty of sexually assaulting another 15-year-old employee at Coffee Express on September 15, 2012, by repeatedly touching her on the bottom and thigh on top of her clothing, and making sexually inappropriate remarks to her.

And he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at his premises by putting his arms around her and attempting to kiss her between December 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Michael O’Grady sentenced Gunbat, of Newtongrange, to three years in prison and put him on the sex offenders’ register.

He told him: “There’s no doubt in my mind that the facts require to be reflected in a significant custodial sentence. That is required to punish you to mark the seriousness of this conduct and to offer what ­little protection the court can to young girls who might be preyed upon by the likes of you.”

The girl hopes that Gunbat’s imprisonment will give her some closure and help her move on with her life.

The budding personal trainer is focusing on her upcoming Higher exams and preparing for college interviews.

She said: “I’m relieved that he was sent to prison. When my dad texted me saying he’d got three years I was speechless. I started crying, I didn’t know how to react. Just thinking about it just takes me back to that room. I know that a lot of local people go into that cafe, the older generation. They all know him, thinking he was a charmer. I want them to read about this and for them to know he is disgusting. It will be hard to trust anybody for a while.”

She said Gunbat, originally from Turkey, had affected her confidence and relationships with family members.

She said: “I shut myself away from everyone, I shut myself away from my friends and didn’t speak to my dad.

“I know [Gunbat] would have done it again, but even then he pleaded not guilty. He was so smug and thought he was going to get away with it.

“I didn’t want to be reminded of back then, I changed the way my hair looked and everything. Not many of my friends knew, but once they found out, they have been there for me.” Father Billy said of Gunbat: “He’s a predator. My daughter has had to relive it, the other two girls have had to relive what they went through, and put up with being cross-examined. She just told the truth and gave her answers. It set all the emotions off. It brought it all back.

“I feel sorry for his wife and her kids. It’s not my daughter’s fault, she was assaulted. Even when the police were investigating him on a similar charge, he went on and did it again, employing girls and continuing to do it. He was just a sexual predator.”

It is understood that Coffee Express will be run by Gunbat’s business partner while he completes his jail sentence.

March 2015

Jail for Oldham man caught with indecent images of children and drugs worth more than £200k

A man found with drugs and indecent images of children has been jailed.

Michael Shaw, 46, of Copsterhill Road, Oldham, was stopped by police on a bike on Honeywell Lane in Hathershaw, Oldham, in the early hours of September 6 last year. Officers were patrolling the area after a spate of burglaries at the time.

Shaw was arrested and amphetamine with a street value £206,700 was later discovered at his home. Computers were also seized and found to contain the images.

Shaw pleaded guilty to possessing drugs with intent to supply and possessing indecent images.

At Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court, he was jailed for four years, two months.

Det Con Michelle Lomax called Shaw a ‘depraved man’.

She said: “The amount of amphetamines that we found at the address we searched was obviously a very significant amount so there is no doubt in my mind that Michael Shaw had every intention of aiding in the distribution of these drugs.

“I hope the result shows that we are very committed to bringing people who are involved in the distribution of drugs or possession of indecent images to justice.”

March 2015

Brynmawr man jailed after admitting grooming child for indecent images

A BRYNMAWR man who admitted grooming a child so that she would let him take sexually explicit pictures of her was jailed for five years.

Anthony Grout, 58, of Shoemaker Close, had admitted one charge of sexual activity with a child and seven of taking indecent images of a child.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that in January a woman accused Grout of taking photos of her when she was a child.

Some of the photos he took were deemed to be within the most serious category A bracket of indecent photos. The occasional photo shoots he arranged were first undertaken with the victim fully clothed, but they quickly became more sexually explicit.

The court heard he never threatened her with any violence.

He paid her a total of between £700 and £800 for the sessions and stored the images on his computer and CDs, which he kept around his home. Some of the discs were stored in his music collection.

Sentencing him, Judge Gaskell said Grout had abused his position as an adult and that it would have been clear to him that his behaviour was exploitative.

He said: “You started by photographing her from the back and then you moved to photographing her naked.

“There is no doubt what you did had an effect on her. It may well have been that she was flattered by complements and the idea she was photogenic. It is perfectly clear it has adversely affected her.”

On the count of engaging in sexual activity with a child, he was jailed for five years. On other counts regarding his taking sexually explicit photos, which were put into groups on recognition of their severity, he was sentenced to four years, 16 months and 12 months respectively. The sentences will run concurrently.

The judge also imposed a sexual harm prevention order on Grout. He must not own a device that can store images which police are unable to monitor and must not live with a child under 16 without their parents’ permission. He must have no contact with his victim.

In mitigation, Tracey Lloyd-Nesling said Grout had shown “genuine remorse” and had co-operated with police when the allegations had been made by the victim in January.

Ms Lloyd-Nesling said: “He looks back and accepts his behaviour was grooming. He did not accept it at the time. It is a small but important step to self-realisation to realise why he did what he did.”

March 2015

Allesley Park predator who groomed 15-year-old girl over the internet after liking her picture on Facebook

A predatory man took advantage of a vulnerable teenager and sexually assaulted her in her own home after spending months grooming her over the internet.

Paul Phillips had relentlessly pursued the 15-year-old before preying on her when she was particularly vulnerable after her mother was admitted to hospital.

At the crown court in Leamington he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming with intent to commit an offence.

Phillips, 29, of Brookside Avenue, Allesley Park, Coventry, was jailed for two years and eight months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Prosecutor Talbir Singh said Phillips had first contacted the girl via her Facebook page in October 2012, beginning by complimenting her picture and saying how attractive she looked.

‘‘He asked if she was single, and on the very first day he asked her what her age was, and she told him she was 15. He told her he was 27.

“He proceeded to ask her if she could keep him company that night and if they could meet. She thought he meant on Facebook, and the conversation continued for some time.”

He then asked whether they could meet in a few days at his home and watch DVDs and cuddle, to which she replied: “Dunno.”

‘‘The conversation continued the next day, and the sexual undertones began to escalate slightly. He gradually suggested the cuddling could take place in his bed. She said ‘I don’t know.’

“The following day the conversation got more sexually explicit…her reaction was in the negative,” said Mr Singh.

Phillips suggested she could go to his home and have sex with him, but she replied: “I’ve never done it before, and I don’t want my first time to be with someone I hardly know and just wants a bit of fun.”

Throughout November and December the girl, who repeatedly expressed concern about the age gap, pointing out Phillips was 12 when she was born, made excuses for why she could not meet him, but his messages to her continued to be sexually explicit.

But then her mother suddenly had to be admitted to hospital and, after going there with her, the girl had no way of getting home.

Phillips sent her a message to her phone offering to pick her up and take her home; and when they got back she invited him in because she thought it would be rude not to do so.

But as they then sat on the sofa he began to hug her, which made her feel uncomfortable.

“He tried to undress her, but she said no. He persisted, and wanted to go into her bedroom, but she told him no.”

Phillips then climbed on top of her and sexually abused her, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.

But he suddenly stopped, telling her he had noticed the time and had to leave because he had football practice.

The girl did not say anything at the time, but told her doctor when she saw him about another matter two months later, although she did not contact the police until some months later.

But when Phillips was questioned by the police last year he described his grooming of the girl as just ‘stupid internet talk,’ and claimed their only physical contact had been hugging.

Amrisha Parathalingam, defending, said Phillips’s real mitigation was his guilty pleas and his previous good character.

“This defendant now appears to have some insight into what he has done and the devastating impact his actions are likely to have on this young girl. He has expressed remorse.”

March 2015

Army wife who sexually abused 14-year-old boy, after meeting him on a school bus is spared jail

A Corporal’s wife who said she was ‘starved of affection’ was spared jail yesterday after having sex with the 14-year-old son of a soldier.

Caroline Salisbury, 27, lured the boy into her bed after meeting him on a school bus.

The mother-of-two, who had been ‘looking for love’, pleaded guilty to four charges of sexual activity with a child – after earlier telling a neighbour she had been raped by him.

Speaking at a court in Colchester yesterday, Judge Advocate Emma Peters gave her a two-year suspended sentence and warned her to ‘stay away from young boys’.

Salisbury began having sex sessions in her living room with the boy a week after his 14th birthday in 2013, the Service Civilian Court was told.

They met when she became a bus monitor escorting children of soldiers based in a British garrison in Germany to school.

Colonel Nigel Jones, prosecuting, told the court: ‘She invited him to her house and the relationship developed from just being friends into what became a sexual relationship.’

She would send him Facebook messages when her husband, David, a corporal in the Royal Engineers, was out, so he could visit her married quarters for drink and sex.

In one message she told the boy: ‘Come at four. He won’t be in. I cannot wait for you to f*** me again.’

Col Jones said: ‘She had two accounts on Facebook to communicate with him. It was not just about meeting up. Declarations of love were made on both sides.’

He added: ‘Because he was spending so much time with her his mother became suspicious. A friend of his mother visited her and showed her messages from Salisbury which suggested a sexual relationship between her and the boy.’

His parents alerted the Royal Military Police and when they knocked on her door, the boy fled over the garden fence.

Despite twice being warned by the police not to meet him, Salisbury continued the affair. Then, when his parents were having a barbecue, the boy did not attend and was not answering his mobile phone.

His brothers went to Salisbury’s home and began banging on the door because they knew he was inside.

Neighbours called the police and the boy fled once more. Col Jones said: ‘The boy later confessed to his father he had been in a sexual relationship with her and she was arrested.’ 

Salisbury told a neighbour she had been raped by him. But in an interview with the Military Police she admitted twice having sex with him saying he had forced himself on her, but did not say rape.

Col Jones added: ‘He was very upset at the end of it. He was totally besotted with her.’

Defence barrister Peter Glenser told the court that Salisbury was ‘starved of affection’ by her husband who has since left the Army and is working in Saudi Arabia.

‘It was for this reason she sought the company of people younger than herself,’ he said.

‘In the last week he has indicated that he is sorry for the way he has treated her and that he should have been more supportive of her.’

Mr Salisbury, from Suffolk, wiped tears away as he told the court: ‘This is a shaming occasion for her. She desperately regrets what has happened.’

Judge Peters told his wife: ‘This was a boy who was a child of just 14 and to suggest he pressed himself upon you is revolting.

‘That is utterly criminal. The police warned you off and you carried on. Young boys have to be kept safe and not be groomed and taken back to your house when your husband was away.

‘You were looking for love. You are a damaged woman. I am going to take an exceptional course – you have come within a hair’s breadth of going to prison for a long time.

‘I pass this suspended sentence with a heavy heart. You need to stay away from young boys.’

Salisbury was placed on the sex offenders’ register for ten years and banned from having any boy aged under 16 in her home without parental consent.

March 2011

Pervert had indecent images of children

THOUSANDS of DVDs with fake copies of films and music were found after a man’s “cottage industry” sideline was smashed, a court heard.

Jason Haywood illegally copied the films and music and sold them over the internet to help prop up his struggling joinery business, the court was told.

The 40-year-old, of Catkin Road, Bottesford, admitted two offences of using unauthorised trademarks.

At an earlier hearing, he had also admitted making indecent images of children after police found child pornography on a computer.

Alexander Odell, prosecuting for North Lincolnshire Council, told Grimsby Crown Court that a search was made of Haywood’s home after a warrant was executed for trading standards officers on September 17, 2009. Two DVD duplicators, two laptops and a large number of discs were found.

A total of 6,225 counterfeit film DVDs and 1,496 music DVDs were found.

Haywood was running a business making unauthorised copies and selling them over the internet, the court was told.

Police later found child pornography on a computer and, at an earlier hearing before the same court in October, he admitted nine offences of making indecent images of children and one offence of possessing indecent images of children.

As reported, he was given a three-year supervision order, including a sex offenders’ treatment programme, and was given a five-year sexual offences prevention order.

Gordon Stables, mitigating, said Haywood made significant admissions about the trademark matters and the profit he made was not more than a few thousand pounds.

“It started as something of a hobby and plainly got out of control,” said Mr Stables. It wasn’t a scheme dreamed up for this purpose from the outset.”

Haywood had shown genuine remorse and got involved in the enterprise because he was struggling to make ends meet from his joinery business. “This counterfeit business expanded to try to keep his family’s head above water,” said Mr Stables.

Judge David Tremberg told Haywood: “This was persistent, determined and fairly well-organised criminal offending over an extended period of time.

“There was an obvious loss to the trademark holders. It causes a diminution of work that is available to their employees and potential employees.”

There was a loss of VAT to the public purse, but he added that the people buying the copies knew they were counterfeit and it was not a case that they were being “hoodwinked” in to buying something they thought was genuine.

Although the potential loss to trademark holders from Haywood’s “cottage industry” sales using copies found at his premises was put at £19,377, Judge Tremberg said it was by no means certain that people who were prepared to pay £2.50 for a copy would also have been willing to pay full price in a shop.

Haywood was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 200 hours’ unpaid work.

April 2010

Child-sex pervert banned from fast-food chains

A court has issued an order to protect boys from a convicted serial sex offender.

Leicester magistrates agreed to grant a police application for a sexual offences prevention order to be made on Brian Noble (67), who is living in a probation hostel.

Noble has a record of offences against boys, aged between two and 10, starting in October 1978,

The order bans Noble from approaching, or touching any male aged under 16 in public.

He is barred from any cinema between 8am and 8pm, entering McDonalds, Burger King, KFC or Pizza Hut, going into any public toilet where males aged under 16 are present unless they are accompanied by an adult, taking images of males aged under 16 and from leaving England and Wales without informing his offender managers.

He will also have to tell police of any change of address or intention to travel, with details of where and when he will be going.

The prevention order will start immediately and run indefinitely.

It was seen as necessary because of Noble’s history of offending and comments he made to police officers after being released from prison in 2009.

Andrew Logan, for the police, said the offences were committed in Leicester and towns including Scunthorpe and St Ives, concentrating on public toilets, fast-food chains and cinemas where he knew children were likely to be.

“He has admitted he still fantasises about having sex with children and, in February, was seen in store choosing to sit in the cafe near a group of women with children,” Mr Logan said.

Mr Logan said Noble’s words and behaviour indicated he had a very high risk of re-offending and was potentially capable of causing serious sexual harm to children.

Noble was not represented in court.

He did not object to the order being made but told the magistrates he would not pay the police’s £1,000 costs.

“It is unjust and I will not pay it,” he said.

The magistrates recorded that the court had made an order for the costs to be paid.

January 2007

Ex-head jailed for attacks on pupils

A former headteacher has been jailed for indecently assaulting pupils during “corporal punishment” sessions more than 35 years ago.

Leicester Crown Court heard Michael Cotsell carried out the attacks on four boys when supposedly disciplining them in his school study.

Cotsell pleaded guilty to eight offences of indecent assault against the youngsters, all aged under 14, between 1966 and 1971.

The 68-year-old, now of Sussex, had originally denied the charges but pleaded guilty last year on the day he had been due to stand trial.

On Monday, Judge Christopher Plunkett, jailing him for 18 months, said even his age could not save him from a custodial sentence.

He told him: “I accept that sending you to prison will cause you personal hardship, as it would anyone of your age and background.

“I also accept you have led a blameless life for the past 35 years.

“But the community has to see this sort of behaviour will result in prison.”

Cotsell was the head of Knossington Grange Preparatory School, a private boarding school that is believed to have closed in the 1970s.

His offending did not emerge until one of the boys came forward in 2003, with a subsequent police inquiry revealing other victims.

Leicester Crown Court heard one boy was made to strip and lie across Cotsell’s knee while being spanked and indecently touched.

Another pupil told police how Cotsell regularly touched him in a sexual way while caning him when he was between the ages of nine and 11.

A third said Cotsell would “cuddle” him after canings, while youngsters also complained he would feel inside their shorts during sport lessons.

Christopher Kessling, prosecuting, said one of the victims was left questioning his own sexuality and still suffered flashbacks to the incidents.

Michael Harrison, defending, said Cotsell, of Polegate, East Sussex, who had no previous convictions, stopped teaching in 1971.

He added that he was overworked at the time and later had a nervous breakdown, after which he never had anything to do with children again.

March 2011

Man who worked at school had child abuse images

A MAN who worked at a school has pleaded guilty to downloading indecent images of youngsters.

Peter Taylor, who worked at The Grange School in Somerby Road, Knossington, appeared at Leicester Crown Court last Tuesday and pleaded guilty to eight counts of making indecent images of youngsters, by downloading them, between 2002 and 2009.

Taylor (47), of Upper Brooks, Exton, Rutland, was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision, and a requirement to undergo a sex offenders programme.

He was banned from working with children for life and will be put on the sex offender register for seven years. His four computers were also ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

Taylor is no longer employed at The Grange School, which is for boys with behavioural difficulties, and was suspended immediately when the police investigation was launched in December 2009.

Headteacher Steve Watt said the investigation also confirmed no offence relating to children at the school or any school property had taken place.

1994

Paedophile housemaster jailed 

Alan Johnson, a housemaster at Knossington Grange, a boarding school for boys with behavioural problems in Leicestershire.

Officers interviewed more than 100 people and spent 8,000 hours over a six-month period on the inquiry.

Johnson was charged with 22 sex offences against pupils between 1973 and 1979, including boys at two other schools where he had worked previously.

He pleaded not guilty, putting his victims through the ordeal of a trial.

Johnson was convicted on 22 counts of sex offences against 15 boys after a two-week trial.

As housemaster, he was responsible for the boys’ welfare outside school hours.

But the prosecution told how he carried children from their beds at night to his private room, using both rewards and threats to satisfy his sexual perversions.

He made some boys recite the Lord’s Prayer backwards before kissing and cuddling them, watched them naked in the shower, abused them on camping trips and took pornographic photos of some of them.

The 55-year-old was branded “wicked and evil” by the judge who sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

The boys he abused were aged between eight and 13 and described as “already damaged and emotionally deprived”

March 2015

Teacher who signed ‘sex slave contract’ with schoolgirl banned from teaching

A TEACHER who encouraged a teenager to send him explicit photographs and invited her to sign a slave contract has been banned from the classroom.

Maths teacher Kelvin Loraine struck up a relationship with a 15-year-old girl after meeting her in an online chatroom in spring 2013.

Loraine, who worked at Hetton School, in Hetton-le-Hole, near Sunderland, allowed and encouraged the girl to send him between 30 and 40 naked pictures of herself.

A National College for Teaching and Leadership panel heard how he instructed and watched the girl perform sex acts via Skype and let her watch him perform an act on himself.

The teacher, 31, admitted inviting the teenager to sign a sex slave contract with him.

On November 30, Loraine arranged to meet the girl in a hotel in Plymouth and travelled from his home in County Durham to have sex.

The teacher told the panel that the sexual activity took place after the girl’s 16th birthday.

The hearing heard that Loraine received a caution from Durham Constabulary on July 10, 2014 for possessing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

The panel noted that Loraine had a previous good history as a teacher and had expressed regret for his behaviour.

However, it concluded that his actions were planned over a period of time and were therefore deliberate.

It said his behaviour could have harmed the girl, known as Child A, adding: “The panel is satisfied that it is necessary for a prohibition order to be imposed in order to protect pupils and other members of the public, maintain public confidence in the teaching profession and to declare and uphold proper standards of conduct.”

The panel’s findings were supported by Paul Heathcote, on behalf of the secretary of state.

Issuing a prohibition order banning Loraine from teaching indefinitely, he said: “The panel have noted that Mr Loraine’s behaviour amounts to serious sexual misconduct.

“He was the instigator of indecent images of a child being taken which he then had in his possession for his own sexual gratification.

“I agree with the panel’s recommendation that the order should be without the opportunity to apply for it to set aside at a future date.”

Mr Heathcote ruled that the teacher’s behaviour was so serious that he would never be allowed to apply for the order to be revoked.

Hetton School said in a statement that the teacher was a former employee of the school.

The statement added: “Following information supplied to the school by the local authority designated officer, he was immediately suspended from employment pending a police investigation which did not result in a criminal prosecution. He resigned from his post later that school year.

“All safeguarding procedures were followed throughout and the incident did not involve any member of our school or local community.

“Hetton School has a clear and consistently applied safeguarding policy and we place the welfare and safety of our students above all else.”

March 2015

Musician admits downloading more than indecent images of children

A MUSICIAN and songwriter has admitted downloading more than 300 indecent images of children.

At Bournemouth Crown Court, musician Roy Gaynor pleaded guilty to 16 counts of making indecent images.

The court heard the 68-year-old had 145 moving and still images in the most serious category, along with 26 in category B and 141 in the least serious category C, which are nude images. One involved a baby.

The offences took place between March 8, 2011, and March 5, 2015.

Judge Peter Johnson, who adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report to be prepared, said: “These are serious matters and all sentencing options remain open to the court.”

Detectives from Dorset Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) were alerted to Gaynor’s online activities and launched an investigation.

Various computers and electronic devices were subsequently seized at his home in Sea Road, Boscombe.

On artist profile website Starnow Gaynor describes himself as a guitarist, singer and “prolific songwriter” with more than 30 years of experience performing with bands and orchestras.

He performs at weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other family events.

In 2013 Gaynor wrote and staged a musical called ‘No Pasarán!’, which followed a group of Irish friends who travelled to Spain to join the International Brigades and fight in the civil war.

Earlier this year he was seeking performers for a new musical called Up the Ressie, said to be loosely based on his own childhood experiences in 1950s London.

Detective Constable Paul Chessell, of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, said: “Gaynor had made hundreds of indecent images of children, some of which showed the most severe category of abuse.

“I would urge anyone affected by Gaynor’s guilty plea to please contact the Paedophile Online Investigation Team on 101. Support is also available from the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.”

Gaynor was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and released on conditional bail – preventing him from communicating with or being in the unsupervised presence of children aged under-16.

The sentencing will take place on May 22.

March 2015

Paedophile snared in an undercover sting is locked up

SICK Terry Strange was jailed after telling police posing as a perverted stepfather that he wanted sex with two young children.

Undercover detectives started talking to the 52-year-old after he logged on to a website known to be used by paedophiles arranging child abuse.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard Strange even boasted to the officers he previously raped children.

At his trial, Strange claimed what he told the officers was just fantasy.

But sentencing him, Judge Roger Hetherington said: ‘From the very outset, and repeated on several occasions throughout the conversations, you emphasise you were not into mere fantasy and were only interested in real sex with real children.

‘You envisaged here having sexual relations with the two particular children put forward by the undercover police, namely a girl of 10 and a boy of eight.

‘You made clear you had experience of forced sex with very young children which is no doubt the reason why police became interested.’

It may never be known if Strange was telling the truth about his past experience, Judge Hetherington said.

He added: ‘The likelihood is that you envisaged some sort of forced sex, that’s to say against the wishes of the children, who were of course in no position to consent.

‘You hoped to use your own house for this purpose and you discussed possible periods or dates when that might be available.’

Police arrested him after the undercover officers – posing as the stepfather online – agreed to meet him in McDonald’s in Gosport.

The court heard police also found child abuse images and extreme pornography with animals on his computer.

Strange, who has a long-term male partner of 25 years, looked at the images in a single browsing session.

John Greany, defending, said there were no obvious aggravating factors in the case.

In relation to the sting he said: ‘There was no actual human person or child involved.’

He added there was a significant gap between Strange’s arrest and the end of his case, and that Strange suffers from three medical conditions.

Strange, of Burnhams Walk, Gosport, had denied one charge of attempting to arrange or facilitate commission of a child sex offence but was found guilty by a jury at trial.

Jurors were shown chat logs between the officers and Strange between April 8 and May 23, 2013.

He also pleaded guilty to seven charges of possessing indecent images of a child, ranging from category A to C.

Strange also admitted one charge of possessing 406 extreme pornographic images portraying a sex act with animals.

Judge Hetherington sentenced him to three years for the attempted facilitation and one year concurrent for each of the image charges

February 2014

Middlesbrough man jailed for six years after abusing daughter of woman he befriended on internet

A PAEDOPHILE who sexually abused the daughter of a woman he met in an internet chat room has been jailed for six years.

Gary Dawson began a series of sex assaults by attacking the young girl on a seaside trip in which he stayed in his parents caravan.

Teesside Crown Court heard that after his arrest, the 46-year-old vanished, leaving a suicide note.

Police found him on a beach in Marske, east Cleveland, after what Nigel Soppitt, mitigating, said was a realistic attempt to take his life.

Dawson admitted four counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said the first attack happened in a caravan at Saltburn.

Mr Dodds said Dawson undressed the girl in the living room area put a finger over her mouth before sexually assaulting her.

“The victim said this became a routine and she was scared to tell her mam,” he said.

Some years later the victim did tell her mother what had happened.

Dawson initially claimed the girl touched him first, before admitting he was at fault.

Mr Soppitt said Dawson, of Broadwell Road, Middlesbrough, was a lonely man living his life on the internet.

“He accepts what he has done, is deeply ashamed and wants to start his sentence as soon as possible.”

Recorder Toby Hedworth said the abuse had very profound long term effects on both the victim and her mother.

Dawson was jailed for six years in total and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order and must register as a sex offender for life.

Speaking afterwards, the mother of his young victim branded him a “coward” and said she remains angry and bitter.

The woman told The Northern Echo: “I hate him and hate what he has done to my daughter. It is good that he has been jailed for six years, but he should have got more.”

The girl now finds it difficult to concentrate on her studies and was referred to a child psychologist.

her mother added: “She is trying to put a brave face on, but she will sometimes cry and get angry about what happened.

“She kept this under wraps for years and she then just blurted it out.”

Dawson attempted to take his own life after vanishing on the day of his trial, but the woman said killing himself would have been too good for him.

“I wanted him to face the public and the court for who he is because that is the only way I would get justice for my daughter,” she said.

“I don’t think I will ever move on from this. This is my baby girl.”

March 2015

Paedophile who had child abuse images filmed children playing in street

A PAEDOPHILE who filmed children playing outside his west Hull house said he did it ‘to catch antisocial behaviour in his street’

Loner Trevor Harrison, 67, was caught with 2,206 indecent images of children on his computer after police in Toronto tipped off British authorities with addresses of people who had bought indecent images from a Canadian website.

When officers raided his home in Cranbourne Street, west Hull, they also found a video, shot from his house, showing children going past.

Harrison said he told his neighbours he would film children to catch them behaving antisocially after concerns among residents were raised.

Prosecutor Dale Brook told Hull Crown Court: “They found video footage showing children going past and playing around his house.

“In their own right, those images are not unlawful, but perhaps they are relevant in the context of these offences.

“He was asked if he had any particular issues with the children in the street and he replied, ‘Doesn’t everyone?’.

“It is noted there have been no recorded complaints to police about antisocial behaviour from the children or anything of that nature.”

Harrison, who has never married, lived alone.

Police seized computer equipment, including two USB sticks, a hard-drive, discs, DVDs and a tablet computer.

He pleaded guilty to five charges of possession of indecent images of children.

In total, 18,000 images were found but some of these were duplicates or could not be viewed, so he was charged in connection with the 2,206 that were accessible.

When he was arrested, he told officers he collected the images because he had an interest in photography.

In mitigation, Joanna Golding said Harrison was at a “low risk” of reoffending.

She said: “He has been in healthy relationships but I think he is just a loner.

“This camera was not solely directed to female children, it was there because there had been problems with local children.

“He is part of a local community, who decided they should watch what was going on, but he won’t be doing that anymore.

“He agreed to do it but there is no evidence of singling out young girls.”

Sentencing Harrison to a three-year community order, Judge John Dowse QC said: “The viewing of this material [the indecent images] facilitates the exploitation of these children. The explanation for what you have done is not very clear to me at all.”

Harrison was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order.