April 2015

Dealer who lured girls to his home and plied them with drugs during sex parties is jailed

A dealer who lured girls to his home and plied them with drugs during sex parties was jailed for eight years.

Paul Smith, 42, was in bed with two teenage girls when the police raided his home and found a stash of MCat.

Mary Prior, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court that Smith, of Belvoir Road, Coalville, was a “well known” dealer of the class B drug.

He admitted supplying MCat at street level during 2013..

He also pleaded guilty to supplying it to four girls, aged between 14 and 17.

The court heard that Smith had a games room at his house where sexual activity with girls, some below the age of consent, took place.

The court heard the four, who bravely came forward to complain about Smith, despite fearing him, were exploited into taking part in sexual activity.

Judge Nicholas Dean said: “He was eliciting sexual favours from young women when they were off their heads on drugs he supplied, having got them into that state in the first place.”

He told Smith: “You had a reputation for the supply of drugs and alcohol to young girls.

“That was known by word of mouth and through social media to girls and young people.”

“You ensured these young women were not in a state of mind but to comply with your terms for sexual favours from them; each of them vulnerable because of their backgrounds and personal circumstances and you knew that.

“You deliberately exploited your position as a drug dealer to obtain sexual favours and the harm you caused by that behaviour was very substantial.

“The victim personal statements make harrowing reading and the harm you caused is difficult to overstate.

“You’ve even described your own behaviour, in a letter to the court, as despicable.”

Judge Dean said the sexual activity “seriously aggravated” the drugs supply offences.

Mrs Prior said when the officers carried out the raid in January 2014, they found a safe containing 47 grams of cannabis, and just under 60 grams of MCat, along with 73 Viagra tablets, and 14 Valium, with a total street value of £1,329.

She said: “There was CCTV at the property and it’s clear he wasn’t in paid employment.

“As well as selling drugs to male customers he was free and easy with drugs and alcohol for young females at parties he encouraged girls to attend at his property.

“There would be parties, sex games and a seemingly endless supply of drugs.

“Taxis were sent and paid for by this defendant to collect young women and bring them to his address.

“Once disinhibited by drugs they’d be asked for sexual favours, which went on for at least 12 months.”

“The four complainants (aged 14, 15, 16 and 17) all viewed the defendant as a ‘big man’ in the Coalville area and were concerned about speaking out about him.

Judge Dean imposed life-long restraining orders, banning Smith from any future contact with the four girls who made complaints about him and banned him from going to the areas where they live.

He was placed on a 10 criminal banning order (CBO) prohibiting him from being with girls under 18 in a private vehicle, his home or communicating with them via social media.

Detective Constable Gav Collins, who has investigated the incident, said: “Smith took advantage of young girls and plied them with drink and drugs for his own sexual gains.

“These incidents have had a lasting effect on the victims. Smith was aware of the girls’ vulnerability and in spite of this gave them alcohol and drugs.

“All of the victims have shown tremendous courage in coming forward and speaking to the police.

He continued: “We believe there could possibly be more victims of Smith who have not yet come forward and contacted us and I would urge them to do so now, so we can investigate fully and offer appropriate support.

“I would like to reassure anyone that does contact us that their report will be treated with the upmost sensitivity with specialist officers and social workers on hand to support and assist victims.”

The case came to light after concerns were raised by Leicestershire County Council’s social care team over disclosures made by one of the victims.

A Leicestershire County Council spokesperson, said: “The young people in this case have shown tremendous bravery throughout the investigation, and I’d like to commend them for their courage.

“We are committed to listening to young people and taking their experiences seriously, and have supported them and their families throughout.”

April 2015

Ex-soldier facing jail for inciting Filipino woman to commit child sex offence on-line

AN ex-soldier is facing an “inevitable” prison sentence, after “commissioning” a Filipino woman to lie naked with her four-year-old child over a web cam.

Carl Mould arrived for the preliminary hearing at Durham Crown Court on bail – facing five charges over possession of hundreds of indecent images of children, plus another count relating to extreme pornography, both moving and stills, downloaded from the internet.

But he was also accused of arranging or commissioning an act of child sexual touching.

It was agreed the indictment could be put to Mould, of Trimdon Station, County Durham, who pleaded ‘guilty’ to all seven counts.

Asked by Judge Christopher Prince about the final offence, Chris Baker, prosecuting, said it related to web camera footage and associated keyboard “conversation” between Mould and a named woman in the Philippines.

During the web chat Mould offered to pay her to strip and lie naked on a bed next to her four-year-old child, subsequently making a Western Union money transfer of about 1,000 Philippines pesos, said to be worth about £30, to the woman.

“It’s not clear if any sexual activity took place, but the conversation did, in which he was inciting a naked adult to touch this child.”

Judge Prince said: “These are serious allegations, but the final count is a particularly serious.

“It’s effectively inciting the commission of a child sexual offence, attracting a prison sentence of some years as the starting point.

“It’s using Western wealth to incite those from poorer countries to engage in sexual activities on line.”

Andrew Petterson, for Mould, told the court: “He’s 52 and of previous good character.

“He suffers post traumatic stress disorder and has other mental health conditions arising from his time in the country’s armed forces, where he served in Northern Ireland and sub-Saharan Africa.”

Mr Petterson asked for preparation of a psychiatric assessment to accompany a background report on Mould, prior to next month’s sentencing hearing.

“It would look at the impact a custodial sentence would have on him and his mental health at the time of the offences.

“He knows a prison sentence is inevitable in this case, but all I ask is for him to given the chance to put his affairs in order and assist in the preparation of these reports.”

But Judge Prince said he had “great concerns” about Mould retaining his liberty until the sentencing hearing, as he considered his actions were those of, “a sexual predator”.

The judge, therefore, remanded Mould, of Hurworth Close, Trimdon Station, in custody.

He is to be sentenced on Friday May 29.

In the meantime, Mould’s name will be entered on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

April 2015

Cumbrian police worker found with baby abuse pictures wanted to be a foster carer

A Cumbria police worker guilty of distributing horrific indecent images of children had tried to become a foster carer for young boys.

David Robinson, 46, also spoke about wishing to abuse a baby during sickening online discussions with other paedophiles – and asked one if he wished to “sell” a baby.

Robinson, of Waldegrave Road, Longsowerby, Carlisle, now faces a prison term after admitting 20 child abuse image charges.

A number of these are of the most serious ‘category A’ offence and some involve children under the age of five. Carlisle Crown Court heard how some images featured children who were “visibly distressed”.

The former front counter worker at Cumbria police’s main police station on Durranhill industrial estate, will be sentenced tomorrow.

This follows an initial hearing which revealed the details found during the police investigation into their colleague, who was suspended from work.

It is understood that detectives regard the case as one of the most upsetting they have come across.

David Pojur, prosecuting, told the court how Robinson – who is a single with no children – had a bedroom at his home made into a child’s bedroom, with Spiderman bedding, nappies, a pram and a Moses basket.

In 2014 he undertook a training course in fostering children. “He made a written application, filled out forms, got references and undertook training to be a foster carer,” said Mr Pojur.

“He then had an interview, which he failed. He made a particular request to have two boys under 12.”

Mr Pojur said an acquaintance used a laptop in Robinson’s home to check his emails and came across images of babies being sexually abused.

“The defendant said he did stupid things when drunk,” said Mr Pojur.

Police arrested Robinson and checked his computer.

“Examinations revealed what the defendant did was have quite prolonged chats with a number of people,” Mr Pojur told the court.

“In chats he would actively seek out fellow paedophiles on the internet and also people with access to children.”

In online conversation with one person he asked if he could “get” a child and discussed how he could “pay for him for the weekend”.

The court heard that Robinson “wanted to be the child’s boyfriend”. Robinson also asked if there were “any single dads with babies” the man knew.

In one online chat he asked a man if he wanted to “sell the baby” they were discussing.

In another, Mr Pojur added, Robinson “discusses how they would treat a boy”.

“The defendant said he would keep him in a dog cage, give him the cane,” he said.

The court heard that investigations are underway into the conversations.

During police interviews Robinson admitted downloading many images of children.

“He said he had a drink problem, and when under the influence of alcohol he searched the internet,” said Mr Pojur.

Robinson admitted 10 charges of making indecent photographs of a child on dates between November 2011 and February 2014.

He also pleaded guilty to ten further counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child.

These offences covered dates between April 2013 and June 2014.

Tim Evans, representing Robinson, said: “There isn’t a single instance where the defendant had access to a child, came anywhere near having access to a child or was offered access to a child in any realistic way.”

Referring to the room kitted out for a child, he said when people enter into the fostering process they are asked to have a room suitable for officials to inspect.

Judge Peter Hughes QC entered a formal verdict of not guilty on a further charge of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.

This came after the prosecution concluded that having pleaded to 20 counts it was not in the public interest to pursue a single further count against him.

Robinson’s role with the police force involved him dealing with enquiries from the public.

September 2011

Ex-newsagent who admitted indecency walks free to look after elderly parents

A 50-year-old man who admitted committing indecency with a child 16 years ago has walked free from court to care for his elderly and infirm parents.

Neil Pearson was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to six counts of indecency with a boy in the mid-1990s.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday how Pearson had befriended a boy of 12 or 13 while running a newsagents shop.

Pearson, who used to run and live above a shop in Station Road, Denholme, showed the boy top-shelf magazines, performed an indecent acts upon himself and also asked the boy to perform indecent acts upon him.

Prosecutor Jeremy Hill-Baker said: “This lasted about a year – the complainant estimated about once or twice a week. When he was 14 the complainant stopped going to the shop quite so much and remained silent on what had happened until 2008 and it was reported to the police in 2009.”

Mitigating for Pearson, who now lives in St Mary’s Hill, Brixham, Devon, Alastair Edie said the defendant’s revulsion at his behaviour had been a life-changing experience for him.

He said: “His elderly parents effectively rely on his presence to give them any quality of life.”

Sentencing Pearson, Recorder Graham Hyland QC said the seriousness of the offences meant it crossed the custody threshold.

He said: “Ultimately you pleaded guilty, you have been frank with the author of the pre-sentence report in expressing your remorse, which I find to be genuine.

“This serious offending occurred 16 years ago, or thereabouts, you have not re-offended since, prior to this you were a man of good character and it is clear from the letter that I have read that you are the main carer for your aged and infirm parents.

“There has to be a prison sentence here – it will be one of 12 months but it will be suspended for two years.”

The judge said a two-year supervision community order would also be imposed.

He said: “One of the conditions is that you must enter the sex offender treatment programme.”

April 2015

‘Pied piper’ paedophile bus driver abused young children in his small, trusting community

A “pied piper” paedophile who lured children from his small, trusting community into his home is behind bars today, decades after he ruined his young victims’ lives.

Bus driver Billy Blower won the trust of girls as young as seven by playing pretend games with them which culminated in him abusing them

Judge David Wynn Morgan jailed him for thirteen and a half years.

Judge Morgan told him: “You have an entrenched sexual preoccupation and sexual attraction to female children and it is something you are not prepared to admit.

In 1982, William John Blower, of Brynmawr Place, Maesteg, then aged 34, was jailed for eight months for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 and in 2012 he was put on a sex offenders treatment programme after being convicted of possessing child abuse images on his computer

When in 2014, three women came forward to make statements about what happened to them at his hands, when they were as young as seven, the pensioner denied it.

He accused them of making up their allegations out of spite or in order to get compensation and forced them to relive their ordeals in front of a jury, recalling all the details and being questioned by his lawyers.

But a jury unanimously convicted him on seven charges of indecent assault and two of indecency with a child.

One of the victims said: “It was like being abused all over again – seeing him, I was that seven year old child once more.

“For 40 years that monster has been swanning around with not a care in the world while our pain goes on.”

Judge Morgan said the then offences of indecent assault of which grandfather Blower, 66, was convicted would today be called “assault by penetration” and would carry a higher sentence.

In the 1970s and 1980s the maximum term was five years.

He paid tribute to the women, who despite their suffered had finally brought him to justice, telling them their accounts had been harrowing to hear.

“They gained the court’s sympathy and admiration,” he said.

The judge said children, had been lured by Blower in his close community.

He told him: “You became something of a pied piper, taking children into the immediate area and encouraging them to enter your home.

“You all lived in a small area, in which everyone knew everyone else and it was regarded as safe for children to play.”

But the court had heard how he trapped the little girls into playing games, in particular, one he called “nervous” in which he would run his hand up their thighs.

The child who won and was rewarded with sweets was the one who had failed to stop him before his hand had reached their intimate area and they had beenseriously assaulted.

He had also tried to photograph one girl’s private parts and had made one of them touch him.

All said they had not known what to do at the time and later, when they realised they had been abused, they were either too embarrassed and ashamed to tell or found themselves simply told to forget about it.

“Things were different then, there was no Childline to ring,” they said.

Blower’s abuse was said to have affected not only their lives and their view of themselves which has led to self harm and difficulty with relationships but to have gone down the generations.

Their own children have suffered by seeing them distressed and by being over protected by mothers terrified their daughters could become victims too.

One said the impact had gone on for 44 years.

“How could I tell?” she said.

“I thought my father would take the law into his own hands and get in trouble and it would have destroyed my mother.

“As an adult, if I saw him in town I would go to pieces. I have had to carry the secret around with me.”

‘I might not be believed’

Another said: “He caused such pain and yet got to live a carefree life with his family.

“I couldn’t tell anyone close because I thought they would look at me differently and I couldn’t report it because I might not be believed.”

The third said Blower’s control over her emotions has continued even after his recent convictions.

While he was on bail awaiting sentence, she suddenly found himself in the same medical waiting room as him.

“As he walked to the door, he stopped and stared at me,” she said.

“He just stood there and stared. It showed me he has no remorse, he doesn’t care.

“I feel emotionally and physically drained. I hope now he is sentenced I will be able to get on with my life. But I will never forget.”

The judge said not only had they been deeply psychologically damaged enough to still be suffering 30 and 40 years later but others who witnessed it were also affected.

The brother of one of the girls was ‘extremely distressed after many years’ when he discovered his sister in a toilet with the paedophile,

“They had no understanding a the time that what you were doing to them was wrong but they were extremely vulnerable and there was grooming and an abuse of trust,” he told the defendant as he ordered his name go on the sex offenders register or the rest of his life.

April 2015

Children’s nurse caught with indecent images of children

Children’s nurse Paul Tuffin was arrested at hospital and police found he had downloaded hundreds of videos and images of child abuse images.

Officers tracked down the 27-year-old, from Beeston, when authorities from Facebook alerted them to his conversations with two girls, aged 14 and 15, on the social networking site.

Detectives arrived at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre to speak to him about the allegations, Nottingham Crown Court heard on Thursday, April 16.

In a panic, Tuffin, of David Grove, sent a text message to a friend when he was alone with his line manager which read: “Get yourself to my house… get hold of my computer equipment… police are on their way.”

The pal later handed the hard drive to police.

Nottingham University Hospital’s NHS Trust said the paediatric nurse was dismissed as soon as the allegations came to light.

Gareth Gimson, prosecuting, said Tuffin admitted the inappropriate contact he had on Facebook but also confessed to downloading child porn.

He had 13 still images and seven images of sexual activity with young people or sadism; 29 images and 26 videos of less serious sexual activity with someone underage; 275 indecent images and 84 videos.

There was a four-minute video of 11 or 12 year olds, children posing naked and still images of girls as young as five.

The hoard was on his Samsung and BlackBerry phones and on his computer hard drive.

Mr Gimson said: “His job has gone, and he understands he is banned from working with children.”

Tuffin pleaded guilty to three charges of downloading child porn and one of perverting the course of justice, after he sent the text message to a friend to remove his hard drive from his home when police arrived at work to question him.

Judge Andrew Hamilton banned him from working with children, using any device to access the internet and ordered he attend a sex offender treatment programme.

Tuffin was also given a two-year community order for the offences and a £250 fine for perverting the course of justice.

Matthew Smith, in mitigation, said Tuffin, who is now self-employed, admitted his guilt at an early stage.

“He struggles to come to terms with why he became involved in this type of behaviour.”

Mandie Sunderland, chief nurse at Nottingham University Hospital’s NHS Trust, said Tuffin was excluded from work on the day of his arrest.

“Following an investigation, he was dismissed from the trust in July 2014 for behaviour incompatible with being a nurse, related to downloading indecent images of children.

“His dismissal was reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. There is no evidence to suggest that he downloaded indecent images at work.

“Before his appointment in November 2010, we completed Criminal Record Bureau checks, which did not return any concerns.”

April 2015

Didsbury pervert who downloaded 22,000 vile images of child abuse is spared jail

A pensioner who downloaded a sickening collection of indecent images of children has been spared jail.

Police found a total of 22,958 vile images on Dr Hugh Battenbo’s computers at his home in Didsbury.

Some of the images showed the abuse of children aged as young as five and there were also moving images, cartoons and caricatures, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Battenbo, believed to have worked as a scientist, was said to be a highly-intelligent and educated man who led a distinguished career. He was given a two year suspended jail sentence.

He pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs, possessing indecent images and possessing extreme pornographic images at an earlier hearing.

The pensioner, of Parkfield Road South, Didsbury, was also subjected to a hard-hitting court order which restricts his internet and computer use for 10 years.

Nigel Booth, prosecuting, said he used Photoshop to adapt images and add text to them.

Police called at his home in June last year. He wasn’t in but computer equipment was seized. The court heard officers attended a day later and found he had taken an overdose of tablets. He was the taken to hospital.

Mr Booth said the images were then discovered and examined. He said: “The defendant said he accepted that multiple indecent images had been found on computers. He downloaded them.”

The court heard Battenbo said he began downloading legal pornography but ‘by accident at first’ downloaded images of children.

Mr Booth said: “He said it was bound to happen because he was searching for young men.”

The haul included two moving videos. Mr Booth added: “There was possession. The prosecution cannot say that there was distribution.”

The offences spanned almost two years, from October 2012 to June 2014. The court heard 250,000 more images found haven’t been viewed by police because of time constraints, but the majority of those were of adult, legal pornography.

Suzanne Goddard QC, defending, said Battenbo had no previous convictions and was deeply remorseful. She said: “It is clear that he does now fully appreciate the harm that lies at the heart of these images.

“He is a lonely and lost man who sees very little point in carrying on. Mental health nurses have supported him.”

Judge Hilary Manley said there was a ‘darker side’ to Battenbo and the images depicted the ‘gross abuse’ of children.

She told him: “Real children suffer because of people like you doing what you do.”

April 2015

75-year-old man jailed for 7 years for child sexual abuse on young girls

White-haired pensioner, Raymond Lofthouse, had left a dark cloud hanging over the two middle-aged women he molested when they were aged between eight and 11 years old, the trial judge said.

Lofthouse, of Adwalton Green, Drighlington, was convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday of:

1. Four offences of indecently assaulting his first victim

2. Two counts of indecent assault 

3. Indecency with a child – involving the second woman

He was cleared of a further eight similar allegations against the two complainants.

Judge David Hatton QC jailed Lofthouse for three years for abusing the older girl and a further four years, to run consecutively, for the offences against the second victim.

He was ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Judge Hatton told him: “Your ostensible good character in the many years since the commission of these offences is a marginally mitigating factor but it is counterbalanced by the cloud that you have caused to lower over the heads of those women over the intervening years.”

Bespectacled Lofthouse, who wore an open necked blue shirt and a short cream casual jacket, showed no emotion as he was led off to the cells.

The abuse dated back to the mid 1960s when Lofthouse was living in Kingsley Drive, Birkenshaw, Bradford.

He touched the first girl indecently in his bed on a number of occasions, indecently assaulted the second girl and incited her to commit a sex act on him.

“The affect upon your victims was considerable and continues to be so,” Judge Hatton said.

The first woman told the court: “He used to invite me to his home for a sleep and I followed like a sheep.”

She said she felt embarrassed and ashamed and, until recently, did not want to talk about what Lofthouse had done to her.

April 2015

Convicted paedophile jailed after being caught secretly filming naked children on a beach

Father-of-two David Thomas Ray was arrested when holidaymakers alerted police to a man on his own acting suspiciously.

The Brit’s holiday apartment was raided and detectives discovered child porn videos on his computer.

Ray has now been jailed for nearly three years for child pornography offences.

The 62-year-old claimed he did not know what he was doing when he filmed his victims because he was high on ecstasy and had been drinking heavily.

The offences took place near the city of Rijeka, on the Northern Adriatic coast in western Croatia last August.

Police recovered a hidden camera in a fake car key which he was using to film naked children on the beach.

Officers later recovered child porn pictures on his computer and 23 short videos and five videos taken of naked kids at the beach.

Defending himself in court in Rijeka, Ray who now lives in New Zealand, claimed he was ‘drinking too much that day’.

He told the judge: “I took also an ecstasy pill. I did not know what I was doing.”

Trying to explain the child abuse videos found in his apartment, Ray claimed he bought a second hand laptop, ‘so it was probably in there’.

He added: “I had no idea it was in there.”

The court revealed they had confirmation from police in Britain and New Zealand that Ray had committed similar offences before and had been sentenced previously.

The judge Sandra Juranovic sentenced him to two years and 10 months behind bars in Croatia.

When reading the verdict, she said the court took in consideration he admitted he had filmed the children on the beach and that he was a father-of-two.

He can appeal the verdict but will be kept in custody until a higher court confirms or rejects the verdict.

April 2015

Dudley pensioner with thousands of child sex abuse images spared jail

A perverted pensioner who downloaded thousands of images of children as young as three being sexually abused has been spared jail so that he can receive treatment.

Police discovered the images on the computer equipment of 68-year-old David Evans when they raided his home in Vicarage Prospect, Dudley on July 2 last year, a judge heard.

Officers made the grim find after checking the contents of three USB memory sticks, the same number of laptops, a computer tower and an external hard drive taken from his house, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

They swooped after a tip off that somebody at the address had been accessing indecent images of children, explained Mr Neil Ahuja, prosecuting, who stressed there was no evidence of the defendant distributing the images to other people.

Evans admitted six charges of making indecent images of children between January 1 2011 and July 2 2014 and also pleaded guilty to a further offence of having extreme pornographic material on July 2.

Judge Martin Walsh told him: “This is not a victimless crime. The images show real children being subjected to really gross abuse and it is people like you who feed the pernicious trade of this foul material.”

But the judge added: “If I sent you into custody it would not be of sufficient length for you to take part in the sex offender prevention programme and the only way to enable the therapeutic services to work with you is through a community sentence. That is in the best interests of the public.”

Evans received a community order under supervision for three years on condition he attends the sex offender prevention programme. He must also pay £500 towards the cost of the case.

April 2015

RAF man gets eight years for sexually abusing 12-year-old girl in Falmouth

A MEMBER of the Armed Forces groomed a Falmouth girl before taking indecent images of her and making her take part in sexual activity.

Jan Thomassen, who was in the RAF, told the girl, aged 12, to do a sexual act before taking pictures of her and then storing them on his computer, Truro Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

David Evans, for the prosecution, said that on another occasion a few months later when the girl had turned 13 Thomassen, 41, made her perform a sexual act on him.

He said the offences came to light when the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, revealed to her mother what had happened, and on October 9, 2013, Thomassen was arrested and computer equipment was seized from his flat.

Mr Evans said: “As the police officers were arresting him for making indecent images … he said, ‘I can’t lie; I have done bad things I regret’. He said, ‘Sorry’.”

Mr Evans said after this “promising start” in terms of Thomassen taking responsibility for his offending he stopped, and made no comment in subsequent interviews.

The court heard a digital evidence investigator examined the equipment seized from Thomassen but found that his mobile phone and hard drive were encrypted and the contents could not be examined without a password.

Mr Evans said indecent images of the girl were found on Thomassen’s laptop and officers applied for and were granted a court order requiring him to supply the key to the encrypted items, which he refused to do.

At an earlier hearing, Thomassen pleaded guilty to one count of inciting a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two of making indecent images.

He admitted one count of sexual activity with a child, two of possessing extreme pornography and one of failing to comply with a court order to disclose passwords to encrypted items.

He also admitted being in possession of a live cartridge of ammunition without holding a firearms certificate.

The offences took place on dates between January 2012 and January 2015.

Chris Spencer, for the defence, said Thomassen had served for 17 years in the RAF and was based at RAF St Mawgan at the time of the offences.

He said Thomassen had served in Iraq and been given the job of video-recording interrogations.

He said: “It is quite clear that Mr Thomassen did not cope well with that line of work.”

Sentencing him, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC said the case highlighted the “evils of internet pornography”.

He said: “You translated fantasy images from the internet into actual but illegal and immoral contact with another human being.”

Jailing Thomassen for eight years, Judge Harvey Clark added that he had groomed the girl, saying: “In no way was it her fault. The fault, and it was very considerable, lay entirely with you.”

Thomassen, of Luxulyan, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

April 2015

Gillingham pervert jailed over indecent images

A man who admitted possessing indecent images of children has been sentenced to a year in jail.

David Staples, of Kingsnorth Road, Gillingham, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court.

The 45-year-old was originally charged with arson at a farm in Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey in September, but that case was discontinued.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing indecent images, at a hearing in January.

April 2015

Extradited OAP jailed for abusing four girls in Scotland

A pensioner who was convicted of child abuse offences after being extradited from Australia has been jailed for four and a half years.

John Donnelly, 74, emigrated to Australia from Scotland 40 years ago.

He abused four girls when he made return trips to Scotland during the 1970s and 80s.

Donnelly was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow after being convicted of the offences following a trial in March.

The crimes had been reported to police in 2006, with the Crown Office then initiating lengthy extradition proceedings to bring Donnelly to trial.

It eventually led to the Australian justice minister granting Donnelly’s return to Scotland in 2014.

Donnelly’s trial heard he had preyed on the girls during return trips to Scotland between 1978 and 1988.

The abuse occurred at houses in Glasgow and Prestonpans, East Lothian.

One victim told a jury how she was left “terrified” at the hands of Donnelly.

She also recalled seeing Donnelly sneak into a young relative’s bedroom before ordering him out.

Another girl was abused by him after he was allowed to stay overnight at the family home.

Passing sentence, judge John Morris QC said Donnelly had once been something of a “hero” to those who had known him.

The judge told the Donnelly that such serious offences meant a jail term had to be imposed.

April 2015

Wembley paedophile who filmed himself raping children admits carrying out 25 sex attacks

A disabled paedophile from Wembley who filmed himself as he raped young girls and kept diaries about his acts has admitted carrying out 25 sex attacks.

Wheelchair-bound Michael D’Costa, 64, documented details about his three young victims and what he did to them alongside sickening video footage at his home in Farnborough Close.

Officers seized the diaries, videos, a large amount of electrical equipment, including several televisions, laptops, computers, mobile phones and internal and external CCTV cameras, during a raid of his home.

Isleworth Crown Court heard police were alerted to him after a teacher overheard one of his victim’s telling a friend he had offered her money for sex.

The 13-year-old girl was in the Asda car park in Wembley, yards from D’Costa’s home when he approached her and showed her a video of him having sex with another child before propositioning her.

She refused and when the police were called she told them she didn’t want the matter taken any further.

When he was arrested D’Costa admitted he had approached her and had had sex with other children,

His diaries identified her as one of his three rape victims.

Today he pleased guilty to:

1. Five counts of rape,

2. Five counts of rape of a child under 13,

3. Eight counts of sexual activity with a child,

4. Two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity,

5. Three counts of assault on a child under 13 by penetration

6. Two counts of attempted rape of a child under 13.

He will be sentenced on June 19.

Detective Inspector Neil John, of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “D’Costa is a predatory paedophile who kept a sickening account of his abuse on is young victims.

“Despite his first victim not wishing to pursue this matter, officers launched an investigation and this case demonstrates the Met’s commitment to bringing to justice those who commit such abhorrent crimes against children.

“We are appealing to the public in case there are any further victims of D’Costa’s abuse. Please come forward.”

April 2015

Convicted paedophile jailed for two years

A paedophile convicted of taking an indecent picture of a child 13 years ago has been jailed for possessing more than 15,000 child abuse images.

Gary Bennett, 46, of Needwood Road, Bedford, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court to two years in prison.

He had pleaded guilty to nine charges of making indecent images of children.

Judge Richard Foster told Bennett the children had “suffered the most horrible abuse for your perverted sexual gratification”.

The court heard how Bennett had begun searching for pictures and videos of children being abused in 2004.

Over a ten year period, he amassed a collection of more than 15,000 images, including 302 at the most serious level.

His barrister, Natalie Goff, had urged the court to suspend the sentence saying Bennett had begun seeing a counsellor.

But Judge Foster told Bennett: “What people like you fail to understand is that this offending has real victims, they are not just pictures on a computer screen.”

He said the defendant had used a sophisticated method to obtain the images, having gained information from another sex offender.

Beverley Cripps, prosecuting, said police had gone to Bennett’s home on 12 April 2014 and seized computer equipment, CDs, discs and lists of search terms.

She said: “Analysis of the images showed them to be of female children some as young as two. Some of the children involved were visibly upset and crying while being abused.”

She said in his police interview, Bennett admitted having a sexual interest in children since he was 13.

Bennett was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for ten years.

July 2010

Convicted sex offender ordered deported

A Niagara man found guilty of “devouring” the childhoods of three boys in historic sexual assaults has been paroled but remains in denial, according to documents.

The National Parole Board released Maurice Kennedy – who now faces deportation – with a special condition this month that he get psychological counselling.

“In light of your continued denial and unresolved issues with respect to your offending, you will be required to follow psychological counselling to address sex offender relapse prevention,” the board wrote in a decision before Kennedy’s statutory release.

The board said special conditions were “reasonable and necessary” to protect society and promote Kennedy’s reintegration into the community.

The 58-year-old former Welland teacher was sentenced in March 2007 to five years in a federal penitentiary for indecent assault on two nephews and another boy.

The assaults happened in the 1970s and early 1980s on separate occasions when the boys were between the ages of eight and 15. They occurred at various locations in Niagara, including the boys’ homes in St. Catharines and Vineland while Kennedy babysat.

Kennedy committed multiple acts of indecent assault on minors over long periods of time. There were threats of violence. There was premeditation and gross abuse of trust.

The victims testified in court they suffered long-term effects from the abuse through their adult lives.

Judge Joseph Quinn said in sentencing that Kennedy “devoured the childhoods” of the three boys. He called Kennedy’s version of events “intentional untruths,” “preposterous” and “fanciful.”

Kennedy was given statutory release, which means he completed two-thirds of his sentence. He remains supervised in the community by the Correctional Service of Canada until his sentence ends March 12, 2012.

As part of his special conditions, the board banned Kennedy from having any contact with children under the age of 18 without the presence of an adult approved by his parole supervisor.

“The Correctional Service of Canada had recommended the cut-off age as 16 rather than 18, but the board believes that setting the age at 18 will provide a greater degree of safety for potential and vulnerable children,” it said.

Kennedy is also prohibited from contacting his victims directly or indirectly.

“Even though your victims are grown adults, this condition will assist them by providing some safety, security and distance from you, and hopefully aid in their well being,” the board said.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has been ordered deported, Canada Border Services Agency confirmed.

The agency said it is only able to remove someone convicted of a criminal offence after they have served their court-imposed sentence.

Kennedy was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada in the spring or early summer of 1973. He trained in Ireland as a chef and worked in that field, according to court documents. He obtained a teaching certificate in Ontario and was a teacher of hospitality and tourism at Notre Dame College School in Welland when he was arrested in 2003.

The border agency would not say if Kennedy is fighting the deportation, citing privacy issues.

However, it said he was released from detention with reporting conditions until his removal can be effected. The agency said a removal can only happen when all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted.

April 2015

Man who abused two young girls – One over a 24-year period has finally jailed

A man has been jailed for 42 months for sexually abusing two young girls

Chef Roger Cameron pleaded guilty to sexually abusing one victim over a period of 24 years from 1973 to 1997 beginning when she was aged 13 years old

He also pleaded guilty to abusing a second young victim over a period of four years between 1997 to 2001 beginning when she was aged 12 years old

The offences took place at two locations – A house in Kilmarnock and a house in Glasgow

Cameron had been charged for various offences including the rape of a child, sexual assault of a child and lewd, indecent or libidinous behaviour towards a child.

Due to Cameron pleading guilty to several of the above charges, no trial was ordered which saved both victims from giving in evidence in court

On April 10th 2015, Cameron was jailed for a total of 42 months imprisonment at Glasgow sheriff court

Cameron was ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and was issued with a 12 month supervision order on completion of his custodial sentence

April 2015

Rapist who gave teen money as a ‘reward’ jailed

A rapist who forced a teenager to have sex and then paid her as a reward has been jailed for a decade.

Robert Elliott, 59, of Baden Road, Gillingham, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of one count of rape.

When police were interviewing Elliott, they asked why he had had sex with the victim he replied “because I’m a man.”

The abuse only came to light after the victim told a friend and built up enough courage to report it to police.

Elliot was arrested the next day.

He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child, for which he was jailed for three more years.

He appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday.

April 2015

Former choirmaster sentenced to over two years for indecent images of children

FORMER choirmaster has been jailed for distributing and making indecent images of children.

Some of the still and moving pictures found on two laptops seized by police from Hugh Davies, 63, featured boys believed to be aged just 10.

A number were classed as being in category A – the most serious level.

Following his arrest, Davies, of Park Street, Kendal, pleaded guilty to:

• 18 charges of making indecent photographs of children

• 11 of distribution and one of asking another computer user to send an indecent photograph

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to:

• 18 counts of making indecent images of children

• 11 counts of distributing indecent images of children

• 1 count of intentionally encouraging/assisting a commission of an either way offence

The offences were committed between 2009 and 2014.

At Carlisle Crown Court today (FRI), Davies was sent to prison for two-and-a-half years by Judge Barbara Forrester, who told him: “I view this offences very seriously indeed.”

The court heard Davies was convicted in 2011 of downloading indecent images of children. On that occasion he was fined by a district judge and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

A former conductor for Kendal South Choir, he was once described as a “leading figure” in the town’s music community.

April 2015

Pensioner jailed after pleading guilty to abusing child aged under 13-years-old

Leslie Eric Danton, 66, abused a young girl at his home in Chilton Field, Ash, between September 1 last year January 4 this year.

The “highly manipulative” paedophile was jailed for five years and four months when he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court today (Friday, April 17).

He will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Police charged Danton on January 4 with a total of nine offences against a young girl. They include:

• Three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration with a part of the body

• Three counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity

• Three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.

He pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on January 26. He was also admitted possession of child abuse images.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Daniel Aylett, of Kent Police’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team, said: “Danton is a highly manipulative person who carried out a series of attacks on a young girl in a short space of time.

“I commend the bravery of the victim in coming forward and the sentence given to Danton is a satisfying result for officers who worked very hard to bring the offender to justice.