May 2015

Lincoln man caught with indecent images of children jailed for six months

Loncey Melton, 26, was questioned by police after officers seized a disc and computer hard-drive from his home in March 2013.

Lincoln Crown Court heard 192 indecent images of children were found on the disc.

Some of the images were classed in the highest catergory.

A further 39 indecent images were discovered on the hard-drive but all at the lowest level, the court was told.

Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said Melton admitted there would be some indecent images on the hard-drive when police arrived at his home but during two interviews he remained silent.

The court heard some of the girls in the images were as young as seven-years-old.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, mitigating, said Melton was given the disc which was created in 2006 and had not looked at it for a number of years.

“He did not create it, there is no.evidence he did.”

Mr Cranmer-Brown added that the images were found among a much larger amount of adult pornography.

Melton, of Browning Drive, Lincoln, admitted two charges of possessing indecent images and a third charge of possessing a prohibited image.

Passing sentence Recorder Gareth Evans QC said he could not pass a suspended prison sentence.

The Recorder told Melton the problem with possessing indecent images of children was that it created a market for them.

May 2010

A dad whose four-year-old daughter was abused in Southport has spoken out following her abuser’s latest court appearance

A DAD whose four-year old daughter was sexually assaulted hit out after her abuser (pictured) escaped jail for a second time.

Paedophile Graham Pedley was handed a suspended sentence for possessing nearly 3,500 child porn images – less than two years after escaping prison for sexually assaulting the girl.

Last night, the dad, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, slammed Britain’s “broken” judicial system.

He said: “This man not only groped my daughter but he had a computer loaded with the most disgusting images you could ever imagine.

“Yet, for some reason that I struggle to understand, he is not in prison. That he has got yet another slap on the wrists hurts. We’re the ones left with the real sentence.”

Police swooped on Pedley’s former home in Southport, in June 2008 after he abused the girl.

He was handed a community order after making frank admissions about his problems. During the raid officers were led to a stash of 3,480 child porn images.

Last week Pedley received an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years.

The outraged dad said: “He’s got away with it and I have just got to suck it up.

“For him just to pay £250 costs is an insult.

“We thought he was the nicest guy in the world, that he wouldn’t hurt a fly but things can be deceptive. I worry that he could put another family through this trauma.

“If he has any sense of remorse or any sort of conscience, he would come forward and apologise to us. But I am not holding my breath.”

The family has since left Southport in a bid to rebuild their lives.

Pedley, who now lives in Bury, continues to undergo rehabilitation.

August 2008

Southport Paedophile Graham Pedley spared prison sentence

Picture taken 1975

Southport Paedophile Graham Pedley, 59, of Aintree Crescent, Kew Southport was spared prison yesterday when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on a sex charge.

He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl at his home in June 2008. The court heard how he pulled his victims trousers down and touched her indecently.

Judge George banned Pedley from returning to his home in Aintree Crescent, Kew, and ordered him to attend a sexual offender’s programme. He was also placed under supervision for three years. 

May 2015

Child rapist finally caught after victim boards bus he was driving – 20 years after sick attack

A sick sex beast who raped young boys for 30 years was only brought to justice when one of his victims recognised him as he boarded the bus the fiend was driving.

Vile Gavin Bowie was behind the wheel of a passenger bus in Halifax when one of his victims got on board and was knocked back by the sight of his abuser.

The man, who had been attacked 20 years earlier, said: “At that moment, I turned into a scared little boy all over again. That man ruined my life. I could never, ever forget his face.”

In an incredible coincidence, both abuser and victim had chosen to move from Scotland and make their homes in the Yorkshire town.

According to the Daily Record , when the man reported Bowie to the police in 2013, it emerged that another victim had come forward only 13 months before.

Detectives had not been able to construct a strong enough case to prosecute Bowie at that stage.

But the chance encounter on the bus in Halifax changed all that – and led officers to a trail of other victims on bus routes Bowie worked in several parts of Scotland.

On Wednesday, Bowie, 64, will be sentenced for 15 sex offences, including male rape, against 11 boys aged 12 to 16.

But police and the victim who found him in Halifax believe there are many more victims and Bowie would have continued offending if he had not been caught.

Bowie’s serial abuse spanned almost three decades from 1972 to 2000, when he was a bus driver in Glasgow, Cumbernauld and elsewhere in Scotland.

He picked out his prey from boys who used the buses, allowing them to travel free and luring them to his home with promises of cannabis, alcohol and sweets.

With some of the boys, he terrorised them, threatening to hurt them or their family if they didn’t comply with his sordid demands.

The victim whose chance encounter helped bring Bowie to justice endured a catalogue of abuse that was typical.

He was one of a number of children Bowie preyed upon on his regular route from Easterhouse in the east end of Glasgow to the city centre.

The boy was only 13 – and vulnerable because he was shy and lived alone with a single mum.

The victim said: “I was a really good kid but I lacked confidence. From the time I got on that bus as a child and met Bowie, my life changed forever.”

Bowie was also a petty crook and a schemer and he told his young victim he could make some money selling pirate videos and stolen clothes.

After the boy agreed, Bowie took him back to his house in Cumbernauld and plied him with booze.

The boy passed out but woke to find Bowie abusing him. He ran to the kitchen to get a knife but Bowie claimed he was “connected” and would have both him and his mother beaten up.

Over the next 18 months, Bowie continued to harass the boy, abusing him and threatening him with violence.

The victim recalled: “I was really scared of him. There was only me and my mum in the house and I thought he was a real hard man. He was always feeding me up on drink and making me do things.”

Long after the abuse finished, the victim remained haunted, becoming a heroin addict to block out his torment. He tried to kill himself a number of times.

He said: “Bowie ruined my life. I was in and out of prison and I lost everything. I couldn’t go to the police because I thought I wouldn’t be believed. I was just a drug addict and criminal.”

The victim, who is now free of heroin, said he also felt too ashamed to speak out. He said: “As a man it is so hard to admit something like that has happened to you.”

Bowie’s victim moved to Halifax in 2006, not realising his abuser had moved there too, some years before.

Then in March 2013, he boarded the bus that would bring his nightmare flooding back – but ultimately bring his abuser to book.

He recalled: “I went to the back of the bus and my whole body was shaking. I was with a friend and I told him, ‘That man is Gavin Bowie and he abused me as a child.’ I was that wee scared boy again. I thought, “Bowie has come back for me.’”

But he was glad he found the courage to report Bowie.

It turned out that the previous April a man living in Northampton told police Bowie had abused him from the age of 12 in Cumbernauld between 1985-88.

That first case was investigated by the Rape Investigation Unit in Lanarkshire but they lacked evidence until the second victim came forward in Halifax.

The Halifax victim said: “I know that if it wasn’t for me going to the police, he would still be doing that to other boys. The victims we know of are probably the tip of the iceberg.

“I would tell other men in the same situation to come forward. The police will take them seriously and they can prevent it happening to anyone else.

“I can’t thank the police enough. They were really helpful and understanding. It was overwhelming for me to be believed.

“The case has put some demons to bed. It has taken 20 years but I am just glad he has been found guilty and I hope he will rot in jail.”

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Mcluckie, who was senior investigating officer on the case, ordered a hunt for other victims and using information from the two they already knew of, they traced men who had used Bowie’s buses when they were boys.

She said: “It snowballed from there. We looked at his employment history and where he had worked.

“The most difficult part was cold calling male victims.

“We were asking them to speak about the most intimate information. Some of them found it very traumatic to speak about what happened. They needed a lot of time and support to tell us what happened.”

Through the investigation, the unit were able to find another nine victims who agreed to testify against Bowie.

Mcluckie said: “It never ceases to amaze me the commitment and courage that victims have to come forward and report these crimes.”

This month, Police Scotland unveiled the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which will now investigate complex cases and support divisions in tackling sex abuse cases.

Mcluckie said: “We are not only looking at the historical aspect, we want to also prevent future victims.

“This case should serve as a warning to perpetrators that we will find them and we will bring them to justice.”

May 2015

Army recruitment sergeant who used his power to “abuse and bully” females as young as 15

An army recruitment sergeant who used his power to “abuse and bully” women as young as 15 has been found guilty of three further counts of sexual assault.

Edwin Mee, 46, was convicted by majority verdict on three outstanding counts at London’s Southwark Crown Court today, having been found guilty of a list of offences – including rape – by jurors yesterday.

The Glasgow-born defendant stared straight ahead as the foreman recorded guilty verdicts, but he shook his head silently as judge Alistair McCreath thanked jurors for their role in the trial.

He was remanded in custody yesterday after being convicted of 10 sexual assaults, two rapes and one count of assault by penetration.

His victims were young female cadets, mostly from abroad, but based in Croydon, south London. He was found not guilty of three counts of sexual assault.

Jurors were discharged after failing to reach a verdict in one count of rape and one of sexual assault, having spent more than 30 hours deliberating.

It means Mee has been convicted of 16 offences involving nine victims.

Mee, a divorced father of five who wore his white hair in a top-knot throughout the trial, carried out a campaign of sex attacks on women aged from 15 to their early twenties in 2010 and 2011.

He would stay late at the careers centre and conduct interviews with applicants out of hours to “deliberately” target his victims.

Jurors convicted him today of three sexual assaults – including one of kissing a 15-year-old girl against her wishes, and another of slapping a woman’s bottom as she was leaving an office.

The third conviction also related to kissing.

The trial heard that Mee asked a 16-year-old if she had body piercings and wanted to see the piercing in her tummy.

Later he slapped her bottom and, when she complained, told her: “It’s you who needs the army.”

Another of his victims said she saw Mee as a father figure before he raped her.

Prosecutor Rosina Cottage said: “The implication is clear – put up or shut up.

“This is a pattern of bullying sexual behaviour that was repeated again and again to the female cadets to make them feel that he had power over them and control over their future.”

Mee disregarded normal army interview procedures to keep the complainants to himself and “gauge their vulnerability”, she said.

He would speak to them about sex, touch them and, in the most serious instance, commit rape, Ms Cottage said.

“A number of the complainants in this case were young black women, born outside the United Kingdom.

“Whether the defendant believed that this gave them a vulnerability in relation to their immigration status, or gave him an excuse to pretend that he had some power over them, the inference that the prosecution say can be drawn is that he deliberately targeted these young women.”

Mee denied all 21 charges against him. He is due to be sentenced on June 12.

May 2015

Pervert facing prison over child abuse and bestiality images

A pervert is facing sentence for downloading child sex abuse images and extreme porn involving adults having sex with animals.

Michael Adach, of Trinity Road, Sheerness, admitted six offences of possessing indecent photos of a child and six of making indecent photos of a child, all on September 9 last year.

The 45-year-old also admitted possessing extreme pornographic images of a “person performing an act of intercourse with a live animal such as a horse, dogs and other farm animals”.

Adjourning sentence at Maidstone Crown Court until after June 8 for reports, Judge Philip Statman said: “I must make it absolutely clear that as far as I am concerned offences of this kind pass the custody threshold.

“The issue becomes if there is anything in the report which will indicate an alternative.”

Adach will have to sign on the sex offenders’ register. Conditional bail was continued.

Adach appeared in the Sheerness Times Guardian last year complaining after he was fined for leaving his motorbike in a nearby car park.

May 2009

Pervert gets community service for child abuse images

A man who held hundreds of indecent and abusive images of children on a computer memory stick narrowly escaped being given a jail term when he appeared for sentencing at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Alan Scollay, 51, of Strand, Gott, was instead ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service by sheriff Graeme Napier – the maxi­mum amount of hours of voluntary work sheriff courts can hand down.

He will be registered as a sex offender, but sheriff Napier stopped short of recommending that the government ban him from working with children after a psychologist’s report ruled he did not pose a threat to youngsters.

Scollay, a musician who was said in court to have been an active mem­ber of the community before the offence came to light, had previously admitted having almost 700 disturb­ing images on a memory stick between March and June 2007.

On Wednesday he sat sullen and ashen-faced in the dock as sheriff Napier was shown a representative selection of images that were found on the computer disk.

One of the pictures was rated as being a “category five” – the most serious category for child porno­graphy images – while 116 of them were classed as being on the second most serious scale, or category four.

Sheriff Napier said he found some of the category four images, which were shown as thumbnail sketches, more disturbing than the category five picture.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Scollay had been suffering from severe stress at the time of the offence, and added the psychologist’s report confirmed his behaviour was a reaction to the strain he had been living under.

He said Scollay had simply prog­ressed to the sites after browsing adult pornography on the internet, adding he had never paid money for any of the pictures, which were freely available for anyone to download. He had put the images on the memory stick to prevent anyone else from seeing them.

“There seemed to be a pattern when he was accessing other porn and got drawn to ever more abhor­rent images,” Mr Allan said. “There is no lack of willingness on Mr Scollay’s part to explore what was behind this and face up to it and deal with who ever he is required to work with.”

He said it was “no exaggeration” to say his client had “lost everything” since the offence had come to light, and added Scollay and his family had already been effectively serving a sentence with the case hanging over them for almost two years.

“He accepts he is likely to lose his job, which is not just a means of income, it is something that is important to him,” Mr Allan said.

“He is someone who has had a strong work ethic in the past, and he has had a good standing in the community.

“He is aware he may never be able to build up that trust again, and he appreciates a lot of people are quite rightly offended by this kind of behaviour and will never look at him in the same way again.”

Mr Allan said although Scollay’s wife was in court, the two were no longer living together. He added that Scollay had virtually given up his music, as he was not made welcome at venues he went to, and had be­come a “virtual recluse” as a result.

The court heard Scollay had since accepted there was “real suffering” behind the photos, and that child pornography was not a victim-less crime.

“He’s made the connection back into reality,” Mr Allan said. “He himself is abhorred by these images, and understands fully the indignation people will feel in relation to it. He is someone who has previo­usly been not just someone of good behaviour, but of good character.”

Sheriff Napier said he was entitled to jail Scollay for up to five years for the offence, however Mr Allan said the psychologist’s report had shown he was no more of a risk to children than any other hetro­-sexual male, and he would be willing to comply with a probation order.

Sheriff Napier said while the images were disturbing, they were not the most serious he had seen during his experience as a sheriff. “I think given what is said in the psychological report and given what has been said on your behalf, I can deal with this matter by way of a non-custodial sentence. However, it will be one that involves the maxi­mum number of community service hours I am entitled to impose, and that will be 300 hours.”

March 2009

Musician left indecent images of children on ferry

A Shetland musician admitted possessing almost 700 indecent images of children on a computer memory stick he left on a ferry.

Alan Scollay, 51, was warned he may face a prison sentence after he pled guilty at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

The court heard that one of the images was at the most serious end of the scale.

He will be sentenced on 22 April after the sheriff has considered reports including a psychological assessment.

Scollay, who lives in the village of Gott, lost the memory stick on board an inter-island ferry on 7 June, 2007.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court 693 abusive images were found, 500 of them classed in the least serious level of child pornography but one of them at the top end of the scale.

He said an employee on the ferry took the USB storage device home, intending to trace its owner.

When he saw the images it contained, he handed it to police who were able to link it to Scollay.

Musician and council employee Scollay told police he drifted into downloading child pornography due to marriage problems and stress at work.

Defence solicitor Tommy Allan told the court that his client was determined to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

January 2013

Jail for Rugby pensioner who abused boy, 7

A wheelchair-using pensioner has been jailed for enticing a seven-year-old boy into his home and sexually abusing him almost 30 years ago.

Peter Blake, of Railway Terrace, Rugby, at the time, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to seven-and-a-half months in prison.

Prosecutor Iain Willis said that in the summer of 1983 a seven-year-old boy was playing with friends in a park by Rugby cattle market when Blake, who was then 37, began talking to him.

Blake persuaded the boy to go with him to his home in nearby Railway Terrace where he took the youngster into his bedroom and showed him a pornographic magazine 

Blake threatened that he would be in trouble if his parents found out he had been looking at the magazine, before sexually assaulting the boy.

Judge Richard Griffith-Jones observed that there was a statement from the victim, now in his mid-30s, detailing the ‘shocking effect’ the incident has had on him over the years.

Mr Willis added that in 1986 Blake was jailed for 12 months for sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy.

Harry Ahuja, defending, said Blake, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, has had problems with his health for 20 or 30 years and underwent an MRI scan on New Year’s Eve.

Mr Ahuja said Blake’s eyesight and movement were deteriorating, leaving him almost housebound.

He had been receiving an Army pension since he was discharged in the 1980s – and if he was jailed his wife and 16-year-old son, who still lives at home, would be in difficulty because the payments on which they rely would stop while he was in prison.

Blake, 66, now of Hillside Grove, Taunton, Somerset, was said to have “memory issues” and to have no recollection of the incident.

But jailing Blake and ordering him to register as a sex offender for ten years, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones told him: “You are aged 66, and it is only fair I should make the assumption you are substantially disabled.

I’ve had to ask myself what is the point of sending a 66-year-old man in poor health to prison, even for a short time.

“But I have found myself quite unable to avoid the conclusion that there is a point to it. The point is that this was a particularly wicked offence. The courts have a duty to protect young children, and I would be failing in my duty if I did not pass an immediate custodial sentence.”

January 2011

Five years in jail for man who had sex with girl, 12

A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for five years after having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

James Green, who was convicted in 2005 for a similar offence involving a seven-year-old girl, was yesterday branded a danger to young girls and sentenced to five years behind bars with an extended licence period of three years in a move aimed at protecting the public.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday heard that Green met the girl at the end of 2009 and they kept in contact through networking sites.

But in September last year the schoolgirl ran away from home and Green met her at Stoke Railway Station and took her to a flat in the city.

Prosecutor Amy Jacobs said the pair kissed before the defendant asked the girl to perform a sex act on him. She consented and Green then performed a sex act on her. She became uncomfortable and he stopped when she asked him to.

He performed a sex act on her the next day.

Miss Jacobs said the victim’s sim card was taken from her mobile phone so she could not contact anyone.

“The next day they visited a friend of the defendant and he introduced her as his girlfriend and said she was 16. She also said she was 16. But he had told him her true age,” added Miss Jacobs.

And the court heard the next night the pair slept together. Police found them naked in bed together at 5.25am the next day.

Miss Jacobs added: “There is no suggestion this was un-consensual sex.”

Green, of no fixed address, answered no comment to all questions in his police interview. But he later pleaded guilty to raping a child under the age of 13 and three charges of sexual assault of a child.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said Green knows what he did was wrong.

He added: “He did not ply her with alcohol or drugs and there was no force or violence.

“He has a problem in his thinking. Hopefully this will be able to be addressed during his time in custody and on licence.”

Judge Paul Glenn said Green’s previous conviction was an aggravating feature.

“There is a significant risk of serious harm to female children by your commission of further specified offending. You are a dangerous offender.”

Green will serve half the period of detention before he is released on licence. When the normal licence period expires the extended three year licence period will start.

Green will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

May 2015

Pervert admits having 2,000 child abuse images after inciting two children to have sex

A vile paedophile has admitted having almost 2,000 child abuse images and inciting two young girls to take part in sexual activity.

Daniel Forrest, 27, pleaded guilty to four child sex offences at Teesside Crown Court

He admitted two charges of making indecent photographs of children

In the first, he made 1,203 pictures between February 2009 and January 2013, and in the second, 750 images between January 2011 and January 2013.

The majority – 1,696 of the pictures – were at the least serious level in law but 257 were in more severe categories.

Forrest also admitted two charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

These offences involved two underage teenage girls in October 2012 and January 2013.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, told Forrest: “You’ve had the good sense to plead guilty to this indictment.

“You’ll be given credit for those pleas of guilty.”

He ordered a pre-sentence report and bailed Forrest, of Cunningham Drive, Thornaby, until he learns his fate on June 2.

The judge added: “The fact that I’m doing that should not lead you to the view that anything other than a custodial sentence is likely in your case.

“It just means that all sentencing options are available to the court.”

May 2015

Staffordshire pensioner with ‘insatiable’ appetite for child abuse images – Jailed

A pensioner with an ‘insatiable appetite’ for child abuse images has been jailed for two years.

Police found tens of thousands of indecent images and movies of youngsters after seizing equipment and DVDs from the home of Christopher Haslewood in Cannock.

They included over 4,500 of the most serious category A images depicting depraved sexual abuse of children.

Mr Alexander Barnfield, prosecuting, said Haslewood openly admitted he had the illegal material for sexual gratification with particular sexual interest in boys aged nine to 13.

Haslewood, aged 68, of Hunter Road, admitted six charges of possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornography.

Judge Jonathan Gosling said: “The defendant has an insatiable appetite for material of this type.

“His interest is dark, solitary and secretive.”

Along with the jail sentence, Haslewood was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and made subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, also for life.

Stafford Crown Court heard that Haslewood is a previously convicted sex offender.

In 1989 he was jailed for four years for taking indecent photographs of a child while the victim was being abused by another man.

Haslewood also went on to indecently assault young boys himself.

Mr Barnfield said Staffordshire police were tipped off about Haslewood’s recent activities by their counterparts in Canada.

Officers carried out a search raid on his home on February 19 last year.

They took away two computers, an external hard drive and a number of DVDs.

In total there were around 20,000 accessible images but tens of thousands more had been deleted.

His bank details showed he had spent hundreds of pounds on movies.

When questioned, Haslewood claimed most of the material was old, some of it 15 or 20 years old and he had not looked at it for five years or so.

Judge Gosling told him: “This is a serious case of possession [of indecent images]” and added that but for his health, Haslewood would be getting a jail term way beyond the sentencing guidelines.

Mr Stephen Bailey, defending, said Haslewood was not a risk of serious harm to the public.

At the age of 68, he was in a poor state of health, including diabetes.

Although he still had access to some 20,000 images, he had deleted more than six times that number.

He said: “That’s consistent with what he said, when he saw images that didn’t appeal to him, he deleted them.

“He edited the more serious images of abuse and the more extreme images of children.”

May 2015

Paedophile who repeatedly raped girl from aged nine to teen found guilty

A WOMAN who was repeatedly raped by a paedophile from the age of nine has spoken out after her attacker was found guilty at court.

The victim was subjected to a catalogue of horrific abuse by Paul Reed at addresses across Laindon between 1996 and 2002.

Reed, 54, who also uses the alias George Spooner, was found guilty of three counts of child rape and two counts of indecent assault at Norwich Crown Court.

His victim, who is now aged 27, said she came forward after having her own children and realising he could still be brought to justice following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

She said: “From the age of nine, having sex with George seemed normal and it was not until I was an adult I realised it was wrong. Even then I made excuses for him.

“He would go to my mum’s house and swipe clothes then meet me after school and say ‘your mum does not want you at home so she has given me some of your clothes and told you to stay at my house’. He convinced me they hated me.

“Then he would say to my mum that I wanted to stay with him.”

It was only after seeing the media coverage of the Jimmy Savile scandal the victim went to the police.

She said: “I realised it was possible for them to prove abuse that had happened years ago.”

The police used school records, counselling records and even DVLA and housing register records to stack up the victim’s evidence of where and when different attacks happened.

The victim said her mum was oblivious to the abuse.

After receiving her GCSE results aged 15, the victim found the strength to leave Essex and start a new life in Norfolk with her then boyfriend, but Reed turned up again.

She said: “He seemed to have lost interest in me. I think because I was older and had a boyfriend.”

She said the abuse had a huge impact on her adult life.

She said: “It has affected me more in my adult life because I think as a child you just get on with the hand you have been dealt.

“It took me a long time to realise what he did was wrong.

“From then I just thought very little of men and did not trust any man at all. I still do not trust anyone to look after my children.

“It was not until I met my husband I realised not all men are the same.

“I have a lovely life now. I have a family, my own business and a house, but this has always been hanging over me.

“He is in jail awaiting sentence now and we have been told that he could be looking at a sentence in double figures. I hope that will help me move forward.”

SPEAKING after Reed was convicted, Detective Constable Aneliese Bray, from the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, praised his victim for coming forward.

She said: “Reed systematically abused his victim over many years and it is credit to her bravery in coming forward that justice has been done.

“Every allegation of abuse is fully investigated by Norfolk Police, with specialist officers guiding victims through the process. Support and advice is available from a range of agencies and police work closely with partners to work towards the successful prosecution of offenders.

May 2015

Ice cream man ‘taken ill’ after jury found him guilty of raping and abusing young girls

Gordon Tidswell, 63, had denied more than 20 allegations relating to sex offences committed against a total of four girls and one woman.

But following more than 15 hours of deliberation the jury at Bradford Crown Court returned a series of unanimous guilty verdicts on most of the charges.

Tidswell, who now lives in Bridlington, was cleared of attempting to rape the woman in 1980 and a further allegation of attempted rape involving one of the young complainants.

But the jury convicted him on three further rape charges, two of attempted rape and 16 allegations of indecent assault relating to a total of four young girls between the early 1980s and the early part of this century.

Tidswell, who also worked for a time as an ice cream man in Calderdale, showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were announced and Judge David Hatton QC stood the case down for half an hour so he could consider the appropriate jail sentence.

Tidswell, who had been remanded into custody to await his sentence, was taken down to the cell area of the crown court.

But when the judge returned he informed the defendant’s barrister Simeon Evans that there was “a little difficulty” bringing Tidswell back into court.

It was later revealed that Tidswell was unwell and steps were being taken to transfer him to hospital.

His sentence hearing has now been provisionally fixed to take place on Wednesday, May 13.

At the start of his trial prosecutor Jayne Beckett told the jury that the case involved “persistent acts of predatory sexual abuse” committed years ago.

One of the girls was allegedly raped by Tidswell while they were at a caravan on the east coast and prosecution said that he also raped a second youngster after taking her to a secluded location.

Tidswell, who was initially arrested in respect of some of the allegations in June 2013, and he told the jury last week that he was “devastated” when the police knocked on his door.

Mrs Beckett said one of the alleged victims had made her first complaint to the police in 2008, but it was not followed through at the time and the police investigation only resumed in 2013.

The woman alleged that Tidswell had first abused her when they were in a car together on the moors near Haworth.

The jury heard details about offences allegedly committed at locations in Calderdale and the woman also told police that she had been raped by Tidswell when they were at a caravan.

Mrs Beckett told the jury that a second complainant told police that Tidswell had used the pretext of checking her for “worms” to touch her between her legs.

Another complainant described how she had been sexually abused by Tidswell after they went for a walk in a wooded area of Halifax and he suggested that she might have ants in her knickers.

May 2015

Leeds man downloaded 1,500 illegal images of children on computer

A MAN was found to have downloaded 1,500 illegal images of children after police seized computer equipment from his home in Leeds.

Philip Tolpey was arrested after West Yorkshire Police executed a search warrant at his home on High Bank Crescent, Colton, on March 26 last year following a tip-off from officers in Kent.

Analysis of the equipment showed 72 of the images were at category A- the most serious level of offending.

Topley had also accessed 81 illegal movies.

Topley was interviewed and said some of the images had been sent to him by people he had chatted with online.

He said he did not have a sexual interest in children and the reason he accepted them was because he enjoyed contacting others online.

Topley also said he had an addictive personality and had been addicted to online gambling.

He had become bankrupt after losing £17,000.

Topley pleaded guilty to 21 charges of making indecent images of children.

Craig Hassal, mitigating, said Topley had learning difficulties and was vulnerable to exploitation by others.

He accepted that his behaviour was wrong and was prepared to receive treatment to address his offending.

Topley was made the subject of a three year community order and must attend a sex offender treatment programme.

May 2015

Pervert admits sex offences against Seahaven boys

A man has pleaded guilty to sex offences against boys after he tricked teenagers into sending him “inappropriate” images online.

Michael Cole, 29, of Newhaven, East Sussex, admitted inciting sexual activity with boys and possessing indecent images of children.

He was charged after police appealed to teenagers who may have been threatened online by a man posing as a woman.

Cole was bailed at Lewes Crown Court until sentencing on 19 June.

During its investigation, Sussex Police said teenagers, mainly boys aged 13 to 17 in the Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven areas, were approached by a person calling themselves Jenny Lane and threatened if they did not send inappropriate images.

Det Con Steve Shimmons said Cole, aka “Jenny Lane”, used social media, including Facebook and Skype, to contact teenagers and sent out more than 100 friend requests.

May 2015

Man found guilty of having child sex abuse images escapes jail

A young Co Antrim man who had over a thousand images of child sex abuse escaped a jail term on Thursday to save him coming under the malevolent and manipulative influence of more dangerous and serious sex offenders.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland told 23-year-old Daniel George Clarke that three years of intense probation supervision and work courses would ultimately best serve and safeguard both him and society.

Clarke, from Coronation Road in Carrick, who was also put on the Sex Offenders’ Register and made subject to a five-year Sex Offenders’ Prevention Order, pleaded guilty to 23 charges of downloading the images, and one of distributing some of them in 2013.

Belfast Crown Court heard that following a police search of his home in November 2013, Clarke readily admitted looking for the images and sharing them with others on an internet chat site.

A defence lawyer said while a remorseful Clarke knew it was both wrong and illegal, he went looking for more images after they were “burnt into his brain” when he initially “stumbled” upon them on the internet. The lawyer added that given his frank admissions, his was a “somewhat exceptional case”.

Judge McFarland said that downloading images of child sex abuse was not a victimless crime, and while the youngsters were unknown to Clarke and police, they were individuals subjected to the most appalling abuse and lives of physical degradation.

“These are not just pictures, they are actual people,” he added.

Judge McFarland said it was accepted Clarke’s guilty pleas were based on genuine remorse and that there were many positive aspects to his life, notwithstanding his serious offending.

The Crown Court judge added, while on one view the custody threshold had been passed, he had to consider the impact of such a sentence, as in Clarke’s case it would be a minimal jail term of between two to three months.

Judge McFarland said this would be served in the prison’s sex offenders’ secure unit where Clarke would be exposed to the more dangerous elements of sex offending. Spending even two months in their presence and under their malevolent and manipulative influence would not result in a positive outcome either for Clarke or ultimately society.

He added that he preferred the suggested alternative contained in the pre-sentence report, advocating an intense period of supervision by probation during which time Clarke would undertake any course work they deemed necessary.

Judge McFarland said this would be a benefit both to Clarke and society.

May 2015

Jail for man who drove across Pennines to have sex with 13-year-old schoolgirl

A man who drove across the Pennines to have sex with a schoolgirl in Bradford has been jailed for three and a half years.

Bilal Hussain befriended the 13-year-old by chatting over BBM, the Blackberry messaging service, and lied about his age by saying he was 19 when he was actually 24 at the time.

Today, Sophie Drake, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court that Hussain met the girl on a couple of occasions and knew she was underage because he would pick her up in her school uniform,

He then asked her on the phone if she would have sex with him, to which she replied she did not know.

But on one day in January 2013, he drove her to a quiet place when it was dark in the morning and had unprotected sex with her in his VW Golf car.

She also carried out a sexual act on him before he took her to school.

Miss Drake said on two further occasions he again had sex with the schoolgirl in his car but she stopped seeing him and the relationship was later reported.

She then showed officers an explicit text message Hussain had sent her and a photograph of himself.

He was later arrested and denied knowing the girl or having driven to Bradford to meet her. He also claimed his VW car was off the road at the time following an accident.

Miss Drake said the schoolgirl picked out Hussain at an identification procedure and further inquiries on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system showed the VW making journeys on the M62 at the relevant times.

Hussain, 26 of Lytton Avenue, Cheetham Hill, Manchester subsequently admitted four charges of sexual activity with a child.

Adam Watkins, representing him, said he now appreciated that it was viewed seriously because however physically mature a girl was at 13 she lacked the emotional maturity to make decisions about a relationship and was therefore vulnerable.

But the girl was sexually experienced before she met Hussain and no coercion or threats were involved in their meetings. She consented to what happened although the judge interposed there was an element of grooming in his contact with the girl.

Mr Watkins said prison would be difficult for Hussain, who had health problems since suffering a heart attack in May 2013 and was receiving medication for depression as well.

Jailing Hussain, Judge Christopher Batty said he had read impressive references on his behalf which painted a different picture about him and accepted he had significant health problems, but the evidence showed his contact with the girl was for no other reason than “sexual gratification.”

“It was never your intention to see her in any other capacity or give her any other relationship.”

He said she was a troubled schoolgirl. “Children that age are not emotionally mature enough to make far reaching decisions about their lives.”

On three occasions he had unprotected sex with the girl not caring if she became pregnant, which at one stage she wrongly thought she had. She only ended contact when, after one incident, he had started playing on his phone and she had damaged his Sim card in anger “no doubt realising how she had been used and abused.”

December 2014

‘I couldn’t help myself’ said jailed groper who grabbed womens’ breasts

A sex attacker who told police “he couldn’t help himself” after handing himself in is behind bars.

Shaun Seaton has been locked up after admitting two counts of sexual assault after he groped a woman and a teenage girl in East Cleveland.

The 36-year-old committed the first offence sometime between 8 and 11 June this year.

The first incident took place after a woman asked Seaton to help fix her computer.

He went round to her home and after mending the laptop his victim cuddled him to say thank you.

It was then that Seaton grabbed her left breast with his hand and squeezed it.

Prosecutor Ian Mullarkey told the court how Seaton then said: “Sorry I was meant to touch your stomach” before he left.

The victim reported the incident in October, a day before Seaton handed himself in to police where he admitted assaulting two females.

The second incident occurred on the evening of September 26 when a teenage girl was visiting a friend close to where Seaton lived.

The court heard how Seaton approached the victim when she went outside for a cigarette.

Mr Mullarkey said: “He gave her a lighter and moved in closer to her and squeezed her breasts twice.”

Shocked and shaken up, the girl shouted: “Oh my god! You can’t do that!” before Seaton told her not to tell anyone about what happened.

He returned about 20 minutes later to apologise for what he had done.

The victims were said to be scared and violated.

Seaton, of Lincoln Road, Guisborough, also pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual offences prevention order given in 2011 for similar offences involving two teenage girls.

In interview, Seaton admitted committing the offences.

He told police he knew touching women was wrong but he “couldn’t help himself,” Mr Mullarkey added.

Andrew White, defending, said Seaton was aware that his second victim was under 18 and should not have been near her.

He accepted he was in breach of a sexual offences order made previously.

Mr White said: “My client accepts he misunderstood the situation badly and acted inappropriately.

“He feels ashamed and disgusted with himself and wants to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

Judge Deborah Sherwin, sentencing at Teesside Crown Court, said the crimes were serious and both of the distressed victims were affected.

She told Seaton a custodial sentence was the only way to justify the serious offences before jailing him for 12 months.

The defendant’s sexual offences prevention order, opposed in 2011, to ban him from unsupervised contact with under-18s was extended for five years.

February 2011

Man avoids jail after East Cleveland sex attacks

A SEX attacker who groped two teenage girls in the street was told he was lucky to be walking free from court.

Shaun Seaton, 32, was banned from approaching lone females in public as he was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court.

Seaton of Muriel Street, Redcar, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault after he touched the two girls in the East Cleveland area.

The first incident took place on June 22 last year.

A 13-year-old schoolgirl had got off a bus with her friend and was walking home when Seaton grabbed her right breast as he passed her.

Prosecutor Matthew Bean told the court how Seaton then said “Sorry love, wrong person” before running off. The girls ran to the victim’s home and told her parents who notified the police.

The second incident occurred on the evening of September 2 when a 17-year-old girl noticed she was being followed after she got off a bus.

Seaton was following her wearing headphones and muttering to himself.

Mr Bean said: “He came up to her and asked her for a cigarette.”

Hoping he would leave her alone, she obliged. But as she was about to walk away, Seaton grabbed her breasts with both hands and made a lewd comment before running off. CCTV footage showed Seaton following the girl.

The victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were said to be upset and scared.

In interview, Seaton at first made no reply but later admitted committing the offences – his first of this type.

Jo Kidd, defending, said Seaton was struggling to accept full responsibility but may do well on a sex offenders’ treatment programme.

She said: “There are seedlings of hope that he accepts his culpability.”

The judge, Recorder William Lowe QC, said the crimes were serious and both of the distressed victims were affected.

He said the sexual assaults fell into the “bracket” of community order in sentencing guidelines – to his surprise.

On Friday, Seaton was given a two-year community order with supervision and a sex offenders’ group work programme.

He was also given a five-year sexual offences prevention order banning him from unsupervised contact with under-18s and approaching or communicating with lone females in public places.

He will be on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

May 2015

Online paedophile had horrific rape and murder film in library of depraved child abuse images

An online paedophile had a snuff film showing the rape and murder of a mother and her infant child in his collection of sickening images.

The video shocked a police examiner with 20 years’ experience of analysing such material who said it was the worst image he had ever seen.

Obsessed Daniel Fisher, 45, had a library of more than 16,000 depraved child abuse pictures and videos – some of which he shared with others on the internet.

Harrowing details of the images – many too graphic and horrifying to be reported – were read out at Teesside Crown Court today.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield said Fisher deliberately and systemically searched for distressing images of abuse against a large number of vulnerable victims.

He gave examples of the movies and told how one horrific clip featured violence, sadism and torture against a two-year-old victim.

The pictures were found after Fisher’s computer tower and hard drives were seized at his home on November 21, 2013.

In total, the married dad had 16,410 indecent photographs of children including 1,280 at the worst levels.

He also had 57 extreme pornographic images and nine prohibited images of “imaginary children”.

He made some images available to others, using a file-sharing program to allow other computer users to access them.

He had a folder dedicated to child abuse images containing 3,711 files, and accepted 10,761 requests to share them between September and November 2013.

The video of the killing was not shared.

He also had a Facebook pictures folder containing 12 indecent pictures of children marked “get your files here”.

When interviewed by police, he confessed to accessing child abuse images for 18 months.

He denied seeking out images of very young children, just those of teenagers.

He said he would download them, watch them then delete them, saying it was “all his own fault, he should have known better”.

Asked about the snuff movie, he said was not “into stuff like that” and denied seeing it, but accepted he must have downloaded it.

He told how he set his computer to download material automatically and he came across “weird stuff”.

Fisher, formerly of Westerdale Road, Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough, admitted four charges of distributing and four of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one of possessing prohibited images of children – his first offences.

Rupert Doswell, defending, said Fisher’s computer downloaded images “rather indiscriminately” and he did not specifically look for the worst ones.

He said the vast majority of the pictures were in the least serious category.

Fisher admitted he had a problem or “obsession” and an attraction to children, and he was relieved to be arrested and have his collection discovered.

“He’s not beyond hope of completing courses and being rehabilitated,” added Mr Doswell.

“His wife and daughter attend court with him this morning and are there in support to assist him in coming through this.”

Judge Tony Briggs told Fisher: “It appears that for a significant period of time you’ve been downloading pornographic images of the greatest gravity.

“You’re obviously not involved in the production of these images in the primary sense, but that said, the images are vile and disgusting.

“There are a large number, all of them disturbing, all of them likely to have involved severe distress, upset, pain and damage to the unfortunate children required to undergo that particular activity.

“Custody is inevitable and the sentence has to be a severe one.

“There are signs that you do recognise the enormity of your conduct and hopefully that’s some hope for the future.”

Fisher was jailed for three years, was given a sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders’ register, both indefinitely

May 2015

Police find sexual images of under-age children on pervert’s computer

POLICE found a shocking catalogue of sexual images of underage children on a man’s computer after being alerted by the concerned parents of a young girl.

The file of 174 images included 117 pictures classed as “extreme pornography” Manchester Crown Court was told.

Barrie Darby, prosecuting, said police went to Oliver Newton’s Saddleworth home after hearing of his contact with a 15-year-old girl he met on a social networking site.

He has sent the girl messages and encouraged her to send him indecent pictures of herself.

In one message, Newton (25), of Dacres Drive, Greenfield, outlined what he wanted to do to her.

Messages and pictures retrieved from computer and a phone seized by police was sent and received between January-March 2013, when he was 23.

Mark Fireman, defending, said he was an “isolated” young man who began looking at internet porn of a more and more extreme type.

He said Newton was deeply ashamed of what he had done and had voluntarily given up his job.

Newton pleaded guilty to inciting an underage girl into sexual activity and 22 counts of possessing indecent images.

Judge Timothy Mort told him: “You were clearly getting sexual gratification, but you did not consider that each of these youngsters were themselves victims. It is a thoroughly unhealthy interest.”

Newton was given a three-year community order including participating in a sex offenders’ programme

He will also be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

May 2015

Ex football coach admits string of child sex offences

The reputation of a former football coach today lay in tatters as he admitted a string of sex charges involving children.

Anthony Chattell, of Fulwood Heights, Fulwood, Preston, who worked at several clubs across Lancashire, appeared before Preston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to nine charges in all.

Wearing a black coat and with his hair spiked, he stood solemnly in the dock as proceedings took place, watched by several people in the public gallery.

Chattell admitted charges including sexual activity with a girl under 16, four counts of making indecent images of children, three of inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, and grooming.

The charges relate to several girls, who cannot be identified for legal reasons

Prosecuting, Paul Brookwell said an application would be made to seek a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

The Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC, told Chattell by virtue of his pleas he was now subject to sex offender notification requirements.

He added: “You have pleaded guilty to serious sexual offences involving children.

“You must understand all sentencing options are open, including a custodial sentence. You must realise that’s certainly a real likelihood as a result of this offending.”

He granted Chattell bail on the condition he does not access social media sites, has no contact with his alleged victims, or any unsupervised contact with under 18s.

Chattell is a prominent football coach who has worked for a host of clubs including Preston North End Women’s FC, Runshaw College and Accrington Stanley Football Club.

He is a UEFA B-licensed coach, and has a degree in Sports Coaching.

He was charged earlier this year after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse.

He will be sentenced on June 5.