October 2014

Man cautioned for possession of indecent images of children

A former Lancaster man has received a caution for possession of indecent images of children 

Former Sainsburys delivery driver, Michael Whitaker 26, originally from Lancaster but now living in Penrith 

During a raid police seized two laptops, a tablet and a mobile phone belonging to Whitaker which contained indecent images of children who were aged between six and sixteen years old.

Police also found a profile Whitaker used on a site which allowed the distribution of images including pictures of child abuse. 

Whitaker had uploaded the pictures onto the site which he had taken from Facebook, including pictures of his friends children and also pictures of his ex girlfriend, which is how they identified the profile as being his. The profile was also linked to one of his many email addresses.

He received a caution for this and his seized computer equipment was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

May 2015

Former Great Yarmouth hotel manager jailed for groping females

The former manager of a Great Yarmouth hotel was jailed for 42 months for groping four females as young as 15-years-old after making inappropriate sexual comments to them.

Lloyd Thornton, 56, made inappropriate sexual comments to the females and pinched one woman on the bottom and lifted up her skirt, Norwich Crown Court heard yesterday.

John Morgans, prosecuting, said Thornton was described as acting in a “pervy and creepy” manner by the women.

Mr Morgans said that while on bail for the sex assaults on three females, he groped another young woman while he was alone with her and told her: “That will be another allegation.”

Mr Morgans said all the young women had been very distressed by Thornton’s behaviour and it had affected their confidence.

Thornton, of Botolph’s Lane, Bury St Edmunds, who admitted sex assaults on four females, was jailed for 42 months and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

He will also be made subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

Jonathan Goodman, for Thornton, said he did not want to minimise his actions, but said Thornton came from a different era. He said times had moved on, but Thornton did not realise this.

“It has taken a long time for Thornton to appreciate that it is simply unacceptable in today’s society to touch others in this way. He is not a serial groper but a man who misunderstood boundaries.”

He said Thornton was facing ruin and bankruptcy.

“He ruined his reputation and he is financially ruined as well.”

Jailing him, Judge Peter Jacobs told him he had taken advantage of vulnerable females.

Updated picture – Released and living in Bicester

September 2008

Baby left with brain damage

A father who shook his baby daughter so hard he left her permanently brain damaged, blind, paralysed and unable to talk or feed herself has been jailed for six years.

Gary Johnson “lost it” after he was woken by his eight-week-old daughter Nicole screaming — and shook her to the point she was left unable to see or walk.

At Oxford Crown Court yester- day, Johnson, 21, of Ruskin Walk, Bicester, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The jury heard medical evidence the shaking was so violent it made Nicole’s brain twist.

As the jury returned its verdict, Nicole’s mother Jacquie wept in the public gallery.

Johnson was living with Jacquie and her mother at their home in Ambrosden at the time.

Jailing Johnson for six years and banning him from working with children for life, Recorder Harold Persaud said: “This is a very tragic case indeed. It is one of the most serious assaults that could have occurred to a young baby and it has resulted in profound disabilities.

“It seems it was a momentary loss of control.”

Johnson was cleared of causing cruelty to a child.

John Price, prosecuting, said Nicole now had cerebral palsy.

Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Deborah Garrett said: “This is a case where a healthy, lively eight-week-old baby girl has suffered at the hands of her father with such injuries she will be unlikely to walk, talk and see in the future, with no prospect of an independent life.

“The defendant had attempted to portray himself as a concerned parent but having inflicted the injuries on his baby daughter, he failed to seek any medical attention, failed to inform the mother of the child that she was suffering and was more concerned on leaving the family home to drink with his friends.

“Not once during his lengthy interviews did he show any concern for Nicole.”

Det Sgt Dave Smith, of Thames Valley Police, said it was the first such case he had heard of in Oxfordshire during his five years in the child abuse investigation team.

He said: “I am pleased the jury saw through his web of lies.

“He viciously and cowardly shook his eight-week-old baby until she was brain damaged, probably in a fit of rage, and knowing she was seriously injured did nothing to help her.”

January 2007

Man jailed after a series of assaults

A MAN was jailed for 15 months for a series of indecent assaults over an eight year period.

John McKenna, of Lancaster Road in Hope, indecently assaulted two girls and a woman in a series of vicious attacks.

McKenna’s first victim in 1995, was a 12-year-old girl who knew and trusted him. Six years later he inflicted a series of abuse on a second girl, whom he also knew, between 2001 and 2003. The girl was aged 12-14 at the time the abuse occurred.

His third victim was a 29-year-old woman who was on a night out in Castlefield with a group of friends, which included McKenna, in December 2001. The woman went into a cubicle in the toilet of a pub and, when she came out, saw McKenna standing by the sink. He forced himself against her and indecently assaulted her.

McKenna, aged 48, pleaded guilty to the three counts of assault in November 2006. He was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court this week, to 15 months in prison and was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Police are now appealing for anybody else who may have been a victim of this type of crime to come forward.

Detective Constable Graham Dean from the Public Protection Investigation Unit at Grey Mare Lane said: “Cases such as this are absolutely sickening and people like McKenna need to be caught and brought to justice. He indecently assaulted a young and vulnerable girl in 1995 and then went on to do the same again a few years later.

“He then moved on from preying on young children to indecently assault a woman and is clearly a very arrogant man who, until his arrest a year ago, thought he could get away with this kind of behaviour. I hope this is a warning to other people like him that police will investigate reports of this nature and bring offenders before the courts.”

Anybody who has been a victim of this kind of abuse should call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 and ask to speak to their local Public Protection Investigation Unit.

July 2015

Paedophile councillor snared after contacting victim on Facebook 25 years after molesting her

A Lincolnshire parish councillor who was arrested after making Facebook contact with a woman he abused as a child three decades ago was jailed for two years at a London court today.

Engineer David Anthony Swinton, 71, of 1 Bath Road, Bracebridge Heath denied sneaking into the girl’s room during the night when she was aged about eleven and touching her between her legs.

He was convicted of two charges of indecently abusing the victim but was cleared on the direction of the judge half way through the trial of six other similar charges.

Recorder William Featherby QC said at Harrow Crown Court as he jailed Swinton : “You have been convicted of two counts of indecent assault.

“You went to the girl’s room, stood by her bed, where she was in the top bunk and reached under her night dress, not more than a hand full of times.

“Now in her late 30s she has suffered considerable distress but she was already an unhappy child.

“These are serious offences, including a breach of trust, by exploiting your dominant position, with a helpless victim, exploiting her silence. She suffered in silence.”

In addition to the jail sentence the judge also imposed a five year Sexual Harm Prevent Order on Swinton and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

Toby Fitzgerald, prosecuting, said today : “It was an abuse of trust.

“He was putting himself forward as some-one of impeccable character.”

Jack Talbot, counsel for Swinton told the court : “There are concerns about his ability to cope with a custodial environment.

“He is devastated by the verdict – it’s the most devastating moment of his life. He is in a traumatic state.”

Earlier the court had been told that the victim was reluctant to report Swinton, who lived in Harrow at the time, because his family was so well-respected locally, with his civil servant wife Jane sitting on the local council, and his mother-in-law a former mayor of the borough.

However, she finally went to police after father-of-three Swinton, sent her a Facebook message out of the blue in June 2013, asking how she was.

The court was told that when she looked at his Facebook page and the photographs of his grandchildren she was angry and upset that she had been contacted and reported Swinton to the police.

The prosecutor suggested to the court that the reason Swinton contacted her was because of fears, in the atmosphere of prosecutions over historic sex offences, of being prosecuted for his previous conduct.

Mr Fitzgerald said Swinton had hoped head off any complaint against him by presenting himself as a friendly face from the past.

However, he said Swinton had “miscalculated” and that his contacting her had “rekindled her upset and distress and she contacted the police.”

Swinton who sits on the Bracebridge Heath parish council and is the vice-chairman of Planning, Lighting and Roads and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee had denied that any of the conduct he was accused of had taken place.

July 2015

Telford sex offender visited victim’s workplace

A Telford sex offender repeatedly visited a fast food restaurant where his victim was working, parking outside to stare at her, a court heard.

Hussan Hussain, 29, of Prince Edward Crescent, Malinslee, was convicted of three counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at trial.

Mrs Harminder Hayre, prosecuting, said Hussain received the order from Shrewsbury Crown Court in 2012 after he was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.

As part of the order, the defendant was banned from contacting the victim directly or indirectly. However, magistrates at Telford were told that the victim had recognised him in November 2014 as she gave him change while working at a drive-through restaurant in the region.

Mrs Hayre said that no charges had resulted from that occasion, as the victim had believed it was just a coincidence. But the prosecution put forward three further occasions on which Hussain had subsequently returned to the restaurant, parking up and staring at the young woman.

On the last occasion he was seen laughing with his wife and pointing at her, the prosecution said.

Magistrates at Telford ruled that Hussain would have recognised the victim on the first occasion, despite defence arguments that she changed considerably as a result of growing up.

The magistrates added that they had taken “adverse inference” from the fact that Hussain, a married father of two, had made no comment about the offences when interviewed about them by a police officer on February 5.

For Hussain, Mr Shakeel Ahmed said the defendant had been visiting the restaurant regularly with his family and had not recognised the girl. He said Hussain had stopped going as soon as police informed him the victim worked there.

Hussain said he knew where the victim lived and could easily have visited her there if he had wanted to break the order..

The defence said the victim had given “a completely inconsistent account” during the trial in which she repeatedly broke down and asked for breaks.

Sentencing was adjourned until July 29.

July 2015

Science graduate with addiction to child abuse images is sentenced

A science graduate ‘addicted’ to indecent images of children on-line has been spared a prison sentence.

Christopher Wheatley from Coven was said to be ‘feeding a dark secret’ that had spiralled out of control.

Stafford Crown Court heard how he used search terms such as ‘jailbait’ to build up a collection of more than 300 indecent photographs and movies of children.

The 24-year-old’s crimes came to light after police raided his home in Penkside Close and seized the computer from his bedroom. Of the more than 300 indecent images they found, 113 of them were of the most severe Category A classification.

Mr Paul Farrow, prosecuting, said Wheatley had been using file sharing sites including Limewire.

When questioned, he confessed that he had been looking for images of girls aged five or six upwards and that he found it sexually arousing.

Wheatley admitted six charges of making indecent images of children. He was given a three-year community order to undergo a sex offender treatment programme and ordered to register as a sex offender for the next five years.

Judge Mark Eades told him: “You have to recognise your conduct hitherto has been simply not acceptable.”

The judge said Wheatley had been ‘feeding a dark secret’.

“It started at the age of 15 and snowballed until you became entirely in the grip of that addiction,” Judge Eades added.

Mr Oliver King, defending, said Wheatley was of previous good character, a science graduate and had a good job which he hoped to keep if he were allowed his liberty.

Mr King said the offences had had a devastating effect on his life as his partner had recently given birth but he was not allowed to live with her and only has supervised contact with the child.

July 2015

Man pleads guilty to child sex offences

A 43-year-old man has pleaded guilty to three counts of historic sex offences against girls under the age of 13 but denies seven other charges.

Jason Gardside, of Thicket Drive, Maltby, near Rotherham, admitted guilt on two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a child.

Gardside pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and five more counts of indecent assault against two girls on four separate occasions, at a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court.

All charges relate to a period between 1989 to 1994 in the village of Stainton near Middlesbrough.

The trial continues.

July 2015

Jailed: Bridgnorth man posted indecent photos of girl on Facebook

A Bridgnorth man who posted indecent pictures of a girl to friends on Facebook was told that he had committed “a cruel and wicked crime”.

Ryan Hurd was “motivated by humiliation and revenge” when he posted pictures of the teenage victim in a private group on Facebook, accessible to four of his friends, Judge Jonathan Gosling said.

Hurd, 20, of Queens Road, had previously pleaded guilty to inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and distributing indecent images of a child.

Judge Jonathan Gosling said Hurd’s offences had been “characterised by planning and grooming” with “threats akin to blackmail”.

“It was a wicked, cruel and humiliating thing to do to her,” he said and added that the effect on the victim had been “devastating”.

Judge Gosling accepted that Hurd was himself an extremely vulnerable man who would find prison difficult. 

He said he would cut the time the defendant would spend in prison because of his vulnerability and his early guilty plea.

He also took account of psychiatric assessments and a letter written by the defendant’s mother.

Hurd was sentenced to eight months on each offence to run concurrently at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday.

He was also made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Mr Phillip Bradley, prosecuting, said the defendant, who had no previous convictions, had immediately admitted the offences. The court was told that Hurd had been messaging the victim for a couple of weeks when he received the pictures.

While Mrs Deborah White, for Hurd, had spoken of the defendant’s learning difficulties and low IQ, the judge said that he was “not stupid” and had teased the victim for a long time. Mrs White told the court that the offence of distributing the images was at the lesser end of the scale as it had been done in such a way that only four people had access to them.

July 2015

Erskine man caught with sordid pictures of children

An Erskine man is facing jail after police found a stash of sickening images at the home he shares with his parents in the town.

Steven Keith was found to have thousands of indecent images of children on a laptop in his bedroom at the Mains Drive property.

He admitted being in possession of the sordid illegal snaps when he appeared in the dock this week.

Andrew Lazzarin, prosecuting, told Paisley Sheriff Court that officers had gone to the house where Keith lived his mother and stepfather.

After arriving at the property on July 7, 2014, officers read out a search warrant telling the trio, who were all there at the time, they were there to seize any devices capable of accessing the internet.

Lazzarin explained: “The accused said, ‘I have my own laptop and PC upstairs in my room’.”

The items were seized by police and examined by computer experts, showing that search terms associated with child pornography had been used on the laptop.

Keith, 41, was detained and made no comment, before giving a no comment interview and remaining silent when cautioned and charged.

The computers were analysed further and experts found 2,638 indecent images of children on Keith’s laptop.

Lazzarin said there were 1,605 unique images and that the remainder of the 2,638 images were duplicates, adding: “This was most likely due to the deletion of the images in question.”

Sheriff David Pender was told that all of the images had been deleted from Keith’s laptop and were categorised at level one – the tamest there is.

They featured girls aged between eight and 15 in provocative poses and Lazzarin said they were most likely downloaded via a file-sharing application.

Of the images found, four were pornographic films, while the rest were photographs.

James Arrol, defending, said he would reserve his plea in mitigation for when Keith learns his fate.

Sheriff Pender called for Keith to be assessed by social workers ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case until later this month.

Keith was released on bail and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

May 2015

Pervert who possessed indecent images of children moves from town

A Bordon man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of possessing indecent videos and images of children.

Following a three-day trial, Karl Lavender, 28 was found guilty of the 23 charges against him at Winchester Crown Court on April 9

Last Friday, May 15, he was given a one-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months

He will also be on the sex offenders register for 10-years

Although from Bordon, Lavenders new address is now listed as being Hayling Island

July 2015

77-year-old Businessman admits sexually abusing a young boy

A chocolatier admitted sexually abusing a young boy on the morning a jury was sworn in for his trial.

Market Rasen businessman Alan Rupert Dixon, 77, a partner in the Special Edition Chocolates company based on the Willingham Hall Industrial Estate, admitted one charge of sexual assault.

He had been due to stand trial after denying two charges of child sex offences.

Fifteen members of a jury were sworn in for the trial of Dixon at Dunoon Sheriff Court, in Argyll, Scotland, this morning, but the trial will not now go ahead.

Defence counsel Lewis Kennedy submitted a new plea in which he admitted one of the two offences, while denying the other.

The court accepted the plea.

He admitted sexually assaulting the young boy at a country estate on one occasion at some point between December 2010 and July 2013.

The 77-year-old, who showed little emotion throughout the proceedings, has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Sentence has been deferred until August 31 for reports and he has been bailed.

June 2015

Devon man found guilty of having sex with girl of 13

A 22-year-old man has been found guilty of having sex with a 13-year-old girl after they shared a bunk bed at a friend’s house.

Aaron Gale had been watching a film with friends at the house in Torbay when they were joined by a group of girls including the young victim.

She told Exeter Crown Court how Gale had unprotected sex with her after climbing into the same bunk when she went to bed after watching the movie called Playback Season.

Gale claimed there had been no sexual contact but was convicted in less than 30 minutes after the jury heard that forensic tests showed samples of his DNA on the girl’s underwear.

Gale, of Willow Avenue, Torquay, denied sexual activity with a child but was found guilty after a three day trial.

Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, adjourned the case for the preparation of a probation pre-sentence report.

During the trial the girl said she had been reluctant to make a complaint at first because she was worried about being grounded by her mother.

Gale denied having sex with the girl and said his DNA must have got onto her clothing by other means. He said he knew the girl was 13 but would never have sex with anyone that age, because it was ‘sick’.

July 2015

Man asks newspaper to cover up his sick past as a sex offender

A pervert who was once jailed for possessing a haul of child abuse images has demanded The Argus newspaper remove an online story about his crimes, saying they are now “irrelevant”.

Alan Davey, now 33, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment in 2003 after pleading guilty to 27 charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Davey, who lived on-site at the Butterfly Children’s Nursery in Crawley at the time, which was run by his mother Susan, told police his habit of looking at the vile pictures developed into an “obsession”.

The pictures depicted girls of 11 and under being sexually abused by adult males.

Davey contacted The Argus this week and asked for the online story from 2003 detailing his crimes and subsequent court case to be removed.

He said the article was having a “serious impact” on his life and was affecting the safety of his family.

He added: “Family members and friends have been threatened because of this article. As it has been over 10 years I feel it is an irrelevant matter.”

Davey admitted to police he had downloaded the images using credit card details of customers at firms he worked at. A technician working on a computer at the nursery found Davey’s stash of images on its hard drive.

His mother Susan, who has moved Butterfly Nursery to Surrey after a backlash from parents about her son, agreed his crimes were “irrelevant”.

She told The Argus: “I agree they’re irrelevant. He’s been cleared after ten years on the sex offenders’ register. And it wasn’t him who did it anyway. It was other people, his friends, who got him into trouble.

“He came out of prison and has done nothing wrong since.

“We ran a nice nursery in Crawley but had to move after the threats and abuse we got.

“One mum at the nursery went to hit me and we had the police involved.

“I’ve also had threatening emails and calls, but not for a while now since we moved to Surrey two years ago. We just had enough.”

February 2003

TWISTED Alan Davey has been jailed after admitting possessing indecent images of children.

Crawley Magistrates Court heard sick Davey, who used stolen credit card details, was only caught after he called in a computer technician to the Butterflies children’s nursery where he lived with his mother.

Davey, 20, of Amberley Close, Pound Hill, admitted 27 offences of possessing indecent photographs.

Richard Lynn, prosecuting, told the court: “Many of the images showed children being subjected to sickening sex acts.”

Mr Lynn explained while the technician was carrying out the repairs at the nursery he found a large amount of pornographic material including some paedophilia.

When officers from the child protection unit raided the nursery they also recovered magazines and discs, some of which were of a paedophile nature.

The court heard Davey had begun to look at the material out of curiosity, but with many of his hobbies it turned into an obsession.

Although Davey was living at the nursery while committing the offences he left before the children arrived and had not been attracted to them, but had said he got some sexual gratification from looking at the images.

Brian McMonnies, defending, revealed: “Mr Davey made no attempt to distribute the images.”

Presiding magistrate, Peter Tratt said: “You have admitted a total of 27 offences.

“The aggravating factors are you lived at a children’s nursery and you used the nursery’s computer.”

Davey was jailed on Friday for a total of eight months, and on his release he will be put on the sex-offenders register

July 2015

Pervert says he became ‘addicted’ to viewing indecent images of children

A MAN says he became “addicted” to sexual videos and pictures of children after finding some on a second hand computer, York Crown Court heard.

David Lampitt, prosecuting, said police found 70 illegal videos and 4,960 pictures on four IT pieces of equipment at Keith Ashton’s home.

He told police: “It has been an obsession of mine for years. I am ashamed, but it is an addiction.”

His solicitor advocate Kevin Blount said he had first encountered sexual images on children when he bought a second hand computer whose hard disc had not been properly cleaned.

That developed into him searching the Internet for other images.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, told him: “You are someone who has achieved a considerable reputation in your field …… But there is a flaw in your character.”

He gave him a community order with three years’ supervision and a sex offenders’ rehabilitation course, and made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of the Internet and put him on the sex offenders’ register, both for five years.

Ashton, 65, of Trafalgar Street, York, pleaded guilty to six charges of possessing indecent images of children.

Mr Lampitt said most of the pictures and videos were in the lowest category of seriousness, but 117 photos and 30 videos were in the highest category. There are three categories.

Police raided his home because Internet records revealed he had accessed websites with indecent images of children between October 2013 and February 2014.

Mr Blount said he had a technical interest in computers.

He also had a history of depression and had spent time in Bootham Hospital receiving treatment.

His mental illness may have affected his “moral compass” and he had ignored the fact that children had to be abused for the photographs and videos to be produced.

That had changed since his arrest 14 months before the court case. He had sought help from his doctor and was seeing a clinical psychologist for treatment.

July 2015

A Blackpool man serving a nine-year term for sex attacks on a girl when he was in his early teens deserves every day of his sentence, appeal judges have ruled.

Brandon Hutchinson, 22, of Warley Road, was caged at Preston Crown Court in January after he was convicted of a string of sex attacks.

Hutchinson had allegations against him going back to when he was just nine, but was convicted of others which happened later.

Today, rejecting an appeal against his sentence, three top judges said the nine-year term was richly deserved.

Judge Deborah Taylor said the offences were considered to be far from ‘innocent childish sexual exploitation’.

The court heard Hutchinson was convicted of three rapes, two indecent assaults and sexual activity with a child.

However, his lawyers argued that the sentence he received was far too tough.

He had himself been very young when the first allegations were made against him, the court was told.

Although he had gone on to do well in his studies, he had been originally classed as a child with ‘special educational needs’.

Despite that, he had grown up, got a job and maintained a relationship, Judge Taylor, Lady Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Cranston heard.

Giving judgment, Judge Taylor said it was clear that the crown court judge had given ‘substantial credit’ for Hutchinson’s youth at the time of offending.

“We conclude that the sentences passed for these serious offences were neither wrong in law nor manifestly excessive,” she said.

The appeal was dismissed.

July 2015

Sheffield pervert targeted vulnerable teen

A pervert who was jailed after showing a vile child abuse video to a vulnerable teen boy has had his appeal quashed by top judges.

Dean Bingham, aged 29, was locked up for 16 months in April after sending the youngster a sick video of a man engaged in ‘sexual activity with a female child’.

London’s Court of Appeal heard Bingham, of Industry Street, Walkley, Sheffield, had contacted the boy over the internet and claimed the video he had sent him was ‘live’.

He also asked the boy to expose himself.

The court heard that the youth was ‘disgusted’ and Bingham’s gross actions came to light when the victim’s dad found messages from the pervert on his computer.

Bingham has since expressed ‘shame and remorse’, said appeal Judge Martyn Zeidman QC, who was sitting with Lady Justice Macur and Mr Justice Walker at the appeal court last Friday.

However, he said Bingham’s crime was ‘not a momentary lapse’ and there was a clear element of planning involved.

He had shown little mercy to his victim when he put off pleading guilty for so long, the judge observed.

That left the boy fearful that he would have to undergo the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

Judge Zeidman said: “The end result was a severe sentence, but it is impossible to say the result was manifestly excessive.”

July 2015

A Bicester man has been sentenced to JUST 27 months in prison for assaulting a baby

Owen Gaskins, 34, of West Street, Bicester pleaded guilty to one count of GBH at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, July 3, 2015 and was sentenced the same day.

On March 21 in 2013, Gaskins was left to look after a 10-month-old baby girl.

September 2008

Rapist wins right to appeal sentence

A MAN convicted of the rapes of a mother and her nine-year-old daughter today (Mon) won permission to appeal against his classification as a highly dangerous prisoner.

William Kenealy, from Northolt, was 25 when he was given five life terms for the brutal attack on Boxing Day 1996, and the rape of a 17-year-old schoolgirl making her way home from a concert in Ealing 10 months later.

Despite strong objections from a barrister representing Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior judge ruled Kenealy should be allowed to bring a legal challenge over his “category A” status.

He denies he was guilty of the rapes and is now seeking category B status, which would allow him to attend a special course to help him progress through the prison system.

Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, said the case raised issues “of how one deals with a prisoner who doesn’t admit his guilt”.

He gave Kenealy permission to seek judicial review of decisions by the director of high security prisons that he had not addressed his sexual offending and presented too great a risk to be downgraded.

His lawyers argued that he was in a Catch 22 situation because he refused to admit his guilt and the director had acted irrationally.

But Paul Greatorex, for the Justice Secretary, said of Kenealy: “If he doesn’t belong in category A it is difficult to know which prisoners do.”

He described Kenealy, who maintains he is innocent, as “a classic category A prisoner” and said there was “a very high risk of something bad happening to a member of the public” if he were to escape – “in these circumstances escape should be made impossible”.

Category A inmates are deemed “prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public… and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible”.

The judge was told probation officers had recommended that Kenealy be downgraded so that he could go to a “therapeutic community” at another prison which would only take category B prisoners, but these had been ignored by the director.

Flo Krause, appearing for Kenealy, who is held at Whitemoor Prison, Cambridgeshire, said he had achieved “excellent results” in a large number of behaviour programmes designed to address his previous criminal lifestyle, which mostly involved “acquisitive offending”.

The judge indicated the failure to make such courses open to category A prisoners might be open to challenge.

He said: “I make it clear that what has persuaded me to give leave in this case is the existence of a course which can only be attended if he is downgraded to category B. Those special circumstances justify leave.”

November 1998

Rape victim tells of death anguish

The mother who was raped with her nine-year-old daughter has spoken of her anguish at learning of her other daughter’s death in a pond in London.

The 20-year-old’s body was recovered from the water in Kensington Gardens on Tuesday, the same day William Kenealy, 25, was convicted at the Old Bailey of the rape of her mother and young sister.

The body is thought to have been in the pond for up to two weeks.

The woman said: “I cannot believe my daughter has died. I try not to feel sorry for myself, but I wonder why all this tragedy has come our way.”

She said her older daughter had been haunted by guilt after the rapes and had turned to drink.

“I think her dying in that way is the result of all this evil. She probably fell in the water while she was drunk. The poor thing always felt she was somehow to blame.”

‘Perverted tendencies’

Kenealy, from Northolt, north-west London, was given five life sentences at the Old Bailey on Thursday for the “terrifying” rapes of the woman and her young daughter on Boxing Day 1996, and a teenage schoolgirl 10 months later.

The woman found out about her daughter’s death just hours after Kenealy’s conviction.

Judge Ian Davies told Kenealy: “I am satisfied your conduct has manifestly perverted tendencies and while at large you will remain a danger to women for an indefinite time.”

A year after the rapes, the nine-year-old’s statement to the police was released to the media in an appeal for information to catch the rapist.

She described having “a lovely time on Christmas Day”. “I had some nice presents. I got a Spice Girls’ tape and we had a big Christmas dinner. I was allowed to stay up and I went to bed quite late,” she said.

“A little while after – I woke up and saw a man in my bedroom. My mum was in the same room as me and I saw that a man was holding a knife up to my Mum’s face.

“I was so frightened, I couldn’t move or scream or do anything. I thought he was going to cut my mum or hurt her in some way.

“I just couldn’t call out for help or do anything to protect my Mum. I was so scared that I just kept very still.”

“The man still had the knife and I was frightened that he was going to kill me or my mum. I just wanted him to go away. He made me get him some money and took my mum’s purse.

“He also took some money that I had been given for Christmas. Then he went.”

The little girl said that afterwards she was frightened to sleep in her bedroom on her own for a long time. She had not looked forward to last Christmas as it brought back memories.

The dead woman cannot be named because it would, in turn, identify the rape victims.

July 2015: Shoesmith has now been released

December 2013

Man jailed in Bradford for sexually touching a girl of 14

A 27-year-old man has been jailed for three years for sexual touching of a girl aged 14.

Steven Shoesmith, whose criminal career began when he was aged ten, committed the offence almost two years ago when he was on prison licence for an unrelated offence.

He denied the allegation but was convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Shoesmith, of no fixed address, had served long stretches in jail for burglary and vehicle offences.

He was recalled to prison and held in custody until the trial date.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, said Shoesmith took advantage of the sexually inexperienced schoolgirl when they were both staying at a house in Bradford.

He went into the bedroom where she was sleeping, removed his clothing and molested her.

When she arrived back home, her mother could see how upset she was and the police were called.