November 2013

IT teacher who taught pupils how to stay safe online is caught with child abuse images on computer

A TEACHER who taught pupils how to stay safe online is facing jail – after being caught with child abuse images on his home computer.

Detectives also found John MacMillan, 60, had downloaded images showing people having sex with animals.

The pervert was a respected computing and IT teacher at Brannock High School in Newarthill, Lanarkshire.

But his life unravelled in January when police raided his office and his home in nearby Bellshill after receiving a tip-off.

At an earlier hearing, the first offender pled guilty to possessing the indecent images between January 2010 and January 2013.

MacMillan was due to be sentenced at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday.

But in a farcical mix-up, a warrant for his arrest was issued in court three while he was sitting in court six, where a J. McMillan was due to appear.

It is understood the pervert was sent to the wrong court by reception staff.

MacMillan will now be sentenced at a later date.

November 2013

Pervert disgusted with himself for downloading indecent images

A MAN who felt disgusted over viewing child porn images deleted them from his computer – only to download more of them a day or two later.

And a judge at Warwick Crown Court heard that James Spencer kept repeating that cycle after setting up different user names on his computer.

Spencer, aged 48, of Abbey Green, Nuneaton, had pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children, one of possessing an image of extreme pornography and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He was given a community sentence with three years supervision and a condition of taking part in a three-year sex offender treatment programme.

In addition Spencer was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order for the same period imposing conditions under which he can access the internet or live in a household where there are children.

Prosecutor Philip Gibbs said the case arises out of a search of an address in St Lukes Road, Coventry, where Spencer was living at the time.

They found cannabis plants which he admitted cultivating, and for which he has since been given a community order by Coventry magistrates.

But the officers also seized two laptop computers and a hard drive on which they found a number of indecent images of children, the majority of whom were just nine or ten years old.

Of the images, 338 were classed as level one, the least serious category showing children in naked or indecent poses, and eight level two images of children engaging in sexual activity.

But 40 were of levels three and four, showing adults engaging in sexual activity with children; and there was also an image of extreme pornography with an animal

When he was questioned, Spencer said he had been looking at adult porn for 12 to 15 years, spending up to 12 hours at a time accessing it on the internet.

He said that when he had started downloading indecent images of children, from which he obtained sexual gratification, he felt disgusted and deleted them straight afterwards.

But he would download them again a day or two later, again deleting them after he had viewed them.

Spencer said he even set up different user profiles to view images, then deleted the profile and set up a new one.

Paul Mytton, defending, said Spencer, who had convictions for dishonesty in the 80s and 90s, spent some time confined under the Mental Health Act following his arrest.

Sentencing Spencer, Judge Robert Orme told him: “I’m going to deal with you in the way suggested in the pre-sentence report. You by now, I hope, understand that the offences you committed are serious offences.

“The children who are depicted cannot give their consent at the age they are, and they are being systematically abused for the purpose of exploitation by a wide number of people, including you when you view those images.

“The continuation of people viewing images like this is feeding into the exploitation of children.

“On the other hand, there are a number of factors in your background which must have contributed to your distorted thinking.

“The best way of dealing with that is by way of the sex offender programme.”

November 2013

Dumfries man admits grooming sex attack on 12 year old girl

A Dumfries man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl after grooming her on a social networking site has been placed on the sex offenders register.

David Rozynski, 26, of Glencairn Road, persuaded his victim to meet him hours after befriending her on Facebook.

He was caught after the girl’s mother checked her daughter’s computer and called in police.

Rozynski admitted committing an indecent assault in August. He will be sentenced in January.

He was on bail at the time of the offence.

November 2013

Woman speaks out about sexual abuse from age 5 to 20 as former dock worker is locked up for 8 years

A VICTIM of indecent assault told a court she suffers flashbacks, nausea, physical and emotional distress because of the sexual abuse she suffered.

The life of the woman, now 41, had been “in limbo” until the sentencing of Steven Fifield, 62, of Tivoli Gardens, Grimsby.

The former dock worker denied charges of sexual assault and indecent assault, but was convicted by a jury at Grimsby Crown Court.

He was locked up for a total of eight years for four counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault on a female from the age of five to 20 years of age.

Over the course of the woman’s life he manipulated and groomed her into allowing him to assault her, the court heard.

Judge Mark Bury said Fifield had shown no remorse and his behaviour had “gross effects” on the woman.

The judge gave him a stern warning of possible contempt of court as Fifield was led away claiming: “Is that for something I have not done?”

The judge also imposed a restraining order banning any contact with the complainant for life.

Fifield must sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Now, as he has been sentenced for his crimes, his victim has spoken out in a bid to encourage more women not to be afraid and to call the police.

The lady, who has asked not to be identified, says the abuse started when she was just five years old.

She said: “I knew it was the right thing to do, to call the police and report what he had done.

“The attacks started when I was about five and continued almost weekly until I was 20 and I could afford to move myself away from the situation.

“I managed to block out what had happened to me for many years after until I started getting flashbacks and nightmares.

“It was then I knew I had to report it.

“Many people will question why I never called the police before, why I never reported as a child, but what you have to understand is the mental control these kinds of people have over you.

“They are manipulative and overpowering.

“You don’t have to shout no to tell someone you don’t want to do something.

“I grew up thinking what he was doing was a normal thing to do.

“He groomed and controlled me over a 14-year period.

“It happened nearly every week and it got to the point were I would just block it out until he had finished.

“At first I tried to refuse and say ‘no’, but these kind of people are persistent and wear you down until you feel you have no choice, no control.

“I finally managed to get away from the situation when I was 20.

“Many will ask, why even in my older years did I not force him away, did I not stop it.

“But, despite my age, I was very young inside because of his manipulation.

“A few years later when I started getting flashbacks, I decided to call the police.

“I just picked up the phone and told them that I had been sexually abused.

“It was the first step in the process to getting him punished for what he did.

“Other people, other victims need to realise it is not your fault you have been abused, it is theirs and they need to be brought to justice.

“The courts and the police have been so supportive and so helpful to ensure I felt safe and secure in giving my evidence.

“You do not have to face these people in court, you can be in a private room to give your evidence.

“What you have to remember is this, you will not get ‘closure’. Many people use this word when talking about these situations, but it will not happen.

“You will always carry the burden of what they have done to you, however reporting them and calling the police will at least see them punished for what they have done.

“Please, if you have suffered, just call the police, do not let them get away with what they have done.”

In mitigation, Megan Rhys said her client suffered ill-health.

November 2013

Taxi driver who sexually abused child for 11 years is jailed

A taxi driver who sexually abused a young girl for 11 years has been jailed for five years.

At the High Court in Glasgow 48-year-old Paul McCallum, from Blantyre, Lanarkshire, was convicted of sexually abusing the girl from the age of five.

McCallum also attempted to rape the girl when she was aged between nine and 16. The offences were committed at an address in Larkhall between January 1994 and March 2006.

He was also found guilty of sexually abusing her sister on one occasion when she was aged between eight and nine. This offence also took place at a house in Larkhall between February 2003 and February 2004.

Sentencing McCallum, judge Alastair Stewart QC, told him: “A jury has found you guilty of a number of offences, including the serious offence of attempted rape. It is the duty of the courts to protect young girls.”

As McCallum was led away to begin his sentence members of the sisters’ family shouted: “You’re a beast,” at him.

Outside court the sisters’ mother said: “Five years is a joke, my weans have got a life sentence because of what he put them through. We are totally devastated, five years is not enough.”

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, added: “He may have abused other children and I would urge anyone who was abused by him to come forward and contact the police.”

During the trial his first victim, who is now 25, told prosecutor Allan Nicol that she was regularly abused by McCallum.

She said that she was too afraid to tell anyone what he had done to her. It was only when she became an adult that she was able to speak up about the abuse.

The jury heard that McCallum’s abuse began by making the girl touch him intimately when she was just five, and his conduct escalated as she got older. By the time she was nine he was regularly attempting to rape her.

The abuse came to light when McCallum’s second victim , who is now 18, told their mother what had happened to her during a row. She told her mother: “You don’t know the half of it.” When pressed to explain what she meant she blurted out that McCallum had sexually abused her.

The police were called in and McCallum was charged. In evidence McCallum said: “It isn’t true. They are telling lies. It never happened.”

However, he could give no explanation for why the sisters would make up allegations against him.

The court heard that McCallum has a previous conviction from 1983 for underage sex. Defence QC Derek Ogg said that McCallum continues to maintain his innocence. McCallum was placed on the sex offenders register.

November 2013

Cumbrian man admits having sex with schoolgirls

A north Cumbria man has been put on the sex offenders register after admitting having sex with two under-age schoolgirls.

Adam Jackson, 21, pleaded guilty at Carlisle Crown Court to nine charges of having sexual activity with the girls – six relating to a 13-year-old and three to another girl whose age was not specified in the charges.

Jackson, of the Glendale Holiday Park, Port Carlisle, committed all the offences against the first girl between January 2012 and June 2013. Those against the second girl were committed in August this year.

He was remanded in custody for background and psychological reports and will be sentenced on February 14.

November 2013

‘Deleted’ child abuse images found on man’s external hard drive

A supermarket worker downloaded more than 280 photos and videos of child abuse images.

Barry Tibbles, 53, admitted one count of making indecent images of children, when he appeared before Reading Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard how police carried out a search warrant on a house in Lea Close, Southcote, in June 2011 where Tibbles lived with his sister and her two adult children.

He showed officers his bedroom, where police seized computer equipment including a memory card and an external hard drive.

Deirdre Philpott, prosecuting, said the hard drive was examined and found to contain 271 still images and 16 moving images.

These included one photo at level five and 35 photos and four videos at level four, the most severe levels of imagery, with the rest falling into levels one to three.

Miss Philpott said: “All of the images had been deleted at some point since they were created and most had been created some time prior to the seizure by police.

“The examination of the devices took some while and it was not until April this year that the defendant was contacted by police to attend Reading police station to be interviewed.”

When Tibbles initially spoke to police on the phone, he said: “I know I have done wrong. I don’t do it anymore. I thought after this long it had been overlooked.”

When he was formally questioned Tibbles declined to comment and said he could not remember what he had previously said to the officer.

Sarah Holland, defending, said Tibbles had first downloaded images in 2006, but “had come to his senses” before he was arrested and deleted them in 2008.

She explained Tibbles had attempted to justify his behaviour by saying he was going through “a tough time” after separating from his partner and he was “inquisitive”, having previously looked at conventional porn.

Passing sentence, Judge Bruce McIntyre said: “Barry Tibbles, I am sure you are aware that the reason this kind of offending is serious is because by having downloaded this material you have, albeit indirectly, been guilty of abusing the children who are displayed in these images.

“Without people like you there would be no market for these images or for anyone to subject children to the abuse shown in them. There would be no reason for them to do it.”

He sentenced Tibbles to 36-month community and supervision orders and ordered him to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offenders’ Groupwork Programme.

Tibbles, now of Wintringham Way, Purley, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

November 2013

Escaped child killer captured

ESCAPED child killer Alan Giles was captured in Alcester on Wednesday evening after ten days on the run.

Giles has been charged with escaping from lawful custody, and will appear at Worcester Magistrates Court this morning (Friday). Immediately after his court appearance he will be returned to the custody of the prison service.

The 56-year-old was arrested in the Gunnings Road area of the town after a call from a member of the public who spotted him just after 6pm.

The area was immediately flooded with police and although Giles tried to make off from officers, he was quickly caught and taken to Redditch police station.

Det Ch Insp Paul Judge said: “The search for him has taken up an enormous amount of our time and resources over the past ten days.

“As we always suspected a tip off from a member of the public was key to us bringing Mr Giles back into custody and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who has come forward with information to help our investigation.

“We have been really impressed by the amount of information that has come in and how keen people have been to help us with our enquiries.

“I’d also like to thank the media for their excellent support in keeping Mr Giles’ escape in the spotlight as this has been really helpful to ensure our appeals for information were seen by as wide an audience as possible.

Giles was at HMP Hewell near Redditch serving two life sentences for the kidnap and murder of 16-year-old Quinton student Kevin Ricketts in 1995.

He walked out of prison, where he was detained in open conditions, on Monday October 28.

Police launched a massive search for Giles in south Warwickshire as they believed he was sleeping rough in the area.

He had worked at Sue Ryder charity shops in Alcester and Leamington on a community work programme before he went on the run.

There have been reports Giles had a row with a worker at the Alcester charity shop and there had been a recommendation to remove Giles from open conditions five days before he absconded.

Crime Files: Killer’s phone call finally led police to Kevin’s body

When shy teenage schoolboy Kevin Ricketts failed to return home from college, it plunged his family into an excruciating cycle of torment.

Little could they have known that the emotional hell of not knowing what had happened to the 16-year-old would continue for three-and-a-half years – even after his killer had been convicted.

Kevin’s murder remains a highly unusual case in British legal history, because his murderer was found guilty by a jury even though the victim’s body hadn’t been found.

What makes the case all the more intriguing is the uncharacteristic pang of conscience that Alan Giles felt from his prison cell, when he decided to ring detectives and stop the anguish of the youngster’s grieving family.

Kevin was an ordinary, if introverted, teenager who was studying woodwork at South Birmingham College.

He left the home he shared with his mother Carole at Four Acres in Woodgate Valley to meet a friend in Harborne and head to classes on the morning of January 31, 1995.

The family were wracked by panic when he failed to turn up later that evening.

Kevin rarely went to parties and failing to come home for his tea was out of character.

Police initially treated his disappearance as a missing persons case – reassuring the family that he would return when he ran out of money.

But as time passed, detectives were forced to shift the focus of the inquiry from a search for a missing teenager to a hunt for a body.

The man who quickly emerged as prime suspect was Giles.

He was the common-law husband of Kevin’s older sister, Elizabeth, but they had split up acrimoniously just a few months earlier, leaving her with custody of their young child.

Giles had brooded on the rejection and began to plan how he could get back at her for what he considered to be grave wrongdoing.

He was obsessed with his former lover and would not leave her alone, prowling around outside her home and spying on her with binoculars.

His infatuation culminated in him trying to climb up to the balcony of her flat, forcing her to jump with their young daughter from the first floor.

When she failed to listen, Giles’ actions became more and more sinister.

First he planned to “set up” her elder brother, David Ricketts, in a crime by claiming he had tied him up and beaten him.

But the scheme was halted when he was jailed for a month after breaking a court injunction to keep away from Elizabeth.

It was then that he hatched the plan to snatch Kevin as a twisted – and ultimately fatal – method of retribution.

He staked out the lad’s route to the bus stop and watched his movements as he left for college every day.

By the time he came to abduct the youth, he knew Kevin’s routine so well that nothing was left to chance.

Detectives believe that slightly-built Kevin would have put up little resistance against the older man, whose strength had been honed over years of working as a labourer.

There was no sign of a struggle along Kevin’s route to college and no sign of him at all, despite repeated high-profile and tearful pleas to the media by Mrs Ricketts and Elizabeth.

Just over two weeks after the mysterious disappearance, Giles was taken into custody by officers who were certain he was responsible . He was later charged with kidnap.

Woodland was combed around Bartley Green and West Bromwich, with murder squad detectives making a painstaking fingertip search of undergrowth for any concrete forensic evidence that could tie their suspect to the death or disappearance.

The inquiry came to focus on a hole in Warley which looked to have been prepared as a ready-made grave.

Police later described Giles (pictured above at time of arrest) as an “expert digger” from his time in the construction industry, but it was not enough to pin any crime on the builder

The breakthrough came when a witness, who had become terrified of Giles, decided to come forward.

Carl Morris had befriended Giles at a hostel in Selly Oak, but also feared him.

Mr Morris told police, and later a jury, that Giles had once told others at the hostel that he intended to “have someone away”.

But, more crucially, he roped Mr Morris into helping to destroy any remaining traces of Kevin.

Giving evidence, the witness told jurors that Giles had driven him though Moseley, instructing him to rip up homework and throw it out of the window. Other belongings, including a sports bag, were thought to have been stuffed into a bin.

Days after the disappearance, said Mr Morris, Giles had taken him to Bartley Reservoir in Bartley Green, pointed to woodland and said: “Kevin’s in there.”

Morris also claimed that Giles had tried to have sex with him.

It was enough to convince a jury and at Birmingham Crown Court in July 1997, Giles, then aged 40 and of Quinton, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life.

At the time he was just the ninth killer in the UK to be put behind bars despite no trace of a victim’s body.

Mrs Ricketts spoke of her relief that the man who had cruelly ended her son’s life faced a long spell behind bars.

But without a body, the family’s nightmare went on.

They had pleaded via detectives for Giles to give up the secrets of the killing and reveal where he had buried the corpse.

But after protesting his innocence, he wasn’t about to lay his cards on the table.

In mid-July 1998, stunned detectives received a call from Gartree Prison in Leicestershire.

Giles was ready to talk to them in his cell.

What followed was a candid confession, which at least hinted at some humanity lurking beneath the killer’s exterior. But, more importantly for Kevin’s family, it led police to his grave.

After spending hours carefully excavating earth in the back garden of a house in leafy Gough Road, Edgbaston, forensic anthropologists managed to recover a body which had been concealed five feet below the surface and hidden by thick undergrowth.

Dental records and x-rays confirmed that the body was Kevin’s and residents on the quiet street reacted with horror as they imagines how somebody might have dragged a body into the garden in the dead of night and buried it without being spotted.

But the body was too badly decomposed to establish a cause of death.

Once again, police had to rely on Giles’ word for that.

“I don’t know whether I grabbed him with one hand or two hands,” read the transcript of an interview conducted in the prison cell, later read out at an inquest.

“You just lose it. I probably grabbed him round the throat.

“A struggle broke out. I left him on the ground, where I showed you, in the garden.”

He went on to say that he had hit the student with a piece of wood, but it was not clear whether that had killed him.

November 2013

Supervision order for indecent picture requests

A NORTHERN Irishman has been placed on the sex offenders register and faces three years supervision after he asked to take indecent images of two young women in Shetland, one aged just 15.

Last month 45 year old Stephen Penney, pled guilty to two charges of breaching the peace on 21 June this year. 

He admitted approaching a woman as she entered Frank Williamson’s hardware shop on Lerwick’s Commercial Road and flashing an image of a naked 12 year old girl at her, asking if “she would be interested in this”.

Ten minutes later on the same street he asked the 15 year old to pose for an indecent picture in return for £10.

Both victims were shocked, immediately walked away and contacted the police.

The court heard that Penney left Shetland the following day and did not realise he was being charged until a letter arrived at his home at Donaldson’s Avenue, Carrick Fergus, County Antrim. 

Sentence was deferred for reports until Thursday, when defence agent Tommy Allan said: “Because he left Shetland the next day he wasn’t spoken to about this by the police.

“The complaint arrived through the door a few months later and threw his family life into complete turmoil.” 

He said that Penney, who was a first offender and previously good character, had no explanation for his actions other than being under stress. 

He has since been signed off work, though he is not receiving medication or psychiatric treatment. 

Allan said the impact on him had been “pretty catastrophic”, but his family were sticking by him and he was extremely sorry for what he had done. 

Sheriff Lorna Drummond said his actions would have caused distress to his victims, but she accepted his actions had been “out of character”. 

She said she would follow recommendations from social workers that he undertake a three year programme to try and get to the bottom of his offending.

November 2013

Hotel night porter downloaded indecent images of children

A night porter at seaside hotels who downloaded indecent images of children has been jailed for 26 weeks.

Christopher Holt, 52,  was last month convicted in his absence of seven charges. He had denied  them but failed to turn up for his trial at Llandudno court.

Indecent images of children on a laptop computer and USB pen-drive were found when the police Serious and Organised Crime Squad raided his home in Howard Road, Llandudno.

 In the same court on Thuirsday he was ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years and a sex offences prevention order was made for the same period.

 Six charges related to downloading indecent images of a child and a seventh to possessing 168 indecent photographs of a child. Images ranged from the lowest level 1 to the most extreme level 5.

 Magistrates’ chairwoman Mary Williams said  there had been “significant” events in his life which affected him. But there were a large number of images and at all levels of severity.

 Prosecutor Rhian Jackson said that in Yahoo Messenger were chat logs and Holt had discussed child abuse.

Defence solicitor Graham Parry said Holt had a long-term partner and in many ways it was a “very sad” case.

Holt had gone to Devon looking for his father instead of turning up for the trial. He then decided to come back and “face the music”.

Mr Parry said the offences occurred in December 2011 and January last year and Holt couldn’t provide an explanation for the images being on the computer.

He no longer had a computer and didn’t intend to get one.

November 2013

Convicted paedophile with history of offences cleared in latest trial 

A CAMBORNE man has been cleared by a jury of sexually abusing a young boy and raping him as an adult.

Derek Pascoe, of Redbrook Road, was accused of five counts of indecency with a male, two of indecency with a child and one of rape in relation to the witness between 1996 and 2012, and two further charges of sexual assault on two other men.

The jury at Truro Crown Court had heard that Pascoe, 57, had 34 convictions dating back to 1973, including a number for gross indecency with a child.

One of those was when he appeared at the same court in 1985 and was convicted of masturbating in front of two boys.

Giving evidence on the fourth day of his trial on Thursday, he said: “My problem is that I get some weird kick out of masturbating in front of another person.”

Sean Brunton, defending him, said: “And the offences on your record all relate to that type of conduct?”

Pascoe replied: “The sexual offences, yes.” Pascoe said he had completed a number of courses for sexual offenders that had given him ways of dealing with his attractions.

He said: “If I am out and about … and I see a young person that I am attracted to. If I start thinking about those things I just stay in the car or just drive home.”

When asked if he was proud of his behaviour Pascoe said: “I am totally ashamed and afterwards sometimes think it is not doing any harm but afterwards the guilt comes along and I have sometimes found it difficult to live with.”

But he denied that he had committed any of the offences he was on trial for and said that if he had he would have turned himself in to the police.

“I know I have got problems and my criminal record shows that but I could not force myself on anyone.

“This is worse than it has ever been. This is horrible and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I have never touched him and it does make me feel worthless to be accused of it.”

Pascoe started sobbing as he added: “I would never live with myself if I had raped him.”

After a short deliberation on Friday, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty on all of the charges.

November 2013

Canterbury au pair jailed for viewing vile child abuse movies in front of boy

A male au pair was so engrossed in the illegal movies he was watching he failed to see the child he was caring for standing next to him.

The Canterbury boy spent several seconds watching the vile abuse images – and later talked about it to friends at his school.

Teachers overheard the conversations and reported it to the authorities, leading to the arrest of Spanish-born Saul Aramburo.

But the perverted au pair told police he had no interest in child images – he just wanted to compare the size of his manhood with other internet users.

Prosecutor Jim Harvey told Canterbury Crown Court the 27-year-old had downloaded more than eight hours of vile sex abuse movies.

Aramburo, who has since moved to London, pleaded guilty to three charges of illegally accessing images up to level four and 41 movies and was jailed for eight months.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register and banned from working with children for 10 years.

Judge Adele Williams told him: “One of the movies showed a child as young as six engaged in sexual activity.

“The mischief of this offending is that these are real children being really abused and the evil of this offending is that those who make these images and abuse these children do so because people like you download these images from the internet.”

November 2013

Suspended sentence for Durham man who claimed he observed indecent child images “in research” for book

A MAN who downloaded indecent photographs of children claimed he obtained the material for research for a book on pornography.

Graham Geoffrey Elliott, 64, thought he had deleted all the images by the time police removed computer equipment from his home in Gilesgate, Durham, on July 23 last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that a forensic search revealed 311 indecent child images were erased from a hard drive and memory stick over the preceding two months.

Joanne Kidd, prosecuting said other explicit computer generated images of children were still on the system.

Elliott told police he observed the material in research for a book he was writing, Porn – Whether an Addiction or a Habit. But Miss Kidd said he failed to mention this in his initial interview.

Elliott, of Booths Bungalows, admitted 11 counts of making and two of possessing indecent child images.

The court heard he has a previous conviction for the attempted rape of a 16-year-old female hitch hiker, dating from 1984, for which he was jailed for 30 months.

Anthony Moore, mitigating, said both that offence, when Elliott was a young father, and the recent transgression took place when he was suffering stress and depression.

He said: “He believed all the images had been deleted. Had he not been haphazard in arranging his computer the two live computer generated images would also have been deleted.”

Recorder Simon Phillips imposed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, during which he will be subject to a sex offender treatment programme.

Elliott was also made subject of a sexual offences prevention order, indefinitely, and registration as a sex offender, for ten years, while his computer equipment will be forfeited and destroyed.

November 2013

Pervert pleads guilty to sexual assault on young child and child sexual images

Perverted Adrian Leeds, 44 of Cyncoed has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted of four counts of sexual abuse on a female child who was under 13 years old and possession of indecent images of young girls.

Leeds who had worked within construction and other civil engineering projects in the Cardiff area was described by his defence in Cardiff crown court as a respected businessman, but behind the public image he portrayed, In private he was a paedophile who had fantasized about young girls

The pervert was arrested after this database contacted police earlier this year. We had received an anonymous message through our facebook page asking for advise. We gathered the information and evidence from the source and contacted police immediately. The police officers involved must be commended for their quick response and Leeds was arrested and his computers were seized.

Leeds had no choice but to confess to his offences, as video footage and indecent images were found on his computer

Leeds was convicted of a number of charges which included four counts of sexual abuse of a female child under 13 yrs old, seven counts of making and possessing indecent images of children which were graded at Level three: Non-penetrative sexual activity between adults and children. He was also guilty of four counts of making and possessing beastiality/extreme pornography images, which depicted humans having sex with animals

Leeds was sentenced to a 36 week prison sentence, with 18 months to be served in custody and 18 months on licence upon release. Leeds was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

In court, defence said that Leeds had turned to religion since being arrested. However no remorse was shown

November 2013: Ward has been released and is not living back in Clare

January 2012

A CLARE man has been jailed for sexual assault of young  child

Lee Ward, 20, was convicted of two offences of sexual assault on a girl aged under 13 at Ipswich Crown Court. He had denied the charges.

Ward, of Sheepgate Lane, was sentenced to two years detention in a young offenders’ institute and made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

November 2013

Former Scout master jailed for 18 years for sexual offences including rape against children

A Scout master who also worked in a children’s home and at a leisure centre has admitted 49 sexual offences against children including five rapes and has been jailed for 18 years.

David Sewell, 37, of Valley Road, Grantham, committed rape, sexual assault, sexual touching, voyeurism and possessed child sex abuse images over a ten year period.

The victims of the offences, between April 2004 and July 2013, were aged between 10 and 15.

The five rape offences related to a boy aged 11.

Police investigated after one victim approached them. When police approached Sewell, he confessed all.

He denied four charges of sexual grooming which the judge ordered to lie on the file.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Sewell had been involved with the Scouts for over 20 years and he was a Scout leader since the age of 17.

The court also heard he tried to take his own life twice while in custody.

He also worked in a council planning department in the late 90s and was responsible for play schemes and after school clubs.

The court also heard Sewell possessed 342 indecent images of children in total.

Judge Michael Heath, who sentenced him to 18 years plus seven on extended licence, told him: “For your sexual gratification over a ten year period you systematically and gratuitously abused no fewer than nine boys in a sordid and disturbing manner.

“You met these boys in your capacity as a Scout master. Their parents trusted you with their sons and you gravely breached their trust by committing so many offences of such quality and such quantity.

“I consider you to be dangerous. There is significant risk to young boys of serious harm.”

The judge said that men and women of impeccable character who dedicate their time to the Scouting movement across the country would be appalled by his behaviour and let down and worried that it might reflect upon and besmirch their good names.

Sewell was also placed of the sex offenders register for life.

Mark Watson, in mitigation, said: “This defendant has demonstrated remorse which can be said to be genuine.

“His words are there’s no mitigation for what he has done. No excuse.”

Following the case, Rick Hatton, Detective Superintendent and head of public protection for Lincolnshire Police, said there was a pattern to Sewell’s offending. This saw him identify boys of a certain age, befriend them and gain the trust of their families while identifying his next victims.

He said: “I am glad that the victims have got some closure to this part of their journey.

“The Scout organisation is a fantastic organisation with good safeguarding in place.

“But the way in which Sewell operated meant he was able to bypass that.

“He’s put himself in a position where he’s working with children in a variety of places.

“Sewell is a very dangerous predatory paedophile and his crimes have had a profound and lasting impact on several young people’s lives.

“The systematic and planned grooming of these young people illustrated the calculated and manipulative offending of Sewell, who placed himself in positions where he had access to children and could gain their trust.

“We would like to thank those victims and their families, who have come forward to report these crimes.

“Those involved have been through a horrendous ordeal and their bravery in then giving evidence for these legal proceedings has helped bring the offender to justice.

“We hope that Sewell’s conviction helps them, in some sense, to move forward with their lives.

“Lincolnshire Police and our partners in social services will continue to offer the families involved as much support as possible.

“I have no doubt there may be other victims out there. If anyone wants to speak to our team, we can offer support to them.”

Anyone who wishes to contact the police should quote incident 169 of November 29, by calling 101.

November 2013

Kingswinford man avoids jail after child abuse pictures found on his computer

A 44-YEAR-OLD Kingswinford man caught with sickening indecent photographs of children on his computer has avoided jail time.

Stephen Martin, of Kingsley Road, admitted ten charges of possessing the images and three of having extreme pornographic images.

Judge Michael Challinor at Wolverhampton Crown Court placed Martin on Supervision for three years with a condition that he attends the Sex Offenders Treatment Programme.

The court was told Martin was arrested when police raided his former home in Bromley Lane, Pensnett, and seized his computer equipment.

He was further told by the judge that he must sign the Sex Offenders Register for the next five years and to pay £240 costs.

November 2013

Halifax dentist struck off following voyeurism case

A Halifax dentist has been struck off by the General Dental Council (GDC) following a public hearing into allegations of voyeurism.

The allegations against Gurminder Singh Jutla from Leeds were heard by the GDC’s Professional Conduct Committee.

Mr Jutla was convicted of an offence of voyeurism contrary to section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and he was committed to Bradford Crown Court for sentence.

On December 11, 2012, at Bradford Crown Court, a he was sentenced to a three year supervision order to include 60 days high level activity, register on the Sex Offenders’ Register for a period of five years and pay compensation in the sum of £275.

Dr Jutla, 28, pleaded guilty to the offence where he used his iPhone to record a young female dressing.

The offending came to light in August when the complainant noticed the propped up iPhone as she changed.

In considering this case, the GDC’s Professional Conduct Committee said: “The Committee is in no doubt that Mr Jutla’s conduct has served to bring the profession into disrepute.

“The Committee therefore concluded that a finding of impairment is necessary in this case to declare and uphold the standards of the profession. Furthermore if such a finding were not to be made, public confidence in the profession would be seriously undermined. The Committee finds that Mr Jutla’s fitness to practise is currently impaired.”

Unless Mr Jutla, who was immediately suspended, exercises his right of appeal, his name will be struck off the register in approximately 28 days’ time.

November 2013

Police are hunting a sex offender who failed to appear in court

Phil Jones, 22, aka Phil Page is wanted for failing to appear at Blackpool Magistrates Court on charges of theft and assault.

Jones, who is believed to be in the resort, is a registered sex offender who was convicted at Preston Crown Court in 2010 for sexual activity with a child under 16 years, namely a 14 year old girl.

He was jailed for 21 months and required to be on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

He may pose a risk to members of the public.

Det Insp Jo Dent, of Blackpool Police, said: “I would appeal for anyone who has seen him or knows of his whereabouts to get in touch with the police.”

Anyone with information should call 101.

November 2013

Bilston man spared jail after downloading 11,000 child sex images

A convicted pervert who downloaded over 11,000 sickening indecent photographs of children while subject to a community order has been spared immediate prison.

Gary Carey, 62, was jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2006 for sex offences against a child and for taking and possessing pornographic images.

He was made the subject of the order and told to have no contact with children but he breached it in 2012 when he formed an association with a teenage girl.

At the time police officers seized his computer and they found the indecent images including a small number at level five – the worst possible category.

Carey, of Bilston, admitted two charges of possessing the images and he was given a 15-month jail term suspended for two years.

He was further placed on supervision for two years and ordered to obey a four-month night time curfew.

Mr Stephen Bailey, defending, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that 62-year-old Carey downloaded the images, watched them and they were then deleted.

He said Carey had been “struggling with feelings of self disgust” and he had committed the offences when he was at a low ebb in his life and suffering from depression.

Judge Nicholas Webb told Carey it was clear in recent years he had been responding well to the Probation Service assistance.