November 2013

Music experts ask judge not to jail repeat offending paedophile

ACCLAIMED members of the classical music community asked a judge not to jail a paedophile at Oxford Crown Court.

Bruce Phillips has been jailed after admitting making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children between February 2011 and August last year.

But during his sentencing, the 69-year-old was hailed for helping to revive interest in the British composer John Ireland, as director of the John Ireland Trust.

Renowned concert pianist Mark Bebbington and Keele University Emeritus Professor of Music Peter Dickinson both appeared as character witnesses.

Gavin Holme, prosecuting, told the court police found more than 1,500 indecent images of children on Phillips’ computer when they raided his home last year.

He told Judge Gordon Risius it was the second time the publisher had admitted the offence, having also admitted making indecent images in December 2010.

The barrister said on that occasion Phillips was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, by Wantage Magistrates’ Court

But David Bright, defending, said his client should not go to prison because it was not “in the public interest”.

Mr Bebbington said Phillips had an “overriding sense of generosity of spirit” and said his view of whether he could be around his own children was “completely unchanged”.

He also told Judge Risius it would be hard to find words “praiseworthy enough” to describe the positive effect he had on him and his family.

Prof Dickinson said Phillips had been “absolutely without question” the driving force behind a revival of interest in composer John Ireland, and he is “regarded at the highest level”.

Mr Bright said: “Here we have a very different kind of man to the usual who comes before the courts on this grave offence.

“People well understand that what makes that offence so grave is that the children in the photographs are being exploited by truly evil people. That is the other end of the scale.”

He said it would be “absolutely the last opportunity” for Phillips, of Third Acre Rise, Oxford, to avoid prison.

But Judge Risius said an immediate prison sentence was “unavoidable”.

He told Phillips: “It is beyond doubt that you are held in the highest regard for your achievements in the field of classical music.

“You are fortunate that so many people are standing by you, including in particular your wife and your family, despite this second serious lapse in your behaviour.”

He jailed him for 16 months with an £100 victims’ surcharge. He is also to subject to a sexual offences prevention order for the next 10 years.

Phillips, who worked for publisher Oxford University Press, was found to have a small number of indecent images at the two highest levels – ranked four or five on the scale between one and five.

November 2013

‘Depraved’ paedophile jailed for trying to rape young girl

A paedophile who attempted to rape a young girl has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Gerald Connors, 53, of Cline Road, appeared at Guildford Crown Court facing seven charges relating to sexual activity with children between the late 1990s and 2011.

The jury found Connors guilty of the attempted rape of a 13-year-old on a majority verdict of ten to two.

A further guilty verdict was reached of gross indecency with a child.

He was found not guilty of one count of sexual activity with a girl under 16.

On Friday last week Judge Michael Addison sentenced Connors to six and a half years for the attempted rape and two years concurrent for gross indecency.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the four remaining charges.

The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that, following the sentencing, it will not be applying for a retrial.

Detective constable Conor Nixon of Surrey Police said: “The result demonstrates the depravity and severity of the abuse which Connors metered out to his victim.

“I hope the sentencing will give closure and go some way in helping his victim move on with her life, to begin to have hope for her future.

“She is to be commended for her courage and fortitude in coming forward and pursuing this prosecution after many years.

“This has been a lengthy investigation which has been bravely supported by the victim and I would encourage any victim to come forward to Surrey Police and report any similar incidents.

“Surrey Police treats all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously.

“Our priority is victim care and people need to feel confident that if they come forward and report an offence we can help.

“We have a dedicated investigation team for such crime and the dedicated unit works to obtain best evidence.

“We also work closely with our partner agencies including the NHS, with whom Surrey Police has a Sexual Assault Referral Centre.”

Connors, formerly of Park Barn Drive, was arrested in February 2012 and pleaded not guilty to all charges in June this year.

During the trial he admitted he had a long-running alcohol problem and that there were gaps in his memory but denied acting in a sexual manner towards the victim.

The jury was shown recordings from 2012 of police interviews with the victim.

For the defence Elaine Stapleton argued that the jury had to determine whether the girls were telling the truth or lying.

The victim of the attempted rape described four incidents, the earliest occurring between 1998 and 2001, where she claimed she was touched by or made to touch Connors.

The attempted rape took place several years later when she was about 13 and she woke to find Connors on top of her.

She said she managed to get away but said: “That’s what was going through my head – I’m being raped.

“And I thought was going to die.”

The other guilty verdict related to an occasion where he made her touch him inappropriately.

Three charges, including the count of sexual activity of which Connors was acquitted, relate to incidents with a second girl.

October 2011

Child rapist is sent to prison

A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for 11 years for repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a young girl more than 20 years ago.

Unshaven and dressed in a grey shirt, Gary Betts looked on motionless as judge Jeremy Carey handed down the prison sentence at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

Betts, 48, of Sherwood Road, Tunbridge Wells was convicted of five counts of rape, three of indecent assault and four of indecency with a child.

The charges related to a young girl who was raped and sexually assaulted by Betts over a four year period in the 1980s, from when she was just 12 years old.

When sentencing, the judge also took into account nine other charges relating to extreme pornography involving sex with animals, which Betts admitted.

Betts, who had branded the allegations against him “rubbish”, was found to have taken photographs of the girl handcuffed to a tree while she was groped by another man.

He raped and sexually assaulted her and ordered her to carry out other explicit acts.

He also took sexually explicit photographs of her.

Judge Carey told Betts: “She was a child who needed support, but instead you saw in her someone you could exploit and debase.

“She was so much younger than you. This sexual offending has had a long lasting effect upon her.”

The jury unanimously found Betts guilty of 12 charges on October 14, after a nine-day trial.

They also cleared him of one charge of rape and one of sexual assault against the girl.

The jury additionally found him not guilty of two charges of rape, four of indecent assault and three of indecency against another girl on the directions of the judge.

Catherine Connelly, defending, told the court Betts had level two stomach cancer, which needed to be treated intravenously, and that he also had problems with cysts and mobility.

However, this did not cause the judge to reduce his sentence.

Judge Carey told Betts: “Your level two cancer should be brought to the court but it can’t have any impact on the length of the sentence. I have to sentence you due to the gravity of your offending, and taking all these sexual offences as a whole, I conclude the appropriate minimum sentence to be 11 years.”

November 2013

Sexual predator abused six girls

RESIDENTS of a road in Westerham have spoken of their “shock and revulsion” on learning one of their neighbours has been jailed for sexually abusing children.

Gary Colin Deveney, 45, of Ash Road, pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault on six girls below the age of 14.

His youngest victim was just seven years old.

Deveney was sentenced to four years, given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and is now on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Naomi Moore, of the child abuse investigation unit, said: “We welcome the sentence handed out today, which finally brings this predatory paedophile to justice.

“Deveney groomed young, vulnerable girls and plied them with drugs and alcohol so that he could sexually assault them.”

Acting on a tip-off, detectives in Kent Police’s child abuse investigation unit arrested Deveney on June 4 and charged him the next day.

The offences took place over a 14-year period between 1990 and 2004 in various locations in the Dartford area.

Sentencing Deveney at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday of last week, Judge Carey said: “You committed offences over a sustained period of time, showing a degree of persistence, and did so when in a position of responsibility and trust to the young girls.”

He also said Deveney had “an unnatural and wholly criminal like for young girls”.

The judge said aggravating factors in his offences included “the number of victims, the period of time the offences took place, the age of the victims and the use of alcohol and drugs.”

May 2008

Family disgusted sex attacker is spared jail

THE family of a sexual assault victim has criticised the British justice system after a sexual predator escaped a jail sentence.

Paul Carson, of Kings Crescent, pleaded guilty at Warrington Crown Court on Friday, May 16, to two counts of sexual assault against a female.

The 37-year-old was put under a three-year supervision order, instructed to attend a programme to change his behaviour, forced to sign the sex offenders register for five years and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £550.

But a relative of the 16-year-old victim said the sentence was not enough.

“If he hadn’t changed his plea to guilty he would have gone to prison,” she said.

“It’s just not good enough.

“Why should he get away with it when he’s put these young girls through hell?”

The family member said the victim, who is now 17, was left so traumatised by the incident she was unable to work for three months.

“She had to pack her job in,” she said.

“She couldn’t go back to work because she was too frightened and embarrassed.

“She’s alright about it now, she feels that she can move on, but she doesn’t want to have to walk the streets and see him.”

The judge ruled that Carson was not disqualified from working with children because his job as a welder did not bring him into contact with children.

The family member added: “What he’s done isn’t right and everyone deserves to know he lives in this town.

“People have a right to know there’s a sex offender living in their street.”

November 2013

Haslingden Rotarian jailed for sex attack on teen

A PENSIONER who sexually assaulted a ‘vulnerable’ teenager has been locked up for eight months.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Brian Walmsley, 71, left his victim in shock, feeling sick and struggling to speak about it.

The hearing was told the ‘protracted and premeditated’ incident had a ‘catastrophic’ effect on the teenager.

Walmsley, a Rotarian since his retirement and whose wife is a former magistrate, was said to be ‘something of a broken man’.

The defendant, of Helmshore Road, Haslingden, admitted two counts of sexual assault and a further sexual allegation last year. Walmsley, who had no previous convictions, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

David Macro, prosecuting, told the court the defendant had been drinking when he committed the offences. The victim, who tried to push him away, could hardly speak after the assaults, the court heard.

Robert Elias, for Walmsley, said it was not necessary to send him immediately to prison. He said the defendant had led an unblemished life and the feelings of guilt and lack of self-worth the offending had caused him meant he sometimes did not want to get out of bed.

Mr Elias said: “It’s not overstating it to say he is something of a broken man, in trying to come to terms with what he did.

“He is now depressed. He’s not a paedophile. He’s somebody who made a catastrophic mistake.”

The lawyer said Walmsley’s wife was standing by him and had been a tower of strength.

He added: “He is full of remorse and shame. He is going to have to live with what he did.”

Recorder Andrew Edis, QC, said Walmsley had led a distinguished and valuable life.

The judge said he was sentencing him on the basis that he did not present a significant risk of substantial harm to the public.

Recorder Edis said, although he was concerned about what appeared to be some denial in the defendant’s pre-sentence report, he was prepared to deal with it as an isolated incident, unlikely to be repeated.He added: “It’s clear that the impact of your offending has been catastrophic to the victim.”

“It’s so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is possible. This was a protracted and premeditated incident, although no doubt inspired by drink.”

August 2002

 Six years for man who raped girl, 11

A man has been jailed for 8 and a half years for the rape of a girl aged 11 and another sex attack

Stuart Woolman raped the girl as she was delivering a Christmas card.

Woolman, 21, denied rape but was convicted after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. He received a six-year sentence

He admitted indecent assault on a woman in Chelmsford and was given a 30-month sentence to run consecutively.

The trial heard how the 11-year-old left her Chelmsford home on December 22 to deliver a Christmas card.

She met Woolman and he offered to walk her home as it was dark.

They took a short cut near Milton Place then he raped her, the court heard.

Afterwards, Woolman gave the girl a hug and told her not to tell anyone.

Amanda Rippon, prosecuting, said the girl’s grandfather noticed she was tearful but it was five days before she told her aunt what had happened.

Woolman, of King’s Road, Chelmsford, at first denied meeting the girl that night, then denied having sex with her.

Gareth Hughes, mitigating, said Woolman continued to deny the rape but has expressed genuine remorse over the indecent assault.

“He is a man who suffers in a minor way from a personality disorder,” Mr Hughes said

November 2013

Rapist jailed for 19 years for attacks on young girls

A SPIRITUALIST has been jailed for 19 years after being convicted of a series of serious sex offences including rape.

Judge Huw Davies told 52-year-old William Bevan he had done “great harm” in his offending which took place against victims who were aged under 15 at the time of the offences.

Judge Davies said they were “serious offences” and “very grave”.

Bevan, from Cilmaengwyn in Pontardawe, had raped one victim and sexually assaulted the other by groping her breasts and touching her, Swansea Crown Court had heard during his trial last month.

Bevan had a previous conviction from when he was 23 for indecent assault but denied these offences, telling the jury he was part of an “elaborate plot” by the victims.

He was also sentenced for possessing extreme pornography after indecent images were found on his computer after his arrest.

He had told the jury they had been planted on his computer.

Mitigating for Bevan, his barrister, Frank Phillips, said: “He has been employed in a number of jobs and also been a very good worker and there’s no concerns about him in terms of his working life.”

He said since being remanded in custody Bevan had been diagnosed with early signs of Parkinson’s disease.

“He has been very down and it’s likely prison will be a very difficult experience for him,” said Mr Phillips.

Judge Davies said: “The nature of your offending comes as a shock to people who have known you in the course of your employment and in the community in which you live. It might surprise them to find out you’re not a person of past clean character.

“The offences you committed did great harm,” he said, before imposing a total term of 19 years.

After hearing the judge said he hoped the sentence would the offer the victims’ a “measure of consolation and closure”.

November 2013

Perverted Stourbridge postie spared jail

A PERVERTED Stourbridge postman who watched “horrific” child abuse images for sexual gratification has been spared a prison sentence.

John Smallman was actually viewing indecent photographs of children when police officers called at his home – Rhiannon Jones, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court.

She said Smallman was rumbled when he responded to an advert for DVD’s containing child abuse images and when the officers knocked on his front door he was on his computer.

The 54-year-old left his computer on so he could answer the door and police were able to see he was looking at the indecent images.

When questioned Smallman, a postman for 26 years, said he had gone onto the sites initially out of curiosity but he then “experimented”.

He told the officers his favourite clips involved “quite horrific” images featuring a girl aged six or seven and confessed he got sexual gratification from watching the images.

Andrew Baker, defending, said the offences had escalated and they had “almost become a compulsion” for Smallman, who sat in the dock at court with his head bowed.

But he stressed Smallman had deleted virtually all of the 4,900 still and moving images he had downloaded “save for a handful” and he had been ” brutally frank” when questioned by police.

Smallman, of Eveson Road, Norton, admitted 25 charges of making indecent images of children including a small number at levels four and five – the two worst categories.

Judge John Warner told him: “You clearly knew you were doing wrong. You are hanging your head in shame as indeed you should.”

But he ruled custody would not enable him to receive the right assistance to resolve his “addiction to child sex images.”

He placed Smallman on Supervision for three years with a condition that he attends the Sex Offenders Programme and he told him he must register as a sex offender for the next five years.

The judge further made Smallman, a man of previous good character, the subject of an indefinite Sex Offenders Protection Order and barred him from ever working with children.

November 2013

Pervert jailed after filming 11-year-old boy undressing on hidden camera and assaulting him

A pervert who secretly filmed an 11-year-old boy undressing on a camera hidden in his bedroom has been jailed.

Alan Noble, 59, of Southbank Road, Burnage , sexually assaulted the boy when he was asleep and was also caught with vile child abuse images on discs found locked in a safe.

The boy’s parents have told the M.E.N. of their shock and disgust as Noble, a father-of-two, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Noble denied all the charges but faced with overwhelming evidence, was convicted by a jury after a four-day trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Police raided his home in October 2011 and found 96 computer discs in the locked safe. The court heard five contained graphic images of child sex abuse, with 525 separate images in total.

Three images, taken by Noble, showing him and the boy together were also uncovered. Those images led to the sex assault charge.

The court was also told that three ‘home movies’ showing the boy getting changed were discovered.

They had been filmed in secret by a webcam he had set up in a bedroom.

He was found guilty of 17 counts of possessing indecent photographs of a child, a single charge of sexual assault and a single count of voyeurism.

Steven Wild, prosecuting, said the images found ranged in levels of seriousness, from level one images to level five images – the most depraved.

Noble was also subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which limits his use of computers and contact with children. He is barred from ever working with children under the terms.

Alaric Bassano, defending, said Noble was himself abused as a child but continued to deny his guilt.

He said: “There is no evidence to suggest that he shared the images.”

Judge David Hernandez said: “I am satisfied that the evidence demonstrates you have a sexual interest in under-aged boys.”

The victim’s father said: “This kind of thing doesn’t just affect one person, it affects lots of people. It has been a very stressful two years and when we found out he was pleading not guilty and we would have to go through a trial, we fell apart all over again.

“Luckily, the jury were under no illusions about what he had done and they came back very quickly with a guilty verdict.

“He’s taken a part of our child’s life.

“We would have liked him to have been given a longer sentence like you do for murder, because it feels like that is what he has done.”

The murdered seven-year-old boy found in an attic in Dublin in 1973 was tied to rafters in the attic in a “cruciform”, the author of a book on the killing has said.

The death was Ireland‘s only known “satanic murder”, according to David Malone, who came across the case while carrying out research on other events of the time.

Gardai who recall some of the events explained the case was always regarded as strange and tragic and that the victim, John Horgan, disappeared while he was out looking for rabbits near his home in Palmerstown on June 13, 1974.

His body was found the next day in the attic of the home of a 16-year-old called Lorcan Bale near the Horgan family home in Hollyville, Lucan Road. The 16-year-old was arrested and charged the following day with murder.

Gardai found an altar, on which was a chalice and Communion hosts, beneath the hanging body.

It was afternoon. John Horgan was playing in the Bales’ back garden when Lorcan offered to take him to a nearby field to catch rabbits. Once in the field, Bale spotted a rat hole and told John he’d see a rabbit there. When John stooped down to look into the hole, Bale hit him repeatedly over the head until he was unconscious. Bale then tied the little boy’s legs and arms up and put a gag over his mouth. He put the body into a sack and tied it.

He then returned home to get a haversack, recalling to Gardai that when he tried to put the sack with John’s body into it, it wouldn’t fit properly. John Horgan was a slight child but Bale complained in his statement that his body was heavy to carry. In any case, he hauled the load back home, taking it first to the garage. Even though his father, grandmother, brother and sister were in the house, he managed to move the body up to the attic unnoticed.

There, he placed John on a sinister ‘altar’ that he’d erected a year earlier. He lit candles and arranged a chalice and Communion wafers around the body.

‘I got the body, I took it out of the sack. I tested his heartbeat to see if he were dead or alive and when I was satisfied that he was dead, I loosened the ropes that were around his hands,’ Bale later said in a statement to the police.

‘Then I got a thicker rope, a red rope, and I tied him to a beam that was going across the roof. I secured him there. I tied one hand at each side separately, outstretched. I secured his legs to the upright beam. I then had his body in an upright position. I then left him there. I then put out the candles and I left and I came downstairs.’ Tied to the attic rafters, the little boy’s body was left in the form of a crucifix.

Bale made a show of getting involved in the frantic search for John but not before having a cup of tea. When asked by his worried and nervous granny if he had seen the missing child, Bale replied that the boy was probably playing in one of the further fields. Bale was the last person known to have seen John and on visiting his house, gardai became suspicious when he was vague and evasive during questioning.

A member of the Garda team said they would ‘search the house from the rafters to the cellar’, at which point Bale suddenly confessed to the killing. ‘It’s in the attic,’ he told them. Bizarrely, in between taking part in the search for John and confessing to Gardai, Bale claimed he had returned to the attic and cut the boy’s clothing off with a scissors.

According to the State pathologist who examined John Horgan’s body, the late Maurice Hickey, there was no evidence of a sexual assault but the horrific scene that awaited Gardai in the attic that day was of a naked boy surrounded by religious artefacts in what looked like a Satanic killing.

Although his neighbours didn’t suspect it, Lorcan Bale had become obsessed with witchcraft and had stopped going to church. Friends from the time recalled how he used to catch and kill mice and rats, then wear the skulls around his neck. He also told them that he thought the Devil was similar to other angels but ‘was just living in a different house to God’.

Bale pleaded guilty to the killing and as a minor, was never named in court. He never explained why he carried out the horrendous killing.

Sentenced to life imprisonment, he began his sentence in St Patrick’s Institute for young offenders. However, he was released and allowed to begin a new and successful life in England where he lives on licence and remains in contact with police.

If it wasn’t for Bale’s actions, John Horgan would now be 46, probably working and rearing a family. Bale, despite his horrific actions, got the chance to start over again and has lived and worked in London for years without anyone knowing about his evil past. Questioned by reporters, the concierge at Bale’s apartment complex said he wasn’t surprised to hear of his past, that he was cold, distant and unfriendly but had never caused any trouble. Yet Bale is said to have found God and is very involved in his local church community.

In the course of researching The Boy In The Attic, David Malone has spent a limited amount of time with Bale, who he described as soft-spoken but a nervous, slightly jumpy character.

‘The one thing that struck me about him was his normality,’ he says. ‘In the course of my TV work, I have come across many killers and that’s the one thing that always strikes me about them, their normality.’

Despite reports that Bale is single and lives alone, one informed source says he is married. There have also been reports that he had made preparations to leave England if the spotlight was ever turned on him, as it has now been following the recent belated inquest into John Horgan’s murder.

However, one person who knows him says: ‘He has a respectable job and lives a quiet life. It would be very hard to picture him doing a runner.’ The inquest has dragged up painful memories for both the Horgan and Bale families. Bale’s family long since moved away from Hollyville in Palmerstown. John Horgan’s family was not present at the inquest and have not wanted to comment on the case, which has haunted them for almost four decades.

Lorcan Bale was sentenced to life imprisonment but released after only seven years and went to live in Britain, where he became a devout Christian. The author managed to track him down and though the two had several meetings the question of why he did it was never answered, and after consulting the department of Justice, Bale broke off any further contact with the author.

Bale works as an environmental services manager for Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, organising the upkeep of one of London’s poshest areas. He is also deeply involved in his local Anglican church. Soft- spoken, his calm demeanour matches the quiet life he lives these days.

After the discovery of the body gardai called local parish priest, Fr Cornelius O’Keeffe, who administered last rites.

The author and TV documentary producer, Mr Malone, said: “It was a Satanist murder. When he was discovered he was in a cruciform tied to the rafters. As a result the 16-year-old was arrested and sentenced to life. It was a terribly tragic case.”

The case reawakened in 2011 at Dublin County Coroner’s Court as Mr Malone said that during his six months of research into the murder he discovered that no death certificate had been issued for John Horgan.

“At the outset of researching something like this you start with birth and death certificates but I found that there was no death cert. I presume it was as a result of an oversight.”

As the juvenile who carried out the murder was never named and not all the details of the nature of the killing were in the public domain there was relatively little publicity about the case.

The Northern Troubles were at their height and a number of security-related crises hit the country around the time of the murder and subsequent court hearings.

The brief hearing to issue the death certificate heard that John Horgan was found in the attic surrounded by “religious objects”.

County Coroner Kieran Geraghty gave a brief account of the details of the tragedy after his office was notified that a death certificate had never been issued.

It is a legal requirement that every death is recorded and registered with the State.

At the hearing, Detective Inspector Richard McDonnell said a male was later charged with the crime and served a sentence.

Det Insp McDonnell, from Lucan garda station, contacted the Horgan family after he was asked in February of this year to prepare an inquest file for the issuing of the death certificate.

“I contacted the family of John Horgan who indicated they did not wish to revisit a very traumatic period in their lives and reopen old wounds,” the detective said. “However, the memory of their son is always with them.”

The Horgan family was not present at the brief inquest.

The coroner revealed that the killer, who is now 56, was now living outside Ireland and said it would be inappropriate to call a full inquest without the consent of the family.

October 2007

Man jailed for web sex grooming of children

A man who had sex with two underage girls he met in an internet chat room has been jailed for eight years.

Steven Brodie, 29, slept with a 13-year-old girl in her bedroom in Caithness after first leading her to believe he was the same age as her.

He later had sex with 15-year-old girl in the Highlands.

Passing sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord McPhail said Brodie had shown little thought for the consequences on his victims.

The case had earlier been referred to the High Court from Wick Sheriff Court after Sheriff Andrew Berry said he could only impose a five-year prison sentence.

Brodie, from Edinburgh, admitted he had sex with the 13-year-old girl and that he was aware of her age. He also admitted having intercourse with the other youngster, but said he thought she was 16.

The court was told that Brodie swapped about 200 text messages and calls with the 13-year-old girl he met in a chatroom before driving to her Highland home and having sex with her after the victim’s mother left for work.

Police later discovered that he had also formed a relationship with a 15-year-old girl in a chatroom and taken her to a bed-and-breakfast for sex.

Lord McPhail said: “This is a clear case of the callous, cynical and deliberate grooming and exploitation of a child by an adult male for sexual purposes.”

“You were 28 at the time and developed a relationship with a child of 13 on the internet, well aware she was only that age.”

‘Affected her schooling’

The judge said a background report made it clear Brodie had been more worried about the consequences of the case for himself than for his victims.

He added: “Your behaviour towards the youngest child affected her schooling and her relationship with her mother. You have been concerned mainly with the consequences for yourself.”

Brodie met the younger victim in November last year after she accessed the internet on her phone and was connected with a chatroom.

She at first thought he was about the same age as her, but as they exchanged messages she became aware of his true age.

After meeting her for sex, Brodie kept in contact with his victim before she revealed to a friend what had happened.

The friend then spoke to her own mother, who contacted the police and the mother of the victim.

Defence solicitor advocate Neil Wilson said Brodie was “at a loss to explain his behaviour towards the end of last year”.

He said Brodie maintained he was not actively searching for a girl under the age of consent when he went into the chatroom, but was looking for a sexual relationship.

Brodie earlier pled guilty to three charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girls.

He also admitted two offences under protection of children and prevention of sexual offences legislation.

The mother of the younger victim has previously warned other parents about the potential dangers of young girls to access chatrooms on their mobile phones.

UPDATE – November 2013: Joyce will be released from Broadmoor in January 2014

2006

Perverts 25 years of abuse finally ends

A paedophile who exposed himself and attacked several schoolgirls over a 25 year period has been found guilty 

Malcolm Joyce of Rainham molested three girls after grooming one of them for years and finally sexually assaulting her

The court also heard Joyce had exposed himself to one of the girls who was just six years old

Two years later he was caught leering at the same girl who was half dressed in her bedroom and 12 months after that he groped the terrified youngster and only ceased abusing her when she reached her teens some years later

In 2004, Joyce targeted another victim – an ten year old girl – who he molested and in 2005 his third victim was an eight year old girl

Joyce was arrested and denied touching the girls. But he eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of indecency with a child, three counts of indecent assault with a child and two further counts of sexual assault of a child who was aged under 13 years old. 

It was agreed that the repeated rape of a 13 year old girl would not be brought before the judge if Joyce agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charges of sexual assault, indecent assault, exposure and grooming. 

The rape victim was too scared to face him in court, she had turned 18 and could not testify via a pre-recorded video statement as the younger victims had done

Joyce was detained indefinitely at Broadmoor secure hospital 

November 2013

Georgia Williams murder: man pleads guilty

A 23-year-old man has admitted murdering a 17-year-old police detective’s daughter who went missing after telling her parents she was off to stay with friends.

Jamie Reynolds, 23, a shop worker, had initially denied killing Georgia Williams but changed his plea on Monday as his trial was about to begin at Stafford crown court.

During the brief hearing, it emerged that Reynolds took images of Georgia, a former head girl, before and after he killed her. Police also found that he had an interest in extreme pornography and had taken images of “innocent” girls from social network sites and “corrupted” them.

Mr Justice Wilkie said he would consider if Reynolds should face a full life term in prison. The court also heard that a 200-page psychiatric report had been prepared on Reynolds, who kept his head bowed throughout.

Reynolds and Georgia, who wanted to become a paramedic in the RAF, were acquaintances but were not romantically involved. One theory police looked at was that Reynolds had persuaded Georgia to do some modelling for him.

A nationwide police hunt was launched in May after Georgia was reported missing having left the family home in Wellington, Shropshire, saying she was going to see friends.

Three days after she vanished, Reynolds, also from Wellington, was arrested at a budget hotel in Scotland. He had driven there in a van owned by a relative but there was no sign of Georgia.

Police asked other forces and members of the public to contact them with any sightings of the vehicle – or Georgia – between Shropshire and Scotland.

But two days later Georgia’s body was found in woodland near the Nant-y-Garth pass on the A525 between Wrexham and Ruthin in north Wales, around 50 miles from her home.

Georgia’s family released a statement on Monday, saying: “The pain we feel is as raw now as it was when our beautiful daughter was taken from us.

“We will never ever be able to make any sense of what happened or why it happened to a young woman as caring, kind and generous as our Georgia.

“Today’s guilty plea gives us no satisfaction at all; we do not and will never understand the heartbreaking events of earlier this year that changed our lives forever.”

Police confirmed Georgia was murdered at Reynolds’ home in Avondale Road, Wellington, on the day she vanished.

Superintendent Adrian McGee, one of the senior investigating officers, said: “The Williams family has been incredibly dignified and understanding and I cannot praise them highly enough.

“This was a hugely challenging and unusual case for the police officers and staff involved.”

The Telford and Wrekin commander, Superintendent Nav Malik, said the fact that Georgia’s father was a police detective made the case even more difficult than usual for the force.

“We are liaising closely with Georgia’s family, who are devastated,” he said. “This has proved particularly challenging given that Georgia’s father is a police officer here. Whenever someone from the police family is involved it is particularly distressing.”

Georgia was last seen alive on Sunday 26 May. She had her mobile phone with her when she left her home at 7.30pm but the last calls and text messages were sent from the device just half an hour later. Her disappearance was described by family and police as being “completely out of character”.

On Wednesday 29 May Reynolds was arrested in Glasgow. Police asked the public to report any sightings of the van, which they believed had been driven from Wellington to Glasgow via Rhyl in north Wales, Chester, and Kendal in the Lake District.

There were also extensive appeals from Georgia’s friends on social media sites for information about her disappearance, and on Friday 31 May, hours before it emerged that her body had been found, many of them took to the streets of Shropshire to drop leaflets and put up posters.

Katy Lafferty, Georgia’s best friend, said at the time that the last time they had spoken the teenager appeared her normal self. She said: “I last spoke to her on Saturday and she was just the same as she’s always been. It is heartbreaking. I cannot ever imagine that this would happen but for us to be able to do something about it is good.”

Georgia’s family paid tribute to the teenager, calling her a “gorgeous tomboy”.

In statements issued by the police in June her father, Steve Williams, and his wife, Lynette, said: “We always describe her as a gorgeous tomboy, someone who is much happier dressed up in her Air Cadets uniform rather than dressed in glamorous clothes ready to go out.”

Referring to glamorous images of her and talk of her wanting to be a model, they said: “The modelling she has done was to help her sister’s business and the Facebook reference to her being a ‘wannabe model’ is a tongue-in-cheek joke between her and Scarlett [her sister] relating to this modelling.”

They said she had wanted to join the RAF and had been researching qualifications that would allow her to become a paramedic. “She was most put out when she discovered she couldn’t join the RAF Regiment, the arm of the RAF of her choice, as they do not admit women and therefore she decided that training as a paramedic is her way of getting to the frontline.

“Georgia is into everything and we couldn’t be prouder of everything she has achieved. We are blessed to have her in our lives and the happiness she brings will remain with us forever.”

Scarlett added: “Georgia is the best little sister you could ever wish for, although it’s fair to say we can annoy each other on a daily basis. We are like chalk and cheese. We always joke that I am pink and she is blue because we are into such different things. As children I was into ballet while all she wanted to do was go off with the Air Cadets and do outdoor stuff.”

November 2013

Internationally renowned concert pianist found guilty of groping a 15-year-old while French-kissing her mother

• Robin Zebaida, 49, convicted of sexually assaulting teenager in his flat
  

• Oxford-educated music teacher stroked teen’s thigh as he kissed mother

• Girl was drunk after drinking miniature bottles of alcohol, court hears

• Zebaida given conditional discharge and must sign sex offenders’ register

An internationally renowned concert pianist has been found guilty of groping a 15-year-old girl while simultaneously French-kissing her mother.

Oxford-educated Robin Zebaida, 49, was convicted of sexually assaulting the teenager after he touched her chest and stroked her thigh and bottom as she sat on the sofa in his flat.

The girl had accompanied Zebaida and her mother on a date to a restaurant earlier that day, before the trio returned to his flat in St John’s Wood, London.

The jury at Isleworth Crown Court heard how the love-struck widow had romantically pursued Royal College Of Music graduate Zebaida after meeting him on a Mediterranean cruise, sending him boxes of chocolates and arranging dates in London. 

She told the court she wanted things to go further and, following their meal out on November 24 last year, had joined Zebaida and her daughter, who had been drinking alcohol, on a two-seater sofa in his flat.

His arms were around both their shoulders when, without the mother realising, Zebaida began stroking the girl under her top.

‘While embracing them in that way Mr Zebaida, as he brought his hand down on the girl’s hip, put his hand under the top she was wearing on her bare flesh’, said prosecutor Mark Gadsden.

‘He stroked her there and moved his hand up to her breast, where her bra was, but did not touch her breast.

‘He started kissing the mother, ‘smooching’ as the daughter described it, French-kissing.

‘The daughter then lay on the floor, complaining of the effects of the alcohol the defendant plied them both with, she had been drinking miniatures, and consumed more than the adults.’

Mr Gadsden added: ‘He coaxed her back on to the couch and caressed her thigh and bottom in a slow and deliberate way.

‘He also kissed her on the neck and she felt unable to stop it happening.

‘The mother never saw any of this sexual touching of her daughter and the defendant may have been disinhibited from the effects of the alcohol, the music, the romance.’

After he was found guilty by the jury, Zebaida, who had denied the charge, was given a conditional discharge lasting two years and was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.

He was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

During his career Zebaida had taught music masterclasses to youngsters all over the world with the British Council and was an approved examiner with the Royal College of Music.

His date to an Iranian restaurant had been the fourth involving both the girl and her mother, with the group having previously met at the Steinway studios, where Zebaida was practising, and at the Imperial War Museum.

‘We sat on the sofa and he put some music on and we had some alcoholic drinks,’ the mother told the jury. 

‘My daughter had one or two vodka miniatures and I think he had some whiskey.

‘He had an arm around each of us and he kissed me, which turned into a french kiss.

‘It was a bit of a surprise.

‘He had an arm around my waist and an arm around my daughter’s back and French-kissed me several times within bouts of conversation.’

The court was told that the teenager had reluctantly shared the sofa-bed with her mother that night.

‘She was uncomfortable with Robin and she wanted to leave,’ the mother said.

‘She told me his hand had been under her shirt and against her stomach.’

The mother said that the pair had left early in the morning, despite the defendant encouraging them to stay.

‘He said we should stay longer and began cuddling me and started undoing my bra,’ she told the court.

The girl, whose brother and father were killed in a car crash, later shared her experience with a counsellor three months later, who told police, resulting in Zebaida’s arrest and charge.

During his trial Zebaida said the accusation meant he had to decline performance work worth £15,000 to £20,000.

‘I was absolutely stunned, shocked and could not comprehend how this could have been made. It made no sense,’ he told the jury.

The British-born defendant, who has a diploma in physiology and massage, said he did touch the woman’s daughter lightly because of back problems caused by the fatal car crash.

‘At the museum she said she had a bit of a sore back and I just touched her and when she played the piano I suggested that she sat a little more straight and just touched her on the shoulder.’

November 2013

Man who secretly filmed female teenager is found guilty

A Littlehampton man has been found guilty of voyeurism and taking indecent images of a child.

Jon Millhouse, 57, unemployed of Gloucester Road, was charged with one count of voyeurism, seven counts of taking indecent images between January 2012 and May 2012, and two counts of non-penetrative sexual activity with a child.

Millhouse stood trial at Chichester Crown Court accused of filming a teenage girl with the purpose of sexual gratification and also of touching her bottom.

On Friday, November 29, he was found guilty of the voyeurism and indecent images but not guilty for the sexual activity with a child.

Detective Constable Tim Hughes said: “Millhouse tried to excuse his actions but what he did, by covertly filming the victim, has had a profound effect on her. I am extremely pleased a jury has today found him guilty of these crimes and that he has been punished accordingly.

“The victim showed great courage in speaking about Millhouse’s actions in court and is being supported so she can continue with her life.

“I would urge anyone who has been subjected to any kind of sexual abuse to report it to police as they will always be given the support and help they need.”

Millhouse will be sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on January 10.

December 2013

Teenage girl known as ‘Cinderella’ because of mother’s ill-treatment, court told

A TEENAGE girl was known as ‘Cinderella’ by her neighbours because she was so badly treated by her mother, a court heard.

Sarah Baldwin, 34, was jailed for two years for regularly beating the youngster over a three-year period.

The torment came to an end when a passer-by saw Baldwin kicking the girl in the doorway of their home in North Yorkshire.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the man intervened and then called police – who uncovered a catalogue of appalling abuse.

It included beatings on at least 50 occasions when neighbours and teachers saw her with black eyes and covered in bruises.

Baldwin denied child cruelty during a trial last month and claimed neighbours had simply made scurrilous allegations against her.

The mother-of-three said they were jealous of her seemingly comfortable lifestyle and her high-flying job.

Baldwin was convicted of two charges after a trial, and it later emerged that her apparent business success was also criminal.

She stole almost £70,000 over just ten months when she employed as an accounts administrator for an engineering firm.

The court heard how she went on shopping sprees using the company’s credit card, bought a car and paid nursery fees.

She also paid cheques into her own bank account on 18 occasions when the money was meant to be used to pay bills.

Judge Howard Crowson jailed bespectacled Baldwin for a further 20 months after she pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud.

The dishonesty had almost ruined the company and its boss said she told so many lies she does not know what the truth is.

The judge described the cruelty as “repeated acts of violence” and told Baldwin that she “dominated” her daughter.

He said others knew her as ‘Cinderella’ because of the mistreatment, which the girl had become to accept as normal.

“The jury and I saw her as a charming and bright young woman, and she continues to express a love for you, despite your behaviour.

“She clearly has a forgiving nature. I’m not at all convinced that you earned it, but she may continue to give it.

“You sought to portray her as a liar during your trial, and you pretended your neighbours gave evidence against you because they were jealous of your success.

“Your apparent success, if there was any, was founded on your dishonesty, rather than hard work, as you pretended.”

Ian West, mitigating, said Baldwin, of Hambleton Place, Thirsk, was pregnant and faced having her fourth child behind bars.

He said at the time of the frauds, she was looking after her own children as well as her sister’s two, and was under pressure.

“Her life really lies in ruins,” said Mr West. “Of course she is the author of her own misfortune, and a prison sentence will undoubtedly hit her hard.”

December 2013

Man avoids jail sentence over indecent images

A MAN has avoided jail after he admitted downloading images showing child abuse and bestiality.

Paul Sly, who used to live in Bicester but has moved to Stapleford near Nottingham, had 1,500 indecent images of children discovered on his computer in July this year.

The 42-year-old admitted six counts of making indecent images, including 34 at the two highest levels, and possessing one image of “extreme pornography” involving an animal.

Claire Fraser, defending, said Sly’s lifestyle had become “completely dominated by pornography” and he found it “very difficult to resist”.

She said: “As a result of being arrested by the police, he has accepted it for the first time and started to deal with the problem which he has.”

Miss Fraser added that as a result of the case, her client’s wife had left him and he had lost contact with his family.

Judge Gordon Risius sentenced Sly to a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for the indecent images charge and the extreme pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.

He added that Sly would also have to take part in a sex offender treatment programme and be made subject to a sex offences prevention order.

December 2013

Suspended jail sentence given to paedophile

A PAEDOPHILE who visited the Philippines and took indecent pictures of children has avoided prison.

Barry Walker, who committed some of his crimes in Bicester, but is now of no fixed address, admitted four counts of making indecent images of children between January 2009 and March 2012.

The 65-year-old also pleaded guilty to one count of taking indecent images of two children, a boy and a girl, during a trip to the Philippines.

Claire Fraser, defending, said her client had felt so guilty about his actions he had not claimed legal aid to save the public paying, and her firm was representing him for nothing.

She said: “He has decided to move out of the family home because of the shame he feels he has brought on himself, but also on his family.”

Miss Fraser added that Walker had been married for 40 years and had four grown-up children who were standing by him.

Judge Gordon Risius said in total Walker had admitted making almost 500 indecent images, including 27 at the most serious levels – four and five.

He sentenced the defendant to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with a supervision requirement.

He added that Walker would also have to take part in a sex offender treatment programme and be made subject to a sex offences prevention order.