January 2016

Transgender sex offender jailed after coming into contact with child

A TRANSGENDER convicted sex offender who lived at a home where a child was staying in breach of a court order has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Kristen Lukess, aged 50, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching her Sexual Offences Prevention Order by befriending a woman with an 11-year old son and neglecting to inform the victim of her history, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

She appeared via videolink from Eastwood Park to Plymouth Crown Court after admitting to residing under the same roof as someone under 16 without their parents being aware of her previous convictions. The offence happened between August 1 and September 23.

Prosecutor Mike Brown said that the victim had become inundated with messages via text, email and social media from Lukess, who the victim claims tried to integrate herself into her life. The pair met at a group where both the defendant and victim were members, the court heard.

Lukess stayed at the complainant’s address over four nights a week and would sleep adjacent to the room housing her son.

Lukess, of Antony Gardens, Pennycross had been struggling with her gender change from male to female after undergoing gender reassignment.

Lukess’s defence Nick Bradley said: “The victim’s statement says that Lukess was struggling with her gender change that she had undertaken and was clearly in a state of some distress as to whether she had made the right decision.

“Lukess acknowledges she didn’t tell the victim the full detail of her previous sexual offences but she did endeavour to do so.

“Lukess was told by the victim that she wasn’t concerned about the past, only the present and future.”

Lukess, previously Mark Turton, had also pleaded guilty to failing to register an address in Delamere Road in Eggbuckland as one where she stayed between June and August.

Lukess’s Sexual Offences Prevention Order was issued in 2008 for a similar offence involving a female child the court heard.

Judge Ian Lawrie said: “You have pleaded guilty to two offences; you did not comply with the requirement to notify the mother of the child subject to your Sexual Offences Protection Order. “You also resided in an address with a child under the age of 16.

“You need to appreciate these are serious offences; the requirements of your order were simple.”

Lukess was given 20 months immediate imprisonment and her Sexual Offences Prevention Order will be replaced with a fresh Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

January 2016

‘Callous’ paedophile abused kids as young as two at homes and woods in Nottinghamshire

A man who abused two young children for more than five years has been jailed.

Simon Stocken, 40, from Dallison Road, Hibaldstow, South Humberside, was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court last Friday.

Stocken’s reign of abuse started in 1989 when he assaulted a six-year-old girl.

He also assaulted a boy who was aged just two. Stocken then continued to abuse the boy for five years.

The offences took place at addresses and woodland in Nottinghamshire.

Stocken was found guilty of:

• One count of indecent sexual assault

• Seven counts of indecent sexual assault on a male

• Three counts of indecency with a child

• One count of attempted burglary at the same court in November 2015.

DC Asif Majid, the officer dealing with the case, said: “I am pleased that the hard work of all the officers involved in this case has been rewarded with a good sentence.

“It is clear that Simon Stocken is a callous and dangerous individual and he will have a considerable amount of time to think about his actions.

“For the victims, I hope that seeing Stocken sentenced will start a long healing process.”

January 2016

Man guilty of filming himself raping a sleeping woman & indecent images

A 45 year old Cotswolds man who filmed himself raping a woman when she was ‘heavily asleep’ after drinking has been told he will be jailed for a maximum of six years for the offence.

Kelvin Vincent, formerly of Northleach but now of Clarkson Road, Carterton, Oxfordshire, will also receive an additional sentence for offences of voyeurism and possessing extreme pornography involving horses and dogs.

Vincent was to have stood trial at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday after he pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing to three charges of raping a woman in Northleach between 2003 and 2014.

He had also denied a charge of voyeurism in that he filmed a naked girl taking a bath privately between 2003 and 2014.

And he denied taking indecent pictures of a girl aged 14/15 and possessing 144 extreme pornographic images depicting acts of intercourse and oral sex involving horses and dogs.

With a jury panel waiting on Monday, however, he asked for an indication from Judge Jamie Tabor QC of what sentence he would receive if he pleaded guilty to one rape charge.

Judge Tabor said that in all the cirumstances of the case, which was unusual, he would pass a term of no more than six years.

Vincent then pleaded guilty to raping the woman between Jan 2003 and May 2004. He also admitted charges of voyeurism, taking an indecent photo of a child and possessing extreme porn.

Judge Tabor bailed him for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and adjourned the case for three weeks.

The judge told Vincent “As you appreciate, it is inevitable you are going to go to prison but I think I would first like to know more about what has been going on in your life, particularly recently. There may be something in your pre sentence report that may help.”

Earlier, in ruling on what sentence he would pass, the judge said the rape was of a woman who had a drink problem and was heavily asleep when the defendant had intercourse with her, which was plainly without consent.

“He also took photographs and moving images of this activity,” said the judge.

He indicated that the sentence he would pass would be lower than might normally be the case because if Vincent pleaded guilty it would spare the jury having to view the videos, both of the rape and of the extreme pornography.

January 2016

Pensioner admits making indecent images of children

A 65-YEAR-OLD Padiham man has appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged with child abuse images offences.

Clive Larkin, 65, of Malvern Avenue, indicated guilty pleas to three charges of making indecent images and one of possessing 45 indecent images.

He was sent on bail to Burnley Crown Court where he will appear on February 22.

January 2016

Couple are jailed for causing 21 injuries to 21-month-old baby

A couple who caused 21 injuries to a 21-month-old baby who was left with black eyes, adult hand marks on her face and burn marks on her bottom were jailed today. 

Relatives of Tanya Foster, 24, and Scott Lucas, 27, of Guildford, Surrey, told the police they were concerned over the pair’s actions towards the baby between December 2013 and January 2014.

Bruises and knocks to the face and body of the baby were first dismissed as injuries caused by other children during play fights.

But the family organised an intervention and discovered the extent of the child’s injuries while her nappy was being changed.

Paediatric doctors and plastic surgeons later agreed that the injuries inflicted could only have been by the hands of an adult and not other children.

They confirmed the assaults could not have occurred through accidental incidents.

Finger grip marks and signs of historic black eyes were discovered on the baby, who was taken to the hospital. There, the full catalogue of injuries was revealed.

The young child also had two burn marks on her bottom, injuries which 27-year-old Lucas told police were carpet burns caused while playing indoors.

Judge Christopher Critchlow dismissed his story and sent both Lucas and Foster to jail for their roles in causing or failing to prevent the injuries.

The couple both admitted one count of causing or allowing serious injury to a child between December 2013 and January 2014.

Foster had finished an abusive relationship with one man before commencing a romantic relationship with Lucas, a recovering heroin addict, and the abuse began just weeks after the pair moved in together, the court heard.

Brian Stork, prosecuting, said: ‘There were significant amounts of injuries and we submit that some are serious in their own and the cumulative effect of the injuries are serious indeed.

‘This was not accidental, the injuries were inflicted unlawfully.

‘Given how visible some were and the pain and distress caused to the child, it is inconceivable that the other adult did not know what was going on. They knew and they didn’t prevent it or even try to stop it.

‘It does not matter that one or the other night have inflicted it. They are both responsible for the suffering that child went through.’

Judge Critchlow, sitting at Guildford Crown Court, added: ‘There were 21 areas of harm on the body of that baby. She had been slapped across the face and the injuries are all visible on photos taken at the time. Anyone can see how these injuries were caused.

‘You will both be sentenced as perpetrators of the crime against this poor little defenceless child.

‘Any decent human being looking at those photographs and realising how the baby suffered in pain and distress, will feel anger that she could have suffered in this way and no-one protected her.

‘With any luck she will not suffer any psychological damage or will not even remember it because of her age.’

Lucas was sentenced to three years imprisonment and Foster to 15 months in custody. 

Foster, dressed in a dark blue jacket with her long dark hair swept into a high pony tail, wept as she was taken from the dock to prison, while family members shouted in disbelief at the sentences delivered.

January 2016

Man convicted of sexual offences against children

A man has been convicted of sex offences against children following an investigation by Thames Valley police.

Neil Davenport, aged 51, of Ramsbury Avenue, Penhill, Swindon, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday 6 to three years and six months in prison for indecent assault.

He was found guilty after a three day trial at the same court by unanimous jury of three counts of indecent assault on a child under 13 years and one count of gross indecency with a child.

As well as the prison sentence he was given a ten year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

In the early 1980s, Davenport indecently assaulted a girl and incited her to perform acts of gross indecency.

Davenport was also convicted at a trial in July 2015 at Oxford Crown Court of three counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was found guilty by unanimous jury of these offences after a four day trial and sentenced at the same court on 11 September 2015 to three years’ imprisonment.

In the early noughties, Davenport sexually touched a girl aged between 13 and 15 years old.

There were reporting restrictions in place for this earlier trial which have now been lifted following the conclusion of Davenport’s second trial.

Davenport was arrested on 7 February 2014 and again on 19 May 2014.

He was charged with both offences on 29 October 2014.

Update: Sentenced to life, with a minimum tariff of 25 years.

January 2016

Dad admits ‘punching or slamming’ 16-day-old daughter to death in horrific attack

A dad murdered his 16-day-old baby daughter by “repeatedly punching” or “slamming” her during a sickening attack at their home, a court has heard.

The injuries sustained included multiple skull and rib fractures, facial injuries and bruising, resulting in acute brain damage.

The tiny baby also suffered internal injuries and organ damage including a lacerated liver.

Matthew Higham, 23, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to killing Florence Liberty Mae Higham at Preston Crown Court on the first day of his trial.

Prosecutor Mr Gordon Cole QC said that the little girl had received “extensive injuries” at the hands of her father.

A pathologist said it could not be ruled out that he infant was also kicked or stamped on.

Florence was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport but was pronounced dead at 8.38pm on July 29 last year.

The court was told that Higham had been looking after the baby while Florence’s mother Sharon Collins visited a sick relative in hospital.

Mr Cole said that Higham was to make an emergency 999 call at 8.06pm saying that his daughter was “bleeding out of her nose, mouth and ears” but denied that Florence had sustained any trauma while with him.

He initially described to police how Florence had begun to bleed as he fed her, before stopping breathing.

Higham has maintained that he has no account of what happened or how he caused the injuries which included multiple skull and rib fractures, facial injuries and bruising, resulting in acute brain damage.

She also suffered internal injuries and organ damage including a lacerated liver.

Mr Cole said: “It’s right to say that Florence died as a result of these multiple injuries. Stating the obvious, a newborn baby is completely dependent on parents.

“These injuries reveal the extent of the injuries extending towards Florence by her father. Still there is no account from him as to how he caused these injuries.

“The injuries sustained were extensive and of course would have had no chance of recovery.”

During the case, Higham remained with his head in his hands as Miss Collins sobbed.

The court was told that the findings of a post-mortem examination, conducted by Dr Naomi Carter at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, were consistent with repeated punches to the face or repeatedly being slammed against a hard surface.

Pathologist Dr Carter said she could not rule out that Florence was also kicked, squeezed or stamped on.

Fingertip bruises were also found on the little girl’s arms, legs and chest indicating that she had been “gripped and pinched with considerable force”.

Following a two-day investigation at the home, officers concluded that the assault had taken place around the sofa before the youngster was moved throughout the house as she continued to bleed.

The court heard that Higham had made an attempt to clean the house before emergency services arrived.

Blood-stained clothing was found in the dustbin.

Following his arrest later that night, he was to provide a statement denying his involvement in the death of his “perfect” baby, adding it had been “out of the blue”.

The statement said: “I’m not responsible for the death of my lovely little girl Florence. She was the light of my eyes. I have not shook her or dropped her.”

Mr Benjamin Nolan QC for Higham said: “He does not remember the actual events of the killing.”

He will be sentenced later today.

January 2016

Convicted sex offender blamed alter ego for his terrifying sex attack on woman

A CONVICTED sex offender who subjected a woman to a terrifying assault blamed it on his alter ego.

Kenton Stevens, who has a previous conviction for having penetrative sexual activity with a child, saw the woman as she walked home alone through Midsomer Norton in the early hours.

After she became anxious and started to run he chased her, punched her, clasped his hand around her mouth and threatened to kill her, Bristol Crown Court heard.

He then tried, but failed to pull her trousers down before fleeing when a nearby resident told him police were coming.

When police tracked him down he told them a person called “Jay” was inside him, and Jay did things which he could not remember.

Stevens, 25, of Valley Walk, Midsomer Norton, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment with intent to commit a sexual offence in August last year.

It was just nine days after magistrates handed him a community order for threatening behaviour and assaulting police.

Judge Martin Picton is due to pass sentence tomorrow.

Rupert Lowe, prosecuting, said after a birthday party, at which a “substantial quantity” of vodka and Tia Maria dark liqueur was consumed, Stevens accompanied her to Midsomer Norton at 12.50am, where they found the pubs were closed and decided to walk home.

Mr Lowe said Stevens and his friend’s sister became separated when he went off to urinate.

Stevens never caught he companion up, instead catching sight of his victim, who was walking home at around 1am.

The court heard that as the complainant walked towards Church Lane she caught sight of Stevens, crossed the road and he cried out: “Its 1.10am, why are you out on your own?”

She thought Stevens looked “completely out of it” as if he had been taking drugs before he suddenly stood in front of her and blocked her way.

Mr Lowe said: “When she asked him what he wanted, he smiled back with a crazed smile.”

The complainant walked on, phoned her friend and, hearing his footsteps, began to run.

But he chased her to some bungalows, knocked her over, causing her to strike her nose on the ground, rolled her on her back and pinned her down.

Mr Lowe said: “He started punching her violently to the face. She could not move but screamed for help. Her friend heard her scream.”

Stevens tried to pull the woman’s trousers down, but failed, and she screamed again thinking she was about to be seriously sexually assaulted.

With that, Stevens punched her again to the head and tried again, but failed, to pull down her trousers.

When resident Dominic Strawbridge saw what was happening, and the woman screamed “Help me!”, he told Stevens police were coming and Stevens fled.

He blamed the assault on Jay after his arrest.

The victim picked out Stevens in an ID procedure.

January 2016

Pervert pensioner ‘touched himself in front of children’

A convicted sex offender accused of acting indecently towards children in two supermarkets has been granted bail despite police objections.

At Newtownards Magistrates Court, John Douglas Stanfield (82) confirmed that he understood the 16 charges against him.

Stanfield, from Rosetta Road, east Belfast, is accused of six charges of breaching his sexual offences prevention order (SOPO), six of engaging in sexual acts in the presence of children, three of indecent behaviour and one of failing to comply with the sex offenders’ register.

All are alleged to have occurred in February, March, November and December last year.

Giving evidence to the court, a detective constable said she believed she could connect Stanfield to each of the charges.

A prosecuting lawyer said although it was an “unusual application”, given that Stanfield was released on police bail after he was initially charged, the PPS was asking for the pensioner to be remanded into custody.

The detective described how police were called to a supermarket at the Forestside shopping centre in Belfast on December 10 last year following reports of Stanfield “touching himself in front of children” in an incident captured on CCTV.

Police seized and watched the footage and Stanfield was arrested at his home. The officer revealed that enquiries uncovered two similar but earlier incidents in the same shop.

All three incidents had been recorded on security cameras and the officer described how Stanfield could be seen “actively seeking out children in the aisles” before acting indecently in their presence.

District judge Mark Hamill asked if Stanfield exposed himself while engaging in the alleged activity or if he spoke to or touched the children, but the officer said:”It’s over his clothing He doesn’t talk to them and he didn’t touch them but his behaviour is concerning.”

Arrested and interviewed, Stanfield was shown footage from each incident but each time his explanation “was that he was scratching his psoriasis”.

Defence solicitor Hugh Edgar told the court there was “medical evidence” about Stanfield’s condition, submitting that the pensioner should be released again, given that he was freed on police bail in the first place.

Releasing Stanfield on his own bail of £500, judge Hamill barred the pensioner from entering any supermarket or its car park and from having contact with children. He warned that the prosecution did not “contemplate for a moment prosecuting this in the magistrates” and said a “bad character application is staring you in the face”.

Stanfield was ordered to come back to court on February 9 and was warned that any breach of his bail or SOPO would mean that “he would go back into custody”.

January 2015

Pervert jailed after latest sex crimes 

A convicted sex offender has been jailed after he approached boys in a Huddersfield park offering them pieces of rock from Whitby.

John Wilson, 67, was found guilty by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on two charges of breaching a sexual offences prevention order barring him from befriending or attempting to befriend children under 16. 

The order was made in 2010 by a judge at Bradford Crown Court when Wilson, of Gledholt Road, Gledholt, was given a three year community order for an offence of outraging public decency on a bus.

That court heard that Wilson, a piano teacher had made sexual advances to a 12-year-old boy.

In the latest case, Tony Kelbrick prosecuting told the jury on July 30 last year three boys were in Greenhead Park, and noticed Wilson walking past and watching them.

He asked if they liked rock and gave one boy a piece of the pink stick of rock he was holding. The others told him not to eat it and at that stage a witness who had seen what had happened intervened. He was suspicious about Wilson and ushered the boys away and reported the incident to the police.

Wilson denied he had approached the boys saying he intended to give the rock to a busker he had earlier seen playing a guitar and then seen in the park, he claimed before he could do so the boy took the sweet from him.

After the verdicts the jury heard only a few weeks earlier in June last year, a 12-week suspended sentenced was imposed on Wilson for committing an indecent act at Leeds railway station.

Jailing him for 52 weeks for the breaches of the sexual offences prevention order with 12 weeks consecutive from the suspended sentence, Judge Tom Bayliss QC told Wilson it was a blatant disregard of the order: “This was grooming behaviour. There is no excuse for you to have a cupboard full of Whitby rock and be wandering around the park offering it to children, there is no reason other than for your own sexual pleasure.”

January 2016

Plumber had sex with schoolgirl after posing on social media as girl named ‘Julie’

A plumbing apprentice had sex with a 15-year-old girl he met after grooming her using a fake social media profile.

Conor O’Keefe, 26, set up a profile as a teenage girl called “Julie” on thewebsiteTagged.com and started chatting with the victim. 

He later claimed he was Julie’s older brother “Adam” and persuaded the girl to get a taxi to his house in the early hours of the morning where they had sex.

Judge Sarah Berkeley called it a “sinister” offence which highlights the dangers of social media “and the opportunity it creates.”

She noted that there was no threat, force or coercion used against the girl and that she was a “willing participant”

However she said O’Keefe put pressure on her by expressing disappointment when she was reluctant to perform sexual acts.

However she said O’Keefe put pressure on her by expressing disappointment when she was reluctant to perform sexual acts.

“She was a child at the time and is entitled to the protection of the courts.”

The judge noted that O’Keefe knew she was a virgin and that he told her she had to select one of three options: sexual intercourse, oral sex or masturbation.

The court heard he set up the profile out of “loneliness and isolation” and that he had a “somewhat difficult childhood.”

O’Keefe of Oakdale Close, Ballycullen, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sex with a child in July 2011.

He was found guilty of a further count of sexual exploitation of a child by a jury last month following a three day trial.

He was to be sentenced last November but the case was adjourned as O’Keefe’s partner had given birth to their first child the day before.

O’Keefe, an apprentice plumber, has no previous convictions and is now on the sex offenders register.

He was 22-years-old at the time of the offences.

The court heard he is taking part in therapy and the “Safer Lives” programme which is run by the Probation Service.

Defence counsel, Damien Colgan SC, handed in a probation report and a psychological report and asked the court to consider non-custodial options.

O’Keefe faced a maximum possible sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

Calling it a grave and serious offence, Judge Berkeley imposed a five-year sentence with the final two years suspended for two years.

January 2016

Bedworth pervert tried to persuade ‘girl’ to pose naked

A BEDWORTH pensioner was never going to succeed in persuading a 12-year-old girl to pose naked for him over the internet and meet him for sex – because ‘Amy’ did not exist.

The girl Anthony Cockbill was exchanging messages with on his laptop computer was in fact the creation of a covert police child protection officer.

Cockbill pleaded not guilty at Warwick Crown Court to six charges of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and one of attempting to arrange to meet ‘Amy’ following sexual grooming.

He also denied conspiring to arrange a child sex offence and three charges of making indecent images of children, claiming in all cases that other people had been using his computer.

But the jury took less than four hours to find Cockbill, aged 69, of Darwin Court, Croft Pool, Bedworth, guilty of all 11 charges by unanimous verdicts, and he was remanded in custody while a pre-sentence report is prepared on him.

Prosecutor Matthew Barnes said ‘Amy’ was a fictional 12-year-old being played by a covert police internet investigator who was communicating with Cockbill through an internet chat room and then through direct messages.

He said: “The evidence would suggest Mr Cockbill has a very powerful sexual interest in young girls, and the first offences to come to light were those involving the fictional 12-year-old.”

Cockbill, who accessed social media websites using the names Cov Man 555 and Sexy Stud, began communicating with Amy, and his chat quickly became sexually explicit.

Mr Barnes pointed out that there could be no doubt that Cockbill was told that ‘Amy 12 London’ was just 12-years-old when he began communicating with her in August 2011.

Despite that, he sent messages encouraging her to send him naked images of herself and images of her performing sex acts, and sent her images of himself doing so.

He then began exchanging messages directly with Amy, whose profile included a picture of a real 12-year-old, from his own Hotmail account, beginning by telling her: “You look very sexy for your age.”

As their online conversations continued, his messages became more sexually explicit and he suggested they could meet some time for sex, even though he was reminded on more than one occasion that Amy was only 12.

And Mr Barnes said: “The possibility of them meeting up gets a stage nearer when he suggests a location at a McDonalds drive-through in Wandsworth. This was clearly an arrangement to meet for sexual activity.”

When Cockbill was arrested in May 2013 at his flat, where he lived on his own, his laptop and mobile phones were seized.

He said he was the only person to use the laptop, and that the police would find nothing on it, claiming he did not know Amy 12 London and did not recognise her profile picture.

On the laptop, as well as the messages he had exchanged with Amy, the police initially found only images which were on the borderline of being illegal.

But on further examination, after they had been alerted by Cockbill’s defence team, they discovered a total of 251 indecent images of children.

Most were in the lowest category, but two were in category A, showing girls being subjected to penetrative sex acts, and eight in category B of girls in non-penetrative sexual acts.

And on one of his phones were a series of texts between him and an unknown man referring to the planning of an agreement to sexually abuse young girls, with Cockbill saying he could not wait to have sex with the girl the other man said he had found.

Cockbill claimed in court that he was not the person who had sent the texts – but Mr Barnes pointed out that some of them included details which directly related to him, including his address and the name Tony.

He also denied being responsible for downloading the images on his computer or the messages to Amy, claiming that other people visited his flat and had access to the laptop.

Adjourning the case after the jury rejected Cockbill’s story, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones refused an application for him to be granted bail.

January 2016

Sex offender locked up for two years after targeting young boy at holiday park

A SEX offender has been jailed for two years after targeting a young boy during holidays in a caravan at Thorpe Park, Cleethorpes.

David Baines, 48, of no fixed address, admitted two offences of sexually assaulting the youngster and another of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Craig Lowe, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Baines touched the boy, who was aged six or seven at the time, and kissed him intimately while the youngster was on holiday at the park.

The incidents happened on a series of occasions between July 2014 and August last year. 

Sarah Fearon, mitigating, said Baines “found himself being overwhelmed by his compulsions” and knew he had done wrong.

He apologised to the boy and his family. “He wishes more than anything that it had not happened but it did,” said Miss Fearon.

“He is overwhelmed with guilt and shame.”

Baines had been in custody since October 23 and wanted to pay financial compensation to the boy by selling off possessions and giving the money raised to him.

Judge Peter Kelson QC told Baines: “You are wracked with remorse for what you have done but you must be punished.”

Baines was given a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for ten years.

January 2016

Pervert groomed underage girl

A 24-year-old Worcestershire man swapped sex pictures and messages over the internet with a 15-year-old girl because he was lonely, a court heard.

Nathan Morris carried on the exchange with the girl for six months even though he knew she was under 16, Worcester Crown Court was told.

They sent each other intimate pictures but had never met because she lived in Leeds and it would have cost too much to visit her, Patrick Sullivan, prosecuting, told the court.

Morris, of Queensway, Bewdley, admitted causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child to be involved in prostitution or pornography and of possessing four category C indecent images of a child and 335 extreme porn pictures and two videos of sex involving humans and animals between April 3 and July 18, 2014.

Police found the images and messages on his computer when they went to his home following a tip-off on July 17, 2014, Mr Sullivan said. He had been exchanging them with the girl from February up to that date and she had sent him the four intimate pictures of herself.

He was given a three year community order to attend the group sex offenders work programme and undertake 40 days of  a rehabilitation requirement. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

January 2016

Pervert had “sadistic” child abuse images on his mobile phone

A REDDITCH man was caught with “sadistic” child abuse images after his mobile phone was sent for repairs, a court heard.

Marcus Bartlett, aged 38, of Gloucester Close, who was given a suspended jail sentence, was told by a judge that downloading such images was a “form of child abuse” itself because it encouraged the people who made them.

Worcester Crown Court heard that Bartlett bought an iphone from a female friend for £100 but after a short time it stopped working.

He contacted the person he had got it from and it was sent away.

But a member of staff at the repair firm found the indecent images and the friend who had sold Bartlett the phone was arrested, Gareth Walters, prosecuting, told the court.

She was released after protesting her innocence and police went to Bartlett’s home.

When they told him they were going to carry out a search, he gave them a second mobile phone, which was found to have more indecent images, most featuring teenage boys.

Bartlett pleaded guilty to having 40 images at category A, 57 at category B and 308 at category C between December 2013 and January 2014.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and was in full time work.

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, adjourned a previous hearing for a report on the exact nature of the images in category A, the most serious, and said some had been found to be “sadistic”.

“Downloading these images is a form of child abuse in itself because it encourages those who make them,” he told Bartlett.

He said the public’s disgust at this sort of behaviour could only be reflected in a jail sentence and he gave Bartlett 12 months suspended for two years with supervision.

Bartlett will also have to attend 25 days of a programme for sex offenders and will be subject indefinitely to a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of computers.

He was ordered to pay £500 towards court costs and will have to register as a sex offender.

January 2016

‘Awful and depraved’ images of child abuse images found on man’s computer

POLICE found “awful and depraved” images of child pornography after searching a man’s computer equipment, a court heard.

Ian Clegg, 48, of Middlethorpe Road, Cleethorpes, admitted two offences of making indecent photographs of children and two of possessing them between October 9, 2013, and December 14 last year.

Grimsby Magistrates’ Court heard that the total number of images involved was 976.

This was made up of Clegg possessing 186 indecent still images and 32 movies and making a total of 758 images, including batches of 321 and 437.

District judge Daniel Curtis told Clegg: “The images that you downloaded and viewed are awful and depraved.”

Clegg regretted his actions, acknowledged that he had issues regarding the matter and was prepared to try to resolve them.

Roy Foreman, mitigating, asked for Clegg to be given a community order. He had no previous convictions.

Clegg was given a three-year supervision order, including a sex offender treatment programme, and must register his details for five years.

He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a Government-imposed £60 victims’ surcharge.

2011 – Update: Christopher Dale has now been released after serving eight years in prison – Now living in Gawsworth

September 2003

Remorseless paedophile jailed for string of sexual offences against young girls

A remorseless paedophile who sexually abused two primary school aged girls has been jailed for a string of sexual offences.

Christopher Dale, 37 of Macclesfield was found guilty of a total of 17 charges at his trial at Chester Crown Court:

• Two counts of child rape 

• Two counts of attempted child rape

• One count of gross indecency of a child

• Four counts of committing indecency with a child

• Eight counts of indecent assault against two female children 

The court heard that the girls were aged just five and six years old when the abuse began, and it continued for almost a decade.

Perverted Dale was eventually caught after one of the victims told a school friend who in turn supported her and helped her to tell a teacher who informed the police.

At court, Dale showed absolutely no remorse for his actions , and because of his denial, both victims were forced to relive the abuse by giving evidence

The judge told Christopher Dale that his offences amounted to a total of 36 years in prison. However, the sentences were concurrent which meant that he would have to serve just 10.

Dale was told that he must register as a sex offender for an indefinite period

January 2016

Teacher who labelled pyjama party ‘paedo’s paradise’ admits having child abuse images

Disgraced Mark Willimott, 41, is facing prison after he pleaded guilty to making and distributing 31,447 indecent images of children.

He appeared before Kettering Magistrates’ Court today, where he spoke only to confirm his name and address and enter his plea.

The court heard police searched his home in Ashford, Kent, on August 6 last year and seized numerous devices from the property.

Officers found thousands of sick images on a computer belonging to Willimott, who was previously vice-principal at Brooke Weston Academy in Corby, Northants.

While working at the school in 2013 he hit the headlines after accidentally sending an e-mail to kids charity Chelsea’s Angels.

Willimott accused them of encouraging paedophiles with their suggestions for a fundraising pyjama day.

He intended to forward the e-mail – along with his sick remarks – to a colleague but accidentally cc-d charity organiser Michelle Tompkins as well.

He wrote: “AM I MISSING SOMETHING ??? FYI although are they aiming for a paedophile’s paradise????

“Loads of kids walking to school in pyjamas??????????????????????????????????? Mark.”

He has now admitted three counts of making 30,546 indecent images of children, making 773 indecent images of children and distributing 128 indecent images.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an extreme image showing a sex act with an animal.

Willimott was granted conditional bail on the basis he must not visit Brooke Weston Academy or contact any colleagues without prior arrangement.

He was also barred from making contact with anyone under the age of 18 without supervision.

He will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on February 12.

January 2016

Leeds pervert ran off with girl aged 14

A PERVERT has been jailed more than three decades after he abducted a 14-year-old girl and “corrupted” her by introducing her to life as a sex worker.

Philip Forsyth gained the teenager’s trust before running away with her to London where she spent six months working in the seedy strip bars of Soho.

Leeds Crown Court heard Forsyth and the youngster returned to Leeds after he got her pregnant.

Forsyth, 59, was jailed for 28 months after pleading guilty to indecent assault, child abduction and child cruelty. The offences date back to the early 1980s. A judge told Forsyth he would be facing much longer in prison had he committed the offences more recently as sentencing guidelines were now much tougher.

Judge Neil Clark told Forsyth: “When she was in London you immediately caused her to work in the sex trade. She was humiliating herself. She may not have realised at the time but she realises it now. Not only were you corrupting her but you were living off the proceeds of that corruption. She has had to live with this and struggle with it psychologically ever since” Michael Collins, prosecuting, said Forsyth got the girl a job at a club called Nude Encounters, where she had to dance naked behind a screen while men watched.

They returned to West Yorkshire after she had turned 15 and was pregnant with his child.

The woman found the courage to tell police what happened to her in 2012.

Forsyth, of Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, has a string of other sex offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s for indecent assault and indecent exposure.

Kenton Sergeant, mitigating, said: “The defendant wants to say to the court and to the complainant that he is now not the same person as he was then and he deeply regrets his past.”

January 2016

Pervert jailed after being caught with 100’s of child abuse images

A child-abuse images pervert with previous convictions has been jailed after he was caught with an indecent movie and hundreds of indecent images.

Derby Crown Court heard on Monday, January 11, how Robert Stringer, 61, of Byron Street, Buxton, admitted possessing 650 indecent images, an indecent movie and an indecent photo of a different category and he also breached an order banning him from using mobiles with internet.

Prosecuting barrister Abi Joyce said: “Stringer was convicted in March, 2009, for possession of indecent photos and he got a 12 month prison sentence and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

“The order included banning him from the possession of any computer with a facility of displaying images.

“On May 11, 2012, he was found guilty of breaching the Sexual Offender Prevention Order by being in possession of a computer and he received a community order.

“The conditions of the SOPO were varied to prohibit him from using any device capable of accessing the internet unless it had the capacity to retain internet history.

“Stringer was subject to checks and in January, 2013, he was found guilty of making photos of children and received a three-year community order.”

Despite Stringer’s previous convictions, Miss Joyce explained how Stringer’s offender manager became aware of information that he had a mobile phone in August, 2015, and he was seen using it while driving and it was identified.

The court heard how police attended Stringer’s address and he failed to declare the phone but officers identified the make of phone, called it successfully and established it had an internet plan.

The defendant told police he committed the latest offences because he was annoyed at the accusations and thought he might as well do it and as he looked at adult porn sites they would piggy-back to teen sites with 14 to 18-year-olds.

He stated to police that he felt guilty because he has daughters but he denied being sexually attracted to children.

Stringer pleaded guilty to breaching a SOPO by possessing a mobile with internet between October, 2013 and September, 2015. He also pleaded guilty to possessing an indecent photo of a child and an indecent movie and 650 indecent images between June and September, 2015.

Defence barrister James Riley urged the court to consider a suspended prison sentence to allow Stringer to work with probation and police to overcome problems.

But Judge Jonathan Bennett sentenced Stringer to 12 months of custody.

He told the defendant: “You demonstrated calculated defiance and your case is aggravated by previous convictions.

“You have made little progress and you didn’t recognise that you have a significant problem.

“Custody is appropriate because of your calculated defiance and you have had two community orders and you made no progress and you have carried on offending.”

The court heard how the movie and images included youngsters aged around 13 and 14 to 16.