March 2008

‘Campaign of rape’ stole step-daughter’s childhood

A pervert who carried out a “campaign of rape” against his former step-daughter when she was a child has been locked up for 13 years.

Garry Knowles (40) was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on Tuesday for sexually assaulting Katherine Barnes. He had been convicted by unanimous jury verdict at a week-long trial last month.

Knowles, formerly of Green Close, Unstone, had denied the 12 charges relating to repeated acts of anal rape committed between May 1992 and May 1998.

Katherine (23), who has waived her right to lifelong anonymity to encourage victims of other abusers to come forward, welcomed the sentence.

Speaking after the case, she said: “It’s a good result for what I’ve been through.

“It doesn’t give me the lost years back but now this weight is off my shoulders and I’ve got justice for what happened, the rest of my years will be easier.

“He’ll get out one day but I’ve got memories for life. It’s always going to be there.”

The jury had heard how Knowles, who was married to Katherine’s mum, Diane, raped his former step-daughter up to three times a week for five years, starting when she was eight.

Passing the 13-year prison sentence, recorder Yvonne Coen QC said the offences could be regarded as a “campaign of rape” against the victim.

She said Knowles devised a series of degrading punishments to keep his victim in a climate of fear.

Miss Coen added: “Katherine was entitled to look to you for your love and protection. Instead you used her to satisfy your perverted sexual desires repeatedly over those years.

“What you did to young Katherine was a monstrous abuse of the trust placed in you as her step-father.”

Katherine did not report the abuse to the police until 2006 – Knowles having drummed it into her that she would not be believed.

It was the birth of her two daughters that prompted Katherine, who is now known by her maiden name Preece, to make a formal complaint.

She urged other victims of sexual abuse to contact the police, adding: “I would advise anyone else who is hiding to come forward because I don’t want others to feel like I did.

“The case is closed now. I want to get on with my life and just be happy for once.”

Knowles, who has been living in Driffield, North Humberside, was given an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which bans him from residing and working with children, and he will be listed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Dawn Pritchard, who had defended Knowles, said her client still vehemently denied the offences and had no previous convictions of a sexual nature. She added: “He is a normal, hard-working man.”

Miss Coen said what Knowles did to Katherine not only caused her physical pain but also ‘untold psychological damage’.

She added: “Even now you deny it and have shown no remorse whatsoever for the terrible wrong-doing you did to that girl.”

February 2016

Man jailed for grooming schoolgirls for sex

A man jailed for grooming four vulnerable teenage girls for sex has been described as “vile and disgusting” by the mother of one of his victims.

Frank Collett, from Gloucester, admitted five charges of sexual activity with a child under 16 when he appeared at Gloucester Crown Court.

Collett, 24, groomed three girls aged 15 and a 13-year-old on social media.

He was jailed for four years and six months and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court was told Collett was fully aware of the age of his victims.

Judge Michael Cullum said he had preyed on the “vulnerability and immaturity” of the teenagers.

“Your last victim, troublingly, was just 13 and you knew that was even more wrong than the other.

“I have no doubt you were grooming her for further sexual activity,” he added.

The mother of one of one victim, a girl described as having special needs, said Collett was “vile and disgusting”.

She added that it had taken her daughter “a long time to realise it wasn’t her fault”.

Det Con Tess Nawaz said Collett would contact girls on social media and it was quickly clear the contact had a “sexual purpose”.

She added that it had been a “very difficult time for the families”.

Collett was also given a sexual harm prevention order for ten years, which prevents him from making any contact with anyone under the age of 16 or contacting the victims in the case.

February 2016

Pervert PE teacher guilty of inciting girl aged 14 to perform sex acts over webcam

A children’s football and PE teacher encouraged a 14-year-old girl to perform sexacts on herself with hot wax, clothes pegs and lipstick while he watched her over a web cam.

Philip William Boore, 36, told the teenager to address him as ‘Sir’ and play the role of a naughty schoolgirl submissive to his commands.

The qualified coach, who lives with his parents in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Yesterday he was found guilty at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court of three counts of inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity on or before August 5, 2014.

He was cleared of possessing two indecent photos of a child, namely two topless images of the girl.

Prosecutor Mr. Martin Hooper told the court the sexually-active Wimbledon teenager responded to Boore online when he listed one of his interests as fetish sexual activity.

“They got chatting and the defendant got her involved in various sexual activities,” he said. “There’s no doubt about this.

“The question is whether he reasonably believed she was sixteen years of age or older.

“It is not in dispute she sent him two photographs of herself topless. They were not asked for and he opened them on his mobile phone.”

They first chatted online for four hours and exchanged their names and phone numbers, with the girl lying to Boore and claiming to be sixteen years-old, the jury were told.

“She said the second time they spoke he said he was into BDSM (bondage and sadomasochism) which she thought was disgusting, but wanted to stay communicating with him.

“He said they would role-play with her as the naughty schoolgirl and him as the dominant. He’d be the teacher.

“He is a sports coach and works in schools and knows ages, uniforms and exam times.

“She could see him on her laptop screen and once noticed he had an erect penis when showing her some sex toys.

“He told her he was a teacher and that concerned her and she told her counsellor, who encouraged her to tell her mother and the police were contacted.”

Boore was arrested on August 5, 2014 and taken to Melksham Police Station by officers who also seized his computer, mobile phone and sex toys.

He told police he taught children aged 5-11 years-old and said: “I can’t say that I did take her age. She said she was at school and that could be up to eighteen years-old, I took her to be sixteen.

“I should have stopped, but I got over-excited.”

Mr. Hooper told the jury: “He agreed knowing she was still at school, but given her interest in fetish and being sexually active he thought she was sixteen.

“He said he let himself down and should have made some checks and said he was shocked to find out she was two years below sixteen.”

The girl told Boore she had not even started her GCSEs and she told police during a video interview his hand was motioning under the table.

Boore is a Football in the Community Coach, who has a Bsc degree in Bsc Sports & Exercise Science and hold coaching certificates for Football Level 2 and Cricket Level 2.

He also holds Level 1 certificates in hockey, rugby, badminton, tennis, emergency first aid, child protection and disabled football.

February 2016

Cross-dressing former sailor jailed after abusing child

Forty years after a cross-dressing sailor sexually abused a child he was finally jailed by Teesside’s most senior judge who told him: “You thought you had got away with it”.

The victim who was ten when she was targeted by Lawrence Ireland from Redcar says that he ruined her life.

She plucked up the courage to report him to Cleveland Police in November 2013 to protect others.

Married Ireland protested his innocence, and he went on the run on the day of his trial adding to her agony.

But he walked into a police station days later and back at Teesside Crown Court he pleaded guilty and he was jailed for four years and 11 months.

Ireland was also given a Sexual Offence’s Prevention Order banning him from contact with youngsters under 16 and he will be on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.

Prosecuter Shaun Dodds said that Ireland tied up the victim before molesting her.

His wife discovered that he was a cross-dresser when she found he kept women’s clothing in the loft of their home.

The victim said in an impact statement last month that when he failed to turn up for his trial she felt that he was still in control of her.

She said: “He has ruined my life.”

The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC told Ireland, a retired HGV driver: “You no doubt believed you had avoided prosecution, especially when your wife decided to take no action, having consulted her church.

“She however (the victim) has not forgotten what you did to her.

“She did not lead a full and happy life solely as a result of what you did to her. She has had a long time to suffer.

“She is taking anti-depressants, dependant on alcohol. She has had difficulties in building up and firming relationships as a result of what you did to her.”

He added: “There was a degree of planning here and a degree of grooming here.”

Christine Egerton, defending, said that Ireland was remorseful and he told the author of the pre-sentence report that he was sorry.

His marriage broke up at the end of last year because of his guilty pleas and he had lost contact with his children.

Ireland, of Troutbeck Road, Redcar, pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child.

February 2016

Pervert groped 12-year-old & asked young friend for threesome

A pervert who groped a 12-year-old girl after suggesting she and a 13-year-old pal join him for a threesome has been jailed for 21 months.

And Kevin Wolton, 33, will also have to register as a sex offender for ten years after a jury found him guilty of carrying out the sex attack.

The dad, who has a long history of crime and is currently serving a jail sentence, had been drinking before he approached the children.

And the youngsters only got away when a plucky homeless man stepped in and pushed the pervert off them, telling them to make a run for it.

A jury at Swindon Crown Court heard that the two girls had been in the town centre with an older sister and her boyfriend on Saturday, November 9, 2014.

But after getting separated from them the young girls found themselves wandering around looking for the older couple.

At about 6.30pm they were walking away from the fountain at the bottom of Regent Street when Wolton came up to them outside Primark.

The alcoholic suggested a threesome and asked them to come back to his place, the court was told, before putting his hand down the back of the younger child’s trousers.

In a video interview the 12-year-old told police: “He said ‘Can I take you back to my place?’ and my friend said ‘No’ and I said ‘No’ and we started walking away.

February 2016

Ten men convicted following child sexual exploitation investigation

Ten men have been found guilty of a range of serious sexual offences as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation, mainly in Rochdale, with the majority happening between 2004 and 2008.

The complainant walked into a police station shortly after widespread media coverage of the 2012 convictions at Liverpool Crown Court of nine Muslim defendants for grooming white girls for sex in the town.

She told officers that from the age of 14 she had been repeatedly sexually groomed by a large number of the men from the Rochdale area.

She also said that “hundreds” of men would ring her up wanting her to go out and have sex with them.

Thursday’s convictions can be reported following the conclusion of two trials at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

The following men have been convicted during two trials that have been held at Minshul Street Crown Court:

Afraz Ahmed (22/11/1982), of Oswald Street, Rochdale was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to rape, two counts of inciting sexual activity, five counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of Section 47 assault against five victims.

Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain (born 12/09/1977), of Mayfield Terrace, Rochdale was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape against one victim. He was convicted in his absence and is currently wanted by police. He is believed to be outside the United Kingdom.

Mahfuz Rahman (18/06/1986), of HMP Garth, pleaded guilty to three counts of Sexual Activity with a Child and was sentenced to five years and six months in prison at the beginning of trial.

Rehan Ali (born 10/12/1988), of Cleethorpes Avenue, Blackley was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of rape against one victim.

Kutab Miah (born 20/08/1980), of Ramsay Street, Rochdale was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of rape against one victim.

Mohammed Dauood (born 14/01/1978), of Leyland Road, Burnley was found guilty of three counts of rape, one count of sexual Activity with a child, one count of sexual assault and one count of Section 47 assault against two victims.

Abid Khan (born 06/12/1976), of Whitney Road, Liverpool was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child against one victim.

Mohammed Zahid (born 06/09/1960), of Croxton Avenue, Rochdale was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child against one victim.

A man who cannot be named for legal reasons was found guilty of three counts of rape and attempted child abduction against three victims.

A 46-year-old man was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to rape against one victim.

All men bar Iklaq Choudhry Hussain, who remains wanted, have been remanded to appear for sentencing on the Thursday 7 and Friday 8 April 2016.

The convictions relate to offences committed against eight victims who were aged between 13 and 23 at the time of the abuse.

Opening the prosecutions, Neil Usher said the victim was “an extremely vulnerable young woman who has endured a very difficult home life”.

He said: “Some of this grooming was successful to the extent that as a child, and a vulnerable child at that, she on many occasions agreed to engage in sexual activity with a number of the older men.

“She told the police that there were other occasions when she had not agreed to have sex with some of the men, some of whom had nevertheless then gone on to have sex with her against her will.”

February 2016

Pervert jailed for having indecent pictures of boys has jail term cut

A man jailed for a year after police found a stash of indecent images of children imported from Canada has been set free by top judges.

But Keith Moxham, aged 62, from Birmingham, must now take part in a sex offender treatment programme as a condition of his release.

February 2016

Former deputy head jailed for more than 17 years for indecent assaults on ex-pupils

Pervert ex-teacher Roger Caffrey has been jailed for more than 17 years for rapes and indecent assaults on young girls.

Judge Timothy Spencer, who sentenced the shamed 70-year-old former deputy head, said he must have enjoyed a sense of complete power over the girls he abused.

“In my judgement you enjoyed that power and exploited it shamelessly,” said the judge on Thursday afternoon.

The court had heard how Caffrey put his hand up girls’ skirts as they read at his large desk at North Gate Primary School, in Old Basford, Nottingham where he previously taught boys and girls.

He touched at least two girls in a store cupboard, his trial at Nottingham Crown Court was told.

One of those he held a particular “maligned power over”, said the judge.

Caffrey had asked her to stay behind, leaving her isolated and helpless.

He abused her when she was effectively trapped in the storeroom with him.

The popular teacher then repeatedly raped her at his Wollaton home, when her mother volunteered her for chores, the jury had heard.

Caffrey, a former well-built rugby player, was to strike again years later, raping a 19-year-old woman who visited his marital home in Stanton-on-the-Wolds.

The judge said once again Caffrey had engineered a situation on the pretext of helping him with chores.

The teenager was invited upstairs, pinned down on the martial bed, overpowered and raped – although he insisted later to police what happened was consensual.

The victim went to police 22 years ago but no charges were brought.

Judge Spencer said she was “let down” by the attitudes of society and the legal system.

Jurors heard how her case had remained forgotten until recently when more victims went to police.

“She was let down 20 years ago but, in my judgement, she has not been let down again,” said Judge Spencer.

He said Caffrey had deliberately targeted the victims, many who were in court to see him punished.

The judge concluded Caffrey had calculated they were ripe for this sort of abuse and calculated, for various reasons, they would not tell.

“The classroom and school was a place where they must have felt safe or secure, they must have felt anything but,” he stressed.

Caffrey, of Sandesquoy, Tankerness, Orkney, was found guilty of three rape charges and 12 indecent assaults, but was cleared on two indecent assault allegations.

The judge passed a total sentence of 17-and-a-half years on all charges and ordered Caffrey sign the sex offenders’ register. He is automatically barred from working with children.

The jury, who spent more than 24 hours deliberating over several days, made the unusual move of sending a note to the judge, which expressed their admiration for the victims who were clearly upset in court.

The letter ended: “We hope this verdict brings some closure to the victims.”

Judge Spencer thanked them for working assiduously and made them exempt from jury service for ten years.

February 2016

Baker jailed after police found 34,000 child sexual abuse images

A man has been jailed for six months after police discovered tens of thousands of child abuse images on his computer equipment.

Police in West Yorkshire arrested Brighouse supermarket baker Lee Blackwell in October 2014 after they were tipped-off by officers in Canada who were investigating the worldwide sale of DVDs.

Bradford Crown Court heard that when police examined computer hard drives seized from Blackwell’s home they found more than 150,000 photos and videos on them.

Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said the volume of material meant the police could only check a proportion of it. Some of the images and films involved children as young as six and the material included scenes of sexual activity.

Blackwell, 46, of Cross Street, admitted possession of the material. Miss Kaye said Blackwell told officers he was shocked at the volume of images.

Barrister Stephen Wood, for Blackwell, said the defendant had copied some images from one disc to another, but it was accepted that there were approaching 34,000 images of children with the vast majority of the being in the lowest category of seriousness.

Mr Wood said there was no evidence of Blackwell being involved in any distribution of images, but added:”The defendant understands every single one of those 34,000 images involves a victim. He is ashamed of what he has done.”

Judge Jonathan Rose told Blackwell that every child that had an indecent photograph taken of them had been abused and by looking at such images he was perpetuating the abuse.

“You are the market and you cannot evade responsibility for abusing children by sitting in a room and watching and saying I never went anywhere near that child,” he told Blackwell.

“You sought this material out and then you continued to do so clearly over a fairly substantial period of time to accumulate all of those images.”

Blackwell will have to register as a sex offender with the police for the next five years and he will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order which restricts his use of the internet for five years.

February 2016

Man found guilty of murdering 14-year-old schoolboy

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old love rival in a “brutal and sustained” attack in a cemetery.

The victim, Jordan Watson, was found with serious injuries to his head and neck after being lured to the cemetery in Carlisle, Cumbria, in June last year.

George Thomson, 19, was convicted of murder on Friday after a jury at Carlisle crown court heard that he had developed an “obsessive desire” for Jordan’s girlfriend.

The jurors at were told that Thomson’s desire for the 14-year-old girl “festered and grew in intensity” before he decided he wanted Jordan “out of the picture”.

Thomson was said to have lured the schoolboy to the cemetery on the evening of 15 June with an “almost certainly fictional” arrangement to sell some weapons to another man.

When police later searched Thomson’s home they found under his bed a large Gurkha knife with blood on it. Officers also found an “unusually large” quantity of at least 70 knives and weapons including a machete and a cleaver, the court heard.

Simon Medland QC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Jordan’s girlfriend received an “abusive” Facebook message at 11.45pm, purporting to be from Jordan ending their relationship. However, it was Thomson who sent it; Jordan was already dead.

A postmortem examination of Jordan found at least nine deep wounds, at least one of which had gone through his neck tissues to his spine.

The jury reached a unanimous verdict on Thomson. They have not yet reached verdicts on Thomson’s co-defendants, Brahnn Finley, 19, and Daniel Johnston, 20, who it is alleged were present during the murder to “lend support” to Thomson.

Finley and Johnston, both of Carlisle, deny murder. The jury resumed its deliberations after the trial judge, Mr Justice Green, said he could now accept majority verdicts of at least 10-2.

The trial heard Thomson was infatuated with Jordan’s then 14-year-old girlfriend and that he would “kill anyone for her”.

The prosecution said Jordan was subjected to a “brutal and sustained attack”, which left him with “terrible injuries” to his head and neck.

It is alleged Mr Brahnn Finley and Mr Johnston were present during the murder and there to “lend support” to Thomson.

February 2016

School worker tried to arrange meeting with Lincolnshire schoolgirl

A school IT worker who tried to arrange meeting a 15-year-old Lincolnshire girl during a Facebook conversation has today (Friday) been ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

David Elliott Taylor, 28, was also told to complete a sex offenders rehabilitation course and placed on probation for three years after he admitted a charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Taylor made inappropriate comments to the girl, who lives in East Lincolnshire, during a Facebook conversation on December 28, 2014.

At the time of the offence Taylor was working in the information technology department of a girls’ school in Wiltshire, the court was told.

Tony Stanford, prosecuting, said Taylor complimented the girl and told her she was “sexy.”

Taylor suggested she go for a drive with him and arranged a meeting for the following Tuesday.

Mr Stanford told the court Taylor also said he wanted the girl to “snog him” and told her he wanted to put her up against a wall and do things to her.

Concerns were raised by the behaviour of the girl, who can not be named for legal reasons, and her Facebook page was looked at.

Graham Huston, mitigating, said following a probation report on Taylor the need for a sexual rehabilitation course was “transparent.”

The court heard Taylor had no previous convictions. Mr Huston added: “He is married now and lives in Swindon.”

Taylor, of Swindon, Wiltshire, admitted a single charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming on December 28, 2014.

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Taylor his choice was to pass a short jail sentence or make him the subject of a community order.

Judge Hirst said: “You have lost your good character and inevitably your career as well.

“It seems to me the public and you would be better served by a community order. This is not an easy option.”

February 2016

Pervert filmed schoolgirls undressing – Suspended sentence

A St Austell surveyor who secretly filmed two teenage girls and two women as they undressed in the changing rooms at a St Austell swimming pool has been handed a suspended jail term by magistrates.

Steffan Allen, 42, balanced a mobile phone in his shoe under the changing room partition at Polkyth Leisure Centre and captured two girls aged 14 and 15 on film – one of them topless – on March 19 last year, Bodmin court was told.

When his phone was seized, footage of two adult women with their private parts visible was found in previous recordings made on October 1, 2014 and February 19, 2015.

Allen, who gave an address at Trethosa Road, St Austell, told police he had done it for “a thrill”.

At the conclusion of the case against him at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (February 4), Allen asked for the forgiveness of all those who had been affected by his actions which he described as “despicable”.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of voyeurism – recording a person doing a private act for his sexual gratification – when he appeared before

Alison May, for the prosecution, said that the teenagers were sharing a cubicle in the unisex changing rooms when they noticed a mobile phone propped up in a shoe and pointing under the partition from the neighbouring cubicle.

They sought help from staff who together with an off-duty police officer saw Allen emerge from his cubicle with the phone.

Other police had arrived and there was a struggle as they tried to seize the phone.

When it was examined officers found further footage of the adult women changing.

Julian Berg, for the defence, said that Allen, who has no previous convictions, had been suffering from depression and felt he needed a thrill as he felt “flat” and without emotion.

He had committed the offences “blind” not knowing who was in the cubicles and had not realised the girls were teenagers.

Having led a previously “impeccable” life, he regretted his actions and felt very ashamed.

Probation officer Tony Ciocci, giving a pre-sentence report, said that at the time Allen, who is now separated from his wife, had been going through difficulties in his relationship and had begun to use legal internet pornography.

He had seen images obtained from covert filming and when he decided to start going swimming to lose weight he thought he would film women in the same way.

There had been a degree of premeditation, said Mr Ciocci, as when Allen was swimming if he saw a woman he would engineer a situation so that he could observe them.

The magistrates sentenced Allen to 36 weeks’ custody, suspended for two years, with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days and 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for the next ten years and observe a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restricts his contact with under-16s and use of recording devices. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

At the conclusion of the hearing Allen told the court. “I wish to apologise to all the people involved and their families. It was a despicable thing to do and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me one day.

February 2016

Man jailed for two years after grooming girl who was in care in Wrexham

A MAN aged 50 who admitted grooming a teenage girl who was in care in North Wales has been jailed for two years.

Alan McDonald admitted meeting a child following grooming with a view to committing a sexual offence.

At Mold Crown Court on Thursday he was also ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years.

A 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also made.

The court heard the girl, of high school age, was in care in the Wrexham area because of, among other things, fear that she was vulnerable to be sexually exploited.

McDonald, when arrested, claimed he thought the girl he had been exchanging text messages and WhatsApp messages with was aged 21.

The Recorder Richard Williams said McDonald began a conversation and then exchanged messages with a child in care.

“It is clear from the extent and subject matter of the communication disclosed in the prosecution papers that you intended to engage in penetrative sexual acts,” he said.

The complainant was a child who was vulnerable and the starting point in sentence was four years with a range of between three and seven, he said.

McDonald, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was a man of no previous convictions but the judge said: “It is not appropriate to suspend the sentence. This is predatory behaviour in relation to a child who was particularly vulnerable.”

Barrister Michael Whitty, prosecuting, said the child was living in a care home in the Wrexham area. She had been moved from her home area because of concerns that she was at risk of exploitation.

Concerns were initially raised because she went missing from the care home on a number of occasions and had returned smelling of cannabis.

Mr Whitty said members of staff had seen the girl in McDonald’s company.

On November 22, 2014, she went missing again at about 2.30pm.

“She was seen simply to have walked out of the premises by a member of staff who followed her. It was thought she was going to another care home property but she didn’t arrive there so staff went to look for her.

“A man matching the description of the defendant seemed to stop in the area and pick someone up although it was impossible to tell at that stage whether it was the girl,” he said.

The vehicle’s number plate was noted and was found to be registered to the defendant.

Police found the girl leaving a pizza restaurant and McDonald was still inside.

He was arrested and his vehicle was searched with a number of unused condoms being found inside.

Mr Whitty said the girl was reluctant to provide any information much less any statement of complaint but did indicate there had not been any sexual contact between them.

Interviewed, McDonald accepted some contact with her and said he thought she was 21.

His mobile phone was examined and messages were found that had been exchanged through the WhatsApp messaging software.

“There are 25 pages of these messages that were sent between October 20 and date of his arrest on November 22, 2014,” he said.

“Many are of a sexual nature and talk about his feelings towards her.”

He was re-arrested in March, 2015, made no comment in interview, and was charged in September.

Jonathan Duffy, defending, said his client was a man of good character.

While he knew she was in care he did not know she was in care because she was vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

There were many positive things to be said about him.

A letter of reference had been written by his former partner, and the key question was whether the inevitable prison sentence could be suspended.

February 2016

Active church man from Flintshire jailed for sharing pictures of ‘the worst child abuse’

A MAN said to be active in his church has been jailed for 32 months after a court heard how he distributed some of the worst child abuse images available.

Carl James Mullally, 51, formerly of Pentre Halkyn but now of Salisbury Street in Shotton, was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for life.

At Mold Crown Court yesterday he was made the subject of a life-long sexual harm prevention order.

The judge, Mr Recorder Richard Williams, told the defendant: “You have been an active participant in viewing and distributing images of the worst kind of child abuse.”

Mullally admitted 18 offences between December 9 and 11, 2014.

He had 10,000 pictures on his hard drive, and shared them with other paedophiles as far afield as India.

David Mainstone, prosecuting, said the case involved 790 category A images, 331 category A videos, 1,008 category B images, 142 category B videos, 3,468 category C images and 108 category C videos.

Mullally admitted possessing the material and making them by downloading them from the internet. He also admitted five counts of distributing an indecent images.

He admitted possessing extreme images involving sex between humans and animals.

The court heard how a warrant was executed at his then home at Maes Lygan in Pentre Halkyn in December 2014 following police intelligence that his email address was being used to access indecent images of children.

A large quantity of material was found, said to have been built up over a ten year period.

The prosecutor said a total of 10,000 images were stored on a hard drive and interviewed, he said that he had supplied a friend in India with images.

Asked if he found them sexually gratifying, he replied “sometimes”.

He said that he had used a chat site where he made his own web page, and would chat to people on line who could access the images.

Stephen Edwards, defending, said his client was a man of good character who trained as an electrical engineer at RAF Sealand and who then worked in industry as an electrical engineer and fitter.

Sadly, in more recent years there had been deterioration in his health due to ME and he had also suffered a couple of serious heart attacks.

He was unable to work and was leading a fairly lonely existence, described in the pre-sentence report as a “sad and solitary life.”

His flat had been dishevelled and extremely unkempt.

But he did have a positive side to his character, he was active in the church and worked as a volunteer for the Flintshire Disability Forum.

He was an intelligent man who appreciated that by accessing the images he had encouraged that industry.

The defendant had it hanging over him for 14 months, had ceased his conduct, no longer accessed such images and had abided by strict bail conditions.

He had been open and frank with the police and the probation service and he would welcome rehabilitation, said Mr Edwards.

The judge said the defendant had admitted involvement in distribution through file sharing software images of a grossly offensive character which portrayed significant abuse of children.

He said the age and vulnerability of the children in the images – some of whom were extremely young – were aggravating features..

At Mold Crown Court on Thursday he was made the subject of a life-long sexual harm prevention order.

The judge, Mr Recorder Richard Williams, told the defendant: “You have been an active participant in viewing and distributing images of the worst kind of child abuse.”

Mullally admitted 18 offences between December 9 and 11, 2014.

David Mainstone, prosecuting, said the case involved 790 category A images, 331 category A videos, 1,008 category B images, 142 category B videos, 3,468 category C images and 108 category C videos.

Mullally admitted possessing the material and making them by downloading them from the internet. He also admitted five counts of distributing an indecent images.

He admitted possessing extreme images involving sex between humans and animals.

The court heard how a warrant was executed at his then home at Maes Lygan in Pentre Halkyn in December 2014 following police intelligence that his email address was being used to access indecent images of children.

A large quantity of material was found, said to have been built up over a ten year period.

The prosecutor said a total of 10,000 images were stored on a hard drive and interviewed, he said that he had supplied a friend in India with images.

Asked if he found them sexually gratifying, he replied “sometimes”.

He said that he had used a chat site where he made his own web page, and would chat to people on line who could access the images.

Stephen Edwards, defending, said his client was a man of good character who trained as an electrical engineer at RAF Sealand and who then worked in industry as an electrical engineer and fitter.

Sadly, in more recent years there had been deterioration in his health due to ME and he had also suffered a couple of serious heart attacks.

He was unable to work and was leading a fairly lonely existence, described in the pre-sentence report as a “sad and solitary life.”

His flat had been dishevelled and extremely unkempt.

But he did have a positive side to his character, he was active in the church and worked as a volunteer for the Flintshire Disability Forum.

He was an intelligent man who appreciated that by accessing the images he had encouraged that industry.

The defendant had it hanging over him for 14 months, had ceased his conduct, no longer accessed such images and had abided by strict bail conditions.

He had been open and frank with the police and the probation service and he would welcome rehabilitation, said Mr Edwards.

The judge said the defendant had admitted involvement in distribution through file sharing software images of a grossly offensive character which portrayed significant abuse of children.

He said the age and vulnerability of the children in the images – some of whom were extremely young – were aggravating features.

February 2016

Sweet shop owner abused string of boys over 40 years

A FORMER sweet shop owner who groomed and abused boys between 1965 and 2005 has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Brian Hobbs, 74, admitted eight counts of sexual offences relating to two teenage boys, including buggery, indecency with a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

One was abused by the defendant and his late partner John Deighton in the 1970s and 80s, at the sweet shop they ran in Castle Lane. The other was abused by Hobbs alone in the early 2000s.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Hobbs had previously served one year, three year and nine year prison sentences for offences against boys including gross indecency, indecent assault and buggery committed in the 1960s, 80s and 90s respectively.

Jailing Hobbs for 10 years and eight months, Judge Peter Crabtree OBE said he was a “predatory abuser of young teenage boys”.

“You are 74 years old and you have a quite awful record of sexual offences against teenage boys,” he said.

The court heard Hobbs’ victims had each struggled to form relationships since the abuse took place, had suffered with depression and suicidal thoughts as a consequence of the offences.

Also during his sentencing remarks, Judge Crabtree said: “Sadly the feelings they experienced are all too common among abused children and young teenagers.

“There is only one person responsible for what happened. That is you. Brian Hobbs.”

Speaking in mitigation, Richard Tutt said his client wished to make a public apology to his victims as “an expression of the remorse that he now feels”.

He said Hobbs accepted his “full responsibility” for his behaviour and was “extremely candid and forthcoming” in his police interview.

“Mr Hobbs was himself as a young boy abused and plainly was shaped and affected by this,” he said.

“He doesn’t seek to put that forward as any sort of justification. I propose it serves as an explanation.”

He added: “I remind you that Mr Hobbs has not offended for approximately 10 years.

“The affect of what will inevitably be a long sentence will carry great significance due to his age and his state of health.”

Hobbs entered guilty pleas to three counts of indecency with a child, two counts of buggery and three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard he was already subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and required to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

February 2016

Man made child abuse images and downloaded 180,000 extreme images

A Frome man has been ordered to surrender his passport to police after pleading guilty to downloading nearly 180,000 indecent images from the internet.

Russell Booth, 45, of Little Keyford Road, pleaded guilty at Taunton Crown Court to 13 offences of making indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

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Phillip Warren, defending, said the case had been hanging over him for 18 months and he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Judge Ian Lawrie QC said he clearly needed help and it was clear from an interview that ‘he is cognisant of the issues that he has’.

The case was adjourned to Thursday, February 25 for reports and Booth was released on bail.

February 2016

Pervert (45) tried convince a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him 

Dad of two tried convince a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him through social media.

Jusab, 45, of Pendock Close, Quedgeley, pleaded guilty to inciting the girl to have sex, grooming her and two offences of possessing indecent photos of her. He was jailed for 32 months.

Gloucester Crown Court heard Jusab, a man of previous good character with a job as a manager, had used a false name to contact the girl online when he was “bored with his dull and troubled marriage”.

His wife has since instigated divorce proceedings.

Prosecutor Janine Wood said Jusab was arrested after the girl contacted Merseyside Police on February 19 last year to report she had been threatened by a man she knew as ‘Mark’.

“She said in the prevous 12 months she had made contact with him on Snapchat and Kix social media. He had sent her money and jewellery and other presents.

“In October 2014 she got a boyfriend and the defendant did not like that. He became increasingly controlling and demanding.

“He also told her he would kill himself if she did not meet him.

“She felt trapped and frightened. She contacted Childline who told her to call the police.”

In a victim impact statement the girl said she hated herself for what she had done.

“I have become a complete mess,” she stated. “My destructive behaviour has been a way of trying to cope. I have had panic attacks. Because of him I don’t feel I can trust anyone. I never thought a person could lie so much and for so long.”

Sabhia Pathan, defending, said it was a tragic case. Jusab had used social networks as a way of “escaping his rather dull and troubled marriage” and acted totally out of character, she said.

The site on which he encountered the girl made it clear it was for over-18s only and he initially believed the girl was that age and, later, she told him she was 17. He accepted he found out her true age after six months of conversing with her.

Jailing Jusab, Judge Michael Cullum said: “You were in a marriage which was unloving and unhappy. That appears to have been the catalyst for your disastrous descent into an online relationship and criminal sexual offending. The labels and the restrictions that will follow you will change your life forever.”

After the hearing, Sergeant Nigel Hatten of Gloucestershire police’s child sexual exploitation investigation team said: “This is a very sad case with many typical hallmarks of child sexual exploitation.

“Thankfully the victim sought help – and the key message is that there is support there – from Childline before we became involved.

“Doing that was brave but crucial. No one should be put through what this girl was put through and if you are going through that then please don’t feel ashamed or afraid to come forward. You are a victim and we have specially trained people who can help.”

February 2016

Pervert asked underage girls to send naked pictures

A PERVERT has been jailed for posing online as a woman running a modelling agency to persuade underage girls to send him naked pictures.

Conan Thompson, who was engaged, pestered children aged 12 to 15 over Facebook for indecent images, a court heard.

The 24-year-old even sent them photographs of naked women to convince them he was genuine – and to encourage them to send similar pictures of themselves.

Thompson claimed he was Laura Fall, and would pay £250 for images used, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Thompson had only months before reached the finals of The Herald’s Win a Dream Wedding competition for a £20,000 ceremony to his fiance.

He told police he did not have an interest in underage girls.

Jailing him for two years, Recorder Michael Parroy said he clearly wanted the images for his own sexual gratification.

He said: “This was carefully thought-out and persistent. It went on for some months and involved a number of girls.

“It is sometimes suggested that this type of crime is victimless, but clearly some of these girls were upset.

“These girls are entitled to and must receive the protection of the court. You have been kindly treated in the light of what you have done.”

Thompson, of Wantage Gardens, Stonehouse, pleaded guilty to four counts of inciting a child to engage in pornography between August and November 2013.

Piers Norsworthy, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police were alerted in November 2014 to a Facebook page purporting to be from the Laura Fall modelling agency.

It was linked to an email account for Conan Thompson.

He added that the page advertised £250 for photographs from girls – but there was no evidence anyone had been paid.

Mr Norsworthy said the families of four girls aged between 12 and 15 had contacted police.

Each said they had been contacted through the social networking site asking for photographs.

Mr Norsworthy said the girls had been sent images of women, thought to be taken from the internet, some of whom were posing naked.

He added that one girl sent a picture of herself in a bikini, while another sent a topless image – albeit with her arm across her chest. Others were asked for naked images.

Ali Rafati, for Thompson, said he had been socially isolated at the time after the death of his parents.

He added that Thompson had since met a pregnant woman and was looking after her child in an “appropriate relationship”.

Thompson must also stay on the Sex Offender Register for the next decade.

February 2016

Scout campsite boss aged 82 jailed over sex assaults on two children

February 2016

Dad-of-two jailed for seven years for raping drunk schoolgirl

A father of two has been jailed for seven years for raping and sexually assaulting a drunk 15-year-old schoolgirl.

Sexual predator Leon Smith, 35, sexually assaulted her after she had downed most of a bottle of vodka, Bradford Crown Court heard

He followed her upstairs at a house in Bradford and orally raped her on a bed before pulling down her tights and knickers and sexually assaulting her.

Smith, of Middlebrook Crescent, Fairweather Green, Bradford, sat in the dock with his head in hands after the jury returned unanimous verdicts.

He was found guilty of oral rape and sexual assault on August 13, 2013.

During the trial, the court heard that Smith bought vodka after the girl said she wanted to get drunk.

Yesterday, Judge Robert Bartfield said Smith had been convicted of two very serious offences.

He had persistently lied about what happened that day to his partner and the court.

Judge Bartfield told him: “I am satisfied after hearing from her that you did know her age.”

He continued: “You were physically attracted to her. She was blind drunk and you followed her, seeing your chance. You were overcome by your sexual attraction.”

Smith, who had also been drinking, held the girl’s head while he raped her.

“She was naive and trusting and drunk,” Judge Bartfield said.

When she broke free, Smith continued to abuse her until they were interrupted.

Afterwards, the teenager ran from the house.

“This is an absolute tragedy for you and your family, let alone that poor girl,” Judge Bartfield said.

He made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning Smith from contacting the girl ever again.

Smith must also sign of the sex offenders’ register for life.

In mitigation, Smith’s barrister, Jayne Beckett, said her client had a partner and two very young children.

“This will deeply, deeply affect more than his life,” she said.

She added that Smith had been a hard working factory worker but he had suffered an injury and was no longer able to work.