February 2016

Nurse struck off for indecent images of children

A Flintshire nurse who was jailed after admitting downloading 5,000 child abuse images has been struck off.

Paul Richards, 37, of Mold, pleaded guilty to making and possessing indecent images of a child in May 2015 and was jailed for 10 months.

The former Wrexham Maelor Hospital A&E nurse told a Cardiff Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing he wanted to return to nursing.

But Richards was removed from the register indefinitely.

He was told his crimes were “incompatible” with the profession.

As well as the prison sentence, Richards was issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which stops him working with children until at least 2025.

He told the hearing that while he knew he had done wrong, he wanted to return to nursing when the ban expired.

Presenting the case, Louise Hartley, said Richards’ computer contained “some of the highest category” of indecent images.

She added: “The public would be outraged to hear that a person with such a serious conviction, and who has served 10 months in prison for sexual offences, could continue to practice as a nurse.”

Panel chairwoman Helen Potts said Richards’ crimes were “incompatible” with a future role in healthcare.

She said: “You have been convicted of very serious crimes which the general public would find abhorrent.”

February 2016

Teen left memory stick with child sex images in lounge

When staff at a sheltered housing premises for young adults found a memory card in the lounge, they checked 
it and found it contained indecent images of children.

So the police were called, and resident Zak Markham-Martin, who was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order over earlier indecent images, was arrested.

Markham-Martin, aged 18, of Leicester Street, Leamington, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to charges of making indecent images of children and breaching the order.

But on the day he was due to be sentenced, prosecutor Matthew Brook asked for the case to be adjourned.

He explained that in February last year Markham-Martin had been made subject to a referral order and a five-year sexual harm prevention order for offences of making indecent images of children.

Following the hearing he did not return home, but found accommodation at sheltered housing for young adults, where it was noticed he was very withdrawn and spending a lot of time on his laptop.

In August last year he left his memory card in the lounge, where it was found by a member of staff who checked it and found it contained indecent images of children.

So Markham-Martin was charged in relation to those images and entered his guilty pleas in December, after which the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

But Mr Brook said that since then the police have also examined Markham-Martin’s laptop and phone, which had been seized when he was arrested.

On the laptop they found two stills and one movie in category A and seven category C stills, as well as a large amount of illegal extreme pornography.

The phone contained 42 stills and six movies in category A, 23 category B stills, and 277 stills and one movie in category C – but there was also a message making it clear he had sent an indecent image to another person.

“He has been interviewed about those matters in prison and made full and frank admissions; but what has not happened is that he has not yet been charged with those matters.”

Recorder Gareth Evans QC asked whether they could be ‘taken into consideration’ – but Mr Brook said that could not be done because of the more serious distribution offence.

Adjourning the case for Markham-Martin to be charged and for the further matters to be sent to the crown court, Recorder Evans told him: “It’s important that when the court comes to sentence you it has all the matters in front of it.

“I appreciate you have been in custody since August, but these are serious matters, and it’s important the court has all the information in front of it.”

February 2016

Barmaid caught IT manager looking at child abuse images

An IT manager at a top investment firm was caught looking at child abuse images while waiting to be served in a City pub.

A barmaid spotted Jeffrey Harris, 52, browsing indecent pictures of young girls on his tablet at the Crosse Keys pub in Gracechurch Street.

When he was arrested, detectives found a cache of child abuse images and videos on his mobile phone and a laptop he had at home.

Harris, who used to work for City company Integrated Financial Arrangements, had also distributed some of the images online.

Edward McKiernan QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey: “Whilst he was being served by a staff member she saw what was on the tablet. It appeared to her to be indecent images of young girls.”

Barry Kogan QC, defending, said Harris, from Arundel, West Sussex, was lonely and turned to child sexual abuse images out of curiosity when his marriage broke down.

“He had no friends at all in Seaford where he lived and he did feel isolated and lonely,” he said. “It was in these circumstances that he sought refuge in the internet.“

Harris is now estranged from his wife and youngest son, both of whom have changed their names to avoid being associated with him, the Old Bailey heard. 

Recorder Oliver Sells QC, sentencing, said: “I heard the remorse and shame you feel and the suffering of yours and those around you. I also take into account that you have begun to address these problems.”

Harris admitted 12 counts of making indecent images of a child and two counts of distributing the images.

He was given an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete a sexual offender treatment programme.

February 2016

Elderly husband and wife jailed for child abuse

An elderly couple have been jailed for a series of child abuse offences committed in the 1960s and 70s.

Joseph Joseph, 77, was sentenced to 24 years for rape, indecent assault and a charge of having sex with a girl aged under 13.

His wife Doreen, 82, was given eight years and three months for nine counts of child cruelty.

Both were found guilty by a jury at Luton Crown Court.

The court heard there were multiple offences against three victims.

Mr Joseph, of Rushden, Northamptonshire, was in his 30s at the time.

The couple had been married for almost 50 years, Joseph Joseph’s barrister Lewis Tresman said.

“Given their age, it is likely they will be separated for ever and it could well be Mr Joseph will not see freedom again,” he said.

Jimmy Vakil, for Doreen Joseph, said she had many health problems, adding: “It is a more than realistic proposition that she will die in prison.”

Judge Barbara Mensah told Mr Joseph he had been “wicked and vile” and described his wife’s offences as “cruel, arbitrary and random”.

February 2016

Pensioner convicted of abusing two children

A paedophile has been convicted of abusing two children.

Ernest Fisher, 75, of Kings Road, Halstead, had denied six counts relating to a girl in the 1960s, and six counts relating to a boy in the 1970s.

He was found guilty on Monday on all 12 counts after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

The charges include seven counts of indecent assault, two counts of attempted rape and one count each of indecency with a child, a serious sexual assault and cruelty to a person under 16 years old.

The jury had heard how the abuse happened in Halstead and at a second address.

Fisher told his male victim he was teaching him the “birds and the bees” and would beat him if he refused to participate.

The female victim told police interviewers she had been abused regularly and that Fisher had been angry after unsuccessfully trying to rape her.

She also claimed she was abused in a kitchen sink while the paedophile chatted to a passer by through a window.

The victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to police in 2013.

Fisher will be sentenced next month after reports are drawn up

February 2016

Man jailed after believing he was going to meet girl for sex

A MAN of previous good character is behind bars for the first time having fallen for an internet sting by online vigilantes, posing as a 15-year-old girl.

Martin Walters, now 30, thought he was communicating online with ‘Sexy Sarah Robinson’, who he made contact with after seeing a made-up social media profile, featuring a picture of an unknown 22-year-old woman from America, who was, “looking for a good time”.

Durham Crown Court heard that in online messaging, however, it was made clear to Walters that the person he thought he was communicating with was claiming to be just 15-years-old.

February 2016

Redditch man jailed for 8 months after breaking SOPO

A REDDITCH man who believes he is a young teenager presents an increasing risk of sexual harm to children, a court heard.

Jordan Carter, aged 37, broke the terms of a sexual offences prevention order he was handed in 2009 by trying to contact two boys under 16 on Facebook, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Edward Burgess, prosecuting, told the court police had been keeping a “watchful eye” on Carter and in November last year, they checked his Facebook account and found he had been trying to be friends with the boys.

They searched his home and found two pictures of other young boys in indecent poses, Mr Burgess said.

Carter, of Neville Close, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the order and two of possessing indecent images of children.

Charles Hamer, defending, said that “in his own mind, Carter was still a very young person.

“He seeks to interact with people aged 12 to 16,” Mr Hamer said. “That’s what he feels he is.”

He said Carter had been on remand in a Bristol prison since his arrest on November 6 and had been subjected to bullying.

Recorder Nigel Daly said it was difficult to find an appropriate sentence for Carter, who was given a three year community order with supervision in January last year.

Intensive intervention over many years had had little effect, he said, and Carter’s impulsive behaviour meant his risk of sexual harm to children was escalating.

The courts, he said were running out of ways to rehabilitate him so there was no choice but to send him to prison.

He was given a total of eight months and the sexual offences prevention order is to continue.

February 2016

Man, 65, sexually abused two schoolgirls and threatened them to ensure their silence

A 65-year-old man who sexually abused two schoolgirls has been jailed for seven years and four months.

Paul Wager admitted three counts of serious sexual assault and one of sexual assault.

The victims were aged between eight and 10, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Wager, of Farnham Road, Loughborough, had been jailed for 18 months in 1999 for having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.

Richard Thatcher, prosecuting, said the abuse committed against the two girls involved sexual touching.

The charges represented his misconduct towards one of the victims on three or four occasions and about 20 occasions with the other. The matter eventually came to light when one of the girls told her mother what Wager had done to her.

Both youngsters claimed to have been scared of the defendant and have since suffered sleeplessness and had nightmares, said Mr Thatcher.

He added: “One of the girls claimed he had also put his hand up her top.

“He also said he wanted to make love to her.

“She did not tell anyone because, he said, if she did he’d hit her.”

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean, QC, told Wager: “In your police interview you admitted to some extent gaining gratification from what you did, amounting to four counts of serious sexual offences.

“To some extent they (the girls) were cowed by your threats towards them and feared reporting it.

“But report it they eventually did. I’ve read victim personal statements by both girls and it’s clear your offending has had a serious effect upon them and it’s likely to affect them as they grow up.

“These weren’t one-off offences and involved two children – and with one of them this activity was repeated many times.

“Your guilty plea is your only mitigating feature.”

Michael Garvey, representing Wager, said: “He does accept he committed these offences and he knows it will be a substantial sentence.

“His concerns aren’t so much for himself as he has a wife who has some disability.”

He said that Wager was also a carer for one of his sons.

February 2016

Pervert spied on families and young children at Leisure Centre

HE’S the pervert who spied on families with young children as they got changed in a Hampshire leisure centre.

But paedophile Stephen Humphreys wasn’t banking on being spotted as he peered under the cubicle door to watch as the family undressed.

The church goer was chased and briefly detained by a doctor who was with his wife and two-year-old daughter when they were targeted but managed to break free – only to be caught by police and arrested shortly afterwards on September 5, 2014.

It wasn’t the first time the 49-year-old had acted in that way – having previously used a mobile phone to film under or over a cubicle when a mum was changing with her one-year-old daughter on February 6, 2014.

In August that year he struck again, preying on a mother who was there with her 11-year-old son. On both occasions he managed to get away before he could be detained.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Humphreys, of Hinkler Road, Thornhill, carried out all his crimes at Winchester’s River Park Leisure Centre.

Humphreys admitted one count of voyeurism and asked for two other similar offences to be taken into consideration.

He also admitted eight counts of making indecent images of children, found by police on his home computer.

In total there were 165 indecent images some involving bestiality, said prosecutor Barry McElduff.

He told the court: “The way he has committed crimes has changed. He has moved from the internet, where some sexual offenders seem to think that things are not real, he now goes out to seek people in real life.

“There’s a real risk it could manifest as something more serious.”

Sentencing, the judge, Mr Recorder William Ashworth, said he was not wholly convinced that Humphreys fully accepted what he had done.

He said: “The reason people do these things to children, terrible awful things, is because people are willing to look at these images and provide a market for them. You participated in that market.

“You haven’t lost anything like those children have lost.”

The judge said he considered jailing Humphreys but he would receive little treatment to address his offending.

He imposed a three-year community order so Humphreys will take part in the three-year sexual offenders programme

The judge also imposed sexual harm prevention order limiting his internet freedom and banning him from taking a mobile phone or camera into a leisure centre.

He is also barred from the River Park Leisure Centre.

He also ordered that Humphreys be on the sex offenders register for five years and pay costs of £510.

February 2016

Paedophile found guilty of abusing four schoolgirls

A man who works in security and who trained in restraint methods and close combat has been found guilty of a string sexual offences against four girls who were aged as young as 12.

At Sheffield Crown Court, Steve Smith (44) of Creighton Avenue in Rawmarsh was found guilty by the jury on all ten charges he faced. These include:

• One count of sexual assault on a child aged under 13-years-old

• Six counts of sexual assault on a child 

• Three counts of sexual activity with a child

Smith who attempted suicide last week in the toilet of the court had denied accusations that he raped, performed oral sex on, kissed or molested the female children from 2009 to 2014.

The court was told that one victim claimed Smith had picked her up in his car, when she was aged 13-years-old, drove her to his home and had sex with her.

Another victim said, Smith sat next to her on a sofa and molested her.

A third girl said that Smith had pestered her for sex at a function.

The girls stated that Smith also sent them inappropriate compliments and made sexual suggestions on Facebook.

The court heard that one vulnerable victim was in care.

During the trial, the prosecution asked Smith why he had deleted his Facebook chat history shortly before his arrest. He replied: “Its just something everyone does. I didn’t know anything about the allegations.”

The jury found Smith guilty on all ten charges.

The judge remanded him in custody awaiting sentencing for which a psychological assessment will be made.

February 2016

Callous father got so drunk he abandoned son, aged 2, in car park at night

A callous father who got so drunk he abandoned his two-year-old son in a car park late at night has been jailed for six months.

Neil Schofield, 35, was found collapsed from drink on the ground next to his son’s pushchair in a car park in the rain by an alarmed member of the public who called the police.

But by the time police officers arrived, there was no sign of Schofield but they found the child alone and in a cold and wet state. They waited an hour to see if the father would return.

In the meantime Schofield staggered home and – forgetting where he had left his son – ‘screamed’ at his partner demanding to know where their child was.

Schofield, from Weymouth, Dorset, then went in search of his son and turned up to the Wyke Smugglers pub at midnight “in a distressed state”.

Police were called to find Schofield was ‘extremely emotional and aggressive’, and asked officers: “Have you found my son?”

The child was unharmed and was taken to hospital as a precaution – but a paediatrician said Schofield had exposed him to the risk of hypothermia.

Judge Jonathan Fuller said the dad’s actions would “strike anyone with horror” as he sentenced him for child cruelty charges Dorchester Crown Court.

The court heard Schofield, of no fixed abode, had been drinking heavily after heading out at 11am with his son on August 19 last year for the Weymouth Carnival day.

Prosecutor Richard Tutt said: “The point that she (the paediatrcian) makes is that he was cold and wet when he was found and as a result of that was at risk of profound hypothermia and dehydration.”

As he sentenced Schofield, Judge Jonathan Fuller, told him: “This is a case of you, knowing you had care of a child, going out to get drunk and totally disregarding the consequences for this child.

“It would strike anyone with horror to think that a child aged two strapped into a pushchair on a rainy night was abandoned by a drunken parent in a public car park.”

February 2016

Paedophile kept sickening stash of child sex images and videos

A paedophile hoarded disturbing sexual images of children at his home, just yards from a primary school.

Raymond Carracher’s vile collection was discovered on his computer, laptop and mobile phone following a police raid.

Specialist officers from the cyber crime unit uncovered dozens of pictures and videos, some involving children as young as eight.

A number of searches relating to indecent pictures were also identified on one of his laptops.

Carracher, 40, who lives in Canal Street, Johnstone, close to Thorn Primary, appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday.

He admitted possessing indecent images of children between September 2009 and June 2014.

The court heard that five electronic devices were seized during the police raid on the home that he shares with his father.

They were later examined by specialists from the Cyber Crime Unit, who revealed that some of the images found were graded at level four – the second highest in severity.

Carracher, who hobbled into court dressed in a black hooded top and then sat motionless in dock as depute fiscal Alan Parfery described the images in graphic detail.

He said: “My lord, I’m sure you are aware of the scale of seriousness in regards to indecent images.

“To make it clear a number of these images were at level four, the second highest level.”

Representing Carracher, defence agent Chris Mckenna claimed his client is not in good health.

He said: “Mr Carracher suffers from a number of serious health issues and lives with his elderly father.

“I would ask that bail be continued in this matter.”

Though Sheriff Tom McCartney was disturbed by the offence he choose not to remand Carracher in custody, instead he called for a Criminal Justice Social Work report to be conducted prior to sentencing.

He said: “I will seek reports ahead of your sentencing. I note you have one previous conviction which I will take into account.”

Carracher will learn his fate when he returns to court on March 8.

February 2016

Suspended jail term for man found with indecent video of young girls

A man caught with an indecent video of two young girls just over a month after he admitted downloading illegal images of children was told by a judge today (February 16) that if he does it again he can expect to go straight to prison.

Samuel Morton, 25, had been sentenced to a three-year Community Order after pleading guilty to downloading and possessing indecent images of children on December 4 last year.

He was at home in his bedsit in Clarendon Road, Luton on January 16 this year when the police carried an unannounced check on his internet activity, Luton crown court heard.

Prosecutor Kevin West said that Morton gave the officer the passcode to his mobile phone.

On it there was a 37-minute video showing two girls, aged 7 to 9, involved in sexual activity.

Morton said: “I have made a mistake. I have been stupid.”

7 grams of cocaine, worth £350, and three small bags of cannabis and a pipe, were also recovered from the bedsit.

Morton, now of Sundon Road, Harlington, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to making (downloading) an indecent image of a child, possessing a Class A drug and possessing a Class B drug.

Benjamin Bundock, defending, said Morton is at a ‘crossroads’ in his life.

At the time of the offence he had not started the Sex Offender Treatment Programme ordered by the court in December.

He said: “He was anxious and under pressure in his life.

“The parents of his girlfriend had found out about the previous court matters and the treatment programme was delayed.

“He was at a loss and downloaded the video.” 

After his arrest, he moved back in with his mother to get away from influences in Luton.

Morton is also seeking help from the mental health charity MIND.

His girlfriend is very supportive and he had joined her going to church and in Bible studies, said Mr Bundock.

Judge Lynn Tayton QC told Morton that by downloading the video he had “colluded” in the abuse of children.

She passed a 6-month jail sentence suspended for 12-months so that Morton could attend the Sex Offender Treatment Programme.

The judge said it would be better for the public if he sorted himself out.

The three-year Community Order from December is to remain in place.

The judge warned him that if he reoffended he would be re-sentenced for the December and January offences and could expect a consecutive sentence. “If you come back again, you know what is going to happen,” she said.

Morton must register as a Sex Offender for 7 years and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, also for 7 years.

The order includes conditions that the police monitor his internet use and that he cannot delete his internet history use.

He will also be barred from working with children.

February 2016

Pervert jailed for child sex offences

A Wirral man who admitted a string of child sex offences has been jailed for three years and four months.

Matthew Nolan, 31, of Town Meadow Lane, Moreton pleaded guilty to five offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two charges of possession of indecent images and one charge of grooming.

Nolan was jailed for 40 months at Liverpool Crown Court .

He was also order to sign the sex offenders register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

February 2016

Facebook pervert trapped by paedophile hunter

A sexual predator who tried to groom a 12-year-old girl on Facebook was snared by a ‘paedophile hunter’ vigilante.

Andrew Smith, 45, of Carr Lane, Hoylake , Wirral, was tricked into believing he was talking to schoolgirl ‘Mary Leask’.

But unknown to him it was actually a sting led by a woman called Annmarie and his victim was just a figment of her imagination.

Judge Norman Wright, conceded: “Mary did not exist as a real person” but still jailed Smith for 25 months.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how she lured Smith by using an image of an American child model as her profile picture before reporting him to the police.

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said the woman talked to Smith between November 7 and 20 last year.

She received an unsolicited friend request from him on November 6 and they began a private inbox conversation.

The pair exchanged around 1,900 messages over 11 days – despite ‘Mary’ making it clear she was only 12.

The defendant said he was 44 and asked if it was okay for them to talk, before telling her she was “sexy”.

He talked about how she would soon go through puberty and invited her to perform sex acts on him.

Smith said he would like to have sex with her and outlined the dangers of her getting pregnant.

Ms Snowdon said: “He said ‘if anyone finds out you’re pregnant I will get locked up.”

Smith then discussed meeting up with her in Liverpool, where he was led to believe she lived.

Ms Snowdon said: “He said when her mum was out at work was a good opportunity for them to have sex.”

Smith told police that it was ‘Mary’ who sent him a friend request.

He claimed her profile said she was born in 1963 and did not initially have a picture.

Ms Snowdon said: “He said it was ‘all a bit of a laugh to wind her up’.

“He said he didn’t intend to meet her and denied that he had any paedophile tendencies.”

When his mobile phone was examined, police found he had also had an “inappropriate conversation” with a 15-year-old girl, but no charges were brought in relation to this.

Smith admitted attempting to incite a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Carmel Wilde, defending, said there wasn’t “a real victim”, which was “perhaps one saving grace”.

She said: “This was a group who essentially set themselves up to try and seek out groomers on the internet and that is exactly what happened. Thankfully there hasn’t been a victim who has suffered any psychological harm.”

Ms Wilde said her client had dyslexia, struggled to communicate and relied on his family for support with daily tasks.

She said he was depressed, had not developed any friendships or long-term relationships and “tried to find solace on the internet”.

Judge Wright said Smith’s actions could only be described as “grooming”.

He said: “Mary was a fictional identity assumed by a woman, who no doubt must have been motivated by the thought there were sexual predators on the internet.

“She created the false identity of Mary, a 12-year-old girl, and waited to see what happened. You happened.”

Judge Wright gave Smith a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.

February 2016

Woman receives caution for engaging in sexual activity in front of child

A woman has received a police caution for engaging in sexual activity in front of a child aged under 14-years-old for her own sexual gratification.

Shelley Mead, aged 35, formerly of Hessary Drive, Roborough in Plymouth but now living in St Austell in Cornwall was said to have been fully aware that the vulnerable schoolgirl saw what she was doing.

Mead asked the child to watch her playing with herself and even invited the girl to join in

February 2016

Paedophile jailed after trying to HYPNOTISE schoolboy before sexually assaulting him

A paedophile tried to hypnotise a schoolboy before sexually abusing him.

Patrick Hampson, 56, was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

The 56-year-old from Lord Nelson Street, Liverpool city centre, molested two children in the 1990s.

The monster abused the boys when one was aged 11 and the second between eight and 10.

Prosecutors said Hampson showed them his stash of adult pornography and even tried to hypnotise one of them before carrying out the sickening abuse.

Prosecuting, Lee Bonner said the defendant was around 32 when he began molesting Child A, adding that the victim recalled feeling “intimidated” by Hampson and was threatened and warned to keep quiet.

He said: “He was more ashamed than afraid and after that incident he says that he managed to stand up to him and that it never happened again.

“He however didn’t tell anybody about what had been happening until years later when in 2006, at age of about 25, he told his parents and first spoke to the police.”

Mr Bonner said Child B became aware of the allegations, but only felt able to speak to police in 2014. He then said he too had been abused by Hampson from the ages of eight and 10.

Mr Bonner said Hampson would have been aged between 34 and 37 at the time.

Child B also said he saw pornographic magazines and that Hampson performed sexual acts on him.

Mr Bonner said: “He didn’t tell anybody about what was happening to him at the time and didn’t know that he wasn’t the only one.”

Hampson told police he did not show porn to the boys and claimed they must have found the stash without his knowledge. He claimed both of the victims were lying – an assertion he repeated in court, when he insisted “nothing at all happened”.

Recorder David Turner, QC, said he read “very moving” statements from the two victims, one of whom has battled depression .

He said: “They have no doubt your behaviour has caused them severe psychological harm.”

Recorder Turner sentenced Hampson to six years behind bars and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He must sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Hampson nodded to the judge, but displayed no emotion as he was sent down, despite a woman shouting at him in the public gallery.

February 2016

One-legged animal & child abuse images pervert told he has “walked into trouble”

A judge told a one-legged pervert caught downloading child and animal abuse images that he had “walked into a world of trouble”.

Peter Westhead appeared in court today, February 17, after being trapped by an investigation carried out by the Metropolitan Police.

Officers executed a warrant to search the home of the 60-year-old on Underwood Avenue, Retford, where they found more than 113 images on his phone, and two videos.

They ranged from category C up to category A – the most extreme in nature – while police also found three images of a person engaging in sexual activity with an animal.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court, Westhead admitted six counts of downloading and distributing images.

Judge Stuart Rafferty QC ordered a probation report to be prepared on Westhead, and warned him that he faced jail.

He told him: “You have no previous convictions, but you have walked into a world of trouble.

“You have crossed a line and people who cross that line very seldom come back.

“You can fully expect and should expect that you will lose your liberty and you can have no complaint.

“I want to know how dangerous you are and if there’s any treatment that can be put in place to protect the public from you.”

Judge Rafferty then warned him that he must comply with the probation service.

“If you lie to the probation service and pretend it’s not serious, or that you bumbled in to it, I will disregard every single word you say to the probation service,” he said.

Westhead had appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court last month where he had been granted bail, however, Judge Rafferty ordered that he be kept on remand until his sentencing, due on March 9

February 2016

Pervert filmed young mum in changing rooms with his iPhone & CSA images

A pervert filmed a young mum as she changed in an adjoining cubicle following a swimming session, a court was told.

Ian McCreeth slid his iPhone under the cubicle wall in the communal changing area at the Meres Leisure Centre in Grantham.

Caroline Bradley, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court “The woman went to get changed in a cubicle.

“She could tell this defendant was in the adjoining cubicle. She was getting dressed when she saw a black I-phone come under the cubicle.

“She describes herself as freezing. When she looked again she saw the iPhone protruding over the top of the cubicle.”

Miss Bradley said the woman texted a friend who was also in the leisure centre and they contacted police.

McCreeth was traced and when his phone was examined police found the photographs of the woman. They also checked out his computer and discovered a stash of indecent photographs of children.

McCreeth,33, of Langdown Close, Bulwell, Notts, admitted a charge of voyeurism as a result of the incident on 21 July 2013. He also admitted three charges of possession of a total of 72 indecent images of children.

He was given a three year community order which includes participating in a sex offender treatment programme and ordered to pay £500 prosecution costs. He also given a five year sexual harm prevention order and banned from entering both female and unisex changing rooms.

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told him “It seems to me that the choice available to me is a relatively short custodial sentence or a community order for three years and participating in a sex offender treatment programme together with three years supervision.

“It seems to me that the community at large is better served by professionals trying to find what is behind this offending and try to reduce the risk of you committing this type of offence in the future.”

Michael Cranmer-Brown, defending, urged that McCreeth should receive treatment rather than jail.

February 2016

Pervert was caught with 4,000 child abuse images after tip-off

PERVERT Russell Kidd downloaded more than 4,000 indecent images of children on his computers.

The 32-year-old was arrested after police searched his home following a tip-off.

Officers seized three devices which were analysed and found to contain child pornography.

In total they found 3,964 inaccessible images at category C; one image and 67 inaccessible ones at category B; and two images and 73 inaccessible images at category A – the most serious.

Kidd, who admitted the offending straight away, has now been handed a three-year community order as the judge hopes to rehabilitate him.

Prosecutor Emma Rutherford told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court police went to the defendant’s home on October 22 after receiving information.

Miss Rutherford said: “The defendant and his wife were there. He asked to speak to his wife alone. He then said to the officer that he had been stupid and needed help.

“Police seized electrical items including his PC tower and laptop. A number of indecent images and movies of children were found. A lot were inaccessible. It would suggest they had been previously deleted by the user.

“There were a number of internet searches.”

Kidd, of Belvoir Avenue, Trentham, pleaded guilty to nine offences of making indecent images of children.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said the defendant accepts he has a problem. But the court heard he has been working to address those issues by attending the Lucy Faithful Foundation.

Recorder Andrew Easteal sentenced Kidd to a three-year community order with a requirement he participates in the internet sex offender programme.

He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Recorder Easteal said: “Prison is something I have considered very carefully.

“There were internet searches done by you specifically looking for and targeting this sort of material.

“The reason that material exists is sexual gratification of the exploitation of children.

“The fact you feed it by providing a market for it means it is being done. What you look at you are responsible for.”

Kidd was also ordered to pay £350 costs.