February 2016

Pensioner admits sex offences

A 75-year-old man has pleaded guilty to sex offences. Patrick McMonagle, of Somme Park, Waterside, admitted six charges of indecent assault.

The offences were committed between February 1981 and December 1984 and involve one victim.

Derry Crown Court Judge Philip Babington adjourned sentencing for a pre-sentence report to be compiled.

Defence counsel Mark Reel said his client suffered from ill health and he would also be submitting a medical report.

McMonagle was released on continuing bail until April 5.

February 2016

Former soldier jailed for child sexual abuse and rape

An ex-soldier who raped a child under the age of 13 has been jailed for 14 years.

Gareth Wood, 34, committed serious sexual abuse offences and grooming, said Allister Walker, prosecuting at Canterbury Crown Court.

He said the offences came to light last year following a phone call to the police.

Wood, of Long Meadow Way, Canterbury, was arrested and admitted the offences.

His computer was seized and indecent images of children were found, along with search terms.

Wood, who had no previous convictions, admitted nine charges of serious sexual abuse of a child under 13, including rape.

February 2016

Au-pair living in homeless unit convicted of child abuse images charges

Spanish au-pair who was living with a family in South Lanarkshire after being hired to care for their children is facing jail after vile indecent images was discovered on his computer.

Ivan Sanchez (20), who subsequently moved into Lindsay House homeless unit in East Kilbride, had been hired by a mum-of-two to live and work with her family in Blantyre.

She posted an advert online and Sanchez travelled from his home in Tenerife after successfully passing interviews.

He moved to Scotland in September 2013 and began working in the house for £80 a week.

However, he refused to socialise outwith working hours even though he had been given an iPhone and a membership to a local gym by his employer.

Sanchez, who has an A-level in computing, would spend hours in his bedroom alone on his laptop.

He was then booted out of the house after police investigating online child pornography swooped. Sanchez then moved to Lindsay House homeless unit.

His laptop was confiscated and found to have 77 disgusting images and videos of child abuse on it.

He even had a picture of extreme pornography involving a horse on one file.

None of the images involved the family.

A trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court saw Sanchez deny five charges and insist he had not downloaded any of the images, but he did admit they were found on his laptop.

However a jury took less than an hour to convict him.

The offences, which also included distributing an indecent photo of a child, took place between September 18, 2011 and April 13, last year.

Sentence was deferred on Sanchez until March 9 for background reports and a risk assessment to be obtained.

He was detained in custody and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register meantime.

February 2016

Recluse caught with ‘disgusting and disgraceful’ child abuse images

A RECLUSE caught with hundreds of child abuse images on his computer got “no sexual gratification” from viewing the pictures, a court heard.

Nicholas Blick, 41, of Pullman Drive, Salisbury, admitted possessing more than 300 indecent images of children.

Some of them showed children being restrained and bound by the wrists and ankles, Salisbury Crown Court heard today.

Others included victims as young as five years old.

In all, 33 category A photographs, five category B photographs, 276 category C photographs, and two videos — one category A and one category B — were found on Blick’s hard drive.

The category A video was 43 minutes long and included footage of a five-year-old child.

Detectives also found Blick had been actively searching for child abuse images online, and had deleted a number of images.

He admitted the images were his, but was surprised by their number and quality, the court heard.

Defending, Lucy Conroy said Blick had isolated himself and lived as a recluse.

She said her client’s crimes were “deeply unpalatable”, adding: “There’s no getting away from that. He does understand how serious this is.”

Miss Conroy said Blick had been “stuck in a downward spiral” for three years, had lost his job, developed rheumatoid arthritis and gained excessive weight.

He lives in supported council housing, surrounded by disabled people, has no friends and has been single since 2007, the court heard.

“He turned to the internet as a form of escapism,” Miss Conry said, adding that he had “downloaded an awful lot of stuff, not just these images.”

Sentencing Blick to a three-year community order, the highest level community order available, Judge Andrew Barnett said: “You will be monitored. Society can rest assured you are being watched.

“You must understand that people who look at these disgusting and disgraceful pictures sometimes and often go to prison.

“Certainly I had considered that at the outset.

“You are a man of relatively good character, you have had a number of difficulties, you have not enjoyed the best of health.

“But you must learn it is totally unacceptable to society for someone to behave like that because it exploits the subjects of the pictures, some of whom are very young.

“Mercifully you weren’t sharing these images with anyone else, otherwise you would certainly be going to prison.”

Blick will be subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

February 2016

Earley man who sexually assaulted child outside chip shop jailed

A 25-year-old from Earley who met his 13-year-old victim at a chip shop before forcing her to engage in sexual activity has been jailed.

Matthew Bates, of Bosham Close, took the teenage girl to a chip shop so she could buy dinner for her mum just 48 hours after beginning to groom her online.

A judge described Bates’ behaviour as “squalid and shocking” after hearing the pair met up just two days after their first contact on the dating app “Meet Me.”

The court heard Bates bombarded his victim with ‘sexts’ after meeting her on the dating app.

The girl performed a sex act on him in his car moments after she had been inside the Mr Cod chip shop to buy a meal to take home for her mother.

She also sent a topless photo on the orders of Bates, who encouraged her during the disgusting text exchange.

Bates admitted two offences but did not accept a third, of engaging in sexual activity with a child, until his trial had already started.

Just before the 13-year-old girl was about to start giving evidence to the jury Bates finally admitted his guilt and changed his plea.

On Thursday, February 18 Bates was spending his 25th birthday in a prison cell after being jailed for nearly four years at Reading Crown Court.

He will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register until further notice.

The charges

• possession of an indecent image of a child – admitted

• inciting a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity – admitted

• sexual activity with a child – admitted during trial

• arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence – will remain on file

Judge: “You must have realised there was a danger of this child being genuinely vulnerable and distressed”

The court was told Bates started sending messages to the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after meeting her on the Meet Me app on November 30 last year.

He was told very early on that the girl, who said on her profile that she was 21, was in fact only 13 years old.

Two days after beginning the text messages Bates met the girl in his car outside the Mr Cod in Cumberland Road, Reading .

Passing sentence, Judge Ian Grainger told Bates: “The messages immediately became explicit and within no time at all – on page two of 29 pages of transcripts – she reveals she was in fact only 13.

“The sex talk continued despite you learning her age.

“At one point she also sent a photograph of her naked upper half.

“She made plain she lived with her parents but was unhappy at home. She asked you if she could move in with you. Amidst the welter of sexual suggestions, you said yes, though in reality of course there was never any question of her moving in with you.

“You must have realised, if you thought about it, there was a danger of this child being genuinely vulnerable and distressed.

“You sent her a message saying the more you do – meaning the more you do sexually – it will help get you moved in.

“You asked to touch her below the waist and she said no. You had said she could 100 per cent stay with you if she let you touch her below the waist.”

Gabrielle McAvock, prosecuting, told the court: “Grooming behaviour applies in the facts of this case in that the child was saying she was unhappy at home and the defendant said she could live with him, which was clearly not true as he was living with his girlfriend’s parents.”

Giuseppina Silvio, defending, said Bates did not initially accept the charge of engaging in sexual activity with a child because he had not been represented by a solicitor in two of his interviews with police and had not taken legal advice. She said that had she acted for him from the outset, she would have told him to admit the charge.

Miss Silvio told the court the police only became aware of the existence of the topless photo of the girl when Bates told them about it.

She said: “There is huge remorse by this young man.

“It took enormous courage, in the middle of a trial, to admit to that offence, particularly in the presence of his parents and girlfriend.

“His parents have supported him throughout and told him regardless of what his plea was, they would be here to support him.

“The crux of the problem came when he moved in with his girlfriend. They found it financially difficult so they moved in with her parents, so they could save to start a future together.

“The non-private type of life they were living had a negative impact on them.

“His escape was using this app, when he started sexting this young girl. It was a culmination of being trapped, feeling unhappy and needing some escapism.”

She said Bates’ girlfriend will stand by him despite the offences.

Sending Bates to begin his sentence Judge Grainger said: “This was a squalid and shocking episode involving a girl who was ten years beneath your own age and some considerable distance below the age of consent.

“The law is there to protect young girls against themselves and against adults who abuse them.

“Only a substantial term of imprisonment is possible.”

Bates was jailed for three years and nine months on the charge of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

He was given concurrent one-year terms for the other two charges and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the Sex Offenders’ Register until further order. He was also ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge.

A fourth charge, of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, was not proceeded with and will remain on file.

February 2016

Derbyshire paedophile jailed for downloading more than 9,000 images of children

A PAEDOPHILE who downloaded more than 9,000 indecent images and movies of children has been jailed for 15 months.

Ian Watkin, who denies possessing indecent images, was found guilty by a jury at Derby Crown Court.

Jailing the 44-year-old, Judge Robert Egbuna said that when he gave evidence in his trial he had been “unbelievable and, at times, fanciful”.

He said: “You sought to blame absolutely everyone – that they were responsible for downloading the images. You’re someone who doesn’t in any way recognise the harm caused by this type of offending.”

The court heard that when police searched Watkin’s Long Eaton home in 2013 they seized computer equipment. When this was analysed, officers discovered 50 category A (the most extreme level) images and movies; 40 category B images and movies and 9,324 category C images.

Judge Egbuna said to Watkin: “The evidence from experts suggested that from you there were searches in relation to one of the sharing facilities of terms such as ‘pre-teen sex’.”

The court heard that Watkin had also used search terms such as “Thai Lolita”, which would more likely have brought up images of young girls modelling.

Matthew Buckland, for Watkin, said: “The defendant’s pre-sentence report maintains, pretty much, what he said during the course of the trial, and for those reasons, in the face of a continuing denial, he is assessed as not being suitable for treatment.

“He’s a man of 44 years of age and has one very old unrelated matter (previous conviction). He has adjusted to custody. He acknowledges he must receive a custodial sentence. He is concerned about his time in custody but he has adjusted.”

Watkin, now of Farndale Close, Long Eaton, was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. He must also obey a sexual harm prevention order for an indefinite period.

February 2016

“Wicked and unrepentant” paedophile who abused girls decades apart jailed for 11 and a half years

A “wicked and unrepentant” paedophile who abused two girls in incidents nearly three decades apart was jailed for 11 and a half years.

Roger Lee, 74, from Burscough, tried to molest the first child in the 1980s, before raping and sexually assaulting the second youngster in the 2000s.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how the pensioner, who served in the Army for 22 years, left his victims with severe psychological harm.

Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, said: “I recognise your best years are now behind you, but I cannot ignore the fact that while you were enjoying your life, your victims were struggling to deal with the consequences of what you had done to them.”

Neville Biddle, prosecuting, said the first girl was 11 when she saw Lee watching pornography on TV.

He invited her to sit beside him and tried to make her perform a sex act on him, but she resisted his advances.

She told the court she was consumed by guilt about not speaking out at the time, because if she had, the second victim may not have been targeted.

The victim said: “The decision I made then will haunt me to the end of my life.”

She now struggles to trust people and has experienced anxiety and flashbacks.

Lee sexually assaulted his second victim when she was 12, after she too saw him watching porn.

He raped her before apologising for his behaviour, which Judge Flewitt said was “hollow and meaningless”.

He then assaulted the girl again on another occasion.

The victim told the court the abuse “destroyed her life” and she now feels “worthless”.

She suffered depression and underwent counselling, which led to her making a complaint to police. The first victim then came forward.

Lee, now of Woodlands Way, Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, initially admitted only the rape.

He pleaded guilty to indecency with a child and sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 on the day of a trial. He has no previous convictions.

Jonathan Goodman, defending, said there were references that showed a man “who in many respects led an exemplary life”.

He said: “I don’t suggest for one minute that they outweigh the actions to which he has pleaded guilty, but perhaps give some indication as to his overall character.

“Mr Lee’s army career seems to have also been unblemished and his work ethic thereafter remained high.”

Mr Goodman said his client, leaning on a walking stick in the dock, now fully accepted there were “no excuses” and was genuinely sorry.

However, Judge Flewitt said a pre-sentence report demonstrated his “complete failure to accept blame” and the harm he caused – displaying a “complete lack of remorse”.

The judge told Lee to sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and gave him an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He said: “You are in my view both wicked and unrepentant.”

February 2016

Teacher jailed for secretly filming teenage girl

A teacher at a leading Wirral school was jailed for 12 months today after secretly filming a schoolgirl.

Michael Smith, the shamed former head of science at boys grammar school, St Anselm’s College in Birkenhead, had admitted voyeurism and taking indecent images.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that after being confronted by the victim’s mum he cowardly fled to North Wales “selfishly” threatening to kill himself.

Jailing him Judge Robert Warnock told him: “It is a sad fact that your rational and intellectual powers were not matched your understanding or insight into the emotions and needs of others compared to your own selfish desire for sexual gratification.”

He pointed out that despite having been caught out filming his teen victim showering, after placing a hidden video camera, he went on to later repeat his perverted behaviour by using another hidden device to film her being intimate with her boyfriend.

Neville Biddle, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that after his victim found the first camera she confronted 53-year-old Smith but he made a spurious excuse and because of her embarrassment she did not tell anyone.

But four months later she discovered he had again been filming her while she had been with her boyfriend and she told her mum who notified the police.

Mr Biddle read a moving impact statements from the victim who described him as “a weirdo. He is a monster deserving to be punished.”

Officers recovered his computer and recording equipment including 22 videos.

Hours of footage included one Category B – the second most serious category – and 21 Category C indecent clips.

Divorcee Smith, of Grosvenor Road, Claughton, pleaded guilty to two offences of voyeurism and two of making indecent images/movies of children

Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said that Smith, who has no previous convictions and has resigned from his job, is “terribly, terribly sorry.”

He did not understand why he had behaved as he had.

He had lived an exemplary life but it went into a downward spiral. He was suffering stress from work and emotional problems

November 2010

Newsagent jailed for assaulting 11-year-old girl

A NEWSAGENT assaulted an 11-year old girl in his shop 16 years after being jailed for sexual offences against children he employed to deliver papers.

Mohammed Asghar, 56, told his 11-year-old victim: “I am a therapist and that’s what therapists do”.

Asghar, a prisoner in Saughton, had pled guilty previously at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to assaulting the girl on June 17 this year in his shop, Moons Newsagents in Mayfield Place, Dalkeith.

Sentence was deferred until today for reports.

Asghar was jailed for five years at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1994 for offences involving three girls and a boy, aged between 10 and 15 years, in his shop in Leith.

The 11-year old and a nine year old friend had gone into the shop to buy sweets.

The 11-year old asked for a tissue as her hands were dirty with bird droppings. Asghar asked the girls to go into the back shop.

He then locked the front door and closed the window shutters. Going out to his car he locked the girls inside. After a short while he returned and asked the nine-year old to go into the front shop.

The 11-year old was sitting in a chair and Asghar wet a tissue and began rubbing her legs with it and moving his hands under her shorts.

When the girl asked what he was doing, he replied: “I am a therapist and that’s what therapists do”.

He then lifted up her top, groped and kissed her.

The girl became scared and then her friend shouted that she had to go home as she had a school project to complete. Asghar opened the door and shutters, gave the 11-year old a magazine and told her not to tell her mother.

Defence solicitor, John Scott, told Sheriff Isabella McColl that in some cases there was an element of denial by an accused, but Asghar had co-operated fully in the compilation of the reports. The reports said there was work that could be done with him and suggested his taking part in the Community Sex Offenders Group programme for a period of two years.

Mr Scott added: “It is worth noting in this situation that the complainer came into his shop, obviously for entirely innocent purposes. It is not the case that the accused came out looking for a child or grooming them”.

Sheriff McColl said she had to take regard of Asghar’s previous conviction and that in this case there had been an element of trust involved. She highlighted his locking the doors so that the girls could not leave and drawing the blinds so that others could not see what was happening.

She imposed an extended sentence of four years and nine months, with a custodial element of one year and nine months and three years supervision.

September 2007

Man jailed for sexually assaulting girl

A 41-year-old man who indecently assaulted a teenage girl has been jailed for ten months by a judge at Bradford Crown Court.

Although Sean Canavan, of Dudley Street, Tyersal, Bradford, pleaded guilty to the offence Judge Roger Scott said he was only entitled to a ten per cent discount on his sentence because his plea had come at the last possible opportunity.

Prior to his trial Canavan maintained that the 16-year-old victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had made up the allegation and that he was being set up.

Even after admitting the offence at trial Canavan went on to make an application to change his plea, but that was later withdrawn.

Canavan’s barrister Tahir Khan conceded that his protestations of innocence demonstrated a refusal to acknowledge his wrong-doing, but in the end he had made a frank admission to a probation officer.

Mr Khan said Canavan was a decent, hard-working man who regretted his actions and he urged Judge Scott to consider suspending any prison sentence.

But Judge Scott said although Canavan’s references described him as a ‘trustworthy” man that was transparently not the case.

Prosecutor Nicholas Worsley read from the girl’s victim impact statement in which she described how the incident of indecent touching had made her feel like she could not trust anyone, particularly men.

As well as jailing Canavan Judge Scott also said he would have to register as a sex offender with the police for the next ten years.

Canavan will also be subject to an indefinite sexual offences prevention order which restricts any unsupervised contact with children.

February 2016

‘Wicked and dangerous’ sexual predator who raped eight-year-old girls

A vile sexual predator who raped two eight-year-old girls and indecently assaulted a three-year-old, and then recorded his sick crimes on camera, has been jailed for 14 years.

Balvinder Kangh, aged 60, recorded the attacks for his own gratification. The young girls could be heard crying in the footage.

Recorder Barry Berlin, sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, told Kangh: “This is just despicable behaviour.

“You are a wicked and dangerous man who is a high risk to children and you must be locked away for a considerable period of time.”

The court heard how footage of him abusing an eight-year-old girl was found on his USB flash drive, some 10 years after the first attack.

Prosecutor Ms Michelle Heeley told the court: “The girl can be seen telling him on the video footage that she didn’t want to do anything, but he does so anyway.”

Kangh was arrested on June 8, 2015.

His address was searched where the electronic device was found.

Ms Heeley said after he was interviewed by police further video footage was found with sex offences against two other children.

She said one girl in the footage was ‘crying and whimpering’ during an attack and another film showed abuse of a three-year-old.

“There is no evidence that he distributed the footage, it appears he just made them for his own sexual gratification,” she added.

Kangh, of Rosemary Cresent West, Goldthorn Park, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to nine counts of raping a child, one of sexual assault against a child under the age of 13 and one of taking indecent images of children.

Recorder Berlin told Kangh: “I am sentencing you for some of the vilest offences known to criminal law – child rape, filming and taking indecent photographs of children and causing a three-year-old to perform sexual acts.

“You took the children individually and abused them in the most dreadful ways.

“We all know that offences of this kind have a devastating impact on the victims, and it will also have a huge impact on your own family.

“The damage that you have caused to all these people is incalculable.

“You made these recordings of children for your own gratification, you did all sorts of unspeakable things.

“What I found particularly disturbing about this case was that from the videos, it was clear that you put these girls under pressure to do what you wanted them to do.”

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

February 2016

‘Depraved’ paedophile jailed after admitting almost 20 child sex offences

A “depraved” paedophile has been jailed for 16 years after admitting almost 20 child sex offences.

Julian King, 53, groomed two schoolgirls – one who was aged under 16 and one under 13 when the abuse happened – before preying on them during a 12 year period. 

He was arrested after a victim contacted police in 2014 to inform them of abuse she suffered at his hands between 2003 and 2009. 

Detectives then identified another of King’s victims, who he abused in south London between 1997 and 1999. 

King, from Waltham Forest, was jailed for 16 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday. 

King was sentenced for the following:

• Five counts of Rape/attempt rape of a child – 10 years’ imprisonment

• Three counts of Indecency with a child – three years’ imprisonment, concurrent

• Three counts of Indecency with a child – three years’ imprisonment, concurrent but to run consecutively with the above

• Three counts of Indecent assault- two years concurrent

• Sexual assault of a child – two years concurrent

• Sexual activity with a child – three years concurrent

• Taking indecent images of a child – two years concurrent

February 2016

Pervert had 1,254 indecent images of kids

Perverted Sunil Khetia has avoided prison after downloading more than 1,000 indecent images of children.

 The photographs were found on the 33-year-old’s computer after police raided his Newcastle home.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard officers recovered 1,254 images including 644 in Category A – the most serious classification.

Prosecutor Joanne Barker said: “The defendant’s home address was searched on April 28, 2014.

“A number of items of computer equipment were seized.

“He was arrested and even before the equipment had been analysed he made full admissions as to what would be found on it.

“He indicated he had been viewing such items over a period of time.”

The court heard there were only 67 images remaining on the computer – the rest had been deleted by the defendant but were recovered during the analysis.

Miss Barker added: “The images included children of pre-pubescent and infant age.

“The defendant was interviewed and expressed remorse for his actions.”

Khetia, of Freehold Street, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children.

The court heard that the defendant had no previous convictions, and had a job and a ‘long-suffering and very tolerant partner’ who stood by him.

Recorder Andrew Easteal handed the defendant a three-year community order with three years supervision.

He must also complete the internet sex offender programme.

Recorder Easteal told Khetia that downloading indecent images created a demand for more to be produced in future.

He said: “You may think that what you did sits in isolation and that there is little harm done because these images are out there. But children are being abused and money is being made because of people like you, who will look at it and then perpetuate this industry.

“There is nothing more deplorable than the treatment of children in this way.”

The defendant was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

February 2016

Pervert avoids jail sentence despite being caught with sick photos of children

A Clitheroe man has avoided an immediate jail term despite being convicted on ten counts of making indecent photographs of children.

Adam Watkin, 27, was given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, when he appeared before a judge at Preston Crown Court.

Watkin, of Pinder Close, was ordered to pay £575 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £100.

He must given a notification requirement to the vetting and barring agency for five years and enrol into a sex offenders’ treatment programme with the probation service for two years, and forfeit his computer and all images.

He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.

February 2016

Oil worker caught with thousands of indecent images of children

A north-east oil worker has been placed on the sex offenders register after being caught with thousands of indecent images of children.

Alan Sutherland appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday and admitted downloading 2,440 pictures to his computer over the course of five months while he lived at 9 Allandale Gardens, Kintore.

He also admitted being in possession of the pictures on March 10 last year.

Fiscal depute Lynzi Souter said 947 of the obscene images were classed as being at level A – the highest end of the scale.

The court heard 867 of the images were classified as level B and 626 were deemed to be level C.

Representing the first offender, solicitor Les Green said his client had been in the “habit” of visiting adult porn sites and had gradually started to view the indecent images.

He said the 59-year-old worked in the oil and gas industry and was based in Denmark.

Mr Green added that the conviction would “probably result in the termination of his employment”.

Sheriff Annella Cowan deferred sentence for background reports but warned Sutherland that given the number of images involved at a high level, he was facing jail.

He was placed on the sex offenders register and he will return to court next month

February 2016

Nappy-fetish paedophile spared prison for child abuse images offences

A MAN with a fetish for children wearing nappies has narrowly avoided jail.

Police swooped on Andrew Gulliford’s home in Abingdon in November 2014 after receiving a tip-off he had been accessing indecent images of children on the internet.

When officers searched the home in Purslane they found a laptop with 27 indecent images of children – two at the highest category.

Prosecutor Cathy Olliver told Oxford Crown Court yesterday that the 39-year-old admitted sharing images with other paedophiles.

She said: “He said he loves nappies and has a sexual preference for people in nappies, no matter what age.

“He said he prefers three to five year olds.”

The court heard Gulliford used the pictures for his own sexual gratification.

Gulliford admitted making and distributing indecent images of children between April and November 2014.

But David Howell, defending, said his client and given a “full and frank” account to police about what happened and was seeking help.

Mr Howell said Gulliford was paying £45 a month for software on his computer to block child pornography and had signed up for a support course.

Judge Ian Pringle said it was a really serious offence that passed the custody threshold.

But he said because Gulliford had shown regret, got new software for his computer and signed up to a support course, he could suspend the sentence.

Gulliford was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years with an 18-month supervision order and 180 hours unpaid work.

He was also given a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and made to sign the sex offenders register.

February 2016

Facebook predator jailed for offering to pay schoolgirls for sex

A Facebook predator has been jailed after he used the social media site to offer schoolgirls money for sex.

Connor Larbalestier tried to persuade girls as young as 13 to send him nude pictures of themselves and asked one girl if she would sleep with him for £500.

Larbalestier was aged 18 or 19 at the time and used Facebook to contact girls who he had never met because he was immature and naive, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He had previously had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 17 and police found two indecent pictures of her on his phone when he was arrested.

Larbalestier carried on using Facebook to contact girls even after he had been interviewed by the police but he always denied ever trying to arrange a face to face meeting with them.

Larbalestier, 20, of Bladon Close, Newton Abbot, admitted two offences of sexual activity with a child, three of inciting children aged 12, 13, and 14, to engage in sexual activity, and two of possessing indecent images.

He was jailed for 18 months in a young offenders’ institution by Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, who also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will restrict Larbalestier’s use of social media after his release.

He told him: “Cases of this sort are sadly becoming far too common. These are serious matters which are a cause for concern

“An aggravating feature is that in some of these cases you were on bail but continued this activity for reasons I find hard to understand.

“You knew the age of the girls you contacted and initiated totally unsuitable conversations with them about sexual matters.”

Richard Crabb, for the prosecution, said the Facebook offences took place last year when the defendant contacted three girls and started sexualised conversations.

They culminated in him asking one girl if she would sleep with him for £500 and offering a 13-year-old money and a mobile phone if she performed online sex acts for him.

Joss Ticehurst, for the defence, said Larbalestier was isolated by his autism and the offences arose from his immaturity and naivety.

He said that despite their young ages the girls had reacted robustly and had told him to “p*** off” when he made his lewd suggestions.

August 2007: Released on Licence which expires in January 2011. However he is required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to a sex offenders prevention order for an indefinite period. Now living back in Knottingley

October 2005

Pervert found guilty of multiple sexual offences against children

A paedophile has been found guilty of a string of sexual offences against two young girls

Electrical company employee Edward O’Rourke, 47 of the Warwick Estate Knottingley was sentenced at Leeds Crown court.

The court heard that O’Rourke had been a family friend for over two decades before the abuse started.

In early 2004, O’Rourke plied one victim, who was aged just 12-years-old with alcohol and proceeded to molest and sexually touch the young girl. Indecent photos of the same girl were also taken by O’Rourke.

The victim disclosed the abuse she suffered to a neighbour. The neighbour immediately alerted her parents and the police were called.

After a thorough investigation by police, and denial made by the defendant, a trial was set for the February 2005.

However the trial was adjourned two days before the start as prosecution had uncovered evidence that O’Rourke had in fact been in court before for similar offences

The new trial was set for June 2005

The court was told that the victims – two young sisters – both attempted suicide in the months leading up to the new trial.

O’Rourke eventually stood trial at Leeds crown court and flatly denied all the charges he faced.

The trial lasted just two days before the jury were sent out to consider their verdicts. The jury soon returned with a unanimous verdict of guilt on all charges

Summing up the case Judge Kerry Macgill told O’Rourke: “The Jury was not aware of your alleged past, but I certainly am”

O’rourke was sentenced to three years imprisonment on each count to run concurrent.

He was told he would be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to a sex offenders prevention order for an indefinite period

February 2016

Man sentenced after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation

A 43-year-old man from Corby was yesterday sentenced to four years and four months in prison at Northampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation offences.

Steven Kightley, aged 43, from Stamford Walk, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of child abduction, sexual activity with a child and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. 

DC Carol Strike, from the county’s specialist multi-agency Reducing Incidents of Sexual Exploitation (RISE) team who conducted the investigation, said: “This was a prolonged investigation and I hope the conclusion of the case and the sentence given will provide some closure for the victim, who was only 13 at the time the offences were committed.’’

February 2016

Former national basketball coach jailed for 14 for child sex abuse

A former national basketball coach has been jailed for 14 years and two months for abusing ten boys in the 1980s.

Bill Kenneally was sentenced at Waterford Circuit Court this morning.

Judge Eugene O’Kelly said the ten counts were a representative sample of more than 70 charges before the court.

The offences occurred over a four-year period in the mid 1980s.

The judge said Kenneally came from a relatively privileged background and worked as an accountant and that he had an appetite for the sexual gratification of young boys.

The offences happened in Kenneally’s home, in his car or at various other locations.

The court heard gardaí were aware of an informal complaint in 1987 but that the current prosecution came from victims going to gardaí in 2012.

Judge O’Kelly said Kenneally had taken on the guise of being a coach or a mentor and that he groomed the boys for sexual exploitation for months and years.

He had money at a time when many were struggling and spent this money on cars which made an impression on the boys.

He gave the victims money, initially appearing as a gift, but then as a debt which they had to work off for Kenneally’s gratification. 

The abuse was very similar for each of the boys, the court heard. 

The judge highlighted some examples of the abuse, saying each victim had suffered devastating psychological consequences.

He said the victim-impact statements make harrowing reading.

He said the boys were powerless to prevent the abuse, with some suffering from alcohol dependency and depression and one contemplated suicide.

Four of the victims chose to waive their anonymity to speak out after the case. 

The four men  – Colin Power, Jason Clancy, Kevin Keating and Barry Murphy – said they were speaking on behalf of all victims, but especially Kenneally’s victims.

“The victim impact statements took a huge amount out of us,” said Mr Clancy.

“I’ve been through a lot, my family has been through a lot. I needed closure and today has given me that,” said Mr Murphy (pictured, far right).

The men say there are many more questions left to be answered, in particular about who knew what in the 1970s, 80s and 90s about Kenneally.

During sentencing the judge also said that family life had suffered and one of the boys was abused on the very morning he was to sit an examination.

“You have all been robbed of the innocence of your childhood,” Judge O’Kelly said. 

The judge said there are very strict sentencing guidelines and that the law for sentencing applies to the time the offence occurred, when the maximum sentence was two years in prison, pre-1991.

Since then the law has been changed to a maximum of 14 years, reflecting contemporary society’s repugnance of abuse, he said. 

He said the aggravating factors included the nature of the abuse, the effect on the victims, the intensity of the abuse, which he described as being on the upper end of the scale.

He said Kenneally gained the trust of the boys as a soccer coach, or at basketball or tennis club. 

This was all manipulative grooming for the abuse which was to follow. 

Another factor, he said, was the persistence of the abuse, over many years.

A fifth factor is the number of victims involved.

The number may be double what Kenneally told gardaí but the judge said he is only concerned with the ten victims before the court.

A sixth factor was the group participation of the boys, creating a distorting perception which might be considered the norm, Judge O’Kelly said.

The use of devices such as handcuffs is another factor, he said. 

He said some of the victims were tied to trees and left for a time at night. 

And he said the use of alcohol was another factor as it was used to facilitate the abuse, with Kenneally never drinking himself. 

The payment of money was another aggravating factor, with substantial amounts of money given to the boys, which was bribery.

The maximum sentence of two years on each count is warranted, Judge O’Kelly concluded. 

The Association overseeing basketball in Ireland has said it was not contacted about Kenneally before 2013.

Basketball Ireland said that Tusla, the agency responsible for child protection, did not contact them.

Tusla was contacted by gardaí in Waterford in December 2012 after Kenneally’s house had been searched and he had spoken to them.

In April 2013, the story broke in the media and Basketball Ireland said it was not notified by any local club of any contact with Tusla.

The association said that when it became aware of the arrest in 2013, it made contact with the local basketball community in Waterford and got the name of the Chief Superintendent in charge.

Basketball Ireland Secretary General Bernard O’Byrne initiated contact to offer assistance and put the association at the disposal of gardaí for any investigation.

Mr O’Byrne told gardaí at that time that no record or documentation of any issue regarding Kenneally was in existence.

Kenneally served as Team Manager for the Ireland Senior Men’s side in 1991 but the association says further information is not currently to hand.

It said it will undertake to source further information.

In a statement to RTÉ, Tusla said An Garda Síochána made contact in relation to this case in December 2012.

The agency said contact with gardaí was ongoing subsequent to this in relation to the provision of support services for the families affected.

It also said that the agency’s social workers reviewed whether there was, at that time, an ongoing risk to children and that certain protective measures were undertaken.

The agency did not expand on what these measures were but RTÉ understands that Kenneally remained as a contact on a website for a basketball club for some time in 2012 and 2013.