April 2016

Pervert groomed vulnerable schoolgirl

A pervert groomed a vulnerable schoolgirl by sending her pictures of wedding dresses and telling her he wanted to have a baby with her.

Craig Mullen, 40, has been locked up for 18 months after targeting the 15-year-old on Facebook and by text message

During the grooming campaign, Mullen sent the teenager images of eight wedding dresses and said he wanted to marry her

He also told her he loved her, had been dreaming about her, and wanted a baby with her – and went on to touch her leg, hips and bottom.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the schoolgirl already had problems and the offending by Mullen made things worse.

Mullen, from Blyth Northumberland, was jailed by Judge Paul Sloan QC after pleading guilty to sexual assault and grooming.

Judge Sloan told him: “Notwithstanding that you were aware of her difficulties and the fact she was only 15, you sexually assaulted her.

“You also sent her numerous text messages which became more and more inappropriate, saying you wanted to be there for her, give her cuddles and that you loved her and wanted to make love and make a baby.

“You also invited her to choose a wedding dress from eight images.”

The judge added: “Her self harming behaviour escalated significantly once you started abusing her.

“There was significant planning and grooming, you specifically targeted a vulnerable child and there was a significant disparity of age.”

The court heard Mullen was in contact with the girl on Facebook and by text message.

The victim, who was already having issues, disclosed last December that he was making her feel uncomfortable.

Prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said: “She said the defendant sent her texts and touched her back, hip and leg.

“He had also sent some images of wedding dresses.

“In text messages he said he wanted to give her cuddles, that she was pretty and he loved her and wanted to have a baby with her.

“He said he was dreaming about her and sent her eight images of wedding dresses.”

When Mullen was interviewed, he said he knew the girl was having a hard time and wanted to “keep her morale up”.

Mr Wardlaw said: “He said he cared about her and loved her.

“He admitted sending texts saying he wanted to marry her and asking her if she wanted to make love and make a baby.

“He also admitted sending her eight wedding dress images and said he wanted to marry her.

“He said he knew she wanted a baby and wanted to make a baby to make her feel better.”

The court heard the offending has had a bad effect on the girl and her family.

Mullen, of Inglewood Close, Blyth, pleaded guilty to grooming and two counts of sexual assault and was jailed for 18 months, must sign the sex offenders register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

April 2016

Girl told Middlesbrough internet gamer she was 14 – but he still asked for sex

An internet pervert has been banned from contacting under-age girls after asking for sex from a woman he thought was 14.

John Hopper, 37, from Middlesbrough, met the woman – actually aged 19 – on a Facebook game site and told her: “You’re cute.”

The girl, really a student in Liverpool, reported Hopper – and he was convicted of attempting to incite sexual activity with a child after a two day trial.

Prosecutor Alex Menary told Teesside Crown Court at his sentencing yesterday that Hopper was told he was speaking to 14-year-old girl, but within six minutes he was asking her to go out with him.

Hopper added: “Why don’t you come and stay with me for the weekend?” before telling her he wanted to have oral sex and full sexual intercourse with her.

Mr Menary said the chat continued for four to five hours, and Hopper contacted her again the next day.

She contacted the authorities, and police officers turned up at Hopper’s Cargo Fleet Lane home.

He said in interview: “I know she’s 14, I was really drunk.”

But he told officers he had no intention of going through with it, saying it was just harmless banter, and that he thought she was actually 17.

Adrian Dent, defending, said Hopper lived a solitary life and had some mental health issues in the past.

He added: “Hopefully, going through the system will have had such an effect on him that it will prevent any further such conduct.

“He does maintain that he has no sexual attraction for young children.”

Judge Howard Crowson told Hopper: “This action reveals a desire to have sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl.

“You were encouraging sexual activity, and she was not in fact a child.”

Hopper was given an eight month jail sentence suspended for two years.

He was also issued with a sexual offences harm prevention order banning him from unsupervised contact with under-age girls until further notice, and was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

April 2016

Sex offender abused children for more than a decade

A sex offender who preyed on children for more than a decade was jailed for seven years.

Michael Grieve, 66, began abusing one victim from the age of ten and started having sex with her from the age of 12, telling her to keep it a secret.

He targeted another victim from the age of eight and committed further indecency offences against two 12-year-old girls.

A judge told Grieve at the High Court in Edinburgh that his crimes were “an appalling course of conduct against children”.

Lord Bannatyne said: “The offences before me are of the most serious nature. The charges extend over a considerable period of time and involve no less than four victims.

“These sort of offences clearly do have a major impact on the victims.”

Lord Bannatyne jailed Grieve for a further three months after more than 400 child sexual abuse images, featuring girls aged between 10 and 14, were found on computer equipment seized from his home in Kirkcaldy.

He told Grieve that he would be placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Grieve, of High Street, Kirkcaldy had earlier admitted seven indecency offences against children committed between 1979 and 1993 at houses in the Fife town, Angus and Perthshire, and during car journeys.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing and making indecent photos of children at a house in Myrtle Crescent, in Kirkcaldy, prior to December 30 in 2012.

One of his victims, a 45-year-old woman, contacted police to report Grieve, which set off a train of further disclosures from others who revealed the abuse they had suffered at his hands.

Grieve was questioned by police about the allegations made by the first woman to come forward and claimed they were made up.

Defence counsel Brian McConnachie QC said: “He fully accepts that there is no alternative, in the particular circumstances of this case, to a custodial sentence,”

The defence counsel said Grieve had indicated he was “thoroughly ashamed” for his past actions.

April 2016

Retired police officer caught with 353 indecent images of children

A retired police officer was placed on three years probation on Friday after child porn was found on his computer equipment.

Eric McIlveen – who served in the police for 30 years – was also made the subject of a seven-year Sexual Offenders Prevention Order (SOPO).

Belfast Crown Court heard the 71-year old, from Stirling Road in Belfast, was caught with 353 indecent images of children along with two videos.

Prosecutor Simon Jenkins said McIlveen’s home was searched on May 6, 2015 by officers acting on information that indecent images were being accessed from that address.

McIlveen’s computer and laptop were seized and the images were located following a forensic examination of the equipment.

The pensioner admitted to police that he had clicked on images of young children, but claimed he had then deleted them. He subsequently pleaded guilty to 12 counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, and of possessing an extremely pornography image.

Defence solicitor Darren Duncan said McIlveen came before the court with a clear criminal record.

Mr Duncan said that when police first arrived at his client’s home, McIlveen “made it clear … it was him they needed to speak to.”

The solicitor spoke of McIlveen’s long police career before revealing that the offending was “a combination of many things” including a family tragedy and ill health, which contributed to him “moving towards porn online.”

Mr Duncan also told the court that McIlveen was remorseful and had shown insight.

Judge Gordon Kerr QC spoke of the “serious abuse” suffered by the children in the images and video “in order to satisfy the interests of people like this defendant.” He also branding McIlveen’s offending as “unacceptable.”

April 2016

Southport paedophile who abused young girl hundreds of times is jailed

Police have praised the “immense bravery” of two women who were sexually abused by Southport paedophile John Durkin.

The sex predator was today jailed for 16 yerars at Liverpool Crown Court after he put his victims through the ordeal of two trials.

Durkin indecently assaulted one victim “on hundreds of occasions” when she was aged between seven and 11.

The 53-year-old then turned his predatory instincts to another young girl, who also lived in the Ainsdale area of Southport.

Recorder John Jones, QC, said Durkin’s first victim told the court she would see Durkin smiling at her “knowing what was to come”.

The judge said: “She said that smile and your face haunts her to this day.”

Durkin, of Mount Street, Southport, denied 18 counts of indecent assault at a trial last October, when a jury could not reach a verdict.

However, he was found guilty of all charges, relating to sexual offences in the 1980s and 1990s, following a second trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Recorder Jones said Durkin led a “sustained, coercive and abusive pattern of activity” against the first victim.

He said she came across as an “impressive and dignified witness” when recalling how he had “exploited her most cruelly”.

The judge said: “You believed you could abuse her with impunity.”

The first victim today said Durkin involved her in “twisted sexual games” that left her serving a “life sentence” of mental trauma, depression and anxiety.

The woman said she has since suffered from flashbacks and was frightened to go out in case she bumped into her tormentor.

She said: “I lived in constant fear of John Durkin. What he did to me will never ever go away.

“I had my childhood taken away from me.”

Recorder Jones told Durkin the second victim also “spoke with horror at the way she had been dealt with at your hands”.

Recorder Jones told Durkin to sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and also made him subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He said: “Neither girl was given the chance to avoid, let alone resist, your unwelcome advances.

February 2011

Man spared jail after exposing himself to girl

A MAN who exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl when he took out his bins in the nude has been spared jail.

Stephen Maddocks, 40, of The Avenue, St George, admitted being seen by the girl wearing no clothes on two occasions between July 12 and July 20 last year.

The first occasion he opened his front door while naked and said “hello” to her.

The second time he brought his rubbish out naked.

At Bristol Magistrates’ Court John Dyer, prosecuting, said that the “unsavoury matter” had been an extremely distressing experience for the girl, who was shocked and afraid of what Maddocks might do next.

He said following these two incidents the girl ran home and told her parents what had happened.

Mr Dyer said Maddocks claimed he had checked the coast was clear but that a police report about the view from the windows at the front of his house contradicted this.

He added that Maddocks had several previous convictions for sexual offences, including indecent exposure with intent to assault a female.

At his last appearance the court heard that in 2004, Maddocks was working as a delivery driver and was seen by a 14-year-old girl naked in her back garden.

Jane Taylor, defending, said her client walked around his house naked all the time and thought this was normal behaviour, which he did not believe would cause offence or alarm.

Miss Taylor described how Maddocks was a vulnerable person who had endured a tough life.

She said he was in the regular habit of taking his bins out in the nude, and that he claimed to have done so many times in the past.

Miss Taylor said a sex offenders’ programme, recommended in a pre-sentence report, would reduce the risk of Maddocks re-offending and would help him to address his tendency to walk around without his clothes on. She added that Maddocks’ new girlfriend, who showed her support from the public gallery, had been a very good influence on him.

District Judge Martin Brown told Maddocks that his long delay in pleading guilty had caused the girl unnecessary anguish.

He told Maddocks: “You have been very lucky today.”

Maddocks was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, a two-year supervision order, a referral to the Thames Valley Sex Offender Group Programme and was ordered to pay court costs of £455.

March 2015

Pervert convicted of sexual assault against girl

A FORMER bakery worker who tried to kiss a girl against her wishes at the door of his flat has been spared a prison sentence.

Mohammad Rasooly, 48, who had been convicted by Southampton Crown Court jurors of sexual assault, received a 12-month community order with six months supervision and an order to carry out 50 hours unpaid community work.

James Newton-Price, defending, said he had come to Britain in 2001 after his family had been killed by the Taliban.

He had since become a UK citizen and had worked at a bakery until his arrest.

Because of his bail restrictions, he had to move to London and lost his job.

Rasooly, of Golden Grove, was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years. 

April 2014

Perverted pensioner sexually assaulted 11-year-old girl

A perverted pensioner from Oakley has avoided a prison sentence after he was found guilty at Dunfermline sheriff court of a string of sexual assault charges against a young girl.

Donald Gray, 65, of Oakley Fife, repeatedly denied the charges which meant the 11-year-old female victim was forced to give two hours of evidence in court via video-link.

The court heard that Gray, would speak to the child in a sexual way which would lead to frequent molesting and kissing of the girl.

The schoolgirl knew Gray’s behaviour was wrong and on one occasion filmed a sexual assault. It was then, that the girl spoke to her family about the abuse and showed them the clear video evidence of his deviance.

Gray was given a three supervision order

Gray was told he must also have to register as a sex offender for a period of three years and that he must attend a sex offenders group work programme for the same period

He will be restricted from being allowed unsupervised access to anyone who is aged 16 or under

May 2009

Manton man preyed on young girl for 10 years

A MANTON man faces a ‘considerable jail term’ after being found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl for nearly a decade beginning when she was just eight-years-old

Nicholas Zacharkiewicz, 38, of Retford Road, was found guilty by jury – by a majority verdict of 10 to two – of 13 charges against the girl who is now aged 19.

Zacharkiewicz denied every charge against him, including indecency with a child, indecent assault, sexual activity with a child family member and sexual intercourse with a child on various dates between 1998 and 2007.

A large group of Zacharkiewicz’s family and friends attended the trial at Nottingham Crown Court every day last week, in support of the defendant.

He told the court that the girl had concocted the entire story, and that he ‘did the best for his family.’

Several of Zacharkiewicz’s family and friends also took to the stand in defence of the defendant, and described him as an ‘honest, wonderful, loving man’ and a ‘good father’.

A jury of eight women and four men retired to consider a verdict on Friday last week, after hearing all the evidence of the case.

And after nearly four-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury found the defendant guilty of every charge.

Zacharkiewicz, dressed in a smart grey suit, remained calm as each of the guilty verdicts were read out, but family and friends of the 38-year-old were visibly upset, wailing in disbelief and crying.

During the week-long trial, the court heard that Zacharkiewicz – also known as Zach – began abusing the girl when she was just eight or nine years old

Zacharkiewicz, who worked at a pheasant factory before the abuse came to light, preyed on the girl while her mother was at work

Stuart Rafferty prosecuting, said that the case is a ‘tragedy’, and that Zacharkiewicz started abusing the girl nearly a decade ago.

“It began when she was nine years of age and it continued until she was almost 18. It began with a child that was so naive that she didn’t really understand what was happening,” said Mr Rafferty.

“He treated this girl as an object for his own gratification.”

Mr Rafferty said that Zacharkiewicz swore the child to secrecy, and continued to abuse the girl

The girl eventually blurted out what was going on to a friend while on a night out in Worksop, and called the police in January last year.

The jury was shown a video recording of the victim’s interview, which was recorded after she had gone to police.

In the film, she told a police officer that Zacharkiewicz first asked her to pleasure him when she was eight or nine years old.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I just did it, and it got worse as I got older,” 

She added: “I just blanked it out and tried to put it to the back of my mind, because I did not know what to do. He said ‘Let’s keep it between us two, don’t tell anyone,’ so that’s what I did.”

The girl told the court that the abuse continued and developed. She said that over the next nine years, Zacharkiewicz gave her money and cigarettes after performing sexual acts, and plied her with alcohol.

“He gave me vodka and orange. It tasted sour and horrible, but I just drank it – it used to make me feel drowsy and very light-headed,” she said.

The 19-year-old also said that Zacharkiewicz went on to have intercourse with her, and made her watch pornographic films with him.

The girl took to the stand on Tuesday last week to give evidence from behind a curtain. She remembered the day she went to police to report the abuse.

“I couldn’t sit there and not say anything any more. I was shaking and crying,” 

Zacharkiewicz, who has been living at his mother’s address in Hillsborough, Sheffield, as part of his bail conditions, was remanded in police custody to awaite sentencing. Judge Gregory Dickinson told him that he faces a ‘considerable’ custodial sentence.

The case was adjourned and Zacharkiewicz will be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday 27th May.

March 2005

Man jailed over Net child sexual abuse images stash

A MAN been jailed for a year for downloading obscene pictures of children from the Internet.

John Alexander Smith, 53, who is known as Alexander, had 3,701 indecent pictures on his computer when police raided his Hartlepool home last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard Smith (pictured) had downloaded the pictures, which ranged from obscenity level one to four (in increasing seriousness), between June 1998 and January 2004.

Two thirds of the pictures fell into the level one category, but more than 1,000 of them were more serious.

Smith, who lived in Chatham Road, in the Dyke House area of Hartlepool, before moving to Harrogate last year, admitted 14 charges of taking or making indecent photographs of children.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing indecent pictures and a charge of possessing 3.685 obscene pictures of youngsters.

The court heard that Smith had also distributed a few of the pictures to other people using a shared file on the computer – an action which was considered an aggravating feature of the case.

In his defence yesterday, barrister Adrian Strong said Smith had pleaded guilty early and had given a full and frank admission to police.

He told the court that Smith had started to download the pictures when his first marriage broke down.

He has since become involved in another relationship.

But he said he was very remorseful and had been very distressed when facing up to his crime.

“He knows they (the children photographed) are victims, and he knows more than most that victims of this kind suffer well into their adult life,” said Mr Strong.

Judge Peter Armstrong said: “This is a substantial body of material and it’s a matter of some concern that some, even if it’s a small quantity of that material, was made available to other persons. That is an aggravating factor.”

The judge jailed Smith for a year and said he would spend three years on licence when he was freed. He was ordered to undergo a sex offender’s treatment programme.

Smith will also be on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years, will be banned from downloading any material of a sexual nature from the computer for the same period, and will be prohibited from working with children for a decade.

January 2009

Victims fury as child molester escapes prison

A WOMAN subjected to a series of childhood sex attacks has spoken of her anger after her abuser was spared jail.

Kenneth Malia, 51, molested two children during a five-year period in the 1990s.

The woman, one of the victims, was just nine when her nightmare began.

But it was only last year, as an adult, that she was able to tell police about her ordeal.

Malia, of East Garth, in Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, initially denied the charges, but later admitted four counts of indecent assault.

Yesterday he was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for the next five years and was banned for life from working with youngsters.

Speaking after the case, the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: “It’s as if nobody cares what he has done.

“He could go out and do it to someone else. They haven’t considered that at all.

“The whole thing has been devastating.

“The hardest part has been telling my family and reliving what happened to the police.

“I can still remember everything so vividly, right down to the colour of the curtains in the bedroom and the box pushed up behind the door.

“For years I was questioning myself whether over I had imagined it.

“I started having panic attacks when I was 15 and couldn’t tell anyone why I was having them.

“I was second guessing myself until I was about 20 and then I realised it had actually happened.

“But I thought that by keeping it to myself I was protecting everyone else.”

Malia pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on the woman and one indecent assault on a boy, then 11.

The court heard how Malia had told both youngsters they were just “playing games” when he abused them.

He was given a three-year community order with a condition of sex offender treatment on a group work programme run by the probation service.

Malia has also been put under supervision, and given an indefinite Sex Offences Prevention Order to keep him away from youngsters.

Passing sentence Judge Esmond Faulks said: “You acknowledge this was horrible behaviour on your part which has deeply upset your victims.

“The usual sentence for offences of this sort is immediate custody. You are epileptic and also described as a vulnerable, isolated person who would be in some danger if you were sent to prison.

“More important than that, it seems to me it is necessary to prevent a repetition and a prison sentence would not necessarily achieve that.

“It seems to me in the interests of the community at large to force you to address your sex offending.”

The woman, who is in her 20s, praised the police for their support, but said she was still coming to terms with her traumatic experience.

Brian Mark, defending, said: “He understands his behaviour was entirely disgraceful.”

April 2016

Netherton man defied court order by possessing children’s underwear

A NETHERTON man who uses children’s underwear for sexual gratification has avoided jail.

Kevin Plant was made the subject of a five year Sexual Harm Protection Order in 2010 after 3,756 pairs of girl’s knickers taken from washing lines were found in his home.

As part of the order the 48-year-old, who admitted he had a preference for young girls, was told he must have no contact with any child under 16 years of age.

But when a visit was paid to his home in Baptist End Road, 13 bin bags full of girl’s knickers were found and that was a matter for great concern, said Oliver Woolhouse, prosecuting.

Mr Woolhouse told Wolverhampton Crown Court that a new 10 year order was made against Plant, which prohibited him from acquiring any item of children’s clothing.

His status was increased to “high risk” so more regular visits were made to his home but when the flat was checked again five pairs of children’s underwear were recovered.

Plant admitted breaching the order and Judge James Burbidge QC made a new three year order with a condition he attended a sex offenders group programme.

The judge said it was clear Plant was having difficulty resolving his problems despite being given assistance in the past and added: “You still seem determined to obtain children’s underwear and you use if for your own sexual gratification. The concern of the court is that children are safe from you.”

He told Plant it was clear he had expected to be sent straight into custody because he had come to the court with a bag containing personal items.

But he said that rather than make him serve a short term in custody it was more important – “for the protection of the public” – for him to receive treatment to curb any future offending.

February 2016

Man avoids prison for sexual abuse offences

Malcolm Barnard of Hemel Hempstead received the following sentence at St Albans Crown Court on 9th February 2016

• 18 months imprisonment suspended for 24 months.

• Supervision for 24 months.

• To register on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

• Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 5 years.

• To pay a statutory surcharge of £100.00

April 2016

Five-year prison sentence for Coventry man

A Coventry man who admitted sex offences against a young boy has been jailed for more than five years.

Vincent Nixon had pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a boy under the age of 14 in the 1990s and was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday.

He was handed a prison sentence of five years and four months and the 54-year-old, of Villa Road, Radford, will also sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

All of the charges against Nixon were against the same victim and all occurred in Coventry.

April 2016

‘Ride-by groper’ jailed for four years

ONE OF Southampton’s most wanted men has been jailed for four years after a string of sex attacks on women and girls as young as 11.

Daniel Randall-Coles will serve four years in prison and five years on licence after pleading guilty to 17 sexual attacks on women between 11 and 38 years old.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court the 25-year-old of Millbrook Road West admitted to riding up silently behind women on his bicycle wearing high visibility gear and groping them, grabbing their bodies in a sexual nature on many occasions by putting his hand up the female’s coat or skirt before fleeing the scene.

Sentencing, Judge Ralls QC said it was a “bizarre” offence and told the court he believed Randall-Coles was a danger to the public as the offences showed Randall-Coles planned the attacks which happened in the space of around two weeks.

Crying as his mother, sister and partner – who he has a two-month-old son with – sat in the public gallery, Randall-Coles heard from prosecution that between January 11 and January 29 this year he assaulted women when they were alone in public places, regularly occupied taking on the phone, listening to music or exercising and he would cycle up behind them and grab them.

Daniel Randall-Coles was spotted on CCTV

The assaults happened in various locations across the city near West Quay and Above Bar Street, Southampton General Hospital in Millbrook and Lordshill.

On some occasions victims said that he circled back on his bike, laughed or grinned at them and one woman said he winked at her.

Victim statements read to the court said that many felt “violated and very scared” as well as “disgusted and ashamed.”

Randall-Coles was sentenced to four years in prison and five years After admitting 15 counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexually assaulting girls aged under 13.

He will also be registered on the Sex Offenders Lister and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period of time.

April 2016

Barrow pensioner sentenced for inappropriate kiss on teen girl

April 2016

Child sexual abuse images shame of college science teacher

A college lecturer who downloaded hundreds of indecent images of children claimed he had the sick stash because his internet search engine was “unpredictable”.

Barry Sanders was caught with the illegal cache of photos when police raided his home in May 2015 and seized his computer.

Officers discovered 289 images, with 130 in the most serious category of abuse, and 90 in the next most explicit, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Sanders, who worked at both Knowsley Community College and Hugh Baird College , in Bootle , made no comment to detectives when they interviewed him.

But when the pictures on his desktop computer, two laptops and a hard drive were analysed, the 42-year-old blamed a faulty and erratic web search engine.

Sanders, of Manor Close, Bootle , avoided jail after admitting three offences of downloading indecent images and one of possessing a total of 289 such images.

Nicola Daley, defending, said his wife was standing by him, but he had “lost everything else in his life”.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, sentenced Sanders to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years.

And he told him: “You now have the opportunity to put all these matters behind you.

“Take it.”

Over a number of years, you had this dark, dark secret

Describing Sanders as “intelligent and caring”, Judge Aubrey added: “I have no doubt that teaching history and sociology over a number of years you have assisted many, many children or young adults in their development and been responsible for their ultimate careers.

“Many, many young persons must have gone through your classroom and I have no doubt that they are all eternally grateful to you.”

Sanders had suffered from depression and anxiety, it was heard, but Judge Aubrey added: “Over a number of years, you had this dark, dark secret.

“This was directly in contradiction and contrast to the good you have done over a number of years and you have lost your career.”

Knowsley Community College bosses said Sanders no longer worked for them.

A spokesman told the ECHO: “Barry Sanders was employed by the college as a sessional tutor for six hours a week, teaching science.

“Police contacted the college in June 2015 and said he’d been arrested for having indecent images of children, and the college then dismissed him.”

Sanders must also sign on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same length of time was imposed.

April 2016

Jail for Bangor man who admitted sexually touching schoolgirl

A 30-year-old married man who admitted sexual activity with a schoolgirl he had met on the internet was sentenced to 12 months on Thursday and put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Aiden Hughes, with an address at Balmoral Road, Bangor, was also made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order disqualifying him from working with children, restricting his use of the internet and ordering him to live at an address aproved by the authorities.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland told Hughes that while the actual sexual touching could be regarded as trivial, what occurred had an impact on the then 14-year-old and it could not be ignored or forgotten.

An aggravating feature of the case was the false persona he had given her in which he lied about his age – giving one of considerable difference of up to 12 years – and that in addition to contact being made on the internet, it was also made on a mobile phone.

Judge McFarland said that, in such cases, personal mitigation had little impact and he believed that Hughes’ offending required a custodial sentence, and that the sentence should not be suspended.

This was necessary, he added, so that Hughes and others like him realise that this type of activity where adults deliberately make contact with children for sexual activity would not be tolerated.

Hughes said Judge McFarland had met a young girl and sexually assaulted her, and that, “in my view, that does deserve jail”, although he was prepared to give him credit for his guilty plea.

Earlier, prosecution lawyer Robin Steer told the Crown Court that Hughes had met the girl on a social networking site, pretending to be a 14-year-old called Matt Smith and began exchanging emails.

At first everything was normal, but the messaging soon became sexualised.

Mr Steer said Hughes asked for meetings, before eventually admitting he was aged 20 and that his name was Aiden.

The girl reported that he made her feel “a little bit sorry for him” and agreed to meet up in a Belfast park.

There, during a walk, he abused her

April 2016

Pervert promised teen boys a career in porn

A taxi driver lured teenage boys to his home where he photographed them in lurid poses and promised to make them porn stars.

Philip Dorritt, 48, described as a “Peter Pan” figure, treated the three teens to McDonald’s meals before plying them with alcohol and drugs at his flat in Scarborough, where he got them to pose naked and carry out sexual acts for his camera.

York Crown Court heard that Dorritt, who was working as a cabbie in Filey at the time, told the boys he had connections in the porn industry and could make them film stars.

“He supplied them with pornographic material and said they could appear in porn films,” said prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi.

“He would take them out to McDonald’s and give them £25 each for burgers and milkshake. He told them he had a friend in Spain who ran a pornographic website and that they could make a lot of money.”

In fact, Dorritt’s claims were pure fantasy, but he was able to use his considerable charms and “high intellect” to groom the boys and lure them to his den of iniquity.

Ms Wadoodi said Dorritt took 53 photos of the boys over a six-week period.

A good many of the shots featured a very-young teen who had been drinking and taking drugs.

Dorritt, of Colescliffe Road, admitted four counts of making indecent photos of children between April 1 and May 12, 2014, and appeared for sentence on Tuesday last week.

Defence barrister Andrew Semple said that Dorritt had begun consorting with teenage boys after a relationship ended and he found himself alone.

“He was living a somewhat Peter Pan lifestyle,” said Mr Semple,

Jailing Dorritt for 18 months, Mr Recorder Enoch QC said: “This was sexual predatory behaviour of the worst possible kind. Your behaviour was shameful.”

Dorritt was subjected to a sexual-harm prevention order which will restrict his contact with children following his release from prison. He was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register and will have to notify the authorities of any change of address over the next 10 years.

April 2016

York Man Sentenced for Sexually Assaulted Girl in Ossett and Dewsbury

A York man is starting a six year sentence for sexually assaulting a schoolgirl in West Yorkshire.

Geoffrey Dunwell, 47, from York was sentenced to six years imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court today (Friday, 22 April) for seven offences of sexual activity with a child.

Dunwell met his 14-year-old victim on a social media application in June 2015 and groomed her online over a period of weeks.

He later arranged to meet her and then sexually assaulted the 14-year-old on several occasions at locations in Ossett and Dewsbury.

The offences were later disclosed to Wakefield police who began to carry out enquiries and identified Dunwell.

Detective Constable Aidy Cowan of the Wakefield District Child Safeguarding Unit: “Geoffrey Dunwell richly deserves his sentence for his abuse of a young and particularly vulnerable victim.

“He took advantage of and groomed his victim, who was 14 at the time, before committing several sexual offences against her. All the while, Dunwell was fully aware of his victim’s young age.

“She showed a lot of courage in disclosing those offences to us and I hope this conviction again reaffirms the determination of officers to provide support to victims and secure justice for them.”