May 2016

Child sex offender jailed after secretly dating single mum and meeting her kids

A CHILD sex offender has been jailed after duping a Birmingham single mum into starting a relationship and spending Christmas Day with her and her children.

The victim only discovered the truth about Michael Preece when she posted she was ‘in a relationship’ on Facebook – and received a message tipping her off about his abuse conviction.

Preece, 39, of Aldridge Road, Perry Barr, was jailed for eight months after previously admitted breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

In August 2010 the former pub DJ was convicted of sexual activity with a child and jailed for seven years.

He was also handed a sexual offences prevention order banning him from having any contact with children without written permission.

Last December he started a relationship with a woman, who had previously known him as a pub DJ, after he contacted her via Facebook.

Preece told her he had served a prison sentence but claimed it was for assaulting a friend.

He later visited the woman’s home over Christmas, when children had been present, in contravention of the order.

Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said the woman discovered the real reason Preece had been in prison when she up-dated her Facebook status.

She contacted the police immediately and in a statement said she felt “betrayed and duped.”

In passing sentence Judge Nicholas Dean QC said he accepted Preece had not deliberately manipulated a situation where he could be with children.

But he added: “It is clear to me you have not taken full account of the seriousness of the existence of the sexual offences prevention order and that you have a tendency to minimise your behaviour.”

May 2016

Bradford musician jailed for breaching sex offender register order

A MUSICIAN, who was a registered sex offender, failed to tell police he had set up a Facebook account using his stage name, a court heard.

Anthony Hirst, 55, of Toller Lane, Bradford, was jailed for eight months yesterday after admitting two breaches of the sex offender notification requirements.

Bradford Crown Court was told that Hirst had been imprisoned for 15 months in 2002 for sexually assaulting a boy under 14 and was subject to the notification requirements as a sex offender.

Prosecutor Syam Soni said the defendant was supposed to notify police if he changed his name.

But police protection officers, who were monitoring him, found Hirst had set up a Facebook account, with pictures of himself on the profile, under the name of Tony Ryan.

He had not registered the name with police.

Mr Soni said the defendant fully admitted the offence and explained it was his stage name which he used for musical purposes and on his Facebook account.

The court heard Hirst had absconded to the US in 2003 without informing the authorities.

He said that while in Texas he was using Ryan, which was his mother’s maiden name, as his stage name. He had used it for 10 years and had an email address under that name.

The court was told Hirst had been extradited back to the UK in 2012 after he was sentenced for sexually assaulting another young child

On his return he was imprisoned for leaving the UK without notifying the authorities.

The two breaches occurred after his release from prison, in October 2014.

The second breach happened in April last year when he stayed for 28 hours at an address where two children were living.

The address was that of a friend he had met through a music group, while using the alias Tony Ryan.

Sentencing Hirst, Judge Peter Benson said the offences were serious matters and it was the second time he had failed to comply with requirements.

“There is a public interest in making sure the requirements of registering as a sex offender are complied with, otherwise the regime does not have any meaning,”

May 2016

Computer repair shop found indecent child image as Ilfracombe man’s screensaver

SHOCKED engineers in North Devon alerted the police after they found a sexual image of a 13-year-old girl was being used as a customer’s screen saver.

Robin MacPherson took his broken laptop into a shop in Ilfracombe and when technicians got it working they saw an inappropriate image appear on the display.

Police experts found recovered more than 1,300 indecent images of children including 38 showing very serious abuse. There were also two images of women engaged in sex acts with a horse.

MacPherson, 61, of Chichester Close, Ilfracombe, admitted three counts or making indecent images of children and one of making an extreme pornographic image.

He was jailed for nine months, suspended for two years and ordered to attend an internet sex offender’s course by Judge Graham Cottle at Exeter Crown Court.

He also ordered MacPherson to sign the sex offenders register and made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which allows police to monitor his internet use in the future.

He told him: “The evidence shows you have a deviant interest in images of young children. Your efforts to deny that will fall on stony ground in the course of the treatment programme.

“If you continue to maintain your denials and are uncooperative you will come back here and will go to prison.”

Caroline Bolt, for the prosecution, said MacPherson was found with 38 of the worst category A images, 62 at the lesser category B and 1,215 at the lowest level of category C.

She said: “The defendant’s computer was sent for repair and when it was examined the screen saver was found to show a category 3 image of a child of about 13,

“It caused the staff at the repair centre some distress and after they checked it was not the result of a malfunction, they called the police. He told police he did not look at material of that sort.”

Emily Cook, for the defence, urged the judge to follow the suggestions of a probation report which said MacPherson was suitable for a treatment programme despite his continuing to deny any sexual interest in children.

May 2016

Man jailed for possessing and distributing indecent images of children

A paedophile who distributed images of children as young as two years old being raped and sexually abused was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Lincoln Crown Court today

Jamie Lee Tye, who lives in Louth, denied he was responsible for downloading the material onto computer equipment and then allowing others to access it via the ‘GigaTribe’ file sharing site.

But following a trial in front of a jury, he was found guilty of distributing indecent images of a child together with seven charges of making an indecent image of a child and six charges of possessing a total of 15,252 indecent images of a child.

May 2016

Former Leeds teacher jailed for 15 years

A FORMER teacher who sexually abused young boys at a Leeds primary school during the 1970s and and 1980s has been jailed for 15 years.

A court heard Norman Robinson preyed on his victims in his classroom and would often take Polaroid pictures as he carried out the abuse.

One of Robinson’s victims shouted from the public gallery at Leeds Crown Court that he hoped the 76-year-old would die in prison as he was led from the dock after finally being brought to justice.

The court heard Robinson’s victims had suffered years of trauma as they struggled to cope with the vile experiences they had been subjected to.

The parents of his first victim contacted the school’s headmistress after he had told them about the abuse in the late 1970s.

The court heard no action was taken against Robinson at the time after she claimed the youngster had “misinterpreted” things.

The part time judge who sentenced Robinson said that failure to take action gave Robinson the confidence to go on abusing further victims at the school.

Recorder Richard Gioserano said: “You were in a position of power and trust and you knew it.

“You only concern was for your distorted sexual gratification.”

Gerald Hendron, prosecuting, said Robinson also abused one of his victims after taking him back to his flat where he lived at the time on Darfield Road, Harehills.

Another victim was abused regularly after his parents allowed him to be taken on day trips.

Robinson abused the boys after making them stay behind after classes under the pretext of punishment or needing to clear up the classroom.

Some of the sexual abuse took place when the boys were made to go into a cupboard. They were also subject to physical abuse.

On some occasions Robinson was interrupted when another teacher came into the classroom but he was able to conceal the abuse by telling victims to hide.

Robinson, now of Middlecroft Grove, Strensall, near York, pleaded guilty to a serious sexual offence, 11 offences of gross indecency, five of indecent assault, taking indecent photographs of a child, three of making indecent photographs of a child and one of possession of indecent photographs of a child.

The offending took place between 1976 and 1989. The catalogue of offending eventually came to light in 2014 when one of the victims found the courage to report the abuse to police.

Police discovered 544 indecent images of children on his mobile phone and computer equipment seized from his home when he was arrested.

May 2016

Former scout leader jailed after subjecting teenage victim to years of abuse

A COURAGEOUS victim has bravely recounted how years of sexual abuse have had a devastating effect on his life as his abuser is finally jailed.

Ian Glover, of Tarporley Road, Stretton, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison at Warrington Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to nine counts of indecent assault on a child.

The court heard how the 72-year-old former Grappenhall scout leader took advantage of the teenager’s innocence and subjected him to countless sexual abuse over a two year period in the 70s.

Many of the details of the assaults are too graphic to publish.

Glover not only sexually assaulted the young boy on repeated occasions but he captured explicit photos of the victim on camera.

The victim had wanted to speak out on a number occasions about the abuse but he did not have the confidence to come forward.

Prosecuting, Gareth Roberts said: “His school started to notice a deterioration in his behaviour and he was asked if he was ok.

“He wanted to tell them because he wanted to cry out but he was scared.”

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, bravely attended court where he spoke of the traumatic effect of the abuse.

He said: “It is really difficult to determine what impact these experiences have had on my life.

“This is because I have no bench mark of what life would be like if this didn’t happen to me.

“Given the abuse started as a teenager, I have no recollection of life before the abuse.

“I grew up to be a very angry man with a deep sense of shame and total inability to express feelings, manage confrontation or handle any conflict within personal relationships.

“Having faced what happened to be during the course of the investigation I am beginning to understand how these experiences have manifested through my life.

“In the earlier years as I was entering adulthood my anger and inability to express myself resulted in several occasions of violence and criminal damage.

He added: “The shame I felt manifested from feelings of guilt believing it was my fault these things happened to me and indeed my fault they happened.

“At this young age I had no perception that I had been manipulated and groomed to believe I actually wanted these experiences to continue.

“It is only now through facing these experiences, heightened awareness through the media and engagement with my case worker that I totally allow myself to be discharged of any guilt.”

Glover, who suffered a stroke four years ago and now acts as a carer for his partner, showed no emotion as Judge Tina Landale sentenced him to an immediate custodial sentence.

May 2016

‘Sexually infatuated’ man jailed for sleeping with 15-year-old and grooming her 13-year-old friend

A sex predator who had sex with a 15-year-old while he was trying to groom her 13-year-old friend has been sent to prison for two-and-a-half-years.

The jury found Simon Hall, 30, of Vale View, Templecombe, guilty of charges of sexual activity with a child and attempting to meet a child after grooming.

It took the jury of five women and seven men more than 15 hours to reach a decision on both charges.

May 2016

Man, 63, jailed for 15 years for raping teenage girl nearly four decades ago

A MAN aged 63 has been jailed for 15 years for raping a teenage girl almost 40 years ago.

Kevin Hawkins, of Aire Valley Road, Keighley, denied the offence but was convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court.

Hawkins, who worked for Leeds City Council in waste management until recently, attacked the girl when he was 27 and she was 13.

After he was sentenced by the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, a relative of Hawkins’ victim said justice had at last been done.

“Fifteen years is not long enough for the lifetime of hurt he caused. He deserves to die in prison,” she said.

May 2016

Pensioner who raped a schoolgirl and assaulted another claims his trial was ‘not fair’

A pensioner who raped a vulnerable schoolgirl and indecently assaulted another tried to convince a top judge that his trial was unfair.

Anthony William Edwards, 69, forced his victims to undress in front of him and acted with “entrenched depravity” when he carried out the crimes over 20 years ago.

Edwards, of Wold Newton, was jailed for 12-and-a-half years at Grimsby Crown Court in May, 2015, after a jury convicted him of raping one girl three times and indecently assaulting the other.He was acquitted of seven other sex charges.

Edwards challenged his convictions and his case reached London’s Appeal Court.

Judge Michael Stokes QC said Edwards had complained about the fairness of his trial and the adequacy of his legal representation.

He also claimed that some of the jury’s verdicts made no logical sense and ought to be overturned.

But the judge described Edwards’s complaints about his trial legal team as “baseless”.

The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Mrs Justice Simler, rejected the appeal.

He said: “We are wholly satisfied that Edwards received a fair trial.The verdicts are not inconsistent.

“Nor can there be any reasonable complaints about the trial process, the judge’s summing-up, or the standard of his representation”.

Both Edwards’ victims were in their teens when abused and the rape victim described him as “intimidating and controlling”.

The other girl said Williams, then in his 40s, had repeatedly groped her breasts.

The judge who sentenced him said both women were “haunted” by their ordeals.

One said her life was overshadowed by flashbacks and depression.

She revealed a chronic fear of bumping into Edwards, which had left her “petrified”.In all she had moved house 11 times to avoid such an encounter, the court heard.

May 2016

Convicted sex offender jailed

A convicted sex offender who molested two young girls has been jailed for seven and half years

Dean McGeachie repeatedly abused one child starting when she was just seven years old. He abused the second victim when she was just eight

McGeachie sexually assaulted the children at his former home in Seafield, Bathgate in West Lothian between 2011 and 2015.

The court heard he also carried out sex acts on the girls

McGeachie, 57 who worked as a lorry driver, was previously jailed in 1992 for a sexual offence against an 11-year-old girl.

He told police that the latest offences on the child victims were a ‘disease’ that had resurfaced in himself after he had locked the urges away for many years.

He was told he must register as a sex offender for life

December 2010

Hetton dad jailed for sex with underage schoolgirl

A MARRIED man who repeatedly had sex with an underage schoolgirl has been jailed for six years.

David Farrow started having intercourse with her when she was just 14.

The 45-year-old, of Market Street, Hetton, already has a previous conviction for rape, dating back more than 20 years, where he targeted another underage girl.

Farrow admitted six charges of sexual activity with a child regarding the recent offences, which happened between September 2007 and December last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that when Farrow was arrested, he told police “she came on to me.”

Judge John Evans sentenced Farrow to six years behind bars, plus four years on licence.

He also imposed an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which bans Farrow from having unsupervised contact with teenage girls.

Farrow must sign the sex offenders register for life, and has been banned from working with children for life.

Judge Evans told him: “It is clear you have an interest in post-pubescent girls.

“That interest is a deviant interest.

“There is no doubt in my mind that you do constitute a risk of committing further offences in future.”

A successful businessman who downloaded 1,082 child porn photographs on his computer has been jailed for three years at Worcester Crown Court.

Ashley Smith was caught because he subscribed to an American website using his credit card.

Seven of the pictures seized by police contained images of the worst kind, which are either of sadism or bestiality, said Alex Warren, prosecuting.

He added the youngest victim was aged only three.

Smith, a 43-year-old married man, of Rushock Close, Woodrow South, pleaded guilty to 10 specimen counts of making indecent images, three of distributing them and one of possession.

 Judge Michael Mott told him: “Why people like you allow yourselves to indulge in this perverted pastime is beyond comprehension.”

Smith was trapped in a nationwide police inquiry codenamed Operation Ore, said Mr Warren.

Police raided his home on November 12 and found he had been a subscriber to a porn site in the 1990s called Innocent Virgins.

Smith developed a perverse interest in porn while working in the computer industry, said Simon Phillips, defending.

He did not have a long-term behavioural problem.

He had been a successful businessman but lost his job when his offending came to light.

An educated man with a university degree, he was ashamed of his behaviour.

Mr Phillips said his family was disgusted although his 38-year-old wife was standing by him.

May 2009

Sex abuse teenager locked up

A teenager who sexually abused a young girl has been sent to a young offenders’ institution for 21 months.

The family of the victim were in court to see 19-year-old Ieuan Richard Evans being sentenced after he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Evans was 16 years old when he assaulted the nine year old between December 2005 and February 2006.

Sentencing Evans, Judge John Curran stressed that despite her wanting Evans, of Cardiff Road, Bargoed, to be sent into custody, it was not the reason that he was sending him there.

“The victim impact statement is to be heard but it must be made clear that a victim cannot demand a particular kind of sentence,” he said.

Eugene Egan, prosecuting, told the court that the incidents had come to light a few months after Evans had last assaulted her.

“She was distressed and sought advice from family members who told her to talk to her daughter further,” said Mr Egan.

She did, and it was then that the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, divulged the details of the assaults.

The girl’s mother said that since the assaults her daughter had lost her independence and had become nervous.

She suffered nightmares and had problems at school with children verbally abusing her because of what had happened and had wanted to move away.

In a statement to the court the mother said: “It’s like she is under lock and key.”

The girl, in her statement, said that she would not watch certain television programmes because it would remind her of him.

Her heart would also pound if she saw a red car, because that’s what Evans drove, and she was afraid to walk to town.

“She wanted the judge to listen to her and for him to go down and if he did not then it was not fair,” said Mr Egan.

But she didn’t want to know why he had done it.

Jennett Treharne, defending, urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence that would allow Evans to complete specialised programmes for sex offenders.

Evans, who will serve half the time in custody, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and was disqualified from working with children.

May 2016

Pervert jailed after being caught with sick child images and using fake online profiles

AN Irvine sex offender caught with indecent images of children has been jailed.

William Wood, 47, had the pictures between October 26 and December 3 in Lugton Court.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, Wood, a registered sex offender, also failed to notify police of a bogus name he used online.

Wood failed within the specified three day period to tell officers at Irvine Police Office he was using the name ‘Cassandra Stevens’ online between October 1, 2014 and December 3, 2015.

He also admitted a charge of failing to inform the police of other personal details between October 1 and October 22 last year.

Appearing from custody last week, Wood pleaded guilty to all three charges.

He was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison backdated toCJanuary 20 when he was first remanded in custody.

May 2016

Naked child photos found on perverts phone

Naked pictures of three-and four-year-old girls were found on the mobile phone of one of the owners of a children’s summer camp, a jury heard this week.

The indecent images on Ben Lewis’s iPhone were discovered by a member of staff at LL Camps in Bushey, Hertfordshire, who said the sight of them had “polluted” her brain.

Ben Lewis has admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, and one count of taking indecent images.

Prosecutor Ann Evans told the jury at St Albans Crown Court: “Ben Lewis has pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images.”

A witness said that Mr Lewis, 26, the co-owner of LL Camps, had given her his phone and PIN so she could play music at a children’s party on August 1 last year.

She said: “First I saw children on a beach. They were not wearing anything. They were aged three to four. “Then I saw pictures that had been taken in a changing room. I saw children’s vaginas. I would say they were aged three to four. I felt my brain was polluted. I felt sick.”

She said the images were also seen by other workers

That night, she said, she told Tal Landsman, 26, co-owner of LL camps with Mr Lewis, what she had seen, but the prosecution allege he did nothing and allowed his friend to continue at work.

Ms Vicente said the next day Mr Lewis spoke to her at work. “He said: ‘There is something disgusting on my phone. I don’t know how it got there’,” she said.

Three days later she reported Mr Lewis after he came to her with a three-year-old girl from her group who he said he had found in the toilets and had wet herself.

“At that point, I put my foot down. I thought I had to do something. I went home from work and called the police,” she said.

June 2015

Sex beast Larry Murphy breaks leg in pub brawl in London

NOTORIOUS rapist Larry Murphy reportedly broke his leg in a pub brawl in London.

The sex beast was allegedly involved in a fight with a group of men near to his new home in a north east suburb of the British city.

 November 2012

A vicious rape in woods — and links to three missing women

Larry Murphy earned his reputation as one of the most feared and hated criminals in our history when he abducted, raped and almost killed a woman on one chilling night

The sadistic violence dished out by Murphy on a cold February night in 2000, coupled with the fact that his terrified victim survived only after two hunters happened on the scene, was deeply disturbing.

The predator used all his cunning and know-how to corner and trap a young woman who was finishing up her day’s work and about to travel home.

It was around 8.15pm on a Friday evening in Carlow town when he abducted the 26-year-old businesswoman after she opened the door to her car in a secluded carpark.

He demanded her bag, containing the day’s takings of IR£700 — and then hit out, fracturing her nose.

Dazed and shocked, she fell backwards into the car.

Murphy — then 36 — ordered the woman to move to the passenger seat and take off her bra, with which he tied her hands.

He then drove her car across a narrow roadway, made her get out and walked her to his own car, putting her in the boot.

The callous rapist turned up his stereo to mask the sound of the woman’s efforts to summon help by banging on the inside of the boot — and drove off.

The nightmare had only just begun.

A keen hunter, Murphy had detailed knowledge of the Wicklow-Kildare-Carlow area.

He drove his victim eight miles from Carlow to an isolated spot called Beaconstown, where he stopped his car and pulled her from the boot, raping her before pretending he was going to take her home.

Recalling the events in a statement to gardai, she said: “I felt so numb, I couldn’t move. I just hoped it would all end. I feared for my life the whole time, I thought, ‘This is it’.”

Murphy then headed into the foothills of the Wicklow mountains and on to an isolated forest track, where he raped her a further three times.

When he had finished, he tied her hands behind her back and again led her back to the boot of the vehicle.

This time she managed to free her hands and tried to spray Murphy with an aerosol can.

But the canister did not work. Murphy overpowered her and put a plastic bag over her head.

The woman struggled but Murphy pulled the plastic tightly over her mouth.

Somehow the terrified rape victim managed to climb out of the boot, but was slipping in and out of consciousness.

Facing certain death, she was only saved when two men out hunting foxes stumbled on the nightmare scene.

Realising the game was up, Murphy jumped into his car and sped away, while his panic-stricken victim ran to a ditch.

Her two saviours, Ken Jones and Trevor Moody, took her to a garda station and identified her attacker, whom they recognised from a previous incident in a local pub.

Meanwhile Murphy went home, went to bed without washing himself and made love to his heavily pregnant wife.

It would be Murphy’s last night as a free man for more than a decade, but it is far from being the only crime he has been been associated with.

Murphy was widely though to be linked to the disappearance of six young women between 1993 and 1998 — mysteries that still grip Ireland.

A garda ‘cold-case’ investigation called Operation Trace reviewed the disappearances of Fiona Sinnott, Deirdre Jacob, Jo Jo Dullard, Ciara Breen, Annie McCarrick and Fiona Pender.

Murphy was interviewed in prison about at least three of these cases — Jo Jo Dullard, Deirdre Jacob and Annie McCarrick — but refused to co-operate. Ultimately gardai could find no specific evidence linking him to the cases.

But tellingly the disappearances stopped when he was arrested in 2000 and there is little doubt that many senior officers believe that he was responsible for at least some of the murders.

UPDATE:  Lee Murphy has now been released and is living back in plymouth

April 2013

Plymouth paedophile jailed for three years

A MAN who sexually abused three children over a decade has been jailed for three years.

Lee Murphy appearing on his 31st birthday, was sent to prison from Plymouth Crown Court.

He had denied indecently assaulting two boys and a girl in the city between 1995 and 2005.

But Murphy was found guilty by a jury of four offences last month.

Judge Paul Darlow told him: “You have an ongoing sexual interest in prepubescent children.”

Murphy barely reacted as he was led away, but there were tears from family supporters at the back of court.

Murphy, a former nursing student and stepfather to four children was convicted of one offence of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 14 and two specimen charges of indecently assaulting a boy under 14.

Murphy was also found guilty of another charge of sexually touching a boy under the same age.

Murphy, of North Road West, touched the three victims indecently in bed as they were asleep or watching films.

None of them told anyone about what had happened until two years ago.

Malcolm Clarke, for Murphy, said that the defendant himself was only 13 or 14 at the time of the first offence.

He said he continued to plead his innocence, but accepted the verdict of the jury.

Mr Clarke handed in several references to his good character.

He added the defendant had hoped to go into teaching or work in a care home, but now accepted that would not happen.

The court heard he had also spent 15 years in the St John Ambulance.

The offences are not connected to his stepchildren nor his time with the St John Ambulance.

Murphy married a Filipino nurse with four children in 2006.

May 2016

Helensburgh mum’s shock after police swoop finds child abuse images on son’s computer

A man was arrested in his parents’ house after police stormed in and found child abuse images on his computer.

Lee McEwan was caught with two category A videos – the worst level of sexual content – on his Samsung Note tablet.

The 29-year-old and his mum were stunned after police turned up at their house in Fraser Avenue unexpectedly.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week heard that officers arrived at 8am on October 29, 2014, presenting a search warrant.

Fiscal depute Sarah Healing explained: “His mother answered the door and invited police into the living room where they were joined by the accused.

“Both the mum and accused were cautioned before a search was carried out.”

While the officers were reading out the details of the warrant, McEwan blurted out: “I do a lot of downloading” and “could I have done it by accident?”

His mum became extremely upset and broke down in tears in her kitchen.

McEwan then said to police: “It was me. It’s nothing to do with my parents, it’s on my computer.”

He then approached his mum and said: “It was me. I done something stupid. I downloaded dodgy stuff.”

Police seized McEwan’s tablet and it was discovered he had downloaded two child pornography videos. One was still on the tablet and another had been deleted but was later retrieved by police.

When cautioned and charged at Clydebank Police Office, McEwan replied: “I do not wish to make any (comment) really, other than I am guilty.”

Defence lawyer Phil Lafferty told the court that McEwan had co-operated fully with police from the beginning.

Sheriff William Gallacher said: “You have pled guilty at the very earliest stage to what is a very serious charge.

“I’ll refrain from making any comment until I hear a plea of mitigation on your behalf.”

He added: “This is a serious matter and all sentencing options are available to me.”

The case was adjourned and McEwan will return to court for sentencing on June 21.

May 2016

Sex beast is forced out of home after locals hear about his sordid crimes

Furious Craigneuk residents hit out after a sex beast was back roaming the streets whilst awaiting sentencing for his sick crimes.

Sebastian Sieka, who lived in Gateside Road, with his partner Julia and her two young children, has now been forced out of the area after residents became aware of what he had been doing behind closed doors for the last four years.

Sieka, from Poland, was found guilty of three vile charges at Hamilton Sheriff Court last week.

The 34-year-old denied making and having in his possession indecent images of children between September 5 2011 and March 9 2015 at his home on Gateside Road.

He also pleaded not guilty to having extreme pornographic images depicting in an explicit and realistic way an act which involved sexual activity between a person and an animal.

Former Craigneuk Community Council Christine McGeechan said: “I feel disgusted that I have been living so close to someone so sick.

“He is a vile human being .

“Child porn is absolutely disgraceful.

“People like him should not be housed beside decent people and children.

“We do not want people like that living in our area.

“When I found out he was back out on bail I phoned the housing to get him moved.

“It’s not right that he was allowed back out to be close to innocent children. I’m glad they are gone.”

Craigneuk woman Rosemary Elliot added: “I’m in shock. What goes through these sick people’s minds?

“It’s worrying that disgusting people like him are living in our area. Clearly our children and animals are not safe.

“He needs castrated. I hope he gets locked up for a very long time.”

During the trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court last week Sieka claimed the child porn found on several laptops belonged to his girlfriend of five years Julia.

He said he had his suspicions about her, a claim which she denied.

Sieka, Julia and children have now been moved out of the area after their house and cars windows were smashed .

A Police Scotland Spokesperson said: “Since March there have been numerous calls relating to persons causing annoyance to the residents of Gateside Road.

“On one occasion the occupiers of the home had their vehicle and property vandalised which appeared to have been a targeted incident.

“Due to this the residents have now been rehoused to a different location to prevent any further incidents of this kind from occurring.”

Sieka’s sentencing was deferred until June 15 for the purpose of obtaining reports.

May 2016

North Devon school bus driver jailed for child sex abuse

A FORMER North Devon school bus driver has been jailed for grooming a girl for sex and making her pregnant when she was aged just 13.

Philip Edwards abused the girl in the 1970s but the trauma of her experiences and the stress of becoming a mother at 13 have ruined her life.

She told social workers that Edwards was the father of her child but nothing was done about it until DNA tests proved it in 2013.

Edwards denied having any sexual contact with the girl and when DNA proved this was not true he said he must have had sex with her in his sleep without knowing it.

He was found guilty after a jury at Exeter Crown Court rejected his claims, which the Judge said would have been comical but for the tragic effect the case had on the victim.

At the time of the offences in the late 1970s he was working as a long distance lorry driver but he went on to run his own taxi company in Tiverton and work as a school bus driver all around North and Mid Devon.

Edwards groomed the girl from the age of 12 and she started having consensual sex with him when she was 13 and became pregnant with his baby, who was born in 1980.

She told Exeter Crown Court he had sex with her in the cab of his lorry, in lay bys while taking her to a pub at Cadeleigh to buy her cigarettes and in a chicken coop in his garden.

He started the abuse when living in Exeter and started having sex with the girl when she visited at a house where he was living in a village near Tiverton.

Edwards was originally charged with raping the girl but a statement which she made to social workers came to light which showed his grooming had been so effective the sex had been consensual.

He could no longer be charged with unlawful sexual intercourse because that offence carried a two year statute of limitation back in the 1970s.

He was instead prosecuted for indecent assault with the allegations relating to his touching and kissing her during the grooming and on some occasions when they had sex.

Edwards, aged 68, of Broad Lane, Tiverton, denies six counts of indecent assault but was found guilty and jailed for 20 months.

Judge Ian Lawrie, QC, said the sentence should be longer but he was constrained by the two year maximum term for indecent assault that was in place at the time.

He told Edwards:”I have to give you a sentence which does not reflect the court’s dismay at what you have done. The victim was young, emotionally vulnerable and unhappy.

“You exploited that unhappiness and pushed the boundaries at an age where she had little knowledge or experience. Your motive was always sexual.

“You did not appreciate the impact on her because, like most sex offenders, you are a selfish individual. You did not care about her. You took advantage of her for your own base purposes.

“You produced a ridiculous explanation about how you impregnated her and still cannot come to terms with the immeasurable harm and long running unhappiness you have caused.

“You quite literally have destroyed her life but you still do not appreciate that.”

Mr David Evans, defending, said there is no suggestion Edwards had ever abused any other children in more than 30 years since these offences.

He said:”He set up his own taxi firm after working as a lorry driver and worked as a school bus driver for many years. He transported thousands and thousands of children with no complaints about his behaviour.”