July 2016

Paedophile jailed for covertly filming children

An Andover man who used a camera pen to covertly film children has been jailed for four years and ten months.
fielding.

John Fielding, 46, of Old Winton Road, Andover, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, July 22 for a sentence hearing.

He had pleaded guilty to the following offences at a previous hearing:

• • Four counts of outraging public decency

  • Six counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child

  • Two counts of possessing a prohibited image of a child

  • Two counts of possessing extreme pornography

  • Three counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order

The court heard that Fielding’s offending came to light in May 27 this year, when he was confronted by a customer at the Lidl store in Western Avenue, Andover.

The customer had become suspicious of Fielding’s behaviour in the store and, with the help of other customers, detained him until police arrived.

A camera pen was found in Fielding’s bag.

The court heard that during the subsequent investigation, officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s Northern Investigations team discovered videos Fielding had covertly filmed children and young people in public places across the South and South West of England using a camera pen or Go Pro camera.

Officers also found thousands of indecent images of children that Fielding had downloaded to his computer from the internet since January 29 this year.

As well as being sentenced to four years and ten months imprisonment, Fielding received a sexual harm prevention order, until further order.

He was also placed on the sexual offenders register, again until further order.

July 2016

Sex attacker who abused teenage boy for five years appears in wedding photo on his victim’s big day

This is the moment a child sex abuser stands just feet away from the man he molested over five years while he was a teenager, smiling with other guests on his victim’s wedding day.

Now 30 years later, Richard Lancaster, 60, has been jailed for ten years. 

He was found guilty of 12 sex assault charges at Chelmsford Crown Court, Essex, last Monday.

Victim Dave Gipps, 53, this week came forward to speak about the abuse he endured by close family friend Lancaster, which started when he was just 13. 

Lancaster, a forklift engineer, was popular in Mr Gipp’s hometown because he drove a motorbike and would take the children on their street for a ride.

Mr Gipps said: ‘He had a big motorbike, we all love motorbikes and as kids we used to play football on the street, so that’s how we met.’

He recalled he first turned to Lancaster, then aged 20, as an older friend while his parents went through a divorce.

Lancaster would drive him around Mr Gipps’ hometown in Chigwell, Essex, on his motorbike and treat him to gifts and cuddles.  

He said: ‘I thought I’d be sad when I looked at those pictures from my wedding day, but actually I’m happy.

‘Now I know that I’ve put him behind bars and he can’t do that to anyone else ever again.

‘I can show it to people now and say ‘this is the man who abused me, he’s got ten years’.’ 

Mr Gipps said: ‘After that, it would happen three or four times a week. He would take me to a bedroom and have his wicked way while my parents were at home, oblivious that any of this was happening.’ 

Speaking of the moment she found out, 10 years after the wedding day, wife Christine, 54, added: ‘I was absolutely sickened to now know what Richard, our family friend, had been doing to him all those years.

‘I never had a clue Dave had a dark past. Richard did a lot for him and I thought he was a genuine good friend.

‘When I found out I was so shocked. I burst out crying. It was so horrible.

‘It makes me angry he came to my wedding, that I stood in the same room with him and posed for pictures at our wedding. It sickens me.’   

Mr Gipps told how he became so confused by what was going on, he spiraled into depression and at just 14-years-old, attempted to slit his wrists in Lancaster’s bathroom.

He said: ‘I think it was a call for help but I went into Richard’s bathroom and made three cuts with a razor on my arm.

‘I was just too terrified to tell anyone. It was like I had two lives, one life with him and one life apart.’

The abuse continued for five years, but by 1980 when Dave was about to turn 18, it ended. 

He said: ‘I think it ended because I was becoming of age.’ 

‘The reality is I had no idea what he’d been doing to me was abuse, I didn’t understand what sex was.

‘I saw him as a father figure and trusted him. Looking back I can see I was very messed up.’

The same year his five-year ordeal ended Dave met Christine at her sister’s 21st birthday party and the pair fell instantly in love.

‘Richard never let me mix with girls or women,’ he recalled, ‘so when I met Christine I felt like I was finally getting a chance at a normal life.’

Mr Gipps’ relationship with Mrs Gipps went from strength to strength and the pair decided to tie the knot in 1986, and even invited Lancaster as a guest.

He never thought about telling Christine about the abuse as he refused to even let it enter his mind for a second.

Mr Gipps said: ‘Richard was still a friend who had done a lot for me and I never thought I shouldn’t invite him to my wedding.’

When their big day came, Lancaster stood for photos with Dave and Christine – a constant reminder in print of the dark past Dave had left behind him.

Mr Gipps and Lancaster lost touch the following year as Christine and Dave prepared to welcome their first daughter Leah into the world.

Lancaster had a wife, who he later divorced, as well as three children of his own.

But it wasn’t until 2007, 31 years after the abuse began did Mr Gipps realise he’d been a child victim in a serious sex crime.

He was sitting in his black cab at Heathrow Airport when the penny dropped.

He said: ‘I was just thinking there taking stock of my life when I realised I’d been brainwashed into never admitting that I’d been abused.’ 

He was married with two daughters Leah, now 29, and Amy, 25, and two grandchildren before he decided to reveal what had happened to him.

He said: ‘When I told Christine and the girls, they were so shocked that they just broke into tears.

‘It was so hard to watch but I knew it was the right thing to do. I had spent a few months going off the rails while I came to terms with what happened to me.

‘I was brainwashed by Richard to believe what we were doing was okay and when it dawned on me I absolutely hated myself.’

Mr Gipps had always pushed his thoughts to one side when it came to Lancaster.

He said: ‘All the life with him and all the the sex was secret, I found it very easy to put that in the back of my mind and ignore it ever happened.’

But the father-of-two decided to go to the police in 2010, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute him until 2015.

Lancaster denied the allegations against him but was found guilty to 12 charges at Chelmsford Crown Court last Monday.

He was found guilty of nine counts of indecent assault on a male, two counts of buggery and one count of gross indecency of a boy under 16.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offender’s register indefinitely and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Mr Gipps said: ‘I feel like I’ve finally got justice after 40 years since this all began.

‘Richard ruined my childhood by subjecting me to all that horror, and it’s ruined my adulthood too.

‘I’ve finally got my life back and I am so relieved to be able to move on.’

Mr Gipps is now desperate for people to know the real Lancaster and what he was subjected to in case anyone else fell victim to a similar crime.

He said: ‘I want everyone to know him to know what he’s been like.

‘There may be other victims out there and I want them to know it’s okay to come forward.’

Mrs Gipps, also delighted by the result, said: ‘We’re over the moon, justice has been served. It’s been hard, but we got through.’

The couple, who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary last month, are hoping they can finally move forward now.

‘I don’t blame anyone for what happened to me except vile Lancaster,’ explained Mr Gipps. ‘He may have robbed me of my childhood, but he won’t take my future.’  

July 2016

Chef from Mold guilty of underage sex is spared prison

A CHEF who sexually abused a vulnerable teenager has been spared an immediate prison sentence. 

Chester Yates, of Ivy Crescent, Mold, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of sexual activity with a child. 

Yates, 20, was sentenced yesterday to a 10-month sentence, suspended for one year. 

Mold Crown Court heard how Yates had taken to Facebook where he “groomed” a vulnerable girl who was 15. 

Anna Pope, prosecuting, said messages exchanged between the two made it clear Yates was aware of her age before sexual activity took place early this year. 

“The messages became more sexualised between the two and they had spoken about meeting up,” said Miss Pope. 

“He then asked her age. She said ‘15 – you are going to be put off now’.  He replied ‘not really’.” 

Miss Pope said other messages between the two said they loved each other and had talked about settling down together and having a family, despite never physically meeting each other. 

“There is an element of grooming because of her vulnerability,” added Miss Pope. 

The court heard Yates picked up the victim in his car after finishing work at 10pm, drove her to a rural location and sexual activity took place. 

On that night she had been reported to police as a missing person. 

It was accepted in court that both were happy to engage in the sexual activity. 

Yates then dropped her off not far from her home and told her to dispose of her SIM card, said Miss Pope. 

The victim’s friend’s mother discovered messages between the two and reported it to police. 

Once arrested Yates accepted the sexual activity, but claimed he was unaware she was underage. 

Frances Willmott , defending, said Yates found himself in this situation because of his lack of maturity and experiences. 

She added: “He has the support of his employer and his family, who are disappointed by his behaviour. 

“He wants to carry on working hard as a chef.” 

She added he had not thought through the consequences of his actions. 

Judge Niclas Parry, said: “You sexually abused a vulnerable young girl and you knew her age. It was the topic of some discussion between you. You flattered her, effectively grooming her, and quite remarkably she agreed to meet you for sexual activity. 

“You need to understand this law is there to protect young girls from themselves.” 

The judge said aggravating features were the choice of a rural location to take the victim to and the fact he told her to dispose of the SIM card, a claim disputed by the defendant. 

Yates must also carry out 250 hours of unpaid work, abide by a 50-day rehabilitation requirement and register as a sex offender for the next 10 years. 

He was also ordered to pay £500 costs and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order restricting his contact with children under the age of 16 unless their parents are aware of the offences and give consent. 

He was also given restrictions on future internet use, preventing him from having any storage software or from deleting his search history.

July 2016

Pervert pleads guilty to over 200,000 child sexual images

A KIDDERMINSTER pensioner has admitted having more than 200,000 child sexual abuse images on his home computer.

Robert Davies, aged 67, of Hillgrove Crescent, pleaded guilty to downloading indecent images, many involving young girls, at a hearing at Worcester Crown Court on Friday, July 22.

The court was told that police found the images when they raided his Kidderminster home and checked the computer.

Colin Phillips, prosecuting, said seven category A (the most serious) images were found. There were also 198 of category B and more than 200,000 of category C.

Davies, was given a three-year community order. He must carry out 150 days unpaid work and take part in 60 days rehabilitation with the probation service.

Judge Robert Juckes QC, who also imposed £435 costs, made a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered Davies to register as a sex offender for a similar period.

Mark Sheward, mitigating, said Davies started collecting 15 years ago after going through an unhappy marriage. He was a man dedicated to collecting but unfortunately it was the wrong kind of image.

The judge said it was unfortunate that a man with Davies’s background and good character should appear before the court. People who offended with the use of child abuse images did not realise the potential harm it caused and they deserved to be publicly humiliated.

July 2016

Teen jailed after grooming and blackmailing two young girls

A TEENAGER has been locked up for grooming two young girls and threatening to post indecent pictures of them on Facebook if they failed to comply with his demands.

Daniel McKinlay, from Rutland Court, Connah’s Quay, was jailed for 18 months yesterday at Mold Crown Court after “targeting” two girls as young as 12.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of engaging in sexually activity with a child and two counts of blackmail.

Judge Niclas Parry warned of the dangers of the “phenomenon” known as sexting.

“Young girls need to understand when they are persuaded to send images that their dignity, modesty and privacy may be lost forever,” he said.

McKinlay, who was just 15 when the offences started, first convinced a 12-year-old victim to send him a picture of her wearing a bra, said barrister Anna Pope, prosecuting.

The defendant, now 18, then got back in touch with the same victim three years later asking her for more images and reminding her that he still had pictures from the past.

When he asked the girl for another image she refused and blocked him on Facebook.

He then gave her an option of performing oral sex on him or he would post an image of her on the internet.

In “an act of great bravery” she posted the conversation on the social media site – “exposing McKinlay as a bully and to be blackmailing her”, the judge said.

McKinlay also turned his attention to targeting a 14-year-old girl. 

The pair shared Snapchat messages before speaking on FaceTime – a form of communication which offers live video footage of each other.

Miss Pope said: “On one occasion she was in bed and he was on the sofa. He asked her to expose her breast and she did.

“He then asked her to touch herself between her legs.

“She turned the camera to show her performing a sexual act on herself, but she became concerned after hearing clicks, as if the defendant was taking screenshots.”

The court heard how McKinlay would then pester the youngster and told her there was no point in refusing to send future pictures because “she had already done it”.

He also told her that if she did not send more images he would post pictures of her on Facebook, said Miss Pope.

McKinlay was arrested on December 4 and admitted to threatening to post pictures of the victims, but said he did not have any images of them. No images were found on his phone.

Barrister John Hedgecoe, defending, said McKinlay had demonstrated remorse on a number of occasions. “This young man has learnt his lesson,” he said.

Mr Hedgecoe said the defendant was a naive character who had not realised the seriousness of the offences until he was arrested.

Judge Parry told McKinlay: “You targeted two young girls.

“By your flattery you were activity grooming these girls, and by the second victim, you knew what you were doing.”

Jailing McKinlay, the judge warned that in the “modern age” offences such as these needed to be deterred.

As well as 18 months custody, he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

He is also not allowed to have contact with children under the age of 16 unless their parents are aware of the offences and give consent.

He was also given restrictions on future use of the internet – preventing him from having any storage software or from deleting his search history.

July 2016

Teen who distributed indecent movies of children being sexually abused jailed

A STUDLEY teenager who distributed indecent movies of children being sexually abused has been jailed.

Luke Fancini, aged 19, of Wickham Road, had pleaded guilty to five charges of making indecent images of children and five of distributing images.

And at Warwick Crown Court Fancini, who also admitted possessing extreme pornography, was sentenced to 15 months detention and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of ‘any device capable of accessing the internet’ and banning him from deleting his search history.

Prosecutor Anthony Cartin said that when Fancini was arrested officers seized his Acer laptop computer and a USB stick.

On them they found a total of 21 indecent moving images of children – 11 of which were in category A, the most serious classification.

Of the others, four were category B movies and there were six in category C, showing children in naked or indecent poses without any sexual activity.

In addition there were five category C still and an image classed as extreme pornography.

And it was found that Fancini had distributed images in all three categories.

Recorder Adrian Redgrave QC told him that the offences of distribution, two of which involved category A images, made his case so serious that there was no alternative to an immediate custodial sentence.

Francini was sentenced to 15 months detention for the distribution of the category A images, with shorter concurrent sentences for the other offences.

And Recorder Redgrave also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of his laptop and the USB stick.

July 2016

Man had 1,000 indecent images of children and animals

A man has been given a community order after more than 1000 indecent images and videos of children and animals were found on his computer equipment.

Leeds Crown Court heard West Yorkshire police officers went to the home of Gordon Crosfield in Market Place, Slaithwaite, in May last year after they received information an IP address was being used to download such images.

Stephanie Hancock prosecuting said computer equipment including laptops, memory cards and a mobile phone were seized.

When they were examined more than 1100 images and videos were recovered some involving children as young as four. There were 91 still images and 324 movies in Category A, the most serious, 120 still images and 162 movies at Category B and 445 still images and 65 movies at Category C.

Officers also found 30 extreme pornographic images involving animals. He claimed images involving young children had popped up when he was looking for older teenagers and denied getting any sexual gratification from them.

Mathew Harding representing Crosfield said he recognised the seriousness of his position and the probation service felt they could work with him.

He said Crosfield’s wife, who previously appeared at court in a wheelchair, was reliant on him and would suffer if he was jailed.

Crosfield, 60, admitted four charges of making indecent images and one of possessing extreme pornography. He was given a three year community order with 60 days activity requirement.

Judge James Spencer QC told him yesterday that would include attending an appropriate sex offender treatment programme. “I am told you have learnt the error of your ways.”

July 2016

Newlyn pensioner admits interest in children after being caught with 400 indecent images

A NEWLYN pensioner in his sixties, who caught by police with more than 400 indecent pictures of children accepted that he had an unhealthy interest in the children.

But Truro Magistrates’ Court heard he was relieved that he had been found out so that he could begin rehabilitation.

David John Lavers, 65, of Navy Inn Court, pleaded guilty to six offences of making indecent photographs of a child at Penzance between January and July last year and one of possessing indecent photographs between June 2012 and July last year.

Alison May for the CPS said the prosecution was the result of work by an ongoing monitoring investigation of this type of behaviour. Police had seized defendant’s laptop, USB stick and mobile phone, and had found 23 indecent images of children, described as Category A, 13 of Category B and 404 of Category C.

Lavers told officers he had visited various chat sites.

He was not interested in child sexual abuse images, but accepted he had been chatting on the sites about children in a sexual way but that it was fantasy on his part.

On some occasions he had used a false profile

Barry Hilliard, for the defence, said his client had drifted into this world and then found it difficult to get out.Mr Hilliard said Lavers accepted that in some respects he had a problem.”

He has an unhealthy interest in children, is effectively dysfunctional because of his current restricted life,” he said.

“It was with some relief that he has been caught because he can begin the process of being rehabilitated.”Lavers was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 24 months, and told to pay £185 costs and charges.

The magistrates also made a sexual harm prevention order against him, for seven years.

July 2016

Shropshire man, 70, jailed for sex attacks on boys as young as 5

Peter Shuker’s first victim was only five when he was first started indecently assaulted in the mid-1960s, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sexually abused by Shuker until he was 15, but did not come forward to tell police until 2013 when he was in his 50s, the court was told.

Shuker, of Berriewood Lane, Condover, near Shrewsbury, was found guilty of a total of 17 offences by a jury and jailed for 13 years and six months.

Three other victims, who also cannot be named, came forward to say they had been assaulted by the 70-year-old.

The court heard Shuker took two victims on shooting trips or offered them a ride in his tractor before assaulting them.

Mr Recorder Christopher Millington QC, sentencing Shuker, said: he had “successfully groomed” the boys, with one telling police he had been showered with gifts and “made to feel like a prostitute”.

“You have been convicted by a jury of 17 offences of sexual misbehaviour towards four victims,” he said.

“You have shown no remorse.

“It is offending that calls for a substantial period of imprisonment.”

Shuker was found guilty on nine counts of gross indecency with a child, with the offences dating from 1966 to 2004

He was also convicted on seven counts of indecent assault, from 1966 to 1987, and another charge of a sexual assault between September 1966 and September 1969

July 2016

Navy veteran looked at child sex abuse images on computer used by own children

A Navy veteran who used his family’s shared computer to access indecent images of children has avoided jail.

Shamed former serviceman Nicolas Harman, of Clittaford Road, Southway, downloaded more than 30 indecent images of extreme child sexual abuse on to his family’s computer in May last year.

The 60-year-old used his password-protected “Dad” account on the shared device, also used by his wife and two children, to store the files while also downloading images on to a Dell laptop and his Samsung tablet.

Harman, who served in the Royal Navy for 33 years, was convicted of four child abuse images offences at Plymouth Crown Court 

“The computer was used by all of the family and an account, named ‘Dad’, was protected by a password,” said Julia Cox, prosecuting.

“Indecent images were found on the ‘Dad’ file of the hard drive and there were others located in temporary files.

“On the hard drive, there were a total of 35 images found and, on the computer, there were terms found which are commonly associated with indecent images including ‘hardcore kiddie porn’.”

Harman’s solicitor, Nick Lewin, admitted the 60-year-old had “strayed from morally-acceptable behaviour” while caring full-time for his disabled step-son.

He also said Harman’s wife and daughter had since relocated to America.

“He’s a 60-year-old man who has served his country for 33 years,” Mr Lewin added, “and he has never been in trouble with police before and he has always been a fine and upstanding member of the community.

“It seems likely that the conviction, and consequences of it, will have been enough to perhaps prevent Harman from further offending.

“He does not need to go to prison today.

“He would be much better served by being placed in the community.

“This was an isolated incident.”

Judge Paul Darlow handed Harman an eight-month jail sentence for each offence, suspended for three years.

He also made Harman the subject of five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered the destruction of the Dell laptop and Samsung tablet.

July 2016

Pervert publican filmed teenage girl in shower

A SOUTHAMPTON publican who filmed a teenage girl as she showered told a court he had been trying to video another woman instead.

Sean O’Gorman placed an alarm clock with a concealed camera on a bathroom shelf as part of his bid to covertly film.

However, three 20-minute films of the teenage girl showering were found on the 46-year-old’s laptop by police investigating other allegations a court head.

Prosecutor Timothy Bradbury said officers first visited the defendant at his home on January 25 2015 in relation to another investigation, which was not pursued by the CPS.

“That was in relation to an investigation concerning allegations made against him,” Mr Bradbury said.

“In the event, that did not result in the defendant being charged with any offences.”

However, films of the girl were discovered on computer equipment seized as part of the investigation.

O’Gorman, now of Winn Road in Southampton, admitted two counts of voyeurism on the basis that he had not intended to film the girl and had not realised the footage was on his laptop.

However, he accepted installing the camera with the intention of filming an older woman and acknowledged that there had been a risk of filming others instead.

He was formally found not guilty of five further counts relating to the possession of indecent images.

Fern Russell, mitigating, told Bournemouth Crown Court, the defendant should be sentenced on his basis of plea and there should be no “raised eyebrows”.

“He cannot maintain he is position of hospitality manager,” Ms Russell said.

“He is acting as a bar manager at a place in Southampton. It will be a long road before he can resume the level he had before [the charges were brought].”

The defendant has no previous convictions.

Judge Jonathan Fuller QC sentenced O’Gorman, a pub landlord, to a three-year community order with a requirement to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offenders Programme, as well as 200 hours of unpaid work.

He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Fuller said the sentence was not to “diminish [victims’] feelings of shame and violation”.

He added: “In my view the public interest is best served by this order, rather than a short consecutive prison sentence with no treatment to prevent further offending.”

July 2016

Pensioner found guilty over child rapes

A MAN of 70 is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of a campaign of sexual abuse and rape against a girl four decades ago.

Reginald Styles, from Hartlepool, was yesterday convicted of 11 of the 13 serious charges he faced during a week-long trial at Teesside Crown Court.

He was remanded in custody by Judge Stephen Ashurst until he is sentenced – on a date yet to be fixed – so reports can be prepared on the pensioner.

July 2016

Man admits sexually abusing 2-yr-old girl after footage found on phone

A man has admitted abusing a two-year-old girl after police found incriminating footage on his mobile phone.

Aaron Cooper was remanded in custody and warned he faces a jail sentence after he admitted sexually assaulting a two-year-old child.

Cooper, aged 28, of De La Rue Way, Exeter, also admitted making an indecent movie of a child when he appeared before Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

Mr Joss Ticehurst, prosecuting, asked for the case to be adjourned to allow the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to add further charges relating to other images found on Cooper’s computer

He said the charges follow a lengthy investigation which has included specialist examination of deleted items recovered from the memory card of Cooper’s mobile phone.

The judge told Cooper:”This is a very serious offence. I am adjourning sentence. You will be remanded in custody.”

July 2016

Jailed: Teen who sent indecent picture of himself groping underage girl in Facebook message

AN ‘arrogant’ 19-year-old who photographed himself groping an underage girl has been jailed for a year.

And when Aramis Ferrari realised the 15-year-old had a boyfriend he sent him a goading Facebook message along with the indecent picture he had taken.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court the girl had made her age clear to the defendant when they first corresponded online a few days before Christmas.

Ferrari then persuaded her to meet up with him on Monday, December 28, in a local park where he began to hug and kiss her, making all the running, the court heard.

“He said he was cold and suggested they go to his grandmother’s house, which was nearby,” he said.

It was there that Ferrari removed the girl’s clothes and took photographs.

The girl said she had not realised he was doing as she had her hands over her face at the time.

Mr Welling said Ferrari’s gran then told them to come downstairs, and when he did he saw the girl’s Facebook profile, which indicated she had a boyfriend.

The defendant then sent him a series of messages saying she was cheating on him before sending him the picture he had taken.

When he was first questioned he refused answer any questions but then wrote a letter to the police telling them how being arrested had shaken him up.

In a second interview he told officers that she had made all the running and that the picture was not of the girl, but one he got off the internet.

But when it was put to him there may be DNA evidence he accepted what he had done.

As a result of what she had been through, the court heard that the girl had become less trusting of others.

Ferrari, of Frobisher Drive, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child, and taking and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Clare Fear, defending, said despite the view of the probation officer who wrote the pre-sentence report her client was full of remorse and was only 18 at the time.

She said it was not uncommon for teenagers to send messages including naked pictures these days, adding it was a ‘moment of madness,’ when he did it.

“The complainant has been under stress, and distressed, he also has found the whole experience extremely difficult,” she said.

Jailing him, Judge Peter Blair QC said: “In the pre-sentence report interview it says ‘Mr Ferrari told me that the victim was eager to engage in more sexual behaviour, insisting she was completely relaxed’.

“Her witness statement is one in which she said she told you repeatedly to stop.

“Though I am told today you take full responsibility, that history just shows you have done everything in your powers to limit responsibility for serious sexual behaviour.

“What I can’t get around is that you continued to come across, even to the probation officer, as an arrogant young man who has no awareness of the circumstances of the selfishness of your behaviour.

“It is important for anyone to know in this town and across the country that this sort of behaviour on people under 16 will be met with very severe punishment and you are relatively lucky to only receive 12 months today.”

As well as a 12-month sentence he told him must also register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

July 2016

Man faces life in prison after horrific catalogue of abuse against women and children

A north-east man who carried out a horrific catalogue of abuse on women and children over a 24-year period could be facing a life sentence.

Colin Gillies went on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court earlier this year, facing 20 separate charges.

They included assaulting three women and a child to the danger of their lives.

A jury found him guilty of 18 of the violent offences after deliberating for less then two hours.

Gillies was found guilty of seven assaults to danger of life, nine assaults to injury, one assault and one assault to severe injury.

The jury returned a not-proven verdict on the other two charges.

Sentence had been deferred on the serial abuser for background reports.

But when Gillies returned to the city’s sheriff court to learn his fate yesterday, Sheriff Graham Buchanan decided his catalogue of offending was too serious for him to deal with and remitted the case to the High Court.

He could be given a life long restriction order – meaning he would only be released from prison if it was deemed safe to allow him to return to society.

Gillies, of Townhead, Inverbervie, will now be sentenced by a judge at a later date.

During his week-long trial, the court heard he committed the offences at various addresses in the north-east.

All of the women were throttled or had their breathing restricted by Gillies as he used pillows or cushions to smother them.

One woman told the court she was forced to the floor by the 50-year-old while he placed a pillow over her head.

He also hit her on the head with a broom.

During closing speeches, fiscal depute Stephanie Ross said one of the women had feared for her life on two occasions when Gillies compressed her neck.

Addressing the jury, Sheriff Buchanan said: “This was a very distressing case and I do say some of you may have been a bit shocked by the nature of some of the evidence.”

July 2016

Pervert avoids prison after internet grooming sting

A hospital porter caught by paedophile hunters trying to get what he thought was a 14-year-old girl to send him topless photos has avoided jail.

Ian Williams sent messages telling her to “be brave” and asked if the teen was a “naughty girl” before assuring her “it will be ur secret” if she sent him the photo.

Williams, 48, sent a photo of his genitals to ‘Eva Wells’ on Facebook – a fake profile set up by a group called Public Justice PHL (Paedophile Hunters London) to catch predators.

He was handed a suspended sentence at Bexley Magistrates Court after admitting attempting to cause or incite a girl between 14 and 15 to engage in sexual activity.

The full transcript of the conversation between Williams and Eva begins with Williams sending the message: “Hi Eva.”

Although Eva gives her age immediately to give Williams the chance to leave the conversation he carries on talking to her.

He begs her to send him a topless photo – even resorting to using a crying emoji.

Williams, a porter at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, asked if the girl likes “naughty boys” and sent her a topless photo of himself early in the conversation.

Members of the PHL group handed their dossier to police and Williams was arrested.

The group, set up last September, claim to be responsible for catching around 20 paedophiles and that 14 men have been convicted due to their actions with five currently serving time.

Their Facebook page says: “We pose as children online, we pass the details of anyone who interacts that we believe to be a paedophile onto the police.

“We never send the first message.”

One of the organisers, who identified himself as JB, said: “We set it up because we were constantly coming across men who wanted to groom children online and I couldn’t sit back and ignore it.

“I thought I would go undercover and do the work and so I’ve spent lots of man hours doing what I’m doing to bring them to justice.

“All children in society need to be protected. They’re innocent – let them have that innocence, don’t take that away from them.

“That’s not yours for taking advantage of.”

Referring to Williams’ case, he said: “What that man did he needs to be exposed for what he did because, at the end of the day, when he gets released who doesn’t say that he can’t do it again?

“There is no guarantee there. Hopefully he’s learnt his lesson and he won’t ever do that sort of thing again.

“But once a paedophile always a paedophile – you’re always going to have a sexual interest in children.”

Williams, of Mulgrave Road, Woolwich, was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment suspended for 24 months and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He must also comply with a community sexual offending group programme for 100 days and a rehabilitation activity requirement for 60 days.

Williams must also pay £85 in costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

July 2016

Pervert ordered not to delete web history as punishment

A pervert who tried to force a child to watch a sex act has been told he can only use the internet if he doesn’t delete his user history.

Samuel Thomas Davies was handed a sexual harm prevention order after admitting the charge during a previous hearing at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court.

It involved a young person aged between 13 and 15 who has not been named for legal reasons and happened on June 15 last year.

Davies, 26, of Station Road, Ollerton, was told the order will last for five years.

He is not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under the sage of 16, and only if it is not avoidable or has permission from their legal guardian and they have full knowledge of his conviction and with the approval of social services.

Davies is also not allowed to live in the same household as anyone under 16 unless social services is aware and allows it.

Finally, he can not use the internet or take digital images unless he makes the device available for police inspection, does not delete his internet history or contact anyone under the age of 16 using the net.

July 2016

Teenage sex offender jailed

A TEENAGER has been jailed for “squalid” sex with an underage girl and putting her younger friend in hospital with a cannabis overdose.

Jacob Ben Cuthbert, 18, ignored a police warning before plying the older girl, 14, with alcohol and having unprotected sex with her on a garage floor, said Peter Hampton, prosecuting.

“He told her afterwards she might want to take a pregnancy test,” said Mr Hampton.

He also defied a ban on contacting girls under 18 by giving her 13-year-old friend so much cannabis she returned home heavily intoxicated and had to be taken to hospital. She suffered no long-term effects.

Jailing Cuthbert for three years and four months, the Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC said: “He is a very fortunate young man that he wasn’t charged with rape.”

He told Cuthbert the 14-year-old girl had regarded him as a good friend and trusted him.

“You repaid that trust that she had in you by having sexual activity and sexual intercourse with her in the most squalid condition on the floor of a garage.”

He described the supplying of her friend with cannabis three days after Cuthbert had been released on bail with a condition to stay away from girls under 18 as a “significant and troubling aspect of the case”.

Cuthbert, of Riverside View, Norton, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child and supplying cannabis. He had no previous convictions and will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Reading a victim impact statement from the older girl, Mr Hampton said she had been shunned by former friends and others in her neighbourhood since she went to police and felt as though the unprotected sex was her fault.

For Cuthbert, David Camidge said he was a young man whose background included “criminality in the family” but had avoided offending in the past.

Mr Hampton said Cuthbert got to know the girl through Facebook and police had warned him about the way he was behaving towards her a month before the sex act. “Numerous” people including the girl’s mother had told him that she was 14. But on April 21 she told police that about a month earlier, he had met her in a garage where he had given them both lager he had bought. Then he had closed the garage doors, encouraged her to perform a sex act with him, taken off her lower clothes and had sex with her.

When she wanted to leave, he had got agitated and thrown her mobile phone against the wall.

Cuthbert was arrested on April 23 and admitted the offence. Three days later, he committed the cannabis offence.

July 2016

Man exchanged sexual images with 14-year-old girl he met online

A MAN who exchanged graphic sexual images with a 14-year-old girl he had met online has been jailed.

Russell Bollen, of Hardy Crescent in Stalbridge near Sturminster Newton, was aware of the youngster’s age at an early stage but continued to message her, a court heard.

However, he had no plans to meet her, it was said.

The defendant, 24, admitted two counts of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and six of possessing indecent photographs of a child before a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He returned to the court for sentence on Friday, July 22.

Judge Brian Forster QC said Bollen, who works as an electrician, “used his spare time” to “pursue contact” with the victim.

The girl also sent sexual images of her boyfriend to the defendant.

“You quickly became aware of her age and despite being aware of it you continued [the] contact with her,” Judge Forster told Bollen.

“I have been able to look carefully at the flow of messages between you.

“It is apparent that she was fully participating in the exchanges that took place and when it came to the transfer of images, she was willing to suggest that she send you sexual images of her boyfriend.”

Bollen was “socially isolated” at the time the messages were sent, it was said.

“You should have known from an early stage that it was time to stop the exchange,” Judge Forster said.

“For you, what took place is said to have been some sort of fantasy but for the girl, it was real.

“You encouraged her to carry out sexual acts.”

Prosecutor Stuart Ellacott told the court there was an element of “grooming behaviour” to the offences.

Judge Forster said: “There is not much indication that you planned to meet and carry out any acts upon her.

“To a large extent, you were involved in mutual conversation.”

Bollen, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison for the offences.

He will also report as a sex offender for 10 years after his release from prison and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order has been made.

July 2016

Pensioner jailed after child sexual abuse images are found on computer

A pensioner wept in the dock at Cardiff Crown Court when he was jailed for 12 months for being in possession of indecent pictures of children, some as young as two years old

Ronald Thomas (65), a man with no previous convictions, of Court Road, Barry, pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing indecent images of children.

“His reputation and his marriage are now in shreds,” said his solicitor Nick Hartman.

Prosecutor David Pugh said at 9.40am on March 7, police officers executed a search warrant on Thomas’s then home at Guys Road, Barry.

They seized a laptop computer in an upstairs room which contained indecent images of children. He was arrested and the images were forensically examined.

Some were still and some were moving and all involved children, some aged 10-12, some five to six and some two to three years old. There were 15 category A, the most serious, 22 of B and 26 of C.

Mr Thomas told the police, said Mr Pugh, that he was the only person who used the computer and had at times “liaised” with other people with whom he had discussed adult images.

He said that initially, he had deleted these images, but returned to them. He also said that he was “totally ashamed” of what he had done.

Mr Pugh said that among the aggravating features were the ages of the children and that some were moving images.

Mr Hartman said: “People who know Thomas find it difficult to find him associated with such offences. He had worked on a voluntary basis within his community.

“From the start, he was honest, frank and open with the police.”

He said the impact on his life had been “catastrophic”.

He added: “He has been aware of a potential prison sentence for four months. There is clear remorse and he is motivated to address the issue and there are good prospects to rehabilitate him.”

Sadly, said Mr Hartman, Thomas was the author of his own misfortune and he found it difficult to explain why he committed the offences.

Recorder Catherine Brown told the defendant: “Until you committed these offences, you had a clean record. This was not a victimless crime, and these are serious offences which took place, perhaps over a period of two years, and it has had a devastating effect.

“Your wife of 48 years has left you. Society expects there has to be punishment to mark what you did.”

A Sexual Prevention Order was made for 10 years and Thomas was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Said the Judge: “This is not conduct society tolerates.”

He was ordered to pay a court surcharge of £100 and it was directed that his computer be forfeited.