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Paul Scott – Ware

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November 2016

Paedophile locked up for 21 years for ‘depraved and harrowing’ child sex abuse

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A PERVERT who committed ‘horrific and vile’ child sex abuse was jailed for 21 years today.

Paul Scott, 63, had arranged for groups of men to visit a house in Bedfordshire to rape a young boy on many occasions.

Judge Stuart Bridge told him that the jury at Luton Crown Court had heard an account that was ‘depraved and harrowing’.

He said: “You were cold, callous and calculating. Some of the men involved finally told you it had to stop and called you a monster. They were absolutely right.”

Scott, from Wickenfields, Ware, had pleaded not guilty to seven charges involving the rape of a child under 13. He was found guilty of six of them after a trial in October. He pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

During the trial the jury heard the offences spanned a number of years, possibly as many as three, ending in 2009.

They came to light when the boy made a complaint earlier this year. He told investigators that he had been given something to make him sleepy before the abuse took place.

Marion Smullen, defending told the court on Friday. “The defendant maintains very strongly that he is not guilty. Obviously he is going to prison for a very lengthy time and it will not be a soft option for him.”

She said he had been on remand at Bedford prison when riots broke out, and his wing had been targeted by rioters. “It was a very frightening situation for him.”

She said he had been moved to Nottingham prison after the riot.

After the case Detective Sergeant Colin Nelson said: “This abhorrent individual inflicted unimaginable horror on an innocent child. He facilitated the rape of a young child on multiple occasions just to fulfil his own sick fantasies.

“He showed no remorse for this horrific and vile sex abuse, denying it completely and forcing the victim to undergo the further emotional trauma of a trial.”

Scott had been jailed in 2011 to three years and nine months in prison for making, possessing and distributing images of child abuse.

October 2016

Pervert guilty of ‘horrific and vile’ child sex abuse

A man has been found guilty of committing “horrific and vile” child sex abuse.

Paul Scott, 63, from Wickenfields, Ware, was convicted on Friday (October 7) at Luton Crown Court on eight counts of child sexual abuse offences.

During the trial, the jury heard how he would arrange for groups of men to rape the child at a house in Bedfordshire.

The offences spanned a number of years up until 2009.

Detective Sergeant Colin Nelson said: “This abhorrent individual inflicted unimaginable horror on an innocent child.

He facilitated the rape of a young child on multiple occasions just to fulfil his own sick fantasies.

“He showed no remorse for this horrific and vile sex abuse, denying it completely and forcing the victim to undergo the further emotional trauma of a trial.

“I’m glad that Scott has been found guilty today and I hope that his punishment will reflect the severity of his disgusting actions.”

He man was found guilty of six counts of rape and had pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children prior to the start of the trial.

Scott also pleaded guilty to having breached a sexual offences prevention order imposed following a previous conviction for possessing indecent images, for which he served two years in prison from 2011 to 2013.

Scott will be sentenced on Friday, November 11 at Luton Crown Court.


Antony Hunter – Loughborough/Fife

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November 2016

Paedophile is on the run after judge made ‘mistake’ by granting him bail

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A CONVICTED paedophile who moved to Scotland and kept offending has gone on the run.

Antony Hunter was warned a jail sentence was “almost inevitable” when he previously appeared in court for his latest offences.

Dunfermline sheriff Charles Macnair admitted yesterday that his decision to grant Hunter bail was “a mistake” after defence solicitor Roshni Joshi said her client was not present for sentencing.

The 35-year-old admitted downloading more than 300 illegal images of children while staying with his mother in Rosyth, Fife.

He told police he was attracted to girls aged over 14, admitting: “I know I have a problem and I need help.”

The paedophile also admitted breaching an order by the courts that meant he had to tell police where he was living – but failed to do so when he moved from Loughborough to Fife.

Hunter, who was jailed in 2011 for having sex with a 15-year-old girl, also admitted breaching a sexual Offences Prevention order (SOPO).

He had unsupervised contact with two girls aged five and 10 in Burntisland, Fife, between August 10 and August 24 last year, while sharing a room with the younger girl.

Despite admitting the offences, Hunter was bailed and failed to appear for sentencing.

Sheriff Macnair had told Hunter: “It’s very concerning you committed a serious sexual offence on a child in 2011.

“You were placed on a SOPO. You breached it by staying with these young children and having unsupervised contact with them. During this time you downloaded child pornography.”

Macnair called for reports and a psychological assessment, adding it was “almost inevitable” Hunter would be jailed. But he allowed bail to continue

William/Daniel McCreadie – Johnstone

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November 2016

Exposed: father and son perverts with a shocking collection of child sexual abuse images

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A FATHER and son from Johnstone have been exposed as perverts after they admitted hoarding images of child abuse.

William McCreadie, 63, and his 26-year-old son Daniel were found to have separate stashes of illegal films and pictures of children being raped.

The pair landed in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court after officers found the sordid stash during a search of bedrooms at their two-bedroom flat in Elm Drive, Johnstone Castle.

The McCreadies, who now live in nearby Sycamore Avenue, were arrested after the raid took place in November last year.

Police found a total of 3,079 illegal images, including some that were stored on a stack of DVDs hidden in a drawer under a bed and labelled “warning: dad only”.

Last week, William McCreadie pleaded guilty to being in possession of indecent photographs of children at his home on November 27, 2015, in breach of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

In August, his son admitted downloading child abuse images at the same address over a three-and-a-half-year period between April 5, 2012, and November 27, 2015.

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Procurator Fiscal Depute Scot Dignan told the court police received intelligence that someone at the address had been accessing indecent images of children.

Forensic analysis of computers seized during the raid found that Daniel McCreadie’s child abuse stash contained 18 images that were classified as the most extreme there is.

Of the 150 discs found in William McCreadie’s bedroom, 31 contained indecent images of children.

He was found to have a total of 46 illegal files, 40 of which were classified as the most extreme there is.

As he deferred sentence on the McCreadies so that background reports could be prepared, Sheriff David Pender told them: “These are obviously very serious matters.”

Both men face the possibility of being handed a jail sentence for their crimes when they return to the dock later this month to learn their fate.

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Leslie Hall – Bidston

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November 2016

Paedophile caught posing as lesbian teenager on Skype fled to Thailand

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A paedophile caught posing as a lesbian teenager on Skype to make children undress later fled to Thailand.

Leslie Hall, 61, tried to start conversations with nearly 4,000 schoolgirls, pretending he was a 16 to 19-year-old.

He befriended four victims, persistently demanded they perform sex acts, and became abusive if they did not comply.

Hall, of Wilfred Owen Drive, Bidston, also downloaded nearly 2,000 indecent images of youngsters aged eight to 14.

Liverpool Crown Court heard computer engineer Adam Hill contacted police about Hall on October 9, 2014.

He was asked to repair his machine in April or May that year, but discovered it contained child abuse pictures.

Simon Duncan, prosecuting, said: “He reported that to his boss, who put pressure on Mr Hill simply to return the computer to the client, without reporting that matter to the police.”

Mr Duncan said “business interests” clearly took precedence for Propergeeks in Leasowe Road, Wallasey.

However, Mr Hill later left the company and still “troubled” went to the police.

Recorder David Turner, QC, said he was “unfortunately advised by his boss to keep quiet” but acted in the “public spirit”.

Officers raided Hall’s home on October 11 and seized his computer and digital equipment.

Chat logs showed he used four accounts to talk to his victims, none of whom could be traced.

In November 2013 he told a 13-year-old lesbian he loved her and talked her into showing him her breasts.

He refused to go on camera unless she posed naked, then revealed his penis.

The girl, who had earlier said she felt suicidal, responded: “Why lie to an innocent girl?”

In January 2014 he talked a 14-year-old girl into revealing her body. He suddenly started masturbating on camera and she was confused.

Hall contacted a bisexual 13-year-old in August 2014, who described him as a bully.

In September 2014 he accused a 13-year-old girl of being a man when she refused to strip.

Mr Duncan said: “It is somewhat ironic in the circumstances – nonetheless indicative of the defendant’s manipulative behaviour.

When she told him to “f*** off”, furious Hall replied: “Okay c***.”

He admitted four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

After police interviewed him in October 2014, Hall fled to Thailand. He returned two weeks later and surrendered his passport.

He was granted bail but disappeared in February 2015 and remained at large until September this year, when he was admitted to hospital after a suicide attempt.

Recorder Turner told Hall “you decided you would flee from justice” and spent some 18 months “on the run”.

Jailing him for two years, he said: “You were aggressive and manipulative in your dealings with these young girls.”

He made a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told Hall to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Colin Davidson – Glasgow

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November 2016

TV perv blacklisted by broadcasters over child sexual abuse images shame

A PERVERT sound engineer convicted of possessing child sexual abuse images has been blacklisted by broadcasters.

Colin Couper Davidson was sentenced to do 150 hours of unpaid community service and put on the sex offenders’ register for 15 months.

The 59-year-old freelance engineer had admitted taking or permitting the taking of indecent photos or pseudo photos at his home in the west end of Glasgow.

The city’s sheriff court was told Couper Davidson, who had worked for broadcasters including the BBC, Sky Sports and BT Sport, has been told he will not work for them again.

His home was raided in December and eight videos of young girls between the ages of 10 and 15 in various states of undress were found in the search.

Yesterday, his defence lawyer revealed that Couper Davidson would be attending private therapy at The Stop Programme, with sessions beginning this week.

He added that his client had lost employment and that contracts had been withdrawn, which would have a significant impact on his earnings.

Couper Davidson is an established freelance sound engineer and well known within the industry in Scotland.

His arrest shocked many colleagues and although he continued to work following his first appearance in court, he has now been blacklisted.

A spokesman for Sky Sports told Glasgow Live: “We didn’t have a clue but when we heard the news, we dropped him from our list immediately.”

BT Sport commented: “We only became aware of this matter last Thursday and are no longer working with this individual.”

BBC Scotland were also shocked and a spokesman there said: “He has worked as a freelance but we removed him from bookings as soon as we were aware of the case.”

Iain Moore – Swindon

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November 2016

Teacher pleads guilty to having indecent images of children on computer

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A paedophile teacher was arrested after hundreds of sickening images were found on his school computer.

Iain Moore, 46, from Swindon in Wiltshire, was found to have a memory stick containing 310 photos of which almost 100 fell into the most serious Category A classification.

Moore choked up as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing them.

When asked if he was okay to continue by the clerk at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, the teacher – who has now been sacked – nodded and entered his pleas.

He confessed to making 91 Category A images between February 2012 and May 2016 as well as 98 Category B images and 121 category C images.

Chairman of the bench Paul Sample told him: ‘We have come to the view that these are very serious offences’ aggravated by the fact he was a teacher.

He added: ‘You held a position of trust with young people and you breached that trust when young people were in school.

‘This makes the offence more serious and really puts it out of our powers of punishment.

‘We do not believe that this court has the level of punishment available to it on this occasion.

‘The offences are so great you need greater punishment than we can give.’

Prosecutor Paula Mulhern told the court that at the time of the offences, Moore had been a teacher at Swindon Academy in Wiltshire, which teaches children aged three to 19.

The case was passed to Swindon Crown Court, where Moore will be sentenced at a hearing on a date to be fixed.

He remains on conditional bail and was required to register as a sex offender and banned from having unsupervised contact with children.

Norman Lowe – Middlesbrough

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November 2016

Paedophile made child rape victim a cup of tea and told her ‘forget about it’

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After raping his victim, paedophile Norman Lowe would make the child a cuppa and tell her to “forget about it”.

At an age when she should have been playing with friends, Lowe repeatedly robbed the youngster of her innocence.

The catalogue of abuse inflicted on her at such a young age left her baring scars that may never heal.

Middlesbrough’s Lowe denied even laying a finger on his victim, making her suffer the ordeal of a trial

But over two decades since Lowe committed the attacks, his brave victim’s testimony helped jail her tormentor for 15 years.

“He was just horrible,” said a witness at the trial, speaking on behalf of the victim.

They paint a picture of an abusive man, who would use violence as a way to impose his savage will.

“He would make people feel so uncomfortable and nobody would like to be around him,” they added.

But Lowe reserved a particular cruelness for his young victim, who was just in her early teens.

He raped her six times.

A Teesside Crown Court jury also ruled he committed three further indecent assaults on the girl.

The nature of those attacks still haunt his victim to this day.

“She has a lot of trust issues as a result of what he did to her,” added the witness.

“After he raped her, he would tell her to forget about it.

“He would say ‘You’re not going to tell your mum’, make her a cup of tea and tell her to calm down.

“He was a very manipulating person and it has ruined her life really.”

But after eventually opening up about what he did to her, she eventually plucked up the courage to contact Cleveland Police .

An officer stood alongside her from day one as an investigation was launched into Lowe’s vile past.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, he was first interviewed on 24 May 2014, having attended a police station voluntarily.

But he had no such choice when, days after his 55th birthday, he found himself in the dock where his shameful past finally caught up as his victim testified via video link about what he did all those decades ago.

On October 21, Lowe, of Crowland Avenue , began a sentence which could see him locked up until he turns 70.

Carl Hoban – Pickering

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November 2016

Pervert jailed for abusing boy

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A “dirty old man” with over one hundred previous convictions has been jailed for abusing a boy he wanted to be his “sexual plaything.”

Carl Hoban, 65, bought the 15-year-old boy women’s underwear when on a trip to Ireland and deceived the youth’s mother into thinking he was offering him work, York Crown Court heard.

As well as sexually assaulting him in his Pickering home, he also booked rooms at the Grand Hotel in Scarborough so he could abuse him there.

“You were no more and no less than a dirty old man,” the Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC said to Hoban as he jailed him for four years and put him on the sex offenders’ register for life.

“You evidently wanted this boy for your sexual plaything. You even had the brass neck to attend the school play where he was performing.

“I have no doubt that the sexual activity that occurred between you (and the boy) was extensive.”

He also made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order, again for life, banning him from contacting the victim, or having any contact with any boy aged under 16.

Hoban, of Mill House, Potter Hill, Pickering, was convicted by a jury of three counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of grooming the child by booking hotel rooms. He had denied the charges.

The judge accepted Hoban had not used threats towards the boy, who he said had “not been unwilling” to take part in the sexual activity.

For Hoban, Kirstie Watson said he wanted to apologise to the boy and to the mother and was “very very sorry” for what he had done. The judge pointed out the best way to show his remorse would have been to plead guilty.


James Larkin – Doncaster

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November 2016

Man found guilty of shaking baby to death

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A man who shook his girlfriend’s baby to death ‘after finding out it wasn’t his’ has been found guilty of manslaughter.

James Larkin left 11 week-old Christopher with a fatal brain injury after he lost his temper.

The 26-year-old, from Doncaster, is believed to have found a letter penned to the baby’s real father around the time of the attack, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

After the attack, Larkin and the baby’s mother, Laura Ostle, 21, were heard in the back of a police car ‘getting their story straight’, and Ostle even texted Larkin from the ambulance.

Dafydd Enoch, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘He did not die instantly but in hospital just over a day later as a result of the injuries.’

Laura Ostle, from Doncaster, at Sheffield Crown Court who has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in connection with the death of her three month old baby Christopher. (file pic) See Ross Parry story RPYSHAKE; A man "snapped" and shook his partnerís baby to death because she ìtreated him like a lap dogî, a court heard. James Larkin, 26, suffered a "loss of temper" and shook 11-week-old Christopher Larkin - leaving him with an "unsurvivable brain injury", a jury was told. The court heard that Larkin and Christopher's mother Laura Ostle, 21, had a "relationship on the edge" and Larkin may well have only just discovered that Christopher was not his son before the baby was shaken. The court also heard that the couple were heard in the back of a police car ìgetting their story straight", the prosecutor said.

But Larkin said he thought the baby was unwell and ‘shook him in a panic to try to revive him’.

Paramedics found the baby in cardiac arrest on September 16, 2014 – he died two days later.

A serious case review into the death by the Doncaster Safeguarding Children Board found there were “missed opportunities” to intervene.

The report said there was a “lack of curiosity by professionals” in what was happening within the family and that information was not shared and there was “no evidence found of joint visits or working” between the various agencies involved.

Police found a letter on the sofa drafted to the mum of Christopher’s real father, but Ostle claimed her boyfriend already knew about the letter and helped her write it. Larkin was found guilty of manslaughter.

The couple were also found guilty of perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

After the verdict, Senior Crown Prosecutor Julian Briggs said: ‘This was an absolutely tragic case – baby Christopher was born into the care of two deeply inadequate individuals.’

The pair are due to be sentenced on Monday.

Colin Bigden – Radstock

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November 2016

Perverted pensioner set up a secret spy camera to film naked girls

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A pensioner who set up a secret spy camera to film naked girls has condemned as a “pervert” by a judge.

Colin Bigden also turned the spare room of his home into a “DVD factory”, processing footage of naked boys and girls for onward sale.

But despite the “disgusting” nature of the offending, the judge opted not to send the 67-year-old to prison, instead ordering him to go on a two-month sex offender treatment course.

Former printer Bigden set up a covert device to film youngsters aged between four and 15, Bristol Crown Court heard today.

The pensnioner, of Grove Wood Road in Haydon, near Radstock, pleaded guilty to three charges of voyeurism.

He also admitted 17 charges of making indecent images of children and four charges of distributing indecent images of children.

Edward Hetherington, prosecuting, said Bigden filmed a four-year-old girl, focusing on her knickers and genital area.

Bigden also wired up a spy camera to film two older girls while they were naked or had their genitals exposed.

The court heard police were alerted to his activities after receiving information from Canadian authorities, who were investigating a firm in their country which was supplying DVDs of naked boys.

Mr Hetherington said: “Police conducted a very thorough search.

“Mr Bigden was there. His wife was there. She asked him ‘What have you done now?’

“In a spare bedroom police found a DVD factory, including blank DVDs, labelling and a computer with a DVD burn drive on it.”

In an investigation which followed Bigden’s voyeurism was discovered, as well as covert footage of girls’ chests and private parts.

It also transpired Bigden was downloading and distributing other images of boys and girls to buyers as far afield as Germany.

He was found to have 1,624 still photos of naked girls aged between nine and 11.

Judge James Patrick handed him a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He told Bigden: “These are disgusting offences, some years old.

“They first came to light three years ago and you’ve had them hanging over you.

“Your wife must have been devastated to discover what sort of pervert you were.”
Bigden was told to observe a four-month curfew, under which he must stay at home from 6pm to 2am.

He was ordered to have 60 days of sexual offending treatment and register as a sex offender for ten years.

He was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, banning him from unchecked internet use and unsupervised contact with youngsters aged under 16.

Christo Cruz – Cheltenham

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November 2016

Childminder has been jailed for 11 years for abusing a two-year-old girl in his care

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Childminder Christo Cruz has been jailed for 11 years for abusing a two-year-old girl in his care

Christo Cruz, 36, of Siskin Drive, Springbank, Cheltenham, denied abusing a girl but was unanimously found guilty by a jury at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday.

The offence came to light when the girl’s mother arrived early to collect her from Cruz and found her lying on a changing mat crying in pain.

“You were providing professional child care services for this child,” he said. “That puts your culpability in the higher range of sentencing guidelines.

Father-of-two Cruz wept in the dock with his head in his hands after hearing the jury’s verdict.

After a brief adjournment Cruz asked to be sentenced immediately rather than have an adjournment for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Jailing him for 11 years Recorder John Trevaskis said the offence was aggravated by the fact that Christo was in breach of the trust placed in him by the parents of the little girl.

“Having regard to the very significant impact that a custodial sentence will have on you and on your family I have come to the conclusion that the appropriate sentence is one of eleven years.

“You will be required to serve two thirds of that before you are released on licence. You will have to sign the sex offender register for the rest of your life.”

“Clearly something terrible happened on that day,” he added.

The court heard during the trial that Cruz and his wife had both qualified as childminders in 2011.

Prosecutor Sarah Regan said the mother of the little girl who was allegedly abused would normally collect her daughter from Mr Cruz at about 5:15pm.

Cruz was looking after the girl and one other child when the parents of both arrived early. The two mothers found the little girl lying on the changing mat crying as if in pain.

Mr Cruz told the mother he had been changing the girl when she screamed in pain. He lifted her legs to see if she was lying on something and suddenly saw blood, he claimed.

The mother put Sudocrem and a nappy on the child and took her home. She and her partner both tried to see what had happened but the child was upset and not wanting them to look.

They took the child to A&E where the internal damage was found.

Cruz was arrested and told police he was sat at the kitchen table playing with play dough when but then needed to change one of the girl’s nappies.

“The girl laid down on the mat and the other child sat next to me on my right hand side,” he said.

“I turned to get a clean nappy and she shouted ‘ouch’ and let out a scream.

“The other child jumped up and ran and stood by the table when the girl screamed and seemed in shock.

Cruz was informed that a paediatrician had explained how the injury could have happened but when Cruz was asked if he had any idea, he said no.

He was asked if he was sexually aroused by children but he said “no.”

Paul Hitchen – Wigan

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November 2016

Violent rapist abused girls as young as 13

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A violent rapist who abused girls as young as 13 has been jailed for 29 years.

Bullying paedophile Paul Hitchen was locked up for sexually assaulting eight victims over almost a decade.

During one sickening attack, the 35-year-old grabbed his victim by the throat and lifted her off the ground before violently sexually assaulting her and raping her.

Hitchen would befriend his victims to gain their trust before starting an intimate relationship with them, detectives said.

He would then start to turn controlling and agitated, and would threaten to attack them.

Hitchen, who is from Wigan but has no fixed address, would often demand sexual favours. If his victims did not consent, he’d force himself on them.

His crimes came to light in 2014, when one woman found the courage to come forward and further police investigations revealed seven other victims.

When Hitchen was interviewed by officers, he denied the offences and claimed the victims were ‘conspiring against him’ – despite not knowing each other.

He was sentenced to 29 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after being found guilty of 28 offences.

The charges include seven counts of rape, seven sexual assaults, two counts of actual bodily harm and one count of false imprisonment.

He will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Patrick O’Brien – Dublin

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November 2016

Ex-Church of Ireland volunteer jailed for sexually assaulting boys

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A former lay worker with the Church of Ireland who raped and molested 14 young boys over the course of four decades has been jailed for 13 years.

Patrick O’Brien, 76, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 48 sample counts of indecent assault and three counts of sexual assault of the boys between 1974 and 2013 at numerous locations throughout the state including Kildare, Westmeath, on a boat in Loughrea in Co Galway and at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin where he worked as a volunteer.

He has one previous conviction for a sex assault of another boy in 1989 for which he got a one year suspended sentence.

O’Brien, with an address at Knocklyon Road, Templeogue, Dublin, was sent forward for trial from Dublin District Court

Judge Cormac Dunne previously ruled that the media could identify the accused following an application by RTÉ at the District Court.

All of the victims wish to preserve their anonymity. Four victims were present in court for the sentence hearing.

A number of victim impact reports were prepared but not all the men wanted their statement to be read out.

It took over 30 minutes to read out the charges in a sentence hearing that took place over two days to allow for all 14 statements of complaint to be read into the record

Judge Melanie Greally said that O’Brien’s action had a severely damaging effect on his victims.

She noted that the accused had no support in court and said that for all intents and purposes he was alone in the world.

One man described in his victim impact report how his biggest fear over the years was that he might end up abusing his own daughter.

He said he had read numerous cases about abused children becoming abusers themselves and it played on his mind. “It frightened the crap out of me,” he said.

A second man outlined in his victim impact report that he had never married and said that this was down to the abuse he suffered.

He said he felt now at 50 years old that the chance to have a wife and family had “passed me by”.

Another victim said he never wanted to have children because he didn’t want to be responsible for them after the abuse he suffered as a young boy.

One of O’Brien’s youngest victims, who was raped as a nine year old boy, described himself in his victim impact report as “ a lion without a roar”.

He said he developed a shield and a shell to bury this “violent secret” inside.

He said O’Brien made him feel like the abuse “was almost a rite of passage” but that he now understood he was grooming him.

Detective Garda Anthony Maloney told Anne Rowland BL, prosecuting, that various victims told gardaí that they had made efforts to avoid O’Brien as children.

One victim cycled to his local garda station to report O’Brien a day after the man tried to rape him.

When he arrived at the station he got “cold feet” and felt intimidated. He was worried about the consequences for him if he reported it and decided to put the abuse to the back of his mind.

O’Brien continued to abuse the boy in the months afterwards until the boy threatened to report or kill him if he touched him again.

The victims were told by their abuser that it was “their little secret” with some of the boys feeling they were being threatened.

Others described him as being like an uncle to them and many said he was very much a trusted family friend.

The men also told gardaí that O’Brien gave them sweets, toys, cash and watches. One boy was given a bike.

Det Gda Maloney said all the men were badly affected by the abuse. Two men who were raped by O’Brien told gardaí they were very worried when they learned about AIDS on the news as children and were terrified they were going to die.

Many victims reported that their school work began to suffer and they had trouble with relationships. Many began drinking from an early age.

The court heard that O’Brien was first arrested in March 2014. A search was carried out of his home during which photographs of some of the victims, in normal social situations, were discovered.

In April 2014 O’Brien made a voluntary statement in which he agreed with the statements of his victims.

He said he had been abused himself and told gardaí “I would like to say how sorry I am for causing these lads such distress and apologise to them all absolutely”.

Sean Guerin SC, defending, told Judge Melanie Greally that his client had written a letter in which he said he wanted to apologise “unreservedly” for the breach of trust and the suffering the victims and their families endured. He acknowledged his “deep heartfelt regret and shame”.

Counsel said O’Brien has completed 312 hours of group psychotherapy treatment since April 2014 which he said was a practical indication of remorse and efforts at rehabilitation even at this stage of his life.

Mr Guerin asked the judge to take into account the negative publicity surrounding O’Brien, which he said was intense at times and led to stigma and isolation. He said for a man who worked all his life he had no one in court to support him.

Counsel submitted that his client’s plea of guilty and admissions were of substantial value in the case, having regard to the victims, many of whom he said indicated “a fear of being disbelieved”.

Julie Gill – Blackpool

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November 2016

Woman jailed after leaving baby strapped in upside down buggy in a park for 7 hours overnight

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A man walking his dog found the tot asleep face down in the dirt with no coat or shoes on and in a dirty nappy

Julie Gill was supposed to be looking after the tot when she went on a drinking binge

A woman has been jailed for 12 months after she abandoned a baby in an upturned pram in a park in Blackpool.

Julie Gill, 44, was supposed to be looking after the tot when she went on a drinking binge in the resort and forgot about the baby.

The little girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found strapped into her buggy, face down in the dirt, by a man walking his dog in Watson Road Park at around 7.30am on July 24.

She had no coat, shoes or blanket, a dirty nappy and dirt and grazes to her nose and face.

Judge Robert Altham, said: “She could have died.”

She continued to drink lager and vodka at the pub before moving on to the Duple Club in nearby Bond Street.

The women left the club at midnight and Gill walked away, pushing the baby in the pram.

But when she woke a neighbour at 4am, shouting she had lost her keys, the baby was no longer with her.

The following morning a dog-walker spotted the buggy upside down in Watson Road Park.

Gill’s bag and tablet computer were scattered around it, but when he went to tip the pram over, the man felt it was heavy and discovered the little girl asleep underneath.

Preston Crown Court heard Gill had been drinking vodka at her home in Lindale Gardens, South Shore

Judge Altham said: “She had been alone, abandoned in an upturned pram with her face in the dirt.

“She could have been attacked by a dog or a fox, she could have been abducted.

“She could have found because of the position she was in, difficulty breathing.

“She could have died.”

Police tracked Gill down to her neighbour’s house using the contents of her bag, which was found with the buggy.

Gill told officers she thought she had been attacked and had no recollection after leaving the club.

She said the child was being looked after by another woman.

Judge Altham said: “You that night chose to prioritise your desire to drink on a night out over the need of the child to be protected from serious harm, or worse.”

“Though it was summer I understand she wasn’t wearing any shoes or coat. She will have been cold. She will have been frightened when she was alone in the dark, abandoned by the person who was supposed to be looking after her.

“She will have felt considerable discomfort having been suspended by the straps in her pram and she will have felt pain as a result of sitting in a soiled nappy for a considerable time.”

The court heard Gill had been under financial and emotional pressure at the time of the offence.

She pleaded guilty to child cruelty and sobbed throughout the hearing at Preston Crown Court

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Jonathan Walsh – Wolverhampton

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November 2016

Jailed: Sex offender caught naked near teenage girls

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A known sex-offender was caught after an eagle-eyed tram conductor spotted him naked near a group of teenage girls in Wolverhampton.

Jonathan Walsh, 25 of no fixed address, has been jailed for 20 months for ‘outraging public decency and breach of sexual offences prevention order’ after a tram worker alerted police when she saw, stark-naked Walsh crouched behind a shelter.

CCTV from The Crescent stop at 5.40pm on May 7, clearly captured Walsh walking across the Midland Metro line clothed, going off camera, to reappear seconds later, completely naked and carrying his clothes, before touching himself inappropriately.

Walsh, who is already on the sex offender register for life after committing previous, similar offences, was identified by officers.

He was arrested days later at the address where he was staying.

A search of his room also uncovered a memory stick, containing material forbidden to Walsh as a result of an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) handed to him in 2011.

He was subsequently charged with outraging public decency and two counts of breaching a SOPO – one for the memory stick and the other for his actions at the tram stop.

Pleading guilty at an earlier hearing, on November 3, Walsh, has now been sentenced to 20 months behind bars in total for the offences at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

 


William Mapp – Stourport on Severn

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November 2016

Stourport sex offender admits charges

A STOURPORT pensioner who admitted a string of historic sex offences dating back almost half a century is being medically assessed to see if his health can stand up to prison.

William Mapp, of Layamon Walk, Walshes estate, Stourport on Severn, changed his pleas to guilty to five charges at the start of a trial at Worcester Crown Court.

The 86-year-old admitted two charges of indecent assault and three of gross indecency with a child.

All the offences involved the same boy who was then aged 15 and took place between November, 1968 and November, 1969.

“He has been nervous about coming to court to give evidence and explain what happened to him all those years ago,” Mr Kolodinsky told the court. “He is relieved there has been some recognition of the abuse he suffered as a child.”

He said the maximum sentence for the indecent assault offences was 10 years in prison.

Daniel White, defending, asked for a pre-sentence report and a medical report dealing with Mapp’s health and the potential impact of him going to prison.

Mapp entered the court using a wheeled walker and was allowed to sit at the back of the court rather than in the enclosed dock.

Mr White said he suffered from pulmonary hyper tension and was at risk of diabetes. He has osteo arthritis of the spine and five different kinds of heart problem requiring him to visit a cardiac specialist nurse at hospital every three weeks.

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, ordered the reports but warned Mapp they did not rule out a jail sentence as the offences crossed the custody threshold.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender and banned from any unsupervised contact with anyone under 16. Sentencing was adjourned until December 15.

Kevin McAree – Northolt

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November 2016

Paedophile ‘bored’ of retirement is spared jail

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A father-of-two has been spared jail after being sentenced for downloading nearly 1,500 child porn images including one of a child as young as four, and possessing a stun gun.

Kevin McAree, 64, of Mandeville Road in Northolt , had stored images involving penetrative activity with young girls, across two laptops, two hard drives and on CDs, after he became “bored” of retirement, a court was told.

The former civil servant was handed an 18 month jail term suspended for two years, and a six month sentence to run consecutively for possession of a stun gun, at the Old Bailey on Thursday (November 10).

At an earlier hearing he had pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of indecent images and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.

On sentencing, Judge John Bevan said: “Some of these images involved penetrative activity with young girls – one of whom was as young as four.

“I am quite sure that the custody threshold has been passed.

“However I quite accept what has happened. That having retired from a life time of decent work you were bored and started drinking again.

“Although there are category A images, they are, so far as accessibility is concerned, not great in number.”

On January 16 2016, during a raid of the Ealing pensioner’s home, officers uncovered a haul of obscene images including 49 category A images, 31 of which had been deleted, 44 category B images, 30 which were remove. and 1,395 category C images, 319 of which had been deleted.

They also found a stun gun hidden in a cupboard.

Officers also found McAree had transferred “significant sums” of money from his bank account to accounts in the Philippines.

Prosecutor Jane Osborne said: “His internet browsing revealed he had been searching for terms that was likely to call up these indecent images, including “little pre-teen models”, “Asian pre-teen models” and “young top 100”.

“When he was interviewed he admitted viewing porn, saying he preferred young, slim women but said he ensured all were adults.

“He said he did much of his browsing when drunk – he denied knowing about the images on his device and was unable to say how the images got there.

“As for the stun gun he said he had got it when he was working in the Far East and had put it into his cupboard and forgotten about it.”

Adam Bojkowski – Crediton/Exeter

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November 2016

Exeter factory worker had indecent images of children

A factory worker has been ordered to undergo sex offender treatment after he was found with 1,800 images of child abuse on his computer.

Adam Bojkowski developed a fascination with obscene Japanese cartoons called hentai, many of which showed dominant older women with very young children.

He was caught after he uploaded them onto his Google Plus account without realising they were illegal, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Police experts seized his computers and found a large number of images, some of which showed cartoons of children as young as four being abused.

Bojkowski, 39, of Park Street, Crediton, admitted possession of indecent images of children and was ordered to undertake sex offender treatment work with the probation service as part of a two year community order.

Recorder Adam Feest QC said: “These images show a whole range of sexual activity between adults and children across all categories of seriousness.

“You explained to the police that your interest was not in children but in the dominant women depicted. I regard that explanation with some scepticism, as do the probation service.

“It is rather curious there are 1,800 images depicting children when you say you have no interest in them. There is more work to be done in terms of you understanding your offending.”

James Taghdissian, prosecuting, said police raided Bojkowski’s former home in Exeter in December last year and found the cartoons along with thousands of adult images.

He told police he had not realised the cartoons were illegal and had uploaded them onto his Google Plus account alongside innocent personal pictures.

He said he downloaded many from a peer to peer service called e-mule because he had an interest in comics.

Some of the images had been saved into files with names including MILFs, which is an acronym for attractive older women, Manga and Hentai, which are both types of Japanese animation.

Lee Bremridge, defending, said Bojkowski has never been in trouble before and is a hard working man with a job at a factory in Sowton, Exeter.

He urged the judge to follow the suggestion of a probation report that rated Bojkowski as a low risk and suitable for one to one treatment work.

The judge imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will allow the police to monitor Bojkowski’s future use of the internet.

He also overturned an order made by magistrates that Bojkowski should not be identified because of his unusual name.

John Greig – Auchinleck

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November 2016

Child rapist who said victim made up claims found guilty of multiple attacks

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A MAN who raped a primary school girl more than 16 years ago has finally been brought to justice.

John Greig, 51, from Auchinleck, Ayrshire, was also convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of raping a woman and attempting to rape another schoolgirl.

Tyre fitter Greig accused all three women of lying and claimed the schoolgirl he raped went to the police years later because she was annoyed because he refused to let her drive his Subaru Impreza.

In evidence, Greig said of his victim: “She’s a bit of a poser and wanted to pose in it. She asked to get it and I said no and I’m here in the High Court. I just can’t believe they are doing this to me. I feel embarrassed and degraded. It is as if they are trying to destroy me.”

He said that he never touched either of the schoolgirls and claimed that sex with the woman was consensual.

Prosecutor Mark McGuire asked Greig: “Is your explanation for this woman’s allegations that you would not let her have your car,” and he replied: “Yes.”

Mr McGuire added: “You say all three women are liars. You must be the unluckiest man in the world,” and Greig replied: “I must be.”

Greig was found guilty of raping the schoolgirl when she was aged between 9 and 11.

He was also found guilty of sexually abusing her and attempting to rape another schoolgirl when she was aged between 9 and 12.

Greig was also convicted of raping a woman over a nine-year period when she was aged between 28 and 37.

The offences were committed in Ayrshire between 1983 and 2003.

The schoolgirl he raped , said nothing then, but went to the police and gave a statement in 2015.

Greig showed no emotion as he was led away to the cells.

Judge Lord Matthews placed Greig on the sex offenders’ register, remanded him in custody and called for background reports.

He will be sentenced next year.

Lawrence Asbury – Gravesend

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November 2016

Paedophile jailed for sexually abusing young girl

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An 83-year-old pensioner in poor health is resigned to dying in jail after he was jailed for 10 years for sex abuse of a young girl.

Lawrence Asbury, of Marks Square, Gravesend, looked frail as he was allowed to sit down throughout the hearing.

His lawyer told the judge: “He knows he is spending the rest of his life in custody.”

Asbury was in his 60s and had just been released from prison for indecency with a child when he started abusing the victim.

Maidstone Crown Court heard as well as molesting the girl he took sordid pornographic photos of her and kept them for years. One was taken through a hole in a ceiling or wall.

Six Polaroid photos were discovered in a black bag when he was arrested in 2014.

He admitted five charges of taking indecent photos of a child, one of possessing indecent photos of a child, one of sexual assault, one of indecency with a child and two of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Asbury will be on licence for a further year after Judge Jeremy Carey found he was “an offender of particular concern”.

It means he would not be eligible for parole until he has served half of the 10-year sentence.

Prosecutor Ian Hope said the victim did not reveal what had happened to her until late 2014. The indecent photos, he said, corroborated the abuse.

Asbury showed the girl pornography and persuaded her to pose for photos, which became more explicit.

He told her he was sexually assaulting her because his wife did not want to have sex with him any more.

Mr Hope said Asbury threatened that if she did not comply he would do it to another girl and show others the pictures of her.

“The prosecution say she was blackmailed both into continuing this… and also blackmailed into not reporting it,” he said.

Asbury was in June 2001 jailed for 30 months after he was convicted after trial of indecently assaulting a girl and harassing her by making threats. He attacked her and held a knife to her throat.

Mr Hope said of the latest offences: “He must have done it pretty much as soon as he came out of prison in January 2002.

“He started with her as soon as he got out of prison. It was grooming behaviour.”

Asbury’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for life and a sexual harm prevention order was made.

Judge Jeremy Carey said Asbury had abused his victim “in the vilest of ways and with determination, persistence and depravity”.

“Your grooming behaviour began by showing her pornography which, no doubt, she couldn’t begin to understand or fathom but in your warped mind you thought that would be a precurser to what you really wanted to do,” he continued.

Asbury had sought to satisfy his depraved desires.

“You accompanied your behaviour with threats to her of a very serious kind, which for a little girl would be terrifying,” said the judge.

“Your behaviour towards her and the other girl showed you were at that time a serious sex offender and danger to the public.”

Judge Carey said he recognised that Asbury was now extremely frail with chronic conditions.

“I have to take that into account when considering the appropriate length of sentence,” he said. “Also, the defendant’s age.

“Otherwise, as a sex offender you do not deserve sympathy or consideration – and you will get none.”

The judge added that the parole board would only release Asbury when it was thought safe to do so.

“It is acknowledged the likelihood is you will spend the rest of your life in custody,” he said.

Asbury had left his guilty plea far too late and branded the victim a liar until he reached the door of the court, said the judge.

After the hearing, investigating officer Detective Constable Steve Dingwall said: “Asbury had only recently been released from prison for sexually abusing another young girl when he went on to re-offend.

“He therefore clearly poses a risk to children and belongs behind bars where he can cause them no further harm.

“The victim in this case showed great courage in coming forward to report what happened to her, and hopefully the end result sends a strong message to any other victims of historic sexual abuse.

“They can rest assured they will receive all the support they need should they wish to tell us about the offences committed against them, no matter how long ago they may have been.”

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