December 2016

Man who downloaded hundreds of indecent movies of young children given suspended sentence

A man who downloaded hundreds of indecent movie clips of children, some as young as three years old, has been spared jail.

Jeffrey Rae, 59, of Woodysfield, Wimblington, was found to be in possession of nearly 900 illegal movies after police officers searched his computer and hard drives, Cambridge Crown Court was told today (December 1).

He pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing indecent images of children and three of making indecent images of children through downloading.

Rae was handed an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must join the sex offenders’ register for ten years

Prosecutor Michael Procter explained that Rae had been caught after police had received a tip off about his illegal activities, the court heard.

When officers searched Rae’s then home on Watermead, Cambridge, on January 7 this year, they found a computer and three hard drives.

Mr Procter said: “The computer was being used to download and make available for sharing on peer to peer networks indecent images of children.”

The court heard that a total of 884 movies were found to be in possession of or downloaded by Rae, of which 379 were classified as ‘category A’ – the most extreme type of content.

Mr Procter said the police decided to stop analysing all the movies on the hard drives, leaving 2,906 outstanding.

In an interview with officers Rae admitted to his actions and said he had been looking at pornographic material for many years.

Mr Procter said: “He said… that this had been going on for 20 years. He had progressed from adult pornography.

“He told the police that since his address had been searched by the police he had undergone counselling.

“He said he was ashamed of what he had done.

“He accepted he had started looking at young girls and had become curious about paedophilia.

The court was told that Rae used file sharing programmes LimeWire and BearShare to find and download the illegal material.

Mr Procter added: “He accepted that he had gone down a dark route and the youngest children he had seen was two or three years old.”

“He said that he realised what he was doing was wrong.”

In mitigation, Mark Shelley said Rae was in the process of confronting what he had done alongside his family.

He said: “He has told his family. They are shocked but they are supportive. He is getting to grips with this… he has a long way to go.

A weeping Rae was told he would receive an eight month concurrent prison sentences for each offence, suspended for two years.

He must complete 35 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £245 court costs.

He is also subject to a sexual harm prevention order controlling his internet usage and must join the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Sentencing, Judge David Farrell QC said: “You pleaded guilty to a number of charges relating to the making, that is the downloading, and possession of indecent images of children.

“They include a significant number at category A, which is the most serious of the categories.

“By owning this sort of material you are aiding and abetting the abuse of children.

“That is why courts take a serious view of it.

“It is not appropriate for me to send you immediately into custody and that the better way forward is to ensure that you are never able to commit this sort of offence again.”

December 2016

Twisted ex-prison officer hid 22,000 child abuse pictures of little boys in his loft

A twisted former prison officer has admitted stashing more than 20,000 indecent pictures of children in his loft.

Depraved Gordon Pike, 55, claimed he had never viewed the shocking images, despite keeping them in his house for 10 years.

He plead guilty to possessing the photographs between August 1, 2006 and February 5, 2016 at Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday.

Fiscal depute Alan Parfrey explained that Pike was detained at Scottish Prison Service (SPS) headquarters in Edinburgh and dragged back to Erskine for his house to be searched.

He said: “Officers carried out a systematic search of the houses found eight computer discs and a further 37 discs within a shoebox in the loft of the house.

“The accused told the officers he had sole ownership of them and no other person had access to them.

“The items were removed and examined by experts who found that all the discs contained indecent images of children.”

Pike was arrested and interviewed by officers later that night, but refused to answer any questions.

A total of 22,100 still images were discovered on the discs when they were fully investigated, 497 were Category A, the worst level of classification; 847 were Category B; and 14,000 were Category C.

The discs contained 16,149 unique still pictures and a small number of moving images.

The prosecutor continued: “All the images were of young male subjects ranging from five to 16 years of age.”

Pike, from Mains River in Erskine, claimed through his solicitor to have never viewed any of the images.

Advocate Gavin Anderson told the court that his client had “no sexual interest in children.”

He went on: “Mr Pike was co-chair of the LGBT Centre in Glasgow’s Dixon Street. A still unidentified male arrived in August 2006 carrying a holdall saying it was from a recently deceased family member.

“A member of staff took possession of the bag. Mr Pike noted she was extremely agitated as on opening the holdall discovered it contained a large amount of pornography, both VHS videos and discs.”

Mr Anderson says Pike took the stash home believing it contained mainly adult pornography, however on opening one of the discs on his computer he noted that some of the file names hinted at child pornography.

“He did not know what to do with them, he intended to do something about them but never got round to it.”

The court also heard that laptops seized in the house were also examined and no images were found on them, and he had never supplied them to anyone else.

Sheriff Susan Sinclair adjourned proceedings and asked for a Criminal Justice Social Work and specialist Pathways reports to be prepared.

He will return to court early next year to learn his fate.

December 2016

Rochdale man jailed for owning “paedophile manual”

A Rochdale man has become the first person in Greater Manchester to be sentenced for possessing a ‘paedophile manual’ which ‘coached’ perverts on how to abuse children

Daniel O’Neill, 19, of Warwick Road, Failsworth pleaded guilty to owning the document which contained advice and guidance on sexually abusing children.

He was sentenced to four years and two months at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

The charge – Section 69 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 – officially came into force in May last year and supersedes a previous law which made it illegal to publish the manual but not possess one.　

O’Neill, who was also jailed for engaging in sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images, is officially the first to be successfully prosecuted for the offence as a result of a GMP investigation.　

In March 2016, police became aware of concerns about O’Neill meeting with an underage girl. Following enquiries it was revealed he had been engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl.　

Officers also searched O’Neill’s address and found indecent images of children on a device as well as a ‘paedophile manual’. He was subsequently arrested and charged.　

December 2016

Child sex abuse voyeur from Lytham is jailed

A businessman who paid to watch a school girl in the Philippines being abused from the comfort of his own home has been jailed for 32 months.

Garry Wynn, who ran an IT firm which had contracts with central Government agencies, was arrested after child exploitation investigation teams received intelligence about the live streaming of child abuse.

Watching videos of children being abused is bad enough but paying to watch the live abuse of a child means you are making a direct contribution – that child is being abused for your gratification

Judge James Adkin, who also imposed a sexual harm prevention order, said: “Watching videos of children being abused is bad enough but paying to watch the live abuse of a child means you are making a direct contribution – that child is being abused for your gratification.”

Prosecuting, Lisa Worsley described how police had carried out a warrant at the 53-year-old’s home on Linnet Lane, Lytham, last year and seized his laptop and i-Phone.

A forensic examination revealed the horrific images of girls aged between eight and 16. He is now living in St Annes.

The married dad-of-two admitted facilitating the commission of a sexual offence, and three of possessing indecent images of categories A, B and C.

Wynn, who was given a caution in 2003 for similar behaviour, was ordered to sign on the Sex Offender’s Register for life

Defending, Janet Ironfield said he was disappointed with himself for “falling back into his old ways” after a decade.

She said: “ The defendant was utterly frank in a very wide ranging discussion with police. He accepted all aspects of the case against him.

“His own use of pornography was in essence something of a coping mechanism for stress.

“The majority of his use was adult pornography and his interest in viewing children was specifically pubescent children. He found himself effectively running own company under time of pressure working away from home and staying in hotel rooms. He began to view pornography and it ultimately led him to sites where he was offered the opportunity to view images of children.”

Wynn has lost his IT consultancy company as his criminal convictions led to the end of his government contracts, Preston Crown Court heard.

Judge Adkin added: “It appears you were a user of chat rooms between 2012 and 2014 and undertook a number of transactions in December 2014.

“You were interviewed and made admissions you had been in contact with someone and had paid for a 14-year-old to perform a sex act which had been streamed to you for payment.

“It seems to me you acted together with others, there were sexual images being shared, and there is a measure of commercial exploitation in this case.”

December 2016

Dangerous sex predator jailed for 14 years for child rape

A ’DANGEROUS’ sexual predator from Edmonton who raped a young girl over three years is starting a 14 year sentence behind bars.

Mohammed Dauhoo, groomed his victim after after a chance meeting when she was just nine.

He invited her to his home in Upper Edmonton and raped and sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions.

April 2016

A convicted sex offender raped a girl after telling her she ‘needed to have sex with him to make her grow’, a court heard.

Mohammed Dauhoo, 71, allegedly watched porn with the young girl at his home before trying to perform some of the actions in the videos with her.

After asking him to help fix her bike the girl would be showered in gifts by Dauhoo including a laptop and jewellery, it is said.

Dauhoo repeatedly told the young girl he loved her in an effort to keep her coming back to his home, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place at Dauhoo’s north London home on various occasions between July 31 2009 and March 31 2013.

December 2016

Sex offender jailed for 5 years

A 20-year-old man has been jailed for 5 years after admitting 12 charges relating to sexual activity with children, the sexual grooming of an underage girl and possession of indecent images.  

Kameron May, of California, Wickham Market, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 17 June where he admitted a total of 12 offences against eight girls aged between 12 and 15, including

• Six counts of sexual activity with a child

• Four counts of causing/ inciting a child into sexual activity

• One count of sexual grooming

• One count of possession of indecent images of children,

– relating to his possession of more than 1,000 images.

May has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, and given an extended licence of 36 months. He will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

In April 2015, at a sentencing for previous similar offences, Kameron May was given sexual harm prevention order that meant he could not access the internet without retaining a history of the sites he had visited and was ordered to make this available to police on request.

In July 2015 police received an initial allegation via the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and a joint enquiry got underway.

May was arrested on suspicion of sexual activity with a female under 16, was interviewed and bailed to August 10 to allow for further investigation as the girl did not initially want to talk to police about what happened.

In the meantime the guardian of another 13-year-old girl came forward after becoming suspicious of his motives and confronted him telling him to leave the teenager alone.

May was arrested again at the end of July 2015 on suspicion of grooming and breaching his sexual harm prevention order. He was charged with breaching the order and appeared at court.

When he had been arrested he had handed police his phone. However officers suspected that he was hiding another device and, after searches at his home, located another phone he had hidden.

This was packed with contacts – 275 of them – with 140 of them with female names, 26 of them family or male friends and 109 relating to unsaved numbers that had been recently called.

At this stage police did not know who the contacts were, or how old they were.  Indecent images were also found on the phone and he was subsequently charged with possession of these.

A victim’s family speaking about the impact of May’s offending said, “For the past year there has been a constant cloud hanging over us. I go to bed and I replay the events of the past 12 months and I wake up with the same thoughts.

I rarely sleep through the night, my mind is totally consumed by this abhorrent crime, my mind is running back through things – could I have prevented any of this? From the moment a year ago when this incident took place life has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

My daughter was a very young and extremely vulnerable child when she met Kameron, who certainly exploited her vulnerability and made her very dependent on him to the extent that her demeanour totally changed when she was in contact with him…. I felt that all the nurturing and care that she had received from me as she grew up was being replaced by his control of her.

She was a completely different girl…This has had a profound effect on both our lives and the road to recovery is going to take a long time.”

December 2016

Corby man jailed for historic sex abuse

A man from Corby who sexually assaulted a girl three decades ago will serve at least six years in prison and be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Stuart Murray McNeill, 49, of Browning Walk, Corby, was sentenced for indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 14, between 1982 and 1989.

He was also convicted of two further indecent assaults against his victim, for which he was sentenced to five years and two years, to run concurrently.

DC Lori Webb, who led the investigation, said: “This was a fantastic result and it has allowed the victim to move on with her life after suffering for decades.

“Through us, she has expressed her wish for other victims of sexual abuse to know that it is never too late and to have the confidence to come forward and report it to the police.”

McNeill was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court last month.

August 2016

Kidderminster man jailed after downloading child abuse images

A FORMER GCHQ worker from Kidderminster who discussed violent fantasies online and downloaded child abuse images has been sent to jail.

Paul Badham, of Upton Road, admitted downloading a total of nearly 200 child abuse videos and still images involving children as young as two when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court.

He also admitted distributing a number of images at category C, the least serious, between the same dates, October 12, 2012, and January 30 this year.

Abigail Nixon, defending, handed in a number of references to the court which she said showed 51-year-old Badham to be a trustworthy and likeable man with no previous convictions.

She said he had always held responsible jobs and had previously worked for GCHQ. But he was an isolated man with no family and few friends and at the time of the offences, he had been in a “dark place,” she said.

He had taken part in conversations which were “repulsive and unpleasant” but they were only “violent fantasies,” she said and he would not have acted upon them.

She said he had applied voluntarily to a charity to get the help he needs.

“The accessibility of this kind of pornography has become one of the great problems caused by the internet,” Recorder Anthony Lowe told Badham. “Children are being used to feed addiction and perversion.

“People like you need to know that if you that if you choose to view these images the courts will punish you and seek to deter others.”

He said the discussion about violence had been a worrying feature in the case.

He gave Badham a total sentence of eight months. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of the internet for 10 years and ordered to register as a sex offender, also for 10 years.

November 2016

Mother praises ‘strength’ of child raped by Hull paedophile

A paedophile who raped two small children has been jailed for 16 years.

Steven Smith, 26, of no fixed address, has been found guilty of two counts of raping a child under the age of 13

One child was less than ten years old when he invited his victim into his bed and committed rape. The other was less than five years old when he forced them to participate in an oral sex act.

There were cheers from the public gallery when the jury read out the guilty verdict on both charges at Hull Crown Court on Friday.

Cowardly Smith forced the youngest of his victims to give evidence in the trial, which the child’s mother found particularly distressing.

Claire Holmes, prosecuting, read to the court a victim impact statement by the mother. In it she said: “I feel with all my children, I have lost a year of their lives.

“I am extremely proud of the strength (my child) has shown throughout this whole process.”

Sentencing Smith, Judge Mark Bury said: “..you committed a much more serious rape of a child. From first to last the victim has said that you did that.

“And you made (the victim) give evidence in court and that’s something (the victim’s ) mother finds particularly upsetting.”

Smith will serve at least half his sentence before being released on licence for 12 months.

December 2016

Jail for sex attacker who used social media to prey on girls as young as 13

A sex offender who sexually assaulted young girls he groomed over social media has been jailed.

Shane Fielding, 21, of Cheriton Drive, Bolton, used social networking apps to ‘prey’ on girls as young as 13.

Attacks took place after meetings were arranged following gaining their trust during online chats.

December 2016

Perverted religious studies teacher avoids prison

A religious studies teacher who downloaded more than 250 indecent images of children, has been spared jail.

Philip Allen, who was fired from his job at Shenley Brook School, Milton Keynes, pleaded guilty to seven charges of possessing the images on October 17.

The indictment was later rolled up into four charges.

December 2016

Woman who had sex with schoolboy jailed

A woman who had sex with a schoolboy then threatened him when he ended the contact has been jailed.

Rachel Marshall, 42, showered the teen with gifts – including cash, aftershave and even an iPhone 6 – and harassed him when he tried to distance himself from her.

When he began a relationship with a girl his own age she threatened the pair and even falsely claimed she was pregnant with his child, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.

The court heard she sent the girl a pregnancy magazine and text her saying: “You are both f***ing dead.”

Judge Peter Heywood said what happened had a “disastrous” effect on the boy who had threatened suicide.

He told Marshall: “You knew this young man’s age and took advantage of the situation for your own desires.”

Marshall, of Llandudno Junction, was jailed for 40 months today after she admitted four counts of sexual activity – including sex – with a child between October 2014 and the end of February last year.

She also admitted two charges of meeting the boy of 15 following sexual grooming.

Shoe shop worker Marshall has since become pregnant and the baby will be born in a prison environment and could stay with her in jail for up to 18 months, the court heard.

Prosecutor Simon Rogers said Marshall had started sending “flirtatious” messages to the boy and eventually asked if he would like to go for a drive.

She picked him up near his home and they went to a car park on the Sychnant Pass, near Conwy, where Marshall spoke about difficulties in her marriage.

The defendant then kissed the youngster and her behaviour escalated.

The pair had sex almost weekly including at Marshall’s home. But the sexual activity were normally in her car.

“His confidence in the situation began to deteriorate. The defendant became aware of this.

“She began to offer him things and gave him money when they met. The defendant gave him between £20 to £200.”

Mr Rogers said: “Her behaviour began to freak him out. She wouldn’t leave him alone.

“She was continually messaging him. The defendant wouldn’t let him stop what was going on.

“She would send naked photographs of herself to him and began contacting his friends.”

The boy described her as “relentless.”

The barrister said the boy formed a relationship with a girl his own age but Marshall sent him scan pictures, claiming he had made her pregnant.

She also posted notes through his door, in one saying “I will wait all day.”

After getting the girlfriend’s number she called her repeatedly and sent numerous messages, one warning: “You are both f***ing dead.”

She also received a pregnancy magazine from Marshall.

Mr Rogers said it was “a deeply unpleasant course of harassment against the complainant and his girlfriend. It was done to manipulate him to continue the relationship with her.”

Marshall had created fake social media accounts to contact the boy and he felt she was trying to “ruin his life.”

Police went to the youngster’s home after rumours at school and he burst into tears. He said Marshall’s behaviour had a “profound” effect.

Marshall must register as a sex offender indefinitely and a sexual harm prevention order was made to protect the boy from her.

Judge Heywood said it became clear the boy’s enthusiasm for the relationship was waning and Marshall started “showering him” with gifts.

The judge said: “He did manage to shake off your attention and started a relationship with another young lady.

“Clearly you were annoyed and jealous and started sending him unpleasant texts and threatened to expose what he had done with you.

“You went beyond that, contacting the young lady and blackening his character.”

Judge Heywood said Marshall was of previous good character and a mother and wife who had a succession of good jobs.

There was a psychiatric report and a professor indicated a possibility for her behaviour was the medication she took.

The judge said: “You clearly were fixated with him (the boy).”

Defence barrister Sion at Mihangel said: “She is deeply sorry for what has taken place.”

Marshall was of “exemplary” character and a “model mother.”

Mr at Mihangel said: “She has lost her job, her husband and family.”

Counsel said: “She is pregnant, Since she’s been arrested she has been on a path of self-destruction.

“The child will be born within the prison environment. For up to 18 months it can stay with her. It will be cared for and loved for by others.”

December 2016

Retired MET police officer jailed for sexual offences

A former police officer has been jailed for a series of sexual assaults against young girls. 

James Belam, 73 (08.01.43) of Chingford, a retired Met officer, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on Thursday, 1 December for a number of sexual offences that began in the mid-80s and continued until at least August 2015.

He admitted the offences – which spanned a period of more than 30 years – at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 4 November. 

Belam worked as a police constable on Waltham Forest Borough before his retirement. It is not believed that any of the offences were committed whilst he was on-duty.

Belam was arrested after one of his victims disclosed that she had been abused by him in August 2015. Following his arrest, other victims contacted police and accused Belam of similar offences. 

Belam pleaded guilty to the following offences: 

• – Count 1: Assault on a girl under 13 by touching on 22 August 2015.

  – Count 2: Assault on a girl under 13 by touching on 22 August 2015.

  – Count 3: Assault on a girl under 13 by touching between 30 June 2007 and 1 August 2007

  – Count 4: Indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years between 27 February 2001 and 26 February 2004.

  – Count 5: Indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years between 27 February 2001 and 26 February 2004.

  – Count 6: Indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years between 27 February 2003 and 26 February 2004.

  – Count 7: Indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years between 14 April 1983 and 13 April 1985.

  – Count 8: Incite a girl under 14 years to commit an act of gross indecency between 14 April 1983 and 13 April 1985.

December 2016

Wrexham teacher GUILTY of downloading 1,200 child abuse images

A teacher is facing jail for downloading more than 1,000 indecent images of children.

A jury of four men and eight women at Caernarfon Crown Court found Mark Haslock guilty of three charges of making indecent photographs of a child, one of possession of an indecent image of a child, and one of taking an indecent image between June 2014 and August 2015.

Haslock, 47, who is the head of design and technology at Ysgol y Grango, Rhosllannerchrugog, near Wrexham was found not guilty of voyeurism between August 1 and August 20 last year.

Police found more than 1,200 such images on two computers seized from his home in Elwy Gardens in Llandudno in August last year.

Addressing the court after the verdicts were given, His Honour Judge Peter Heywood said: “I am not going to proceed to sentence today. I want more information about Mr Haslock. Sentencing will be on January 5.”

The Judge ordered a pre-sentence report from the probation service.

The Judge said: “All sentencing options will be considered by the court including the possibility of an immediate prison sentence.”

Haslock was given bail and a further hearing will be conducted to decide the conditions.

An Ysgol Grango spokeswoman said Haslock’s future was now “a matter for the school governors”.

She added: “Now that the criminal case is concluded we can confirm that internal disciplinary action will be taken against Mr Haslock following our normal policies and procedures.”

December 2016

OAP who was caught with child abuse images on his computer is spared jail

A retired executive caught with child abuse images on his computer was spared jail after blaming his addiction on side-effects from medication he was taking for Parkinson’s disease.

Peter Beckett, who had a successful career with British Aerospace, found himself in the dock at the age of 69 after police seized his laptop and found indecent images.

However, at Blackpool Magistrates Court, his lawyer blamed his behaviour on a drug he had been prescribed for his Parkinson’s, which has been linked to uncontrollable sexual desires and compulsive behaviour.

Beckett, whose weeping wife watched from the public gallery, was charged after police raided their £400,000 house in Staline, near Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire.

Officers seized his computer and found four images showing girls, aged between six and 15, in obscene poses, the court was told.

As the laptop was taken away, he told police ‘I am not in a ring or anything’, Pam Smith, prosecuting, told the court.

During the first interview, Beckett told police how he had surfed the web for obscene material for about ten years, deleting files to cover his tracks.

In a second interview he said he had been told the drug he was taking for his Parkinson’s, ropinirole, had caused his compulsion to view such images.

His lawyer, Trevor Colebourne, said experts had concluded the medication had made the pensioner hypersexual and unable to control his moral behaviour.

’He should have told someone what was happening to him,’ he said.

‘But he did not want to come off the drug because it was helping him come with the debilitating effect of his medical condition.’

He added: ‘It has been established and there are warnings that this type of drug causes hyper-sexual behaviour and lack of control.’

Mr Colebourne said while the side-effect did not amount to a defence against his criminal behaviour, it did provide some mitigation, adding: ‘His coping mechanism failed him.’

Beckett, who admitted downloading four indecent images of young girls, was given a 20-week prison sentence suspended for two years.

District Judge Jeff Brailsford told Beckett he had taken account of all the factors in the case including the drug’s side-effects.

‘I do not accept there was a defence of automatism even though it might follow it did induce hyper-sexuality,’ he added.

Beckett was placed on a three year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, ordered to forfeit his computer equipment and pay £585 costs.

December 2016

Kingswood man convicted of child abuse offences

November 2016

Plymouth sex monster jailed for 16 years for raping and abusing three girls

A sex monster has been jailed for 16 years for repeatedly raping one girl and assaulting two others.

Steven Dunn, aged 40, abused the children over a three-year period in what a judge called “deviant” behaviour.

He raped the eldest girl frequently over 18 months – driving her to self-harm by stabbing herself with darts.

She tried to fight him off but he overpowered her, using a dressing gown belt to tie her up on one occasion, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

The offences only came to light when Dunn himself walked into a police station on October 4.

The mother of the eldest girl bravely fought back the tears to give a statement from the witness stand.

She said: “I just want to explain the devastation this has caused in our family. I have never been afraid of the dark, but I now find myself unable to go out at night. I lock every door and window in my house.”

Jailing him for a total of 16 years, Judge Paul Darlow told Dunn: “These nine counts reflect deviant sexual behaviour. You carried on even as she struggled.

“The fact that you may well have been under the influence of alcohol or mephedrone at the time only makes matters worse.”

Painter and decorator Dunn, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault against the eldest girl between 2010 and 2013.

He admitted single counts of sexual assault against the two other girls over the same period. All of the charges relate to multiple incidents.

Heather Hope, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Dunn walked into Crownhill police station on October 4 to admit the offences. The eldest girl confirmed the abuse to police, but the other two younger girls did not make statements.

She said that the complainant told officers that Dunn boasted of taking her virginity after the first rape, which caused her “tremendous pain”.

Miss Hope said the abuse then became regular.

She added: “She said she would struggle, she would punch and do everything she could to remove him. But he would overpower her.”

Miss Hope said the evidence of the abuse of the other girls came from Dunn himself.

She read a statement from the eldest victim which said: “When it happened I started to hate myself. I hated the way I was. I hated the way I looked.”

Miss Hope said she used darts to cut herself to “block out what it was that was happening to her”.

The victim’s mother said her daughter was not harming herself any more as far as she knew.

She added: “She has amazed me at every point since this came out. She has been the strong one. In fact, she has been the adult.”

The woman said that she was seeking counselling from Twelve’s Company, the support group for victims of sexual abuse.

Ed Bailey, for the defendant, said that Dunn admitted he had been attracted to young girls for two decades.

Dunn would normally be released half-way through his sentence.

UPDATE: Norman Edgar was found guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison.

June 2002

Former Army Cadets officer charged with sexual offences

A FORMER sergeant major with the Army Cadets is to stand trial for a number of sexual offences against a child.

Norman Edgar, 50, from Mahee Close in Belfast, appeared at Laganside Magistrates Court yesterday for a preliminary inquiry into the charges.

Edgar is charged with inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and two counts of committing an act of gross indecency with a child.

He is further charged with four counts of indecently assaulting a female.

All seven charges were alleged to have taken place between October 1, 1999 and October 31, 2001.

November 2016

Stoke Newington paedophile sentenced to 13 years behind bars

In a landmark historical case, Denton George Newell, 61, of Lordship Road, Stoke Newington, was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault of a young girl dating back to the 1980s, when the victim was eight and nine years old.

There was no forensic evidence and the jury at Inner London Crown Court relied primarily on the testimony of the family doctor at the time, as many police and social services documents were either absent, missing or lost.

The court heard evidence from the victim, who cannot be named, saying that she had been assaulted at the age of eight or nine when Newell, who ran a off-licence in Newington Green and a nightclub in Islington, pulled her onto his lap and said he wanted to talk to her about school and boyfriends, before touching her inappropriately.

The victim said that, in another incident a short time later, she was dragged to the top floor of a two-storey house by Newell who then slapped her across the face, ripped off her tights and knickers and raped her.

The court also heard that, on May 17, 1984, Newell dragged the victim to a bathroom and tried to pull down her pants. She screamed, and her older brother came running to the bathroom to see what was wrong.

After telling her mother, she was taken to the family doctor.

Dr Kay – whose full name was not disclosed – told the court that he was not able to carry out a forensic examination for lack of the necessary medical expertise. He told the mother to alert the police, but the incident was never reported.

The catalogue of sexual abuse only came to light two years ago after the victim was assaulted by someone else. Police then encouraged her to help them take action.

Newell was sentenced to 13 years for one count of rape and received a 24-month concurrent sentence for the second count, as well as a 24-month concurrent sentence for indecent assault.

July 2009

Man caught in car with teenage girls

A 27-year-old man breached a crown court order by having two teenage girls in his car.

Four years ago, Paul Blair, of Newton Road, Aston Fields, Bromsgrove, was given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and 12 months jail for sexually assaulting a female.

The order banned him from having unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16, Worcester Crown Court heard.

But on June 19 last year, police saw him with two 15-year-old girls in his car on Tesco’s car park in Redditch, said Gareth Walters, prosecuting.

Blair admitted breaching the SOPO and was given a three-year community order with a condition that he completes a sex offender group work programme.

Judge Alistair McCreath warned him that a further breach would result in a prison sentence.

The judge said Blair had taken “no care whatsoever” over the girls’ ages. He thought they were over 16.

But the judge accepted that there had been no grooming or sexual contact.

Simon Phillips, defending, said Blair drew the attention of police by driving a distinctive car with special lights.

He suffered from a heart problem and was due to go into hospital for an operation.