November 2016

Man jailed for grooming – Halifax and Luton

A man, who travelled 170 miles from Halifax to Luton expecting to meet a 13-year-old girl was today, Thursday, 20 October 2016, jailed for 2 years and 8 months.

John Hanson, aged 55, had booked a hotel, but when he arrived at Luton railway station he was confronted by Katie and Neil Ivall who target paedophiles after one of their relatives was groomed on line. They called the police and he was arrested, Luton Crown Court heard.

Hanson, of Shaw Lodge, Shaw Hill, Halifax, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Michael Speak, prosecuting for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Mrs Ivall set up the fake Facebook account in the name of Jessica Walters, stating she was just 13-years-old.

Hanson began grooming her over Facebook on 10 July.

“He booked a hotel room for Saturday, 16 July telling the girl it cost him £120. He made it clear they would have sexual activity and he wanted her to call him Dad,” said Mr Speak.

Hanson had also asked the hotel if his daughter could join him overnight in the room.

Jailing him, Judge Michael Kay QC said: “You had a well planned operation to take a 13-year-old girl to a hotel to have sexual activity.” He said Hanson must register as sex offender and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

December 2016

Jailed: Paedophile abducted little girl from Northfield street 34 years ago

A brave Birmingham mum has relived the moment she was snatched off the street by an evil sex predator, when she was just four years old.

Kerry Powell was assaulted close to the Black Horse pub in Northfield after being abducted by James Patrick Dundas-Ure

She has now bravely waived her right to lifelong anonymity – because she wants to help track down other victims of the pervert, who cruelly ruined her life 34 years ago.

She opened her heart after Dundas-Ure was finally brought to justice.

The 66-year-old paedophile was found guilty of indecent assault last week, and sentenced to three years in prison.

He must also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

The sentence brought to an end the nightmare with which Kerry, 38, from South Birmingham, has lived since that terrible summer afternoon in 1982.

Too terrified, and too young, to reveal what had happened at the time, she finally summoned up the courage to go to the police in 1994.

But the name she provided – she believed he was called Jimmy Dundersure – could not be traced.

Now, Kerry is convinced that Dundas-Ure, who had been known locally as ‘Jimmy Jimmy’, abused other youngsters.

She hopes her decision to tell her story will inspire other victims of him, or other predators, to come forward.

“It was 34 years ago and he still got convicted,” says Kerry. “It shows that it can still be done. It’s never too late to get justice.”

“I am absolutely convinced that he did this to other children. He lived in Scotland and Canada as well as Birmingham, and my heart tells me there are other victims like me out there.

“My message to any victim of his, or anyone else for that matter, is: ‘Don’t let them get away with it’.”

The day of the attack, she says, has never left her.

“It happened in the summer of 1982 after I got off the bus with my mom in Northfield,” recalls Kerry. “I remember it like it was yesterday.

“Mom had popped in to the Black Horse pub because she needed the toilet and I wanted some crisps.

“I wasn’t allowed inside but there were two old ladies on benches outside. Mom new one of them so asked ‘Can you keep an eye on Kerry for me?’

“The women agreed, and Mom went inside the pub. I was sitting on a tabletop behind them with my feet on the bench below.

“That’s when Jimmy came out of the pub.”

Kerry says she recognised Jimmy as a friend of her mother’s then partner, although she did not know him well.

“He said he had just spoken to my mom and she’d told him I was hungry. I knew his face, I was little, I was hungry and my mom was buying me some crisps, so it seemed to make sense.

“He told me Mom had said it was okay for him to take me over to the chip shop, so he picked me up and carried me there. But when we got there he said there were too many people inside. I may have been little, but I knew there wasn’t.

“Instead, he walked me to a shop further along. There was an gap there between shops filled with stingers and debris. He put me down, held me by the wrist and asked me to come through the stingers. I remember feeling very panicked, and I started crying.

“I knew something wasn’t right but he just pulled me through the stingers. It was in there that he sexually assaulted me.”

She added: “I could hear shouting and can only assume it was my mom who was looking for me. He must have panicked because he picked me up and pushed me into a toilet at the back of the shops. He pushed me inside and slammed the door shut.

“It was pitch-black inside and I was absolutely terrified. I was so scared that he would come back and that he would hurt me. I began screaming. I don’t know how I managed to reach up to the door, I must have climbed onto something, but I got out and ran back through the stingers.

“I was in such a panic that I ran straight into the road and was nearly hit by a car.”

Kerry was reunited with her mother, but was so terrified that she did not admit what had happened to anyone until she was a teenager.

“Mom kept asking me ‘What happened?’ and ‘What did he do?’,” she recalls. “All I said was that I had fallen into the stingers.

“I remember people asking me about it later, too – my grandparents among them – but I just kept saying I had fallen over. I was just too scared.

“I kept saying sorry to my mom. I felt like I had to apologise to her, it’s hard to explain why.”

Kerry never saw Jimmy again, and only confided in her mom when she was 17 years old.

They both made a report to the police, but nothing ever came of it because Jimmy, who had lived in Northfield’s Tinkers Farm Road in the 1980s, could not be found.

Kerry feels that the officers they spoke to in the 1990s were “not really interested” in historical allegations.

But the brave Brummie mum did not want the sex monster to get away with it. She made another complaint to the police last March.

“I saw all the stories in the media about victims coming forward after 10, 20 or 30 years in cases of historical sex abuse,” she says.

“You look at your own children and think this could happen to them. I realised I had to speak to police again and that he had to be brought to justice for what he did.”

This time, cops had more success. But when they called Kerry to say they had a arrested a suspect, she hung up because she thought they had got the wrong number.

“They gave me the name of Ure, and I thought they had got me mixed up with someone else,” she admits. “It had never occurred to me that there might be some confusion about his name.”

The prison sentence he received is not long enough, she believes, but she is relieved Dundas-Ure is off the streets.

“I would love him to spend the rest of his miserable life behind bars,” she says. “But I’m just glad that he can’t harm any other child while he is in there.

“The only way he could have helped me was by not dragging me to court to give evidence. I just wish he would have owned up to what he did.

“Now, I hope he is sitting in a prison cell, realising there are consequences for what you do – and eventually the consequences catch up with you.

“I am convinced he did this many times before, and many times after, me. He had a small window of opportunity to do something with me, in broad daylight with my mom inside the pub.

“That tells me that he has taken, or looked for many more opportunities to abuse, children. I’m convinced of it.

“He took that risk with me and it’s a dangerous person who would do that. He is evil.”

Confiding the long-lasting impact of what happened to her, Kerry admits: “It never goes away. Sometimes I just feel like he has ruined my life.

“He took a part of me away that day, and it can never be replaced.

“I suffered from severe depression when I was younger, and at one time I even considered taking my own life.

“There were times when I would just cry all day.

“It has had an impact on every part of my life – the relationships I have had; the whole of my school life; even now, as an adult, it’s affecting me with my children.

“I just don’t trust people. If the children go to any groups, clubs or activities, I am there with them.

“I would go as far as saying that I am obsessed about strangers. It has obviously also had a big impact on my mom.

“She has heard some of the more specific detail for the first time, and I know she has been left heartbroken.

“She is an amazing mom and has always supported me. I just worry about how this has affected her.

“Now the court case is over I just want to enjoy Christmas with my family. It will always be there, but I’m not going to let him destroy my life.”

She also has a message of reassurance for anyone thinking about coming forward with information.

“The police and court staff were brilliant,” she says. “They really take care of you, and are genuinely there to help.

“I’m really proud of myself though. At the end of the day I did nothing wrong. I just hope that my story can help people get justice for themselves, too.”

December 2016

Britain’s oldest defendant, aged 101, admits abusing boy

A 101-year-old believed to be the oldest defendant in British legal history, said sexually abusing a young boy was “something that happened,” a court heard

Ralph Clarke, aged 101 of Holly Lane, Erdington, admitted sexually abusing a young boy

During the trial, the former lorry driver, denied abusing two young girls, who he claimed were “born liars.”

Clarke, has denied 12 charges of indecent assault and 10 charges of indecency with a child.

Earlier in the trial, he admitted charges relating to the male victim.

Miranda Moore, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said that the alleged victims suffered a “catalogue of serious sexual abuse “ by Clarke.

She said some of it took place in a shed.

Clarke, she said, also carried out sexual assaults in the cab of his lorry.

One woman made a complaint to police last year after reading about his 100th birthday celebrations on Facebook, said Miss Moore.

Clarke, who gave his evidence with the help of an intermediary and had regular breaks, was asked by Miss Moore why he had abused the boy in the way that he admitted. He replied; “It was something that happened and he accepted it.”

It was put to him that the boy did not have a choice he replied, “He had every choice. He could have said yes or no.”

Clarke said some of the sexual activity happened in the shed but denied also abusing the girls there.

He said he would mend bicycles there and children in the neighbourhood would call him Nobby, the court heard.

Clarke said he had never been alone with the girls in the shed and added: “They could not come in because there was not enough room. There was only a small amount of room for myself.”

He said he had been in the RAF for six years during the war, that he had moved into warden controlled accommodation and that his wife died in 2014.

Clarke also said he had not abused one of the girls in his lorry and had learnt about the allegations made by her about 18 months ago.

Asked how he felt about that, he said “I take life as it comes.”

December 2016

Cumbrian man branded ‘danger to children’ behind bars after abusing young girl

A man who committed a host of sex crimes against an under-age girl has been jailed for three years.

Billy Sowerby, 26, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.

He had previously admitted 11 charges of sexual activity with a child aged under 16. These were committed during a six-month period last year.

The court heard the victim had nightmares and weeks of sleepless nights as a result of Sowerby’s criminal activity.

“What he did has messed up my life,” she later stated.

Sowerby, a labourer, of Croft Close, Brough, was handed his jail term for what Judge Peter Davies called a “serious course of conduct”.

The defendant was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

He must also sign the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period, and will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

December 2016

19-year sentence for predatory sex offender

A ”predatory sex offender” who followed a teenage girl 100 miles to Wirral and viciously attacked and raped her was today given a 19-year sentence.

Rashid Ulhaqdad, who has previously assaulted other women, was put behind bars for 14 years and given a five-year extended sentence after the judge ruled he was a danger and posed a significant risk of harm.

Judge Robert Warnock described the defendant as “dishonest and violent” and said he was in flagrant breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order.

“You are a predatory sex offender and there must be a custodial sentence of some length combined with an extended licence. You will serve two thirds of the custodial term,” he said.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the offences occurred after Ulhaqdad got the train to Birkenhead from his Birmingham home to meet the teenage girl.

They had initially met about a month earlier after he delivered food to her home in Birmingham and they kept in touch and he brought her cannabis, but they did not have sex.

After she told him she was visiting her sister he travelled up and brought alcohol with him which he drank and then started trying to kiss her.

She tried to get him to leave but he refused, saying he needed time to sober up.

He then hit her with an empty Jack Daniels’ bottle and when she fell to the floor he was threatening to kill her and “she thought she was going to be killed,” said Ben Jones, prosecuting.

He hit her several times with the bottle and then grabbed her by the hair and started pushing her upstairs and onto a bed.

She was too weak to fight him off. He told her to go to the bathroom to clean the blood from her face and she locked herself in, feeling faint from her injuries.

When she did not let him into the bathroom he kicked the door down and again attacked her.

Eventually he began crying and apologising, said Mr Jones.

She secretly phoned police; on hearing them arrive she told him to leave by the back door – but then opened the front door to let officers in.

Ulhaqdad, 35, of Mead Crescent, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to three rape offences, two sexual assaults, assault and breaching an ASBO, which prevented him from arranging to meet women using his phone.

December 2016

Woman sexually abused as a child joined police to help other victims before reporting her own abuser

A victim of historical sex abuse told a judge though it had a devastating effect on her life she was able to battle depression and become a police officer.

The woman attended Bristol Crown Court for the sentence of Alan Slade, who subjected her to a series of sexual assaults in Bristol from when she was aged six to 12.

Though the abuse caused catastrophic repercussions for her, such as thoughts of suicide and struggles with self-confidence, she said she was proud to have formed a police career, before deciding to report Slade for what he did to her to prevent him from doing it to someone else.

She said: “I have given Slade and his actions too many years of my life. I have spent too long crying and hiding away.

“What Slade did to me will never leave me, but it has made me the strong person I am today and I will not give up.”

Slade, 46, of Fishponds Road, pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent assault. Judge Martin Picton jailed him for six years and eight months, with an extra one year on licence.

He told Slade: “You committed some terrible offences, a long time ago now.

“It’s quite apparent by the account given by your victim the harm you did then has carried through the decades in the manner she described.

“Your selfish and deeply perverted behaviour has done huge harm. She managed not to allow the wrong you did to define her life, but it greatly impacted on her life.”

Slade was told to register as a sex offender for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, banning him from unsupervised contact with youngsters.

James Tucker, prosecuting, said Slade touched the complainant’s private parts, orally abused her and made her touch him improperly.

For years the abuse went unreported, the court heard.

After consequences including behavioural problems and self-confidence issues the victim came to understand what was done to her was wrong, but was embarrassed and ashamed and felt there was no way she could tell anyone.

But as time progressed she joined Avon and Somerset police, dealing with reports of sexual offences and thinking if she could help them, she may be able to help herself one day.

She told the judge: “I was at a sexual offence seminar listening to a survivor’s story.

“They talked about their struggle with drugs and alcohol, their time spent in police cells after being arrested for various things, the way their life had just got worse until they eventually faced up to their past.

“Suddenly something clicked inside of me. I sat there and I had an overwhelming feeling of pride.

“I was thinking, I could have ended up this way but instead, despite always believing I was weak and useless, I have never touched drugs or had a problem with alcohol, I have never been arrested, I have in fact done the complete opposite and I knew at that moment I was incredibly strong, strong enough to finally get some closure.

“I had kept something so massive to myself for almost 30 years and not only led a normal life, I had thrown myself head first into helping others with the one thing that I couldn’t do for myself.

“That same day I reported my abuse to the police and from the minute I gave my statement I felt like this huge weight had lifted from me. I felt almost free and the feeling in the pit of my stomach was gone.”

December 2016

25-year-old from Manchester admits abusing 14-year-old girl

A 25-year-old man has appeared before Taunton Crown Court to admit two charges of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl.

Jamie Young, of Manchester Road, Openshaw, appeared before his honour Judge David Ticehurst this morning, dressed casually in a grey tracksuit.

He spoke only to enter his pleas and no other information was released during the short hearing.

December 2016

Basildon man jailed after series of rapes and stalking offences

A Laindon man has been jailed after a series of rapes and stalking offences against a female, after he posed as a 21-year-old man on Facebook to chat to her when she was just 13-years-old.

Shaun Harrad, 55, unemployed, of Sandringham Road, Laindon, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Friday (9 December), having been found guilty after a two-week trial of multiple offences of rape, of causing actual bodily harm, of distributing indecent images, and of stalking.

Harrad targeted the victim, now 20, when she was aged 13, through Facebook where he pretended to be a 21-year old named ‘Paul’. Through what started as innocent chat, he gained her trust, convincing her to send him increasingly explicit images of herself.

He also pretended to be a young girl on Facebook and got the victim’s young teenage brother to send indecent images of himself, which he then passed on to the victim and threatened to distribute the images to their friends and family unless she kept contact with him.

Harrad then threatened her saying that he would tell her family and friends. The victim felt she had to continue the relationship to protect herself and her family.

He then sent photos to her parents and threatened them over a period of years.

When she was 18, Harrad showed his true identity and arranged to meet the victim which involved sexual activity including rapes, in various hotels in Sussex. The victim was coerced and frightened, being issued with conditions by Harrad that she had to abide by. If Harrad was displeased he would then threaten her and also said that he would destroy her family.

It was after an incident in June 2016, when the victim was raped and physically assaulted, causing actual bodily harm, at the address where she was living in Brighton, that she finally came to the police in Brighton and reported all the incidents.

Harrad was arrested in Essex on the same day that the victim had felt able to report the offences, and he was charged and remanded in custody that day.

He was sentenced to 15 years behind bars and will not be eligible to be considered for parole until he has completed two thirds of his sentence.

He will also be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) severely restricting his access to computers.

Sentencing Harrad, Judge David Rennie said: “You represent every such child or young person’s nightmare. You know how easy it is to set up a fake online identity, confident in the knowledge that you are likely to be able to hook the interest of young gullible people.

“You frightened and intimidated her into silence. You made threats that you intended her to believe such as throwing acid into her face.”

December 2016

Former Band Manager pleads guilty to child sex abuse images and voyeurism charges

Lee Downie, the former Band Manager and percussionist of the Flowers Band has admitted two offences of voyeurism and five of possessing or distributing child sexual abuse images

The case was heard at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday December 9th where he was bailed until January 27th for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. He was ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register immediately.

Downie, 41 years old of Hawthorn Rise, Cainscross, Stroud pleaded guilty to secretly video recording two adult women doing ‘private acts’ for his own sexual gratification, as well as admitting to two offences of making indecent images between September 2005 and April 2016 involving 27 movies — 17 at the worst level category A and 10 at level category B.

He further admitted three offences of distributing indecent movie files of children, all level category A.

Recorder James Watson QC, informed Downie that all sentencing options including immediate imprisonment would be open to the court.

December 2016

Hartlepool sex beast faces death in prison after jailing

Police have welcomed a 16-year jail sentence handed to a Hartlepool child abuser and praised the bravery of his victims.

Joseph Jukes, 79, is facing the prospect of dying in prison after justice finally caught up with him.

The pensioner, of The Green, Hartlepool, was found guilty after a trial of raping a young girl, five counts of indecently assaulting children, and five charges of gross indecency with children.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, one of his victims told how they had been “robbed of a childhood”.

The statement continued: “I was so scared of what was coming next.”

A victim impact statement by another of his victims said: “Since I was abused I’ve had no self-confidence. I feel he has robbed me of my life, my childhood and my education. I never reached my full potential.

“I’ve never worn a dress or a skirt, and I’ve never felt like I can trust a man. Joseph Jukes has ruined my life.”

Judge Morris acknowledged the fact that prison will be “somewhat hard” for Jukes, due to the fact he is a wheelchair user.

But he said: “You’ve ruined lives and lives continue to be blighted by your exploits when you were a bully and a sexual predator.

“You’ve made your victims relive their ordeal, which must have been harrowing.

“You may never come out of prison, although you’ve only got yourself to blame for that.”

December 2016

Teenager was left suicidal after sexual touch by church volunteer from Chester

A church volunteer from Chester who touched up a co-worker when he was on duty had a medical fit in court as he was being sentenced.

Michael John Bull, 71, of Hobart Way, Blacon, pleaded guilty on the first day of a trial to sexually assaulting a male.

The victim was touched in the groin area by Bull who was said to have groomed him for months before the incident took place.

At a sentencing hearing at Warrington Crown Court, Judge Simon Berkson handed Bull an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and with a 20-day rehabilitation order.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.

Bull, who was said to have throat cancer, had a non-epileptic fit and was helped by court dock officers.

The defendant, who also walked with a stick, apologised to his victim publicly through his barrister Barry Grennan.

Mr Grennan said his client had significant health problems and would lose his property if he was sent to prison.

He said Bull himself had been abused as a young person and he acknowledged he had “overstepped the mark”.

Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy said Bull became a volunteer at a Chester church and became close to a man as they were on the same volunteer shift patterns.

Bull was heard to often ask the victim’s girlfriend about their sex lives and to make inappropriate comments.

Bull, said to have a history of sexual touching, put his hand on the groin of the victim’s trousers, feeling his penis through his clothes and leaving his hand there for some time.

The man told Bull: “You shouldn’t be doing that” and Bull took his hand away.

Ms Badrawy said: “He reported it to the police on September 15, 2014 and when Mr Bull was interviewed in October, he said he spoke to the victim about his sex life and ‘I got aroused’.”

He answered no comment to questions and pleaded ‘not guilty’ at a previous hearing. On the day of the trial he admitted the offence.

The court heard the victim suffered severely depression in the interim period.

In a victim impact statement, he said: “I felt embarrassed and I thought ‘why did he do that to me?’ He was my friend. I found the process very stressful.

“I was worried I would bump into him. There was a lot of upset for me and my family and I had a breakdown because I was so upset and worried.

“I felt suicidal and had to stay in hospital for a week.”

November 2016

Pervert jailed after sting by online paedophile hunter

A sex offender who thought he was going to meet a schoolgirl for sex has been jailed for 12 months.

The court was told that Andrew Neil Slater of Aylesbury, drove to Woking in Surrey to meet who he believed to be a 14 year old girl for sex. 

However, he was met by an online child protection team called ‘Not of normal criminal element’ who recorded the ‘meet’ to discuss his actions and intent. The team then contacted the police who arrested Slater.

During online chat’s with the decoy, Slater was sexually explicit and expressed a clear interest to engage in sexual activity.

Slater pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and was told he must register as a sex offender.

September 2016

Kidderminster man jailed after sexual assault on child

A FORMER Kidderminster man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl.

Christopher Noyle, 51, now living in Sand Farm Lane, Weston-super-Mare, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday, September 2.

A jury of 10 men and two women previously returned unanimous guilty verdicts on four charges during an appearance at Worcester Crown Court in July.

During the sentencing hearing, Noyle – who had entered a not guilty plea – was given five years each for two charges of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright, describing him as “manipulative”, also handed Noyle six-and-a-half years each for two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The judge said Noyle displayed a “gross breach of trust” for his own “sexual gratification”.

Reading out a victim statement from the girl’s mother, prosecutor Jennifer Josephs said the girl – now aged seven – has had “a major trust issue with people” since the abuse began.

She said between 2013 and February this year, she would wet herself whenever Noyle’s name was mentioned.

As a result of the attack, her mother said “she has been displaying suicidal behaviour and expressing comments about her life”.

Addressing Noyle, Judge Cartwright said: “When she said what you had done you said she was a liar and showed no remorse or regret. You show no remorse or regret now.

“Your actions have destroyed the family. She had become challenging, naughty and confrontational.

“She wet herself when anything made her think of you. She had major trust issues with people. She has worryingly expressed comments about her life and she thinks that everybody hates her.”

And he added: “You repeated your actions on several occasions. This is not just an isolated offence.”

Amy Jacobs, defending, said Noyle recently signed off from work for stress and depression. She said he has no other convictions and is of “previous good character”.

Noyle will serve the sentence concurrently.

April 2016

Married man guilty of possessing indecent child images

A MARRIED man has pleaded guilty to possessing more than 1,000 indecent images of children, videos of sexual assault on a child and animal pornography.

Richard John Mahony, 58, of Much Marcle, admitted the eight charges when he appeared before Hereford Magistrates’ Court last week.

Between August 13, 2012, and September 24, 2015, Mahony possessed 15 still Category A images of children and 27 videos; five still Category B images and 33 videos; 1,189 Category C images and 30 videos.

He also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing pornographic images involving a dog on January 18, 2016.

Lesley Ashton, prosecuting, advised that the case should be sent to crown court for sentencing as there were a “strong” number of different images.

She stated that police were alerted to Mahony and an investigation followed which led to them obtaining a search warrant.

Mrs Ashton added: “On September 2, police attended his address when Mahony said: ‘I’ll make life easy for you’ before producing a Samsung laptop.

“When police investigated the computer, along with other items, they found a number of images.

“In relation to the Category A, which are the most serious, these include a moving image of a sexual assault on a child which lasts 52 minutes and involves strong abuse of the child.”

Mahony, representing himself, said that the animal images were not downloaded by him or anybody else and were from “another site”.

He added: “I’ve nothing else to add, I’m guilty. I need to hold my hands up and get the pressure off my wife.”

Magistrates agreed that they had insufficient power to deal with the case and adjourned for a sentencing hearing at Worcester Crown Court later this month.

Mahony was released on bail with a single condition that he must not have any unsupervised contact with any child under 18 years of age.

September 2016

Man found with naked pictures of children

A MAN found with naked pictures of children said he was originally looking for adult porn, a court heard.

Matthew Hodgson had 24 category C indecent images of children, which shows a child in an erotic pose, in his possession when police executed a warrant at his Kidderminster address on June 26 last year.

Adrian Jones, prosecuting, said police were acting on information when they discovered the child pornography stored on one of the 38-year-old’s devices.

He said: “A warrant was executed at the defendant’s address. Some items were seized on the information that they may contain indecent images of children.

“On them were category C images of children. Some of them were not available as they had been deleted, but 24 were found.”

Hodgson was arrested and when he was interviewed he said he had got the images from a particular website which allowed users to share images between one another.

“He said he went on the site to download adult porn and searched ‘nude’ but there was not a filter,” Mr Jones said. “He did, however, say there was a preview of the image before downloading them.”

Police said there was no evidence the defendant was distributing the images of the children, of which the age was unknown, he had produced by downloading and saving them.

Hodgson, of Bewdley Road, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child and to possessing 24 indecent images of a child when he appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, September 10.

District Judge David Miller ordered pre-sentence reports be completed before the defendant was sentenced.

He said: “For the sentencing hearing, there should be a little bit more information about the age of the children and I shall keep all options open, including committal to crown court.”

Hodgson was granted unconditional bail and is due back before the court for sentence on October 1.

November 2016

A Shropshire man downloaded thousands of indecent images of children on the morning his computer was seized by police, a court heard.

Officers found thousands of still images and videos of child abuse on a hard drive and a computer seized from the home of Phillip Cuckson.

The 69-year-old, of  at Furlongs Road, Cleobury Mortimer, admitted six charges of making indecent photographs of a child when he appeared at Telford Magistrates Court on October 19.

Appearing at Shrewsbury Crown Court, he was given a 12-month suspended sentence, which will remain in place for two years.

Cuckson was ordered to complete a 60-day rehabilitation programme and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He will also have a notification requirement for 10 years and be under a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

Police attended Cuckson’s home on April 19 in relation to another matter.

Miss Laura Hobson, prosecuting, said Mr Cuckson “seemed agitated” and was keen to take a hard drive with him saying he needed to take it to work.

The hard drive and a computer tower were seized and examined where police found thousands of images which were contained in a “well managed folder system” on the hard drive. 

There were different folders for girls and boys and images of children ranging from the age of four to 16 and were believed to date from November 8, 2013, to April 19, 2016, the court was told.

On the computer, police found that during the morning, the computer had been seized it had been used to access a website from which thousands of images had been downloaded, mainly of girls aged from eight to 12.

There were 214 still images in the most serious category and 11 videos, 179 still images in a lesser category and 11 videos and 4,777 still images and 21 videos in the category of lowest seriousness.

Sentencing, Judge Jim Tindal said Cuckson had already been taking steps himself to receive treatment.

He said: “You have had an interest in pornography and over time it has become clear you want something more extreme.

“The harm in this offence is not simply that it is something that can lead to actual sexual abuse against children.

“But every image you click on fuels a demand for the sexual abuse of children.”

Cuckson was also ordered to pay costs of £340 plus a victim surcharge.

November 2016

Man jailed for grooming and sexually abusing schoolgirls

A man who denied grooming and sexually abusing several schoolgirls has been found guilty and sent to a youth offenders institution.

Charles Declan Lindley, formerly of Bedale, but now living in Barnsley was found guilty by the jury at Teeside Crown Court during his trial by a majority of 11-1. The charges include:

• One count of sexual activity with a child involving penetration 

• Three counts of causing or inciting a female child aged between 13-15 years old to engage in sexual activity

Lindley used various alias’ on social networking sites such as ‘Charlie Simpson’ to target girls for contact.

The court heard that even after his arrest, Lindley continued to harass and intimidate the victims. He has shown no remorse for his actions

He was sentenced to 36 months in a youth offenders institution. He was also placed on a sexual offences prevention order.

He was also prohibited from having contact with any female child under the age of 16.

October 2013

Man jailed for over nine years for series of sexual offences

A 43-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years for a series of sex charges linked to underage girls.

Sean Francis Daly carried out the 13 offences in the Dungannon area between December 2003 and March 2005.

Daly who now lives in Co Down, was unanimously convicted by a jury at Omagh Crown Court on June 27 this year on seven counts of gross indecency with or towards a female child, three charges of indecent assault on a female child and three counts of indecent assault on a female.

He began the nine-and-a-half year jail term after he was sentenced at Omagh Crown Court on Thursday.

Despite the verdict of the jury and the subsequent conviction, the 43-year-old continues to deny all the charges.

The victim was aged between 14 and 15 when the abuse began between December 2003 and December 2004.

The court heard that the man met the girl at a GAA game in the summer of 2002, when she was aged just 12-years-old. 

Daly was initially charged with an act of gross indecency toward the girl on Christmas day 2002, but the jury acquitted him of that charge. Reading from her sentencing report in Omagh’s Crown Court, Judge Melody McReynolds said the jury gave him the “benefit of the doubt”, accepting that his eyes were closed during the alleged sex act in front of the child.

Recounting an escalation in the sex offences, Judge McReynolds read how the initial seven incidents between December 2003 and December 2004 began with two sex acts at the side of the victim’s bed.

The offences progressed to indecent assaults and acts of gross indecency carried out inside the parental bedroom and bed.  It was heard how the man would text the girl, telling her to come to the bedroom where she would be indecently assaulted.

The charges increased in their gravity between December 2004 and December 2005, when the first act of sexual intercourse took place between the defendant and his victim in her bedroom when she was aged just 15.

Sex acts were also carried out on a pull-out bed in a living room. The victim also recounted how sex occurred up to ten times in a spare room in the house.

The final conviction involving the girl involved an act of gross indecency in a Dublin hotel. Judge McReynolds accepted that while the offence took place outside the jurisdiction, she said there was a basis for dealing with the charge as part of the case before the court.

Daly was also convicted of two counts of gross indecency towards two other teenage girls aged between 16 and 17, who were attending a birthday party at the home between February 22, 2004 and March 26, 2005.

The offence involved a sex act carried out in front of a mirror as the girls passed a bedroom.

The court also heard how the man was convicted twice for indecent exposure in the six years prior to the offences.

Sentencing Daly, Judge McReynolds described a “breach of trust case” involving a “a very troubled, vulnerable and damaged young woman”.

Dividing the offences into six categories, she imposed a nine month sentence for the first two charges of gross indecency.

A total of 30 months was handed down for one charge of gross indecency and three charges of indecent assault in the second category.

Another nine months was added for an act of gross indecency in an en-suite bathroom.

For the most serious sex assaults, carried out over 2004 and 2005, the judge sentenced the 43-year-old to another three years, adding an additional nine months for the offence in Dublin.

Nine month sentences were added for the final two charges of gross indecency in front of the 16 and 17-year-old girls, leaving a total of nine years and six months.

Daly was added to the sex offenders register indefinitely. He was also added to the Independent Safeguarding Authority’s adult and childrens’ barred list and banned from working with children.

December 2016

Islington property fund boss groomed teen for sex with iPhone promise

A property fund boss who promised what he believed was a teenage girl an iPhone and a spin in his Mercedes as he groomed her for sex has avoided a prison sentence

Julius Gottlieb, 48, showered the 14-year-old with compliments and offered to take her shopping in the West End during the illicit online chats.

Despite learning she was still at school, the married father-of-three asked her to send “nawty” pictures of herself and promised he could sneak her into a bar.

Judge Graham Arran sentenced Gottlieb to a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years. He was ordered to attend a 100-day sex offenders’ treatment programme and 60 days of rehabilitation

Gottlieb arranged to meet the girl — “Millie” — at Guildford station, only to find her profile was a fake and he had been chatting to a group of online paedophile hunters looking to snare online predators. 

They confronted him over his illicit activities on July 5 last year, and messages he wrote were handed to police. 

Gottlieb swiftly quit as managing director of property investment fund Dorchester Ground Rent Management, based in York Way, Islington.

At Harrow crown court, he pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

After telling “Millie”: “U have a pretty face — wish I could see the rest of you” Gottlieb was sent a picture he believed was her with school friends.

When told she was 14, he replied “it’s ok hun”, and promised to “sneak u in” to a bar. 

As they arranged to meet, Gottlieb asked: “Will you do everything? X.”  

When she replied, “Like sex and everything?”, he said: “Yeah. You cool with that!” She replied: “Maybe, depends what you buy me.” Gottlieb told her: “A phone x.”

Gottlieb, now living in north-west London is banned from having contact with anyone under the age of 16 except his children.

December 2016

Rapist who knocked his victims unconscious jailed for life

A rapist from Dewsbury has been jailed for life after a judge heard he molested his two victims after knocking them unconscious – and one of them was only 15.

Judge Neil Clark said he concluded Ryan Lee John Hall was dangerous and ordered him to serve a minimum of 11 years, warning he would only then be released if the Parole Board considered it safe to do so.

He said the two complainants had been raped some years apart but both cases showed similarities in his treatment of them and his lack of remorse. A psychiatrist concluded his risk of re-offending was high.

Hall, 24, of Albion Street, Dewsbury , was found guilty by a jury of twice raping the 15-year-old and convicted of rape, sexual assault, assault causing actual bodily harm and another sexual offence on his other victim in March this year.

The court heard it was after reading a story in a local paper about his remand accused of the March offences that the earlier victim came forward and described what had happened to her when she was a schoolgirl and Hall was about 17.

Judge Clark said she described how after she had been drinking with Hall on a New Year’s Eve they had argued and he had struck her on the head with an empty wine bottle, knocking her unconscious to the floor.

When she came round she was naked apart from her top with Hall sat on a sofa staring at her. She realised she had been raped and was also covered in urine.

She was young and had feelings for him and although he subsequently raped her again on a later date she never reported it at that time.

In March this year Hall arranged to meet a woman for the first time and she decided to take him to a friend’s house where people were drinking, thinking it would be neutral territory.

He behaved oddly at times during the evening and when they ended up alone he took his top off and tried to pull her trousers down. When she resisted he told her that women did not turn him down.

He punched her and threw her into a wall and she believed she lost consciousness.

When she came round she feared he was going to kill her and he sexually molested her and raped her after she stopped resisting.

“She was in no way consenting, simply trying to avoid greater harm to herself,” said the judge.

He commended the bravery of the two victims in giving evidence and the police officers for their work in ensuring the two cases could be joined quickly for trial.

He said both women had clearly suffered psychological impact from their ordeal.