February 2012

‘Wicked’ paedophile abused girl

A man who subjected a young girl to years of sexual abuse had previously sexually assaulted children

David James Tasker, 66-year-olds of Syston was jailed for a minimum of six years – and will not be released from prison until it has been decided he is no further risk to the public.

Judge Simon Hammond said: “It’s likely he won’t ever be released. This is the third time he’s committed sex offences. He’s a wicked predatory sex offender.

“He remains a high risk of sexual harm to children, both male and female.”

Tasker abused one girl when she was aged between 11 and 16.

He admitted two specimen counts of rape – by forcing her to perform a sex act – sexually assaulting her, inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Tasker was arrested last summer after his victim learned of his previous sexual offending

In 1965, Tasker was fined for two offences of indecent assault.

In 1976, he was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, involving two daughters, aged between six and 10, and one of indecently assaulting his seven-year-old son. He was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence, with supervision.

“The pre-sentence report states he’s a high risk of re-offending and blames the complainant.”

Tasker has shown absolutely no remorse for his actions

July 2016

Dudley teen avoids jail for storing and distributing indecent images of toddlers

A teenager who stored and distributed vile indecent images of toddlers has avoided spending time in custody.

When police officers seized Aaron Kimber’s computer equipment, 384 moving and still images were recovered, including a number in the worst possible category.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that Kimber had images stored away in a hidden file and he had also distributed 84 images to 39 other paedophiles

Kimber, of Bean Road, Dudley, admitted five charges of making indecent images of children and five of distributing the pornographic images.

He was given a 12 month jail term, suspended for two years, with a condition he attends the sex offenders treatment programme.

Judge Peter Barrie also made him the subject of a 10 year sexual harm protection order and told him he must register as a sex offender for the next five years.

The judge told Kimber it was more important for him to receive support to ensure he did not commit the same offences again in the future.

“You have done things that were very wrong and harmful and you must never do it again,” he said.

“Passing on the images to others is particularly serious. You need to learn a lesson from this. You must never behave in this way again.”

December 2016

Father & son admitted falsely imprisoning a teenage girl

A FATHER and son from Redditch have admitted falsely imprisoning a teenage girl.

Jake Clarke and his father Simon Richards appeared at Worcester Crown Court.

Clarke, 21, of Prospect Road, Redditch and Richards, 52, of Evesham Mews, Redditch, both admitted imprisoning the 16-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Clarke further admitted threatening behaviour against the complaint’s father at her home address in Redditch at 10pm on December 21 last year when he produced a long black stick and threatened him with it.

He also admitted breach of an eight-week suspended sentence for driving while disqualified.

Giles Nelson, prosecuting, said the father of the complainant said to Clarke as he held the stick: “Come on big man – let’s go for it!”

Clarke then dropped the stick and left the area.

Clarke was arrested on December 27 and Mr Nelson said that he contested the matter “right up to the wire” but changed his plea on the day of trial.

The false imprisonment matter took place on July 16, involving both father and son.

Mr Nelson said the complainant was at her home address when she was told to leave “or bad things would happen”.

She walked back with them to their address where she was accused of being promiscuous and detained there for ’40 minutes’.

Mr Nelson said: “As she left it was Jake Clarke who grabbed her around the waist, kicking her in the right shin. She was unable to leave. Her phone was taken at one point. Messages were gone through. She left and went back to another relative’s address. She was upset.”

Adam Western, for Richards, drew the judge’s attention to the pre-sentence report and said he was “suitable for an 18 month community order”.

Charles Hamer, for Clarke, said his client was now in employment and his employers had been made aware of the court proceedings.

He said his employers were still “sufficiently impressed” with him to make him an offer of employment and accommodate any unpaid work he might receive as part of his sentence by allowing him to complete the hours midweek.

Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC, sentencing, said Richards had “a variety of offences for dishonesty and violence at a fairly low level” while Clarke had a caution for sex with an underage girl.

Richards was sentenced to an 18 month community order with 50 days rehabilitation activity requirement.

Clarke received a 12 month community order to include 100 hours unpaid work and 35 days of rehabilitation to include thinking skills.

A restraining order was made for a period of five years prohibiting contact with the complainant and preventing the men attending specified streets within Redditch.

January 2017

Paedophile spared jail after judge claims public are “better protected” by him being in community

When the police seized a man’s computer they found movie clips of children as young as one being sexually abused by adults.

But a judge has decided the public will be “better protected” by Daniel Taylor having treatment and doing unpaid work than by him being jailed.

Self confessed paedophile Daniel Taylor, 26, of St Mary’s Crescent, Leamington, had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to three charges of making indecent images of children.

He was given a three-year community order and ordered to take part in a three-year sex offender’s treatment programme, and to do 60 hours of unpaid work.

Recorder Christopher Hotten QC also made Taylor subject to a rehabilitation activity for 30 days and ordered him to register as a sex offender for five years and to pay £600 costs.

Sentencing Taylor, Recorder Hotten told him: “The seriousness of what you did is that without consumers, there’s no market.

“Everybody who downloads images such as these helps to create a market and provides a reason for children to be abused in the appalling way these children were.

“That is what you have done. Sitting alone in your room, it isolates you from what is going on all to children over the world in appalling circumstances.

“But it seems to me the most important thing is to do what can be done to deter you from behaving in this way in the future.

“Although this clearly passes the custody threshold, the public is likely to be better protected by my not sending you to prison today.”

Prosecutor James Dunstan said that in August 2015 the police went to Taylor’s home after receiving intelligence that someone at the address had been downloading indecent material of children.

The door was answered by his partner, but when the officers then spoke to Taylor he told them they would find images on his red laptop, and showed them where it was.

The laptop and a memory stick were seized, and Taylor, who had downloaded images using a file-sharing app, was arrested.

When the police examined the laptop and the memory stick they found a total of 245 indecent images of children, all but five of which were movies.

They were all accessible to the user, not having been deleted after being viewed, and had file names which were explicit about their content, said Mr Dunstan.

There were 110 category A images showing children being subjected to the worst kind of abuse, along with 128 category B images and seven category C images.

And Mr Dunstan said that explicit search terms used by Taylor showed he had specifically been looking for indecent images of both girls and boys.

When he was interviewed Taylor admitted he had downloaded “a couple of hundred” images of children over the previous six to nine months, which he said he had initially done out of curiosity, but admitted getting sexual satisfaction from them.

January 2017

Registered sex offender jailed after messaging girl, 13

A two time convicted sex offender from Letchworth has been jailed for 52 weeks after he admitted messaging a 13-year-old girl while months into a suspended sentence for possession of child sexual abuse images offences and making children watch pornography for his own sexual gratification.

Shaun Frankland, 26, messaged the schoolgirl through the image messaging app Snapchat on November 25 – in breach of a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of the internet.

And after the girl’s parents messaged him back, pretending to be another 13-year-old girl, Frankland told them he was masturbating.

Frankland, of Chiltern View, pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared at Cambridge Crown Court.

The girl’s father said that Frankland, a stranger to the family, had sent her messages over Snapchat out of the blue, claiming to be 21, and asked if it would be OK to chat after she said she was only 13.

“Luckily my daughter was clever enough to say no,” the dad said.

“Something didn’t add up, so my partner added him on her Snapchat, and again he asked the same questions – it was like they were preset questions he asks everyone.

“Again we said we were 13 to see how he would speak to us – and after only a few minutes he was messaging us saying he was masturbating.”

The girl’s parents quickly identified Frankland after an online search using his Snapchat username, and were horrified by what they found.

Frankland had been handed a 20-week prison term, suspended for 24 months, in July after he admitted committing child sexual abuse images offences while already on the sex offenders register – making and possessing indecent photographs of children, and having them watch pornography for his own sexual gratification.

A sexual harm prevention order was also imposed for those offences, among other things preventing Frankland from concealing history of his internet usage.

The Snapchat app deletes messages and photos shortly after they are read.

“Despite all this,” the dad said, “he was still sending inappropriate messages to underage girls.

“When I first got told about him getting into contact with my daughter, I wasn’t too concerned – that’s the day and age we are in. The technology we have, anybody can contact anyone and 99 per cent of the time it is safe, a normal way of making friends.

“But then the messages started to get suspicious, which got me concerned and made me investigate. When I found out his name and subsequently his previous convictions I was shaking with anger. How can someone with restrictions on internet usage so easily contact a child?”

Recorder David Farrell QC sentenced Frankland to 34 weeks’ imprisonment for the three breaches, and activated most of the suspended sentence to add another 18 weeks.

July 2016

Convicted sex offender who forced children to watch pornography given suspended sentence

A 26-year-old man from Letchworth has been handed a suspended sentence after he admitted committing child sexual abuse images offences while already on the sex offenders register.

Stevenage magistrates heard that Shaun Frankland, of Chiltern View, made and possessed indecent photographs of children and made them watch pornography for his own sexual gratification.

Chairman of the bench Stephen Bubb gave him a 20-week prison term, suspended for 24 months, because of Frankland’s ‘disregard for the psychological, emotional harm caused to the victims’.

Frankland admitted one charge of possessing and three charges of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and three counts of intentionally causing children under 16 to look at pornographic images, when he appeared at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on July 13.

In addition to the suspended sentence Mr Bubb ordered Frankland to attend a sex offender treatment programme for 60 sessions, and imposed a seven-year notification requirement.

Frankland, who had already been on the sex offenders register for two years before these offences were committed in 2015, must also pay an £80 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

The prosecution is set to apply for the imposition of a sexual harm prevention order – which would limit his use of the internet – at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on August 4.

January 2017

Facebook helped catch online pervert

A sports club employee embarked on a course of ‘extremely dangerous behaviour’ after he made sexual suggestions to a teenage boy on Facebook.

Sentencing Michael Smith to a three-year community order today, Judge Sarah Buckingham said he had allowed contact with the boy to flourish and develop after the child got in touch with him.

“In June last year you embarked upon a course of extremely dangerous behaviour; communicating with a young person who you knew, at least was telling you he was 15, almost 16 years of age,” said the judge.

“It was you who started talking about matters of naughty thoughts.

“Those conversations were wholly inappropriate and designed, no doubt, to facilitate some further sexual contact between you and the young male person you were speaking to”.

Smith, 49, of Bassingfield Lane, Gamston, who has borderline learning difficulties, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged between 13 and 17 years from an address in Cotgrave last June.

Today, he was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years, be subject to a sexual harm prevention order and complete 50 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the boy had messaged Smith, who works at a Nottinghamshire sports club, after he noticed he had asked a young friend for a drink.

Troubled by what he saw, the victim decided to find out more and contacted Smith on Facebook.

“There began a series of messages between them,” said Ian Way, prosecuting.

Smith had asked the boy if he ‘liked men’, but he said he ‘liked girls’ and indicated he was 15.

Smith also said he was ‘thinking naughty thoughts’ and had discussed paying £100 to do a sexual act to him.

Contact between them stopped when the boy told a youth worker at school. Police were informed and Smith was arrested at the address in Cotgrave

January 2017

Pervert jailed after court hears of horrific child abuse images

A hospital IT officer amassed three-quarters of a million indecent images of children and used his computer skills to avoid justice.

Martin Richard Shepherd, 45, went undetected for so many years because his expertise enabled him to encrypt the stash of vile images, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Stephanie Hancock said Shepherd, who worked in the IT department at Harrogate District Hospital for 22 years, trawled the dark web for images of child-sex abuse from May 2002 to the time of his arrest last June.

He also spied on naked and barely-dressed schoolgirls at a property in Harrogate after setting up covert video equipment.

Shepherd, described as a loner, was finally caught after national cyber-crime detectives traced illegal downloads to his computer IP address.

Analysis of his computer equipment showed he had a “massive library collection” of photos and videos featuring serious sexual abuse of “very young” children including 12-month-old babies and youngsters who had been drugged or plied with alcohol.

Of the 748,000 illegal images found stored on his equipment, just under 9,000 photos and videos were rated Category A – depicting the worst kind of child sex abuse which includes the rape and torture of children by adults

Jailing Shepherd for five years, Judge Paul Batty QC told him: “This is the worst case of its type that I have had to deal with in a long time in the law.”

“It represents the actual manifestation of abuse of little children on an extraordinary scale. For some 14 years or more, you were involved in this loathsome activity (and) you were viewing this material for hour upon hour.

“Some of the children who were depicted were babes-in-arms being abused in the vilest of ways, and some of the children were plainly drugged or had been fed alcohol.

“The charges that you admit are but a snapshot of what the police were able to view.”

He said police resources could not justify fully detailing all he had amassed over the years.

Ms Hancock said Shepherd’s collection was just a “snapshot” of the vile images he had amassed over the years.

The barrister said Shepherd had painstakingly catalogued the images in 22 encrypted volumes and used an “extremely-complex” system of passwords to hide them. Other images were deleted.

Shepherd, who has never had an intimate adult relationship, also distributed at least 19 depraved videos, 17 of which were in the most serious category, on a file-sharing site where paedophiles could exchange images.

She said: “The defendant admitted he used the dark web and [an anonymous browser] which makes it impossible to trace the internet use or [search] history,” added Ms Hancock.

“As a computer expert, he knew that it would not leave a forensic footprint of the searches that he was carrying out and his IP address could not be traced.”

Shepherd appeared to have let his guard down after 14 years of undetected internet activity, when police were finally able to trace some of the vile downloads to his computer using the national database.

Shepherd, of Chatsworth Grove, Harrogate, was charged with making and distributing child sexual abuse images, as well as gaining unauthorised access to private computer files at Harrogate Hospital.

He admitted these charges as well as two counts of voyeurism related to separate incidents in which he had set up webcams to take video footage of two female teenagers getting undressed in 2005 and 2012.

Shepherd saved 240 still and moving images from the webcam onto his computer, before editing the footage and placing some into a sub-folder.

Shepherd sat sobbing, with his head bowed, when he appeared for sentence on Tuesday.

Shepherd was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and subjected to a sexual-harm prevention order, which will restrict his internet use and prevent him deleting files.

January 2017

Bid to keep abuser out of prison fails

A man who abused a young girl has been jailed for nearly four years despite his lawyer claiming prison might not be in the public interest.

James Rae first molested the youngster when she was just seven years old and continued to do so for more than five years.

Incredibly, Hamilton Sheriff Court heard he couldn’t remember much about it.

Jailing him for three years and nine months, Sheriff Douglas Brown said the abuse has had a “significant and lasting effect” on the victim who suffers nightmares and has low self esteem.

Rae (64), of Rockburn Crescent, Bellshill, admitted using indecent behaviour towards the girl at addresses and woods in Viewpark, in Strathclyde Park and elsewhere between December 1979 and May 1985.

Allegations that he continued to abuse the girl between 1985 and 1998, when she was 26, were dropped.

Defence advocate Paul Nelson said his client expected jail and has resigned from his job, but he added: “We are dealing with offences which occurred between 1979 and 1985. We must ask whether the public interest is best served by locking up someone or by allowing that person to put something back into the community.”

The advocate suggested a non-custodial sentence could be imposed, but Sheriff Brown told Rae only a “substantial” jail stretch would do.

The sheriff said: “This abuse started when the girl was seven and not in a position to protect herself. It continued for a lengthy period. “It has had a significant and lasting impact, and in 2015, long after the abuse ended, she was still struggling to cope and sought counselling. “Her victim impact statement speaks of trauma, low self esteem, nervous anxiety, nightmares and difficulty in sleeping.”

Rae will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

January 2017

Flasher avoids jail after exposing himself to schoolgirls

A pervert who flashed at schoolgirls and performed a sex act while sitting in his sports car has been spared jail after a judge said he could take an exceptional course.

Jason Wheeler was instead hit by a heavy financial penalty, including paying his four victims £250 compensation each for the distress they suffered and a £750 fine.

A judge said the 27-year-old plumber was a hard working man and colleagues and family members had written in positive terms about their respect and admiration for him.

“That by itself can’t save you, but the court takes into account the offending was out of character,” he said.

“It is highly relevant you have been waiting an almost unconscionable time for a decision to be made as to whether you should be prosecuted.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Wheeler, of Court Lodge Road, Glllingham, committed the offences in the early morning when children were walking to school in October 2015.

One girl, 15, saw Wheeler drive up in his silver Nissan car and ask her if she wanted a lift to school. She declined but he stopped in front of her, slouched back in his seat and asked: “Do you like that?”

Prosecutor Keith Yardy said the shocked and frightened girl saw that Wheeler was performing a sex act.

Her friend had a similar experience when he tried to entice her into his car. He again performed the sex act and told her: “Come on, you want to get in now don’t you?”

The first girl saw him again in the car with black tinted windows two days later and took down the registration number and called the police.

Another girl, 14, was near shops in Garfield Road, Gillingham, when Wheeler wound down his window and said: “Look at me and get in the car. Do you want some fun and come with me?”

The fourth victim, also 14, saw him in his parked car and heard him call out “Oi” several times. He pointed to his lap and said: “Look what I’ve got.”

When arrested on October 16, Wheeler claimed it had all been for a joke.

The court heard his dash cam showed he had approached other girls in uniform on the way to school.

Wheeler admitted four offences of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of children. As well as the compensation and fine, he was ordered to pay £260 costs.

His name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and a sexual harm prevention order was made.

Judge Jeremy Carey decided not to make a deprivation order for the sports car, said to be worth £8,500. He also has a Volkswagen Golf.

Suspending 16 months imprisonment for two years and imposing 150 hours unpaid work, he added: “I reach the conclusion I will take this exceptional course of not sending you straight to prison.

“If you step out of line you will not get a second chance.”

Wheeler was given until February 3 to pay the compensation. He will have to attend court for a review of his progress on July 28.

Judge Carey said the victims were real people who should be protected “from this obscene and unpleasant sight”, adding: “It is quite revolting.”

He continued: “Why shouldn’t these girls receive a modest sum to compensate them?”

The judge said of one victim: “You weren’t enticing her. In fact, you were revolting her and frightening her.

“You would have no complaint were there to be an immediate custodial sentence. The court does not underestimate the impact of offending on children.”

Judge Carey said Wheeler having to wait so long to hear whether he would prosecuted must have been “particularly unpleasant” and was a sort of punishment.

“It may well be you will have to sell the car to pay the sums,” said the judge. “For that reason, it seems justice is served.”

January 2017

Youth football coach facing jail after downloading child rape movies and 1,400 indecent images

A DAD-of-two who admitted downloading disgusting child rape movies could face jail.

Former youth football coach Craig Raeburn stored hundreds of images of children – some as young as three years old – being abused by adults on two laptops he kept at his Port Seton home.

Raeburn, 52, was also found to have file sharing software installed on his computer, while his internet searches included ’10-year-old boy having sex with dad’ and ‘China: 11-year-old boy ****** and crying’.

He was found to have collected more than 1,400 disturbing child abuse images and a further 20 movies.

But he walked free from allegations that he had performed sex acts on a 14-year-old boy in his local church.

Married Raeburn was alleged to have sexually assaulted the teenager at Cockenzie and Port Seton Old Parish Church, while he had also been charged with sexually assaulting a second 14-year-old boy at the accused’s family home at Seton Court, Port Seton.

But not guilty pleas to the four charges involving the teenage boys were accepted by the Crown during today’s (Thursday) hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Raeburn was warned by Sheriff Norman McFadyen that “all sentencing options remain open” and he was placed on the sex offenders’ register for a time still to be determined.

Fiscal depute Naomi Warner told the court that police officers had confiscated two laptops and a hard drive from Raeburn’s home and discovered he had deleted many of the downloaded child abuse files.

But officers using specialist software managed to recover most of the images and associated file names.

Many of the images and movies were at the most serious end of the spectrum and included three-year-old boys being raped by adults.

Ms Warner said: “The images and movies appear to have been deleted from the device and were not accessible without specialist software.

“File sharing software was also found and a number of file names within the software included ‘ten-year-old boy having sex with dad’ and ’11-year-old boy ****** and crying’.

“On the large part it would appear to be boys, but some files relate to a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl having sex.

“The Category A images totalled 326 images and 16 movies that depicted boys aged from three to 14 years old engaging in penetrative activities with adults or other children.”

Raeburn, a first offender, also admitted to a charge of breaking bail conditions previously imposed by a court by contacting one of the boys involved in the dropped charges.

Sheriff McFadyen said: “In a case of this nature I am required to get a full background report and sentence will be deferred.”

Raeburn pleaded guilty to downloading and possessing indecent images of children at his home address between November 1, 2012, and February 4 last year.

He also admitted to breaking bail conditions by contacting a teenage boy between February 5 and November 2 last year, despite being ordered not to during earlier court hearings.

Raeburn will return to court to be sentenced next month.

January 2017

Former swimming coach is jailed for molesting teenage girl he trained in the 1980s

A FORMER coach to some of Britain’s Olympic stars of the 1970s and 1980s has been jailed for molesting a teenage girl he was teaching to swim.

Disgraced ex-teacher Cyril Carter – who trained Olympic silver medal swimmer Sharron Davies – targeted another youngster who was aged between 14 and 15 and attacked her at the pool and at his home.

Carter, now 68, singled his victim out from a class he was teaching in the Eltham area of South East London in 1985 and began coaching her in swimming and athletics outside school.

During these training sessions he began indecently assault her.

He also abused her at his home when she had to stay at Carter’s home ahead of early morning training sessions, and committed further offences in his car.

Carter’s other proteges included GB pool star Sharron Davies, now a BBC presenter, who was just 15 when she won two golds, a silver and a bronze at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.

Two years later at the Moscow Olympics she came second behind East German drugs cheat Petra Schneider.

Carter also coached judo medallists Neil Adams and Brian Jacks, and wrote books on the discus with British strongman Pete Tancred and judo techniques with Neil Adams.

Detectives from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command launched an investigation after the victim reported the abuse to police in 2013.

Carter was arrested in March 2015 and charged with six counts of indecent assault and five counts of gross indecency with another child under the age of 13.

Carter denied the charges, but was found guilty in November of four counts of indecent assault.

He was cleared of the two other assault counts and no verdict was reached for the charges of gross indecency.

The former Eltham man, currently of no fixed abode, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison at Woolwich Crown Court.

Carter was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order preventing him from training or coaching children.

January 2017

Fermanagh businessman sentenced for having child abuse images

A Fermanagh businessman who admitted having 17 child abuse images and one extreme pornographic image has been ordered to undertake a two-year sexual offenders course.

Mortgage and insurance broker William Martin McBride (61), of Tempo Road, Doon, Tempo, pleaded guilty to having the images between January and June 2014.

A small number of videos of extreme child pornography were also found at the defendant’s home in Tempo.

A prosecutor told Dungannon Crown Court that he had made an early guilty plea after police found the images at this home in June 2014.

Judge Neil Rafferty said for every offence before the court there were “real live children” being abused by “vile and sick people”.

“Without people like you there would not be a market and that is why real children suffered pain and anguish over what you viewed.”

The judge added that in England the courts recently sentenced a 101-year-old man for historical child abuse offences, which sends the message that the issue is taken very seriously.

January 2017

Exeter man found child abuse images on the ‘dark web’

A computer user was found with child abuse images after he searched the internet for items such as ‘young video models’.

Gabor Papai used the so called dark web browser Tor and a peer to peer file sharing site to access images including some which showed the worst forms of abuse.

He was ordered to undergo a rehabilitation course after a judge at Exeter Crown Court was told he was deeply ashamed of what he did.

Papai, aged 40, of Birchy Barton Hill, Exeter, admitted thee counts of making indecent images and was ordered to do 60 days’ rehabilitation with the probation service as part of a one-year community order.

He was also ordered to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for five years and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order which enables the police to monitor his internet use for the same period.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, told him:”You must understand that downloading this material prolongs the abuse of children.

“You are of good character. You will not be able to say that again. It prevents you going to prison today but if you continue to download this material, that is where you will go.

“You have pleaded guilty and are thoroughly ashamed of what you have done, as you should be.”

Miss Francesca Whebell, prosecuting, said police raided Papai’s address and seized computer equipment following intelligence which suggested he was accessing child images and movies.

She said the images were created between 2011 and June 2016 and some came through file sharing software. They showed children aged six to 15 and included stills and images from all three categories, including the most serious.

There were also search terms including ‘young video models’ and ‘little girl with grandpa’. He had also installed a Tor browser which allows anonymous use of the internet.

January 2017

Failed Exeter businessman admits downloading child abuse images

A failed businessman downloaded child abuse images when he was suffering from depression after the closure of his enterprise.

Richard Bushill accessed the images when he was living on his own after a relationship had also ended, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He was ordered to attend a probation-run rehabilitation course after a judge was told how that he now appreciated that what he had done was wrong.

Bushill, aged 40, of Pennsylvania Crescent, Exeter, admitted five counts of making or possessing indecent images of children and was ordered to do 40 days’ rehabilitation activity as part of a 12-month community order.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, told him: “You are a man of good character who has never been involved in the criminal justice system before and that is why you are not going to prison today.

“You understand that involvement such as this with these images is a very serious matter and if anything like this happens again, and if you continue to download this material, you will go to prison.”

The judge ordered Bushill to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for five years and made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which enables the police to monitor his use of the internet.

Miss Francesca Whebell, prosecuting, said Bushill used a peer to peer file sharing site called e-mule to access the images which were found when police seized his computer.

She said there were 61 images at the worst category A, 101 at B, and 37 at the lowest category C.

Bushill initially denied downloading the images and claimed they had been planted by a hacker or installed without his knowledge by a virus. He later admitted his guilt.

Mr Peter Seigne, defending, said Bushill accessed the images at a low time in his life when his self-run business had closed, a relationship had broken up, and he was depressed and suicidal.

He said his client has now returned to work with a marketing company and had voluntarily deleted all the images before his arrest.

Update – Sentenced to 12 months community service with 12 months probation. To sign the sex offenders register and to pay court costs of £250

February 2009

Careers worker abused his position of trust

A FORMER Connexions worker who tried to instigate a relationship with a 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of abusing his position of trust.

Dominic Hamberg, 39, of Delamere Court, Crewe, pleaded not guilty to the charge at Crewe Magistrates Court on Friday.

Prosecuting, Andrew McInnes said Hamberg had acted as a personal advisor to the boy – who cannot be named for legal reasons – for the youth careers service Connexions.

But around six weeks after he removed the teenager from his caseload, he sent him 191 text messages in just a few days.

Samples read: “Do you want to be boyfriends?”, and “I want to be with you”. Others were more suggestive.

The court was told the boy had given his mobile number to Hamberg so he could be updated about football sessions.

Giving evidence via a video link, the boy said: “I only responded when he was being friendly, not when he started saying stuff I didn’t want to hear.”

Defending, Tom Bureau argued there was no case to answer because Hamberg was no longer in a position of trust after he stopped being the boy’s personal advisor and no longer ran any activities in which he was involved.

But magistrates found him guilty of inciting sexual activity with an under-18 while in a position of trust, and deferred the matter to sentencing on February 27.

January 2017

Paedophile pensioner admits sexually abusing seven-year-old girl

A paedophile pensioner from Burnham-on-Sea has appeared in court to plead guilty to a series of sickening sexual assaults on a seven-year-old girl.

Cyril Jenkins, 67, from Grove Road, appeared in Taunton Crown Court this morning via a video link from Exeter Prison.

He admitted sexual activity with a child between July 1 2016 and July 31 that year, inciting a child to commit a sexual act between August 1 and November 21 that year, and sexually assaulting her on at least six different occasions between August 8 and November 21.

He also admitted a further charge of sexual assault by penetration which took place between August 1 and November 21.

The case was adjourned by Recorder Malcolm Galloway until February 10.

Until then, he was remanded in custody and ordered to sign the Sexual Offenders Register.

January 2017

24 year jail term for County Durham paedophile

A MAN who raped and committed other sexual abuse on two schoolgirls while working as a farm labourer in the 1970s, was today given a 24-year prison sentence.

It means that now 66-year-old John Regan must serve at least 12 years behind bars, his first prison sentence, before the Parole Board can consider if it is safe to allow his release.

On his eventual release he will then be subject to scrutiny under an extended licence period of 14 years.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Simon Hickey, at Durham Crown Court, where Regan was convicted of all 11 counts he faced at his trial, which ended on November 30.

He denied four counts of rape, four of indecent assault and three of indecency with a child, all relating to girls aged between 10 and 14, committed in the early to mid-70s.

Some were said to be specific incidents, but others were “specimen” counts covering a series of similar offences.

On the sixth day of his trial, the jury returned unanimous ‘guilty’ verdicts on all the charges.

Judge Hickey remanded Regan, of High Etherley, Bishop Auckland, in custody, pending preparation of a Probation Service background report on him, prior to today’s sentence hearing.

But he told Regan, at the time: “The two complainants, who have borne this abuse for so long, gave clear evidence and the jury have found you guilty on it.

“You’re now remanded in custody, but it will be a substantial sentence.”

Both victims were in court, but behind screens, at today’s sentencing hearing.

The defendant was dealt with via video link from nearby Durham Prison, but only one screen was used in court, so he was unable to observe the victims, and they could not see him.

Judge Hickey read victim impact statements, provided by the women, prior to passing sentence.

He told Regan: “They make for very sober and difficult reading and shows two lives drastically affected by the sexual abuse carried out at your hands.

“The first victim tried to run away from home, and, due to the drastic effect, she refers to trying to take her own life, and both women had to relive the experience.”

Judge Hickey said although Regan was of otherwise good character until his conviction, as the higher courts point out in sex cases, “it’s always open to the perpetrator to admit his ‘guilt’ many years earlier.”

The judge also referred to threats Regan made to one girl at the time to ensure nothing was reported.

“That young child did not speak out due to violence you threatened, namely that you would kill her and her parents.

“In my judgement, that’s why that young girl did not speak out for decades.”

Judge Hickey stated that even the second girl, although not threatened, said that Regan had told her not to say anything, as, it was to be, “our special secret”.

The sentences imposed, totalling 13 years for offences involving one victim and 11 with the other, were ordered to run consecutively with each other, by Judge Hickey, adding to the total 24 years.

Due to the extended licence period on Regan’s release, and given his age, by then, Judge Hickey said it was not necessary to impose a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

But the defendant, a once respected gym club coach, will be subject to the barring list, preventing him ever working or carrying out a hobby involving him coming into contact with young people.

January 2017

Sex offender caught looking at child abuse images in Cardiff Central Library

A registered sex offender judged to present a high risk of harm to children and young people was caught looking at child porn on his phone while in Cardiff Central Library.

Staff monitoring CCTV observed David Evans looking at indecent images on his phone and alerted the police, who later found a total of 121 child abuse images on his device.

Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court , defence barrister Catherine Flint accepted her client had an “obsessive” interest in pornography, which he described as “like an addiction”.

The court heard 35-year-old Evans was already on the Sex Offenders Register at the time of the incident last October.

Prosecutor Paul Hewitt said the defendant was required to have his phone and computer regularly inspected.

During a meeting with the officer responsible for monitoring, Evans admitted he had looked at content he described as “adult images”.

The court heard police received a call on October 24 reporting that the defendant was in Cardiff Central Library and had been seen accessing images of child abuse on his phone.

He was interviewed and admitted the offence, before having his phone confiscated.

Police examined the device and found a total of 121 child abuse images, including one of the most serious Category A, three Category B and 117 Category C.

There were also 17 computer-generated images, as well as an “extreme” pornographic video.

The court heard Evans had four previous convictions for similar offences and was previously jailed for making indecent images, as well as breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Ms Flint stressed her client pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and argued he had traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

She said: “He has obsessive tendencies, which manifest themselves in his interest in pornography – particularly extreme pornography and indecent images of children.

“However, when he is subject to a strict routine and when he is being monitored and supervised, he is able to control those urges.”

The defence barrister acknowledged the judge may consider the fact the offending took place in a public library to be an aggravating factor.

But she suggested her client positioned himself directly in front of a CCTV camera with the intention of being caught as a cry for help.

She told the court Evans was known to staff in the library, who had been instructed to keep an eye on him.

Ms Flint said: “He wanted help in stopping. He does want to stop, but when he does give in, he can’t. He describes it as like an addiction.”

She said Evans, of Tudor Street in Riverside, Cardiff, needed support and a strict routine.

Evans pleaded guilty to five counts – three of possessing indecent images of children, one of possessing prohibited images of children and one of possessing extreme pornography.

Judge Michael Fitton QC adjourned the case for psychiatric reports to be prepared.

He noted the defendant showed obsessive behaviour and an inability to control himself, asking for the report to address the issue of “dangerousness”.

The court heard the Probation Service assessed Evans as presenting a high risk of harm to children and young people.

He was remanded in custody until he is sentenced on February 24.

January 2017

Rapist, 32, asked teen if she hated him – then smoked a cigarette before raping her again

A RAPIST who asked a tipsy teenager “do you hate me?” in between raping her on two occasions has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Ryan Pheasant, 32, was found guilty of raping the teenage girl after plying her with alcohol including vodka at a party in 2013.

The court heard that Pheasant, from Maidenhead, followed the female to a bedroom where he attacked her, going outside for a cigarette before returning to the room.

January 2017

Telford pensioner had 2,500 child sex images on his computer

A Telford pensioner was found to have more than 2,500 indecent images of children on his computer after police raided his home, a court heard

Peter Evans’ home was searched by police after information was received in Operation Safenet, a police operation which targets suspected paedophiles operating online, Telford Magistrates Court heard.

Mr Adam Warner, prosecuting, said there were a large number of indecent images which were recovered on various pieces of hardware at the 67-year-old’s address in Elmscourt, Admaston.

Officers from West Mercia Police swooped on his home when they obtained a search warrant after receiving information about his activities.

Mr Warner said: “He’s always said that he was guilty of the offence.”

Evans appeared at Telford Magistrates Court wearing a black jacket and jeans.

He spoke only to confirm his name, address, date of birth and to plead guilty to five separate charges which date back to between October 2011 and April last year

He admitted three charges of making indecent images of children.

The court heard there were 1,963 category C images, 242 category B images and 320 category A images. He also admitted one charge of possessing six extreme pornographic images involving animals and one count of possessing seven prohibited images of a child.

Mr Warner said magistrates had insufficient powers to sentence Evans and requested that the case should be sent to Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Magistrates adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report to be prepared, and committed the case to Shrewsbury Crown Court, where Evans will be sentenced at a later date.

He was given unconditional bail.