January 2014

Man admits sex attacks on boy

A supermarket worker committed “disgusting and appalling” sex offences against a young boy when he was a teenager, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Andrew Hopkinson, 41, of Byron Street, Skipton, repeatedly abused the child more than 25 years ago in a loft bedroom and a field – and threatened to kill him if he told anyone.

He was aged 13 to 16 at the time and his victim was six to nine-years-old, prosecutor Nick Askins told the court.

Hopkinson pleaded guilty to eight offences of indecent assault and three of making a threat to kill.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 300 hours of unpaid work and a three-month electronically tagged curfew.

Hopkinson told police he abused the boy, who moved from the region many years ago, out of malice and revenge because he had been sexually molested as a child.

Robin Frieze, for Hopkinson, said he immediately admitted the offences and had since led a responsible and almost blameless life.

Judge Jonathan Rose said: “This is a disgusting, appalling and protracted catalogue of sexual offences against a very young child. You threatened to kill him if he told anyone. This must have been terrifying, shocking for him.”

January 2014

Two men jailed after rape of girl, 15

Two ‘cowards’ preyed on a 15-year-old girl who was walking alone late at night before taking her to waste ground where she was raped.

Sohail Pervez, 23, and friend Hassan Samad, 26, were driving through Ashton-under-Lyne in the early hours of one day in July 2012 when they spotted the schoolgirl walking alone.

Samad, who was driving the silver VW Golf, turned the car around and persuaded the girl – who was walking to meet friends but her mobile battery had died – to get in.

She was then driven to a patch of wasteground where Pervez raped her.

The court heard Samad got out of the car during the attack but helped his friend by moving one of the seats forward and passing his friend a condom from the boot.

The pair then drove off, leaving the girl stranded alone on the waste ground where she was spotted by a passerby who called police.

The girl has been so traumatised by the attack that she can no longer go out alone.

In a witness impact statement read out in court, the victim said she had not wanted to walk to school alone or go out to meet friends since the attack.

Pervez, 23, of Rose Hill Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, has now been jailed for eight years for rape and five years for assault by penetration, to run concurrently.

His friend Samad, 26, of Kenyon Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, was sentenced to six years for aiding and abetting rape.

Both Samad, a qualified engineer, and Pervez, a student, denied the offences. They were said to be of good character with no previous convictions.

The pair were only caught when a police officer spotted a car matching the description of the one used to pick up the girl several days later.

The car was traced to Samad and Pervez was later identified as the rapist.

Sentencing them, Judge Maurice Greene said: “I don’t accept that you were cruising around looking for vulnerable women but you chanced upon this girl and turned the car around.

“The evidence given was that she said she was going to a friend’s party but didn’t know where it was – if that were true there was no effort to assist her at all.

“It was decided that she would be taken to waste ground.

“You, Pervez, forced yourself on her.

“She told you to get off and clearly did not want to have intercourse.

“You then kicked her out of the car and left her stranded where anything could have happened to her.

“I have heard the effects on her and in effect she had a breakdown.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Daniels said: “These two men preyed upon a young girl who was vulnerable and alone late at night.

“Pervez did not know his victim but intimidated her into getting into the car with him, where he then forced himself upon her before the pair left her stranded in an isolated location with no care whatsoever as to what happened to her

“Neither of these two cowardly men would admit their guilt in this case, causing this young victim to have to relive her traumatic ordeal in court. I would like to commend her for her bravery, which has led to them deservedly being put behind bars today for what they did.”

If you or someone you know has been raped or sexually assaulted contact Greater Manchester Police on 101, or St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre on 0161 276 6515. 

January 2014

Blackburn religious teacher guilty of child sex offences

A RELIGIOUS teacher has been found guilty of committing sexual activity with a child during lessons.

Suleman Maknojioa had denied allegations that he touched the girl.

But after a week-long trial and around two hours of deliberations, a jury unanimously found the 40-year-old defendant, of Audley Range, Blackburn, guilty of the five charges.

Speaking after the verdict, Maknojioa said he had ‘no comments’ to make.

Preston Crown Court had heard how the teacher would stroke the leg of his victim, put his hand under her headscarf and squeeze her chest.

The defendant had maintained that he only ever touched the girl to pat her on the back when she had done well or to show her praying positions.

Summing up, judge Michael Byrne said the girl had told the court: “I did not want it, but I was too afraid to say something.

“He was not touching me like ‘well done’. It was not like that.

“He put his hand under my scarf and squeezed my chest.

“You do not do that when somebody says well done.”

The case was adjourned yesterday for the preparation of a pre sentence report.

Judge Byrne said the defendant had been in a position of trust.

He said: “This was contact which stretched over quite a lengthy period of time.

“By virtue of his position, he has access to children generally in the course of his teaching obligations.

“There are serious aggravating features about this case.

“I want to know everything about the defendant’s background.”

Maknojioa, who was released on bail, will be sentenced on February 19.

January 2014

Oldbury pervert admits child abuse images

A 50-year-old Oldbury man, caught with sickening indecent photographs of children, has avoided spending time behind bars.

Darren Green, of Titford Road, admitted four charges of making the indecent images and also possessing extreme pornography.

He was placed on supervision for three years by Recorder Stephen Linehan QC at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He must also attend the sex offenders programme and register as a sex offender for the next five years.

January 2014

Bradford man jailed for sex abuse of two young girls

A 56-year-old man who became obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, lavishing her with money and gifts so he could sexually abuse her, has been jailed for 33 months.

Paul Connolly groomed the child with presents of clothing and CDs and sent her “disturbing and disgusting” text messages before touching her bottom and breasts.

Connolly, of Bayne Drive, Bierley, Bradford, was yesterday convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Courtof four charges of sexually abusing two young girls. He was found guilty of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of ten at his home in the late 1990s and four offences of sexually assaulting a child under 13 in 2012.

Connolly undid the first girl’s trousers and touched her indecently when she was watching a film at his home. He repeatedly abused his second victim after befriending and grooming her.

During the trial, the jury was told of inappropriate text messages Connolly sent to the 12-year-old and shown photos of young girls, including his victim, on his phone.

After the verdicts, Connolly’s barrister, Jeremy Hill-Baker, said his client had suffered from recent ill health and had undergone surgery for stomach cancer.

He would find a prison sentence difficult and on his release would be unable to return to the area where he had lived for many years.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said Connolly’s texts to the 12-year-old were “utterly inappropriate, highly disturbing and quite disgusting.”

Photos on his phone showed he had “a predilection for the company of young girls.”

“It was wholly inappropriate for you, in your mid-fifties, to lavish such affection on a young girl. You groomed her with presents of money and clothes, and so on, so you could abuse her in such a way that she would think it was normal and not complain,” the judge said.

“You were obsessed with her, you harassed her and you frightened her.”

Judge Durham Hall said it was the girl’s fear of Connolly that led her to complain.

He labelled him “potentially a quite dangerous sex offender.”

The judge made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order to protect Connolly’s victims and young girls in the future and ordered him to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

After the case, Detective Constable Richard Dove, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: “I would like to commend the victims for having the courage to come forward and report his crimes and hope that the sentence passed down today helps to give them some closure.

“The Bradford District Safeguarding Unit’s specially trained officers will thoroughly and sensitively investigate any reports of sexual abuse, whether historic or otherwise, with the aim of bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

January 2014

A convicted sex offender has admitted possessing indecent images of children

Stephen McCrossan, whose address was given on court papers as c/o Maghaberry, pleaded guilty to a total of 33 charges relating to indecent images of children.

They include making and possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornographic images.

The 23-year-old also admitted breaching a sexual offences prevention order by having a computer in his home.

All the offences were committed between June 2012 and February 2013.

Sentencing was adjourned for a probation pre-sentence report to be compiled.

Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey told the court his client suffers from ‘acute psychiatric complaints’ and a psychiatric report would also be furnished to the judge prior to sentencing.

McCrossan was remanded in custody and will appear in court again on February 27.

January 2014

Pensioner, 84, faces jail over child abuse images

A man of 84 is facing a possible prison sentence after admitting having pictures of child abuse on his computer.

Pensioner Brynmor Griffiths pleaded guilty to six offences when he appeared before a judge at Cardiff Crown Court.

He admitted possessing indecent images of underage youngsters from level one to the most serious level five.

The offences were said to have committed on August 16 last year.

Grey-haired Griffiths of  Heathfield Drive, Barry – was allowed to leave the glass-enclosed dock, and invited to sit behind barristers and solicitors in the courtroom after telling the judge he was unable to hear the charges being read to him.

He was told the hearing loop aid which should have been available to him inside the dock was not working.

Standing to enter his pleas, he spoke clearly, answering “guilty” six times as the allegations were put to him.

The first five counts relate to individual images of child pornography he was found to have downloaded and the sixth charge covers a total of 207 pictures.

The majority of those 207 were said to be at level one, with eight at levels two and three, fourteen at level four and two were of the most serious kind.

Griffiths, smartly dressed in a suit, collar and tie was appearing under a newly operating early guilty plea scheme in which defendants can be sentenced without any delay.

But in his case, Judge Neil Bidder QC said pre-sentence reports had not been completed and would be needed before any penalty is decided.

The judge also requested prosecutors establish what level of image were amongst files which had been deleted from his computer but which can be traced by experts.

Prosecutor Julian Greenwood said there may be an application made at the next hearing to have a Sexual Offences Prevention Order imposed against the OAP.

Meanwhile, Griffiths was granted bail on condition he has no contact with any child under 17 without adult supervision, although Judge Bidder stressed there was no suggestion he had  committed any offence through direct contact.

He will return to the crown court for sentence in three weeks.

January 2014

‘Callous’ father who strangled 11-year-old daughter to death then tried to kill himself in car crash jailed for 20 years

A father with a history of ‘psychiatric issues’ strangled his 11-year-old daughter to death after they had returned from a trip to London Zoo.

The body of Rebecca Thompson, who was about to start secondary school, was found by her mother Mary at her home in Bushey, near Watford in Herts, the next day.

Her ex-husband Simon admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was jailed for 20 years today.

Heartbroken Mary Thompson said she had been left “destroyed and devastated”.

“Rebecca and I were so very close and enjoyed a wonderful relationship,” she said.

“Her father killed her in such cruel circumstances leaving me to find her dead – this has left me totally destroyed and devastated.

“Rebecca was such a loving and caring child who adored animals and being with people. I miss her so much, my life has become so empty without her.

“I had made plans for a new life with Rebecca but we had no chance to give that a try. It seems her controlling and manipulative bully of a father could not stand the thought of us moving on and being happy.

“Now I face a life-time of loneliness and only memories without my darling girl. The grief that fills me is hard to explain, it is like I have been forced to step out of one life into another which is full of pain, sadness and heartbreak.

“Like many young girls Rebecca liked fashion and music but now we will never go shopping together again or meet up with local friends for a coffee and a chat. I have no feeling towards my ex-husband and regard him with the contempt that he deserves.”            

It is thought that after killing his daughter Thompson tried to take his own life by driving at high speed into a roundabout.

He sustained serious injuries and was arrested by police once deemed to be medically fit.

Police said that Thompson had “psychiatric issues”.

But Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Detective Inspector John Arthur, who led the investigation, said: “Simon Thompson has been professionally identified as a man who had psychiatric issues at the time.

“However his actions last summer were callous when he killed his daughter, his only child, leaving her mother distraught.

“There are no words of comfort in cases such as these, Rebecca had her whole life ahead of her and her chance for a future has been taken away by someone who was supposed to keep her safe and protect her from the dangers in this world.

“On behalf of my team can I thank Rebecca’s mother and friends for the dignity and courage they have shown during what has been a very difficult time for them and hope that with time they can rebuild their lives.”

January 2014

Community order for pervert with 200 indecent pictures of kids on computer

POLICE found child abuse images when they raided a house in Chelmsford.

A court heard on Friday how 200 indecent images of children were found on computer equipment at Anthony Welch’s home on April 9 last year.

Most of the images involved children aged between six and 14 and were at the lower end of the serious scale, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

Welch, 59, Linnet Drive, Chelmsford, admitted two charges of making indecent images of children when he appeared in court for sentence.

Judge Christopher Ball QC said the best way to punish him was a three year community order with a condition Welch goes on an internet sex offenders’ course.

January 2014

Chard man admits child abuse images charges

A MAN from Chard has admitted making indecent images of children.

Andrew Jordan, 50, of Queens Close, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of making indecent photographs of a child at Taunton Crown Court on Monday.

He also admitted two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

The offences are said to have been committed between March 2007 and October 2011.

Jordan was released on bail and is set to be sentenced on February 13.

He was made to sign the sex offenders’ register. 

January 2014

Lache man jailed for inciting online sex activity with a child

A Chester man has been jailed for four years for inciting online sexual activity with a child and taking and possessing indecent  images.

Paul Clifford from Lache was convicted at Manchester Crown Court last week following a nine day trial.

He was sentenced to a total of four years for inciting an 11-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity online, as well as making and possessing a number of indecent images.

The 53-year-old was also made subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and made  to sign the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

Concern was initially raised to the Metropolitan Police in London by the Social  Networking Site Badoo, after a photograph of a user who was clearly under the age of 18 was discovered.

When they reviewed the chat history, they found chat logs of a sexually explicit nature, during which the girl stated she was 11.

The company reported their findings to police and further inquiries identified Clifford as the user and the investigation was taken over by Cheshire police.

Clifford was arrested in June 2011 and a  number of items including computers were seized to be examined.

More than 200 indecent images were found on two laptops, a large number of which were defined as ‘extreme pornographic’ images.

Detective Constable Yvonne Ouseley said:  “Although we never actually identified and  spoke to the victim in this case, the evidence spoke for itself and it was clear that Clifford had preyed on the vulnerabilities of a young girl.

“I would want to use this case to reinforce the importance of parents being aware of  their children’s use of social media and the internet as they can so easily become involved in conversations with people who will  prey on their innocence.”

January 2014

Lonely Exeter pensioner turned to child abuse images after partner’s murder

A lonely pensioner who accessed child abuse websites has escaped jail.

Peter Kettle moved from looking at pornography on the internet to file sharing sites where he downloaded pictures of under age boys being sexually assaulted.

He was bored and lonely and struggling to come to terms with the murder of his male partner more than 15 years earlier, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Kettle, aged 72, of Haven Close, Exeter, admitted eleven offences of possessing indecent images with the intent they should be distributed and was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years with supervision and £420 costs.

Mr David Bowen, prosecuting, said Kettle’s activity was traced back through a peer-to-peer website where he had accessed images of children in 2011 and 2012.

He had a total of 2,250 on his computer including more than 700 at the two highest levels which show child rape or sadism. Some could be shared by others on the website but there was no evidence he distributed them deliberately.

He told police he downloaded the images while spending up to nine hours a day on the internet.

Mr Stephen Nunn, defending, said:”My client had been in a stable homosexual relationship until 1997 when his partner was murdered. Since then he has become lonely and isolated and turned more and more to the internet.

“He started on gay sites and then had the software to access file sharing sites. He says it got out of check and he accepts full responsibility.

“He is in poor health and has had a heart attack in the past.”

Judge Erik Salomonsen told him:”You were housebound and resorted to using the internet and as a result of using peer to peer software you accessed indecent images.

“I am told you have a number of medical problems and it would serve no useful purpose to the public to send you to prison today. These offences must be met by a prison sentence but it can be suspended.”

January 2014: Released and living in Shirley, Southampton

December 2006: Eckton was jailed for eight and a half years, and placed on the sex offenders register for life

November 2006

Facing jail after being convicted of under age sex

A CONTROL room operator was angrily led to the cells after being convicted of having regular sex with an under-age girl he asked to run off with him to Scotland.

Judge Christopher Leigh QC told Brian Eckton AKA Brian Yu to expect a lengthy sentence when he returned to court next month, and Eckton muttered “Yeah, whatever” before pointing at the girl’s family in the public gallery and making a threatening remark.

Eckton, 36, of Kensington Gardens, Dibden Purlieu, was found guilty of nine charges of having unlawful sexual activity with the teenager, and of two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice over messages he sent to her and a friend – whom the prosecution described as “a go-between” – after his arrest.

The judge told jurors, who spent three hours in retirement at Southampton Crown Court, that their verdicts were “bang on”.

Prosecutor Michael Forster described how the girl had confided in Eckton about a personal problem. Initially physical contact was confined to comforting cuddles and kisses, but eventually they moved on to the lips.

Mr Forster said: “Despite their age and the large age gap, he started a physical relationship with her which culminated in sex on a regular basis.”

Eckton was arrested after the girl’s mother discovered that she had been missing school.

Despite a warning from the police not to contact her after being bailed, Eckton rang her a few days later and asked her what she had told them about their relationship.

He also asked her to run away with him to Scotland and offered to marry her when she was 16.

Mr Forster said police later discovered papers about marriage in Scotland at Eckton’s home, but he claimed they were to be used in a scrapbook for his sister, who had been married there.

Eckton, who denied the 11 charges, denied in court having had sex with the girl and claimed that they had a father and daughter relationship.

When asked about the allegation that he suggested to her they should get married, he replied: “Well, if there has been one, it’s the first I’ve heard about it.”

January 2014

Paedophile jailed for hotel rape of girl, 15

A paedophile who was jailed for four years in 2008 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl has been jailed again for raping a girl of 15 in a hotel in Conwy county.

Gavin Benit, 36, was convicted at Caernarfon Crown Court after the jury heard he had groomed the vulnerable girl with graphic text messages.

Jailing him for 10 years, Judge Merfyn Hughes QC also imposed a 10-year order limiting Benit’s internet access.

The rape took place at a Colwyn Bay hotel where he was placed in a flat.

Benit had served a four-year sentence for the previous offence.

He admitted taking the teenager – who he referred to as Baby Girl – into his flat at the Hotel Rothsay, even though visitors were not allowed beyond the foyer at the hotel.

Sion ap Mihangel, prosecuting, claimed the defendant was a man “who likes to have sex with under-age girls”.

He told the jury that graphic text messages seized by police made it clear intercourse was envisaged by Benit “and also that the girl was reluctant for this to happen”.

Benit’s defence barrister said his client had had a difficult upbringing.

The judge told Benit he had targeted the 15-year-old, who was vulnerable to the sort of attention he was giving her.

He said: “You saw her as someone you could take to your hotel bedroom for the purpose of sexual intercourse either with or without her consent.”

Benit must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Det Insp Kelly Isaacs, of North Wales Police’s sexual offences team, said: “Benit preyed upon a 15-year-old child who was vulnerable because of her age.

“He had also lied to her about his age and intentions.”

January 2014

Perth sex offender ‘Dangerous Dave’ had child abuse images on USB stick

A convicted sex offender who hid behind the on-line nickname ‘Dangerous Dave’ has been caught trading sickening images of child abuse.

More than four hours of video footage showing children from infancy to age 15 being brutalised were recovered from a memory stick and computer owned by paedophile David Greig.

A large number were assessed by investigators as being at the very highest levels of classification.

Police officers found that Greig, 34, had been distributing large numbers of the indecent images over the internet.

He had also accepted indecent images from other perverts, whom he contacted through Skype.

Greig was already well known to the authorities, having served a three-year sentence in a young offenders’ institution following his conviction at Perth Sheriff Court in 1998 in connection with charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour.

He was still on the sex offenders register but his new offences came to light only by chance, after police officers spoke to him on October 11 last year on an entirely unconnected matter.

They discovered a USB stick in his pocket and he admitted that it contained indecent videos and images of children.

A search of his home in Allan Terrace, Perth, saw officers discover further indecent material on the computer found in his bedroom.

Greig admitted possessing indecent images of children over a 12-month period, between October 2012 and October 2013.

He also admitted distributing or showing indecent photographs of children between May 25 and September 3 last year.

Both offences took place while he was subject to sexual offences legislation.

“In summary, the officers discovered 22 still images on the USB — 19 at level one and three at level two,” said depute fiscal Carol Whyte.

“There were 81 videos, with a total running time of around four hours, with three classified at level one, 20 at level two, five at level three and 53 at level four.”

Level four includes some of the worst images of abuse.

Greig, a prisoner at Barlinnie, will be sentenced on March 6.

January 2014

Hurstpierpoint teenager jailed over sex offences

Christopher Mancini 19, of Pierpoint Close, Hurstpierpoint, has been sentenced at Lewes Crown Court today, Friday (January 24) having previously been convicted of a total of 49 sexual offences involving 13 teenage boys.

A police statement says he was sentenced to a total of 18 years imprisonment, the first ten years to be served in custody. He was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) severely restricting his contact with young people and access to the Internet, and is required to register as sex offender indefinitely.

Mancini had been convicted on Wednesday 9 October last year, after a two and a half week trial, of 34 sexual offences involving 10 boys, on dates between 2005 and 2012. 24 of those offences were of causing or inciting sexual activity, five were of sexual assault, four were of making indecent images of children, and one was of rape.

Mancini had also pleaded guilty before the trial to 15 offences of sexual activity with a child, involving three boys, one of whom was one of the 10 boys who also gave evidence in respect of some of the not guilty pleas at the trial.

Six of the sexual activity offences took place online involving three boys in other areas of the UK. All the other sexual activity offences were contact offences which took place in Mid Sussex involving boys known to Mancini.

He was found not guilty of one offence of rape.

Mancini first appeared at Crawley Magistrates Court on Saturday 19 January and was remanded in custody since then. The charges, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, follow an investigation by officers from West Sussex CID which began in October last year.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Wardley-Wilkins said; “The offences of which Mancini has now been convicted came to our notice in October 2102, and a full investigation was immediately set up, in which we worked closely with West Sussex Childrens Services in order to establish the full circumstances and to help safeguard the victims and families involved.

“Mancini operated by targeting often vulnerable young boys in the area where he lived, whilst he himself was aged between 14 and 18. Once we received the information in 2012, our enquiries revealed further offending, resulting in the charges and Mancini’s conviction and sentencing.

“The dedicated work of Detective Constable Rebecca Wilde in particular, over many months, was key in enabling us to bring this young but predatory offender to justice.

“During her very thorough investigation no other current evidence emerged to justify further proceedings against Mancini at this time. However anyone who has further information or any other concerns which they feel should be looked into, can contact us via 101 or ‘contact.centre@sussex.pnn.police.uk’at any time to arrange to talk in confidence to detectives.

Anyone else who seeks any other advice or support over matters of this kind can also contact Sussex Police, or the Childrens Access Point (CAP) operated by West Sussex County Council on 01403 229900.

January 2014

Pervert faces jail for child sex offences – including making indecent movie of girl

A PERVERT is facing a prison sentence after he admitted a string of child sex offences including making an indecent movie of a girl.

Peter Jeffery, from Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to a total of 11 charges when he appeared before a judge at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

He admitted one charge of making an indecent movie of a child which the court heard featured a teenage girl undressing to the camera.

The 29-year-old also pleaded guilty to nine counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one charge of making indecent photographs of a child.

Judge Howard Crowson adjourned sentencing for background reports to be prepared.

Jeffrey, of Ellison Street, Hartlepool, was remanded in custody until Thursday, March 27, when he will be sentenced.

Guidelines for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity varies from six months prison to 14 years depending on the circumstances.

January 2014

Postal worker who abused two children over years is jailed

A paedophile who abused two young girls has been jailed for three and a half years.

Gerard O’Brien, 54, abused the children at two separate properties in Ibrox and Cardonald between September 1988 and June 2000.

His two victims, who were aged four and seven at the time of the offences – and cannot be named for legal reasons – told the jury how they suffered over the years at the hands of O’Brien.

Following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court, O’Brien was unanimously found guilty of two charges of using lewd and libidinous practices towards the girls.

Postal driver O’Brien abused his first victim on a number of occasions between September 1988 and September 1991 and his second between June 1993 and June 2000.

There were cries of “yes” from the victims’ families when the jury returned their guilty verdict after a trial in December. O’Brien shouted “liars” at them as he was remanded and led to the cells after the verdict.

Sentence was deferred until Monday for reports.

Sheriff Alan Mackenzie said: “The offences of which you were found guilty by the jury were carried out over a period of years towards children, children who should have expected your protection and not your exploitation.

“They were at a tender age. Their childhoods were blighted.”

The sheriff ordered O’Brien is supervised for six months after his release and he was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The court heard that years after the incidents, in April 2011, the first victim and eldest girl reported him to the police and an investigation took place.

O’Brien denied the charges.

Defence counsel Owen Mullan told the court: “His position as far as the offences are concerned, he maintains that these did not happen.”

January 2014

Violent sex abuser is named and shamed

The victim at the centre of a shocking Co Derry sex abuse case has waived her right to anonymity so her abuser can be named.

Rodney Joseph Campbell, of Sperrin Road, Limavady, was jailed for 12 years for sexually and physically abusing the girl.

She was just 15 when the abuse began and Derry Crown Court heard she was a ‘vulnerable’ girl who had been in the care system.

The victim became involved in a relationship with the 44-year-old’s son, however this ended when Campbell began having sex with her.

It was revealed that on one occasion the man put the girl’s head into a pan of cold cooking oil. He also sexually assaulted her with a rolling pin and the handle of a hammer.

The court heard the defendant would physically assault his victim by punching her, kicking her and stubbing cigarettes out on her body.

He would also strangle her, make her black out and lose consciousness.

The court was told the victim managed to get away from Campbell after she made a suicide attempt in 2009.

Passing sentence earlier this month, Recorder of Derry Judge Philip Babington said it was a “shocking case” and the victim was “totally under the control of the defendant and indeed lived in fear of him. She was regularly abused, humiliated and beaten”.

He added that the vulnerable victim was treated as Campbell’s “own personal plaything”.

The case sparked controversy and led a local MLA to call from an inquiry into child exploitation in Northern Ireland to have stronger powers.

Sinn Fein’s Maeve McLaughlin said that those involved in the case had questions to answer.

Helena Bracken, of the Nexus Institute, which offers support to survivors of sexual abuse, described the case as one of the worst she had come across.

Yesterday morning, the victim’s solicitor Paddy McGurk told sentencing Judge Philip Babington that his client had instructed him to apply for the anonymity order to be lifted.

He said she realised the order was put in place for her own protection, but she now felt she no longer needed the protection given to her by the order.

January 2014

‘Simple’ man caught grooming schoolgirl for sex after meeting on Facebook

A “SIMPLE” man who groomed an underage girl for sex has been jailed after a judge said courts needed to send a message over the “prevalent” crime.

John Worthington, 40, began pursuing the 15-year-old on Facebook after a chance meeting with her father, an old school friend, while her family was on holiday in Bridlington.

They exchanged details and the girl noticed Worthington had become a “friend” on Facebook.

She shared the same profile with her mother and assumed her mother had accepted him as a friend.

Worthington and the girl were soon sending each other daily messages, which at first were “relatively innocuous”, Hull Crown Court heard.

Worthington then asked for the girl’s mobile phone number and they began texting.

The girl’s father became aware of the contact and told Worthington to stop, but he carried on.

“Gradually, over time, the messages became more inappropriate and became sexual in nature,” Nicola Quinney, prosecuting, said.

Initially, the girl said she “felt good” about the messages and responded in kind.

Worthington, of West Lane, Burton Fleming, near Driffield, sent her an indecent photograph of himself, and she sent pictures of herself.

In another text, Worthington suggested they meet at a campsite in Bridlington so they could have sex.

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