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Steven Gowland – Weardale

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February 2014

loner with “disturbing” sexual interest in children jailed for vast collection of indecent images of children

StevenGowland

A LONER preoccupied with a sexual interest in children was yesterday (Friday February 7) jailed for a total of three years and two months.

Steven Gowland gathered a vast collection of indecent pictures of children, mostly downloaded from the internet, but some pseudo-images created himself, said to be of a “disturbing” nature.

Durham Crown Court heard that using a split-screen, he super-imposed himself having sex with a life-sized rubber doll over which he superimposed images of children in ballet and ice-skating costumes.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said there were also many hours of footage taken by Gowland himself, from roadsides in his parked car, of children innocently playing.

Mr Bennett said such was the extent of some of the footage that it could almost be described as “surveillance”.

He gave an example in which Gowland gives a “commentary”, making lewd suggestions while covertly filming.

Police, acting on information, visited his home in Stanhope, Weardale, on May 25 last year and removed a large amount of computer equipment, CD roms and dvds.

He was arrested and admitted looking at adult pornography, but claimed he was not attracted to material featuring children or animals.

Mr Bennett told the court: “After a long pause, however, he said they may be some images of children which he looked at, ‘because they were there’.”

Lengthy examination of the images contained on the seized “media” revealed 5,196 indecent images of children, mostly stills, but some moving, including 400 in the most serious two brackets for such material.

He was re-interviewed and admitted having a sexual interest in children, but claimed to be surprised at the amount of images in his collection.

Gowland, 56, of Martin Street, admitted a total of 26 charges relating to the images and footage recovered from his computer equipment, at a hearing on December 9, since when he has been remanded in custody.

His barrister, Rachael Landin, described him as, “an introverted and isolated man”.

But she said he now feels, “deep shame and embarrassment” at the depths to which he sank.

It began when he accessed “mainstream” pornography, but images featuring children sometimes “popped up”, which he looked at, out of curiosity.

But she stressed none of the images subsequently collected or taken by Gowland were distributed.

Miss Landin added that Gowland will undergo a sexual offender treatment programme while serving his sentence.

Jailing him, Judge Christopher Prince told Gowland: “You’ve clearly been preoccupied with a sexual interest in children.

“Some of the material defies categorisation and is disturbing in nature.”

Gowland is already subject of lifelong registration as a sex offender. Terms of a suitable sexual offences prevention order will be agreed at a later hearing.


Andrew Goff/Jack Steadman – Nr Coalville

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February 2014

Music teacher jailed for possessing child abuse images, and his lover jailed for raping two boys

A music teacher has been jailed in connection with child abuse images offences.

And at a separate hearing his young lover was also sent to jail for offences including raping two boys, aged six and 12.

Music teacher Andrew Goff (57) who possessed more than 7,000 illegal images of youngsters, and distributed about 700, received a 16 month sentence.

Leicester Crown Court was told he was a peripatetic teacher, at various schools in Leicestershire, although it was not suggested he abused pupils.

His partner, Jack Steadman (20), admitted unrelated sex offences including raping two boys, aged six and 12.

He also admitted downloading more than 20,000 indecent images of children.

Steadman received an eight year detention sentence, with an additional four years to serve on licence.

The defendants, both of Manor Road, Donington le Heath, near Coalville, were both sentenced by Judge Robert Brown, in separate hearings last Thursday.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said the police executed a search warrant at their home and seized Goff’s computer equipment containing thousands of indecent images, on July 11 last year.

She said Goff also had a handwritten a list of boys names linked with Dixie Grammar School, Market Bosworth.

Miss Rose said: “The defendant was a music teacher and had been teaching at the school at that time.

“Inquiries were made and all the boys were students there, but there was no obvious reason for the defendant having a list of names.

“There’s no indication any offence was committed (against pupils).”

Paul Tubb, mitigating, said Goff had no previous convictions and was remorseful.

He said: “His arrest was a wake-up call and he doesn’t seek to justify his actions.”

Judge Brown said: “He initially sought to blame Jack Steadman and the defendant is old enough to be his father or even grandfather.

“Steadman was over the age of consent, but not by much.”

Mr Tubb said: “He (Goff) initially declined to co-operate but was later at pains to co-operate.”

The images Goff viewed had been downloaded by Steadman onto Goff’s computer.

Mr Tubb said the images Goff distributed were password protected and only shared with about half a dozen internet users.

He said: “The defendant moved to Leicestershire 30 years ago and worked as a peripatetic teacher, but immediately resigned when he was arrested and co-operated with the schools.

“A reference from the Soar Valley Centre describes his conduct as exemplary throughout and says they are fully aware of the charges against him.”

Goff had since found a new job at a fishmongers so he could “distance himself from contact with children,” said Mr Tubb.

Goff had voluntarily sought help from the Lucy Faithful rehabilitation centre and tried to “turn his life around” for the better.

Judge Brown said: “Those like you who view such images perpetuate a cycle of child abuse because you create a market for such material.”

Goff was placed on a 10 year sexual offences prevention order and will have to enlist on a sex offender register for a decade.

He admitted five counts of possessing child pornography, relating to 5,473 images at level one, 1,017 at level two, 512 at level three, 727 at level four and 23 in the most serious category, level five, between April and July last year.

He admitted one count of distributing the indecent images, involving 457 images at level one, 90 at level two, 52 at level three, 49 at level four and two at level five.

Steadman admitted one count of raping a 12-year-old boy and two counts of raping a boy aged between six and seven years, as well as five counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three sex assaults, all involving the younger boy, between 2011 and 2013.

He was placed on an indefinite sexual offences prevention order and will have to enrol on a sex offender register for life.

Thomas Pfeiffer – Co Waterford

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February 2014: 

The professor who walked free from jail after receiving a suspended sentence for falsely imprisoning an 11-year-old exchange student is being investigated for a similar incident involving a young girl.

A new file has been sent to the DPP in relation to Dr Thomas Pfeiffer, a former Waterford Institute of Technology computer scientist, who was handed down a suspended sentence last week.

A court had heard he abducted a young boy and kept him in his home for 48 hours when he was supposed to be with a host family.

December 2013

Academic found guilty of abducting German boy (11)

Professor Thomas Pfeiffer

A MAN who was accused of abducting and falsely imprisoning an 11-year-old boy for two nights has been found guilty.

Thomas Pfeiffer (51), a German academic who has worked at the Waterford Institute of Technology, appeared at the Circuit Criminal Court yesterday on day four of his trial for abducting and imprisoning the then 11-year-old child.

The charges relate to a German boy, in Ireland to improve his English, who was zipped into a sleeping bag for two nights.

Pfeiffer, a doctor of computer science, had pleaded not guilty to child abduction and three counts of false imprisonment. However, a jury found him guilty of child abduction after nearly four hours of deliberations last night.

He was found guilty on two counts of false imprisonment but cleared of one count of the same charge.

Pfeiffer, with an address at Meadowview, Coolfin, in Portlaw, Co Waterford, picked up the German boy at Dublin Airport on January 31, 2009, and drove him to his home.

The boy – now 16 – had arrived in Ireland as part of a programme advertised as ‘English – K12′, in order to improve his English. The prosecution maintains that the boy and his family originally understood he would be taken directly to his host family in Tramore.

When the host mother, who gave evidence on Wednesday, said she could not have the boy over that weekend, alternative arrangements were made for the boy to stay with a family at an address in Carrick-on-Suir.

However, postal worker James Walsh told the court that he “never heard” of this man, his family or a place name supplied named ‘Riversbend’.

Instead, the boy arrived from Berlin and spent two days with Pfeiffer at his home.

When Pfeiffer, also from Berlin, met with the boy at the airport, he put him into a harness and placed the boy in a booster seat in the backseat of his car. The man then drove the boy to his home, 194km away.

One of the counts of imprisonment related to the harness but Pfeiffer was cleared of this charge. The boy’s mother and aunt both told the court of their upset and anger to discover that the boy had spent the weekend at Pfeiffer’s house.

After the boy’s complaint, his mother told the host family mother in a call that she did not want her son to have any further dealings with the doctor during his five-month stay.

The court heard how Pfeiffer had measured and weighed the boy upon arrival at Portlaw.

The boy’s mother last night said: “We always thought he would be found guilty so we are not surprised.”

The boy’s aunt said: “The police here did the most wonderful job.”

The prosecution, in closing, said Pfeiffer knew that the boy was not going to any other family including “the Cahill family” because “they did not exist”.

“Thomas Pfeiffer was Thomas Cahill,” the prosecution said, telling the jury they were entitled to believe “he very carefully and deliberately ensured” the boy stayed with him that weekend.

The boy’s mother said that he was too drained from the experience to go to court yesterday.

“He will be happy,” she said.

The aunt said the boy told her: “I went through with it and we coped with it. This is all about prevention… that this will never happen again.”

The court heard that Pfeiffer had placed €75,000, the equity of his home in Ireland, as bail. However, bail was denied last night and he was remanded in custody to appear at a sitting of the court in January.

Oldkount Ballabbas – London

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February 2014

Man found guilty of sexually assaulting 8-year-old in Madame Tussaud’s

Oldkount Ballabbas

A predator who stalked dozens of girls and women at Madame Tussauds has been caught after sexually assaulting an eight-year-old.

The 42-year-old man sexually assaulted the child in the gift shop of the famous waxworks in London.

Oldkount Ballabbas, an Algerian national also known as Xavier Garrero of no fixed abode but living in the UK was found guilty of child abduction and sexual assault on a child under 13. But police believe he could have abused dozens of other victims.

The victim was alone in the gift shop after leaving her mother and her family in the café next door when Ballabbas began talking to her.

He then moved her into a quiet area of the shop where he started touching her chest over her clothing and kissed her on the cheek.

Ballabbas prevented her from escaping by holding her by her shoulders, even as the girl begged to go back to her mother.

She only got away when he was disturbed by another shopper and lost his grip on her, giving her time to flee.

Ballabbas fled the scene immediately but was arrested two days later close to the scene.

Metropolitan Police officers said it was not the first time that he had tried to touch other girls or women.

“Ballabbas is a dangerous man and CCTV has revealed that he followed females of all ages prior to the attack on the little girl,” said Detective Constable Liz Clements.

He will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on March 6.

Geoffrey Seagrave – Melton

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July 2010

Pensioner jailed for child abuse images

A pensioner who downloaded more than 300 indecent images of children has been jailed for 16 months.

Geoffrey Seagrave was also told he will have to enlist on a sex offender register for 10 years.

Police officers went to his home in Wicklow Avenue, Melton, and seized two laptops used to access the illegal pictures and movies, in April last year.

At Leicester Crown Court, Seagrave (66), admitted eight counts of making indecent images of youngsters by downloading them.

When questioned he suggested an unknown person might have been accessing his internet wireless connection.

The court heard that in 1997 Seagrave was jailed for three-and-a-half years for indecently assaulting a girl and taking indecent video footage of her.

James House, mitigating, said: “He’s put forward excuses and sought to minimise what he’s done and sought to blame others. But today he fully accepts his responsibility and now accepts his motivation was sexual gratification and that there is a problem.”

He said the defendant’s family were “appalled” by his conduct but were standing by him.

Judge Christopher Metcalf made Seagrave the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, restricting his contact with young people under 18 and use of computers, which will also be monitored by the authorities.

Nigel Finney – Walsall

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February 2014

Walsall man handed six years in jail for serious sex offences

A 54-YEAR-OLD Walsall man has been put behind bars for six years for carrying out sex attacks and possessing indecent images of children on his computer.

Nigel Finney was further told he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and made the subject of an indefinite sex offenders prevention order.

Finney, of Broad Lane, admitted four charges involving indecent assault on a child, attempted rape and seven charges of making indecent images of children.

He further pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornographic images and Judge Michael Dudley ruled the offences were so serious that only a substantial prison sentence was appropriate.

Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that Finney accepted he had downloaded the indecent images and he had stored them on his computer where they could be “accessed in the future.”

Ron Wood – Chaddesden

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February 2014

Derby sex predator snared by NSPCC “Underwear Code”

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A MOTHER snared a pervert who sexually assaulted her young daughter by following a “Underwear Code” issued by the NSPCC.

The code is publicised in a national television and radio campaign and urges parents to tell their child that the parts of their body covered by underwear are private and no-one should touch them.

Watch a video about the campaign here:

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph after Ron Wood, of Buckingham Avenue, Chaddesden, was jailed for eight years the victim’s mother urged other parents to talk to their children about the code.

She said: “I heard the campaign and thought it was very hard-hitting and wasn’t sure about talking to my daughter about it. I am glad I did because this is how I found out what was going on and we were able to get justice.

“I think it is something every parent should do – and they should be prepared to expect the unexpected.

“This was something positive coming out of a horrible situation.”

Derby Crown Court was told how Wood “denied and continues to deny” the offences despite being found guilty by a jury.

By taking his case to trial the 60-year-old made his victim go through the

ordeal of having to give evidence.

At his sentencing hearing Judge John Burgess said: “You have expressed absolutely no remorse and because of that it follows that there can be no reduction in the sentence I hand to you.

“You are 60 years-old and of previous good character and this is not an extreme case – but it is a bad case.

“We are dealing with a child and you were in a position of trust from her parents. You breached that trust.”

Wood was convicted of four counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13.

The details of the four counts were not read out at his sentencing, but a spokesman for Derbyshire police said they took place between January 1 and March 18 last year.

He said: “The victim told her mother what had happened who in turn called the police.

“The offences took place at an address in Chaddesden that is not the home address of Mr Wood.”

Judge Burgess said he hoped that the victim, because of her young age, would not be left emotionally or physically affected by what Wood did to her.

He handed Wood a sexual offences prevention order for an indefinite period and banned him from working with children for life.

He also prohibited Wood from having any unsupervised contact, directly or indirectly, with anyone under the age of 16 for the rest of his life.

Judge Burgess said: “The impression that I get is that the child as young as she was at the time of the offence is less likely to be psychologically damaged as you might expect with an older child.”

Vanessa Marshall, for Wood, said: “He realises he has lost everything. His wife has left him and he has lost his house and now find himself in prison for a significant period of time.”

Sandra McNair, the NSPCC’s West Midlands head of service said: “It’s deeply distressing that a young girl was forced to give evidence in a sexual abuse trial because the offender refused to admit his guilt.

“However it’s exceptionally good news that he was caught because of our powerful Underwear Rule campaign.

“It illustrates just how important it is for parents to have a conversation with their children about staying safe.

“This is an appalling case but the little girl has shown tremendous courage in talking about her ordeal and taking part in the court proceedings, which is a traumatic experience.

“Her mum should also be praised for taking the decision to talk to her daughter and exposing this dangerous sex offender.”

Jason Wardle – Heanor

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February 2014

Pervert from Heanor jailed for looking at sexual abuse photos of babies

A PERVERT has been jailed after being caught with abuse pictures of babies only months after being freed from jail for a similar crime.

The images were discovered after police raided the home and workplace of motorcycle painter Jason Wardle, 29, of Stoddard Drive, Heanor.

A 20-month prison term was imposed on Wardle, who admitted five charges of downloading indecent images of children between September 2012 and March last year.

Derby Crown Court heard he had been released from prison in June 2011, just over half way through a 34-week term.

Judge Michael Fowler told Wardle: “You recognise you have a perverted obsession and fascination for images of sexual activity with young children.

“I don’t accept your fascination is so strong that you are compelled to go out and buy a computer and are compelled to sit down and commit these offences.

“It seems to me, as long as you tell yourself that, you will keep committing this type of offence. If that happens, you will face sentences of increasing length.”

After viewing the worst of the images, the judge said some included “very young children, babes in arms”.

Some others were of youngsters aged around 12 and 13.

Alex Wolfson, prosecuting, said police got a search warrant on March 21 last year. They found a total of 2,141 images on a mobile phone and laptop found in his bedroom.

For the next ten years, Wardle must make any computer available to be checked by police. He must also not erase details of sites he has visited.

Gregor Purcell, mitigating, urged the judge to impose a lengthy order which would allow Wardle to stay out of prison but go on a three-year course to tackle the problem.

“He accepts he has this problem but needs help with it,” he said.

“The difficulty is he will not get it in prison unless he is in there for a significant period of time and will not get supervision when he is released.

“He has shown candour to accept it and I would ask he is not punished for that candour. He had a problem in 2011 and he still has that problem.

“The problem needs to be dealt with, otherwise it will always be there.”


Brian McCabe – Johnstone

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October 2013

Pervert admits possessing child abuse images

Brian McCabe

A MAN admitted possessing child abuse images after he was caught a stash of sickening snaps at his Johnstone home.

Cops probing Brian McCabe seized three laptops from his Hawthorn Avenue home last August.

Experts examining the machines found indecent images hidden away on a Hewlett Packard computer.

McCabe, who now lives in Maple Drive, had only had the computer for a couple of days before he used it to search for child porn.

Last summer McCabe’s IP address came to the attention of the then Strathclyde Police after he had been looking at graphic indecent images which showed children being abused.

DC Kenneth Campbell, from the old force’s Family Protection Unit, obtained a warrant for McCabe’s home in Hawthorn Avenue and went to carry out a search. When they arrived at his home he was not there, but his partner was there.

They seized a laptop from the living room, one from the upstairs hall and one from a bedroom.

The last two were found to be clean, but the first laptop was found to have the child porn hidden away on it. McCabe received a phone call from the police asking him to attend Paisley’s Mill Street Police station.

The town’s sheriff court heard this week that he went to the cop shop on August 1 last year and was interviewed – denying having the pics or accessing the websites. But when he appeared in the dock this week he finally admitted his guilt after striking a deal with prosecutors.

He admitted being in possession of child pornography between July 27 and August 1 last year – and in exchange the Crown dropped a charge that he had downloaded the images.

Sheriff Neil Douglas deferred sentence until next month so McCabe can be assessed by social workers. The sheriff also called for a report from the Pathways Project – an organisation in Renfrewshire that deals with sex offenders. 

Agostinho dos Santos de Sousa – Guernsey

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February 2014

Portuguese national jailed for child abuse images in Guernsey

Guernsey

A man who tried to develop 10 indecent images of children at a printing company has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.

Portuguese national, Agostinho dos Santos de Sousa, 61, of no fixed abode, was arrested in August 2013.

The Guernsey printing company contacted the police when De Sousa tried to get his film printed.

The court was told that the indecent images were taken in Madeira, Portugal, where police are still investigating.

De Sousa’s defence team have said that he “didn’t understand the nature of the offences.”

He was convicted of four counts of possessing indecent images at the Royal Court.

The Lieutenant-Governor will decide whether he will be deported after his sentence.

Judge Russell Finch said: “The Guernsey taxpayer shouldn’t keep him here any longer than necessary.”

He told the court De Sousa’s had committed “a nasty set of offences”.

Jonathan Harris – Gateshead

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February 2014

Gateshead pervert had 16,000 indecent images of kids and filmed women in toilets

harris

A pervert downloaded 16,000 indecent images of kids and secretly filmed women in bathrooms.

Perv Jonathan Harris used a micro spy camera hidden in a deodorant can to record his two unsuspecting victims as they used the toilet and shower.

The twisted 40-year-old filmed the pair on several different occasions until someone discovered the clips on his laptop.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that, as well as the films, a stash of child abuse images was also found on a hard drive belonging to Harris.

As well as finding two covert cameras in Harris’s home, police also seized the computer and discovered 16,739 indecent images of children, four of which were classed as level four, the second most serious type.

Harris, of Davidson Street, Felling, in Gateshead, was arrested and interviewed and admitted he’d collected the images from paid-for websites over a nine year period.

He pleaded guilty to nine charges of making indecent images of children, three of possessing indecent images of children and two counts of voyeurism at Newcastle Crown Court.

Sentencing him to a three-year community order, with a requirement of the sex group work programme, Judge Penny Moreland said: “You had, over a nine-year period, been downloading indecent images of children. You had paid for these and you had amassed in excess of 16,000 images. They were largely level one, which is the least serious of their kind.

“But you were also in possession of four level four images.”

She added: “The victim of the voyeurism was greatly distressed and upset by what you did. There was a fear you might share the recordings or they might have made it into the public domain.”

Harris, who works at a print operation plant, was also made subject of a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order for 10 years and made to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

John Wilkinson, mitigating, told the court Harris had long-known he had a problem and had sought help on his own in the past.

Mr Wilkinson said: “When he realised the matter had been reported to the police, he went to the station entirely voluntarily and told them what he’d done.

“He’s bitterly ashamed he finds himself before the court for this sort of offending . He does have his own difficulties in terms of his personality and his lack of relationship experience with the opposite sex.”

Damien Andrews – Rhyl

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February 2014

Rhyl man jailed over indecent images of children

A CHILD abuse probe Operation Viking which began in Scotland after indecent images were discovered on a phone by a mum led to the arrest of a 25-year-old North Wales man, a court heard.

Magistrates at Llandudno were told Damien Andrews, of River Street, Rhyl, unemployed, had been sent three child abuse images by a woman which he viewed twice before seemingly deleting them. Police inquiries led to them visiting his home and they recovered the images after being given his BlackBerry phone.

Defence solicitor Roger Thomas said:  “He made a stupid mistake.”

Andrews, who admitted making the images, was jailed for 26 weeks. A sexual offences prevention order was also imposed to ensure he keeps his internet history.

Court chairwoman Vivienne Lomas told him : “We have to look at the fact you did have a grade four image in your telephone and that was a child under 13. Grade four is just below the highest level of seriousness.”

Mr Thomas said Andrews had no previous convictions and was “genuinely remorseful” about what happened.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson said Andrews told police he had used BlackBerry Messenger to communicate with a friend and she sent him a picture of a girl aged about seven. He viewed three images.

Richard Gilmore – Swindon

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February 2014

Blunsdon man, 87, jailed for sex attacks on child

AN 87-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for three years after admitting a series of sex attacks on a child.

Richard Lewis Gilmore, of East Drive, Blunsdon, Swindon, pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency on girl when she was aged seven. The abuse dated back to the late 1970s through to the 1990s.

He was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Swindon Crown Court on Friday, February 7.

Detective Constable James Newbery from Swindon CID said: “Firstly, I would like to praise the bravery of the victim in this case and the courage she has shown in coming forward to report these crimes.

“This case goes to show that, regardless of the passage of time that has elapsed since the period of offending, the criminal can still be brought to justice.

“I would urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault to come forward and speak to Wiltshire Police. We have dedicated officers who are specially trained to help those who have been abused.

“Anyone wishing to report a crime should contact Wiltshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be left anonymously.”

Victims can also seek support and counselling from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) based at the New Swindon Sanctuary, The Gables, Shrivenham Road, Swindon.

The SARC is a dedicated centre offering support to any victim of a sexual assault where trained professionals can provide immediate medical care and treatment, a forensic examination, counselling and onward referral to other necessary services.

The SARC offers a 24-hour helpline on 0808 168 0024 or log ontohttp://www.newswindonsanctuary.co.uk.

Matthew Percival – Plymouth

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February 2014

Teacher from Plymouth caught with more than 100 indecent images of children

A TEACHER was found with more than 100 indecent images of children, a court heard.

Matthew Percival, aged 30, was found to have more than 100 indecent images of children.

Percival, who lives in Ker Street, Devonport, pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing indecent images of children.

Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard that a relative of Percival had borrowed his laptop while he was away teaching in Peru.

She found Percival had been looking at pictures of young girls in sexual poses wearing bikinis – but at the time she switched it off and didn’t tell anyone.

When the family met up on a holiday in the Bahamas, the relative confronted Percival, who admitted looking at the images and said he looked at them to make himself disgusted and punish himself, the court heard.

The family member returned to the UK and took the laptop to the police, and Percival attended a voluntary interview.

Gareth Warden, prosecuting, said the abuse images had been at the lower end of the scale at level 1. The scale ranges from level 1 to 5, with 5 being the most serious.

He said Percival’s laptop was found to contain 101 images and six deleted images at level 1.

Mr Warden also referred to a ruling that the case was deemed not serious enough to be held in Crown Court.

Mr Warden said: “This came as a result of Percival being honest and open.

“He accepted ownership and was open with officers.”

Mackenzie Robinson, defending, said: “If ever there was a young man crying out for probation intervention it’s this man.”

He also said police had found 41 live files at level 1, which was a relatively small amount.

A pre-sentence report had been written before the hearing but was not read out in court.

Percival was sentenced to a two-year community order.

The chair of the bench said: “The offences are so serious that we need to make a community order.

“We have given you credit for your guilty plea which has been taken into account.”

Percival was also given a two-year supervision requirement and a prohibited activity requirement – he is banned from residing in the same house of any child under 16 for even one night without the permission of his probation officer.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

Matthew Clifton – Fleetwood

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February 2014

Man used webcam to carry out sex outs in presence of young girls

A man who used a webcam to carry out sex acts in the presence of two young girls over the internet has been put behind bars for more than three years.

Matthew Clifton carried out sex acts via a webcam twice and he got a third girl to touch him under his clothing, having met up with her in Bispham.

Preston Crown Court heard that he had tried to have relationships with the girls, despite being warned by the father of one of the girls, his own father andthe police as well.

The 20-year-old of Hodder Avenue, Fleetwood, has been sentenced to a total of three years and four months youth custody.

He had pleaded guilty to two charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, plus one of sexual activity with a child.

The case involved two girls aged 13 and 14 and the court heard Clifton used social media site Facebook to contact them.

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, said a 14-year- old girl had initially given the defendant a peck on the cheek. He went on to meet her at a local park and they hugged and kissed.

She told him she would not do anything sexual. Her father was concerned and tried to warn him off.

She went on to be sent to a relative’s address in another town, but they remained in contact via Facebook. The girl took a photo of herself in a bra.

He showed himself naked and performing a sex act over the internet. A relative of the girl walked in on some of what took place.

Another girl was 13 and they got to know each other on Facebook. He exposed himself to her on camera.

Janet Ironfield, defending, told the court that Clifton had personality disorders.

Judge Pamela Badley told him: “Even though you were not forcing any of them that doesn’t mean it is right.”

He was told that he will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely and subject to a sexual offences prevention order.


Rishpal Makker – Welshpool

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February 2014

Welshpool man jailed in child sex acts case

A man who befriended two schoolgirls and sent them lurid text messages before indulging in sex acts with them has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Messages sent by Rishpal Makker to the two girls became more sexual over time until he took them to his house and abused them, Mold Crown Court was told.

Makker, 22, was placed on the sex offender register for 10 years.

He had admitted a charge of taking part in sexual activity with the two girls at an earlier hearing.

He was jailed, placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and was also made the subject of a 10-year sexual offences prevention order (Sopo) which prevents him from being alone with girls under 16.

The crown court hearing was told that Makker, 22, had started regularly communicating with the girls by text message and that the texts had become more sexual over time.

Makker had then taken the girls to his house in Church Street, Welshpool, where he simulated sex acts.

One of the girls suffered an injury following the assault, and the court was told the two victims had been left distressed and confused.

This had, the hearing was told, added to their pre-existing vulnerabilities.

Mrs Anna Pope, prosecuting, said the matter came to light when one of the girls informed her mother what had gone on.

Mr Simon Rogers, for Makker, said his client had not gone out looking for under-aged girls, but had taken advantage of a situation that presented itself to him.

Judge Niclas Parry said it was a very serious matter where Makker had taken advantage of the friendship of the girls.

He told Makker: “You knew that they were only 14.

“You were eight years older than them.”

Martin Corbridge – Sholing

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February 2014

Pervert, 68, had 27,000 vile pictures of children being sexually abused

A JUDGE dubbed a Southampton pensioner a significant risk to children after hearing he had downloaded more than 27,000 vile pictures of sex abuse.

Martin Corbridge, 68, was arrested when police visited his home because he was on a sex offenders register and he had gained access to a website linked to children, prosecutor Bernice Mulvaney told the city crown court.

Although the images involving children as young as three had been deleted, police were still able to trace their history.

Corbridge, of Drove Road, Sholing, admitted 16 charges of making indecent images.

He was jailed for 30 months and received a sexual offenders prevention order restricting his use of the internet and banning him from contacting and having unsupervised access to children under 17, which will run indefinitely.

Passing sentence, Judge Peter Henry told Corbridge he had been “enthusiastically” looking for such images.

The children had been abused in a revolving and degrading manner, and he did not accept he had not got a sexual arousal from looking at them.

“I have no doubt you committed these offences for sexual gratification,” he said “I am satisfied you pose a significant risk to children. Only custody can be imposed.”

Samuel Henley – Liverpool/Moray

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February 2014

Boarding school teacher escapes jail for child abuse images after being caught with images on his laptop

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A teacher at Gordonstoun boarding school was sacked after police discovered child abuse images on his computer.

Samuel Henley, 32, worked as a maths teacher at the £32,000-a-year school, which educated Prince Charles and other members of the Royal family.

But Henley, the son of a barrister, was dismissed when police swooped on his parents’ home, in July 2010, and discovered naked images on a laptop of boys as young as eight engaging in sexual acts.

One of the pictures was headlined ‘sweet boys kissing’ and included images of 10 to 12-year-old boys engaging in sexual activity. There were also videos on the computer of young teenage boys performing sex acts on one another.

Gordonstoun educates around 600 girls and boys at its imposing 200-acre Scottish campus, but it is not believed that any of the children in the images are among its pupils.

Sources said that officers raided the address, near Sefton Park, Liverpool, after being tipped off by police in the Netherlands conducting an operation on child porn being distributed between paedophiles on the file sharing website GigaTribe.

Peter Moss, QC, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court that police seized three Apple Mac computers and a USB stick in the raid.

‘The high tech crime unit examined the contents and found a selection of indecent images, all category one and two,’ the barrister said.

‘The defendant was arrested in due course and indicated to police that he didn’t know how the images got onto (one of ) the computers.’

Henley was due to stand trial on 30 charges of making indecent images of a child between May and July 2009.

But on Friday the prosecution accepted his guilty pleas to six charges and not guilty pleas to the remaining 24 were allowed to lie on his file.

Judge Elgan Edwards told Henley, who has no previous convictions and appeared embarrassed in the dock, that the offences were not serious enough to send him to prison and allowed him to go free.

Instead he sentenced Henley to a two year conditional discharge and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for the next five years. He also made Henley the subject of a sex offenders prevention order, which means he is disqualified from working with children for the foreseeable future.

‘It’s very unfortunate that you got yourself into this position,’ the judge said.

‘You’ve lost your job and had this hanging over you for some time.

‘I also take into account the fact you have no previous convictions and have pleaded guilty. If you get involved in this trouble again you will be dealt with by this court again.’

The court heard Henley’s teaching career was in ruins and he was now working alongside his sister in a  shop.

Prince Charles said he hated his time at Gordonstoun, in Moray, near Elgin, Scotland, which he branded ‘Colditz in kilts’.

The heir to the throne claimed he was bullied at the boarding school and described being caged naked in a wicker basket and left under a cold shower during  a cruel initiation ceremony in 1962. Other former pupils include his brothers Andrew and Edward, the Queen’s grandkids Peter and Zara Phillips, and David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones.

No-one from Gordonstoun was available yesterday for comment.

Gordonstoun_House

Keith Henderson – Fugglestone Red

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July 2012

Man given 12 years for gunpoint sex assault

Keith Henderson

A MAN who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl at gunpoint in front of her boyfriend has been sentenced to 12 and-a-half years in prison.

Judge Douglas Field passed sentence on Keith Henderson at Salisbury Crown Court.

The jury took just over two hours to find the 57-year-old, formerly of Cooks Close in Fugglestone Red, guilty after being told he was a billion times more likely to have committed the crime than anyone else due to a DNA profile match.

The attack happened on Salisbury’s Town Path in the early hours of October 7, 2001, but despite a large-scale police investigation and appeals on the television programme Crimewatch, no suspect was found until a decade later.

Henderson, who was working as a close constable at the Cathedral Close in 2001, was arrested on October 4 last year and charged with indecently assaulting the girl, causing actual bodily harm to the boy, false imprisonment of them both and possession of an imitation firearm, because the authorities cannot be sure if it was a real gun or not.

He denied all five offences but was found guilty earlier today after a two-and-a-half day trial.

On Monday prosecutor Rachel Robertson described the incident as “horrific and terrifying”.

The jury heard the couple, now in their 20s and who can not be named for legal reasons, were walking home from a night out at about 2am when the 16-year-old boy was hit on the back of the head and temporarily lost consciousness.

Henderson then grabbed the girl, holding the gun to her head, and threatened to kill her if she made any noise. He forced them both to climb over a gate into a neighbouring field and made her boyfriend lie flat on the ground while he forced the girl to perform a sex act.

Despite being threatened by Henderson, the victim managed to ensure there was DNA evidence on her clothing, which the police later recovered.

Keith Webber – Chard

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February 2014

Probate lawyer who stole £300,000 from dead clients had child abuse images jailed for five years

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A probate lawyer who stole £300,000 from dead clients’ estates by making himself the beneficiary of their wills has been jailed for five years.

In one case, Keith Webber put his name in place of two cancer charities and in another persuaded a client to buy him an £11,000 Jaguar.

During the course of the fraud investigation, experts found 513 child abuse images on his computer. Webber pleaded guilty to nine counts of possession of indecent images and was handed a six-month jail term, to run concurrently.

Mr Webber gained the trust of four “elderly and vulnerable people” who made him the sole executor of their wills, before he stole their money. His methods included exaggerating his fees and persuading them to sign over assets into his name.

He persuaded his clients to make “very generous” gifts to him in their dying days and forged one woman’s will two weeks after her death. He also convinced one man to buy his wife, Joan Webber, a £3,000 funeral plan, then charged a £150 agent’s fee.

Webber was sentenced after a jury had previously found him guilty of six counts of fraud and theft at Bristol Crown Court. Sentencing him, Judge Graham Hume Jones said: “The offence of fraud involves the abuse of your position as the holder of powers of attorney and as the executor of these. You forged a will and you sold some items of personal possession while acting as the executor of that estate.

“Your offences involve deception aimed at four elderly people, your wife’s sister and her husband and two other elderly ladies. These offences were confidence fraud offences which targeted four vulnerable victims.”

Webber remained emotionless as the sentence was passed.

The court heard how he ran a business known as Will Power, later changed to KEW Wills. He abused his powers with a number of clients, including his sister-in-law, Esther Larn, her husband David, and two women, Audrey Jarvis and Vera Costan.

Speaking during his three-week trial, Rupert Lowe, prosecuting, said: “These elderly and vulnerable people trusted him because he was a very professional and proper person and they believed he was honest. But instead of looking after their affairs he actually found ways to help himself to their money. He would persuade, or deceive, them into making him large gifts, tens of thousands of pounds. Sometimes it would be in the form of exaggerated fees for his work, sometimes it took the form of generous gifts which they suddenly wanted to make. He engaged in acts of dishonesty and deceiving exploitation on elderly and vulnerable people to enrich himself.”

Webber’s first victims were married couple David and Esther Larn – the sister of his wife Joan – who gave him power of attorney in 2009.

Over 13 months, the Larns paid Webber, from Chard, Somerset, more than £62,000 in gifts, petrol and fees. The court also heard that Webber abused another client, Audrey Jarvis, and made regular trips to see her in Surbiton, Surrey.

Webber denied four counts of fraud by abuse of position, forgery of a will and theft.

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