March 2014

Redcar teenager admits child sex offences

A teenager could be locked up after he admitted a string of sexual offences against five girls.

Darryl Williams, 19, pleaded guilty to six child sex offences.

He was under 18 when he committed some of the offences against the underage girls. In one case, he was only 14.

He was due to stand trial at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.

No trial took place as he entered guilty pleas to two charges after hours of discussions behind the scenes.

He admitted sexual activity with two girls, both several years younger than him.

At a previous hearing, he had pleaded guilty to four more charges covering three other girls.

They were sexual assault, sexual activity with a child and two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The crimes spanned a three-year period when Williams was aged between 14 and 18.

Nigel Soppitt, defending, said: “There’s no suggestion there’s been any luring.

“He’s come back from abroad to answer these charges.”

He said Williams, of Windsor Road, Redcar, was not in a position of power, had no previous convictions and was of “positive good character”.

Prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said: “The defendant has now accepted criminal offences in respect of each of the complainants in the case.”

She said Williams and one of the girls had texted each other.

“She described it as pestering, he was pestering her,” Ms Scott Bell told the court.

“She then described giving in and going in a car with him.”

She said the girl “acquiesced with a degree of pressure”.

She added: “There was always an imbalance of power.

“I wouldn’t at all put them on an even footing.

“There was a degree of abuse of power.”

For one of the offences, sentencing guidelines suggested custodial terms between three and seven years.

The judge, Recorder Martin Bethel QC, told Williams: “I’m very glad that you’ve taken this course and managed thereby to avoid any of these girls having to give evidence in a trial.

“You will in due course be given appropriate credit for your pleas of guilty.”

He adjourned sentencing until April 3 and bailed Williams with conditions not to approach the victims.

He added: “I’m not making you any promises as to what the sentence ultimately will be.

“That will be a matter for the judge who deals with you on April 3.

“These are serious matters. All sentences will be available, including depriving you of your liberty if that’s felt to be appropriate.”

March 2014

Pervert found guilty of abusing three young girls

A perverted minicab driver who raped a schoolgirl after spiking her Ribena drink is facing years behind bars after being found guilty.

Ivan Craddock, 63, drugged the 12-year-old victim during the 1970s after taking her to a driving centre.

He also targeted a 13-year-old girl while a third victim was indecently assaulted at a bedsit years in the late 1980s. The victims, who are all now middle-aged women, only found the courage to come forward in February 2012. 

Mark Williams, prosecuting, said: ‘In a nutshell this case concerns three women who the defendant abused when they were girls. ‘He abused each girl in their early teens – one of the girls’ abuse continued until she ran away from home.

‘The defendant used to touch one victim when she would stay over after babysitting his infant daughter.

‘He groomed another victim by earning her trust by treating her as an adult but going on to drug her and have sex with her until she was old enough to put a stop to it. 

August 2013

Man faces trial on sex-crime charges from 70s and 80s

A 62-year-old man has been accused of multiple rape, sexual assault and poisoning charges dating back to the early 1970s.

Ivan Craddock, of Furness, Glascote, in Staffordshire, will face trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 20 next year for the offences, which are alleged to have taken place in Barking and Dagenham.

Craddock faces five rape charges and three of sexual assault, along with seven charges of maliciously administering a poison or other destructive or noxious thing with the intent to injure or aggrieve.

The charges relate to three alleged victims, two of whom were aged under 16, and date back to the period from 1972 to 1988.

March 2014

Southampton man gets jail warning for child abuse images conviction

A SOUTHAMPTON man has been told he may be sent to prison after he had admitted 21 indecent image of children charges involving about 900 pictures at the city crown court.

Judge Peter Henry delivered the warning to Keith Firman, 63, of Suttones Place after he had admitted 16 charges of distributing indecent images, four of making them and one of possessing them. The offences are alleged to have happened between October 2011 and December 2012.

Said to be of previous good character, Firman was bailed pending sentence on March 31.

March 2014

Teenage sex offender may be spared custodial sentence

A teenage Angus sex offender who befriended a family before showing indecent images to their children may go free next month.

Former Brechin resident Craig Gordon appeared for sentencing at Forfar Sheriff Court on Tuesday after admitting the breach of a court order.

The 18-year-old, a prisoner at the young offenders’ institution, HMP Polmont, admitted showing sexual images to two boys under the age of 13 on October 5 last year, and downloading indecent images of children between February 12 and October 11.

Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said Gordon was taken in by a family over a shared love of motorsport, before neighbours saw him play “pile-up” and hide-and-seek with young girls.

He was challenged by police, and officers found a haul of indecent images when they searched his bedroom.

They told the family about his past and discovered Gordon had shown their boys indecent images on his phone.

Police went to Gordon’s address and saw a photo of a young girl on the wall of his bedroom.

Multiple images were found on his phone similar to those described by the boys, as well as several images showing himself in the company of young girls.

Indecent images of children were found on a laptop.

The court also heard Gordon broke a sexual harm order in 2012 by entering playparks and chasing girls under the age of 16.

Sheriff Kevin Veal said the options remain open for “very extensive” community disposal or “an extension of custody” to which Gordon has already been subject.

While members of the accused’s family had indicated they could house him, police said the addresses provided were unsuitable due to the close proximity of children.

Defence agent Robin Beattie said his client had applied for council housing and efforts were being made to find alternative addresses.

Gordon had lived with his stepfather after the death of his mother in 2006, where he was subject to abuse.

He went to live with his biological father, who was a recovering alcoholic.

Sheriff Veal said: “If I have to impose a custodial sentence I want to ensure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.

“The protection of children must be paramount … the risk he poses to the wider community must be significantly reduced or entirely eliminated.

“These offences are far from insignificant and the disposal is predicated entirely on the availability of a suitable address.”

Gordon was remanded until March 27 and sentence was deferred.

August 2012

Dunblane man pleads guilty to downloading child abuse images

A DUNBLANE father turned to child porn after a road accident cost him his job and he had to become a “house husband”, a court heard today.

Finlay Nicoll, 44, began to spend “hours” in front of his computer screen and became obsessed with downloading sickening images after the accident cut his mobility.

Police found a massive haul of stills and videos on his desktop PC Of the 5818 images found, 34 were classified as level four – the second most serious category of child porn.

Mark Keane, prosecuting, said Nicholl, an IT worker, was arrested at his home in an up-market part of Dunblane,after Central Scotland Police received intelligence indicating he had downloaded suspect material.

The depute fiscal said Nicoll co-operated with officers and pointed out which computer belonged to him.

At Stirling Sheriff Court, Nicoll pleaded guilty to downloading and possessing of child porn at his home in Braemar Avenue, Dunblane, between September 2 2010 and November 10 2011.

Gordon Addison, defending, said his client was not attracted to children.

He said Nicoll had become obsessed with downloading “a range of different material”, with his searches moving from adult pornography to explicit shots of under-16s.

Mr Addison said: “My client suffered mobility problems as a result of a road accident and had been off work. He also has depression and has experienced suicidal thoughts.

“He had been off work for a considerable period of time and was acting as a house-husband.

“It was during this time he started downloading things from the Internet and it became an addiction.

“He started downloading adult pornography and moved on to this kind. However he has no attraction to youngsters.

“He is genuinely and utterly remorseful.

“He has the full support of his wife and frank and candid approach to this has actually galvanised the family and he has sought help.”

Mr Addison said a subsequent social work report indicated he was at a low risk of re-offending.

Nicoll was placed on supervision for three years, during which time he will have to attend a sex offenders’ groupwork programme, and on the sex offenders register, also for three years.

He was banned from accessing the Internet for any purpose other than work for a similar period.

Sheriff William Gilchrist told him: “Some of the images were very disturbing and at the serious end of the scale.

“If there had been any sharing or if you had downloaded a greater number of the high level there is no doubt you would have been given a custodial term.”

March 2014

56 Year old pervert who admitted exposing himself to two 11-year-old schoolgirls evades jail

A PERVERT who admitted exposing himself to two schoolgirls at a Poole pub last year was given a three-year community order this week.

Sentencing Mark Lemon, of Chesildene Avenue, Bournemouth, Judge Peter Johnson said jailing him would be inappropriate according to the guidelines, and he ordered the 56-year-old to attend a course for sex offenders to help address his ‘deviant tendencies’.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Lemon drove to the pub on June 6 last year and approached two 11-year-old girls who were playing nearby.

After asking them to look after his car he went inside and bought a pint, before returning and sitting on a bench near them.

Prosecuting, Nicholas Robinson said: “The defendant would later say that they spoke to him, but the girls said he asked them ‘are you naughty at school?’.

“The girls described how he pulled his shorts to one side and exposed his penis, and asked the girls to sit next to him on the bench.”

He said Lemon sat with the girls for more than 30 minutes.

When he was arrested two days later – the girls having remembered his car registration number – a laptop and computer tower were taken from his home and the four level one images, depicting “erotic posing but no sexual activity” were discovered, as well as 240 images of children in bikinis not deemed unlawful by police investigators.

Police also discovered that Lemon had searched on 22 occasions for what was described by Mr Robinson as a search term ‘used by paedophiles to look up images of girls under the age of 16’.

In mitigation, Brian Sharman acknowledged his client, a car park attendant, had initially denied the exposure when questioned – as a result of which his victims had been forced to give video interviews – but said this was down to ‘embarrassment’.

“He has impressed the probation officer with his acceptance that it was wrong to have done what he did,” he said.

Lemon admitted exposure and four counts of possessing indecent images of children. He denied one further count of exposure which was not pursued by the Crown.

Lemon, who has no previous convictions, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years, and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order was made restricting his access to the internet, and banning him from being alone with children.

March 2014

Decades after sex abuse at Westcott Primary School, Hull City Council pays damages to victim of teaching assistant Philip Fellinger

HULL City Council has been forced to pay damages to a woman who was sexually assaulted at primary school in the 1990s.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lodged a £100,000 claim after she was indecently assaulted by teaching assistant Philip Fellinger when she was seven.

She says the abuse has remained with her throughout her life.

Last night, she said: “I was just a girl, only seven years old. I was a confused little girl and I had it for more or less two years.

“What he did has always, always taken over my life.”

The abuse took place at Westcott Primary School in east Hull in the 1990s.

Fellinger was convicted of six indecent assaults on the girl and other children at Hull Crown Court and was sentenced to nine months in prison in July 1994.

Now in her thirties, the woman says, following the convictions, she “lived in fear” he would come back to punish her for her part in bringing him to justice.

According to the court writ, Fellinger subjected the “vulnerable” little girl to repeated sexual abuse of a “cruel nature” over a period of 18 months.

She has also suffered psychological problems.

For more on this story – Click this link for source HULL DAILY MAIL

March 2014

Crossdressing West Cranmore man used Facebook to talk to 13-year-old girl

A WEST Cranmore man approached a 13-year-old girl anonymously over the internet and sent a string of bizarre messages – including asking her to help him dress up in women’s clothing.

Kevin Michael Coombes sent the messages using his Facebook account via the social networking site Ask.fm which has been linked to a number of high-profile incidents of teenage bullying and suicides.

After asking to meet the victim in a park he then wanted to know why she had not turned up.

The messages became increasingly strange with “sexual overtones” and he then asked if she would help him dress up in women’s clothing claiming that he liked to wear skirts when he had sex with his partner.

The girl confided in a female friend and became scared to go outside on her own and when the police were alerted they traced the defendant via his email address and he was arrested.

Coombes, aged 34, of Kirk Lane, pleaded guilty to sending by means of a public electronic communications network messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character between May 25 and July 4 last year.

Somerset Magistrates, sitting at Yeovil, were told that the defendant began using the controversial Ask.fm website where people can post questions to other online users anonymously and receive anonymous replies.

Prosecutor Daffyd Paxton said the networking site had been in the news in recent months in regard to online bullying and teenage suicides and it was through this medium that Coombes began to contact the teenaged girl.

“He sent a number of anonymous messages including asking to meet the girl at 5pm in a car park and urged her not to tell anyone,” he said.

“The complainant spoke to a female friend who advised her not to go and she received another message saying ‘where were you? but she did not reply.”

The messages became more bizarre revolving around the girl wearing a skirt, asking if she would let a boy wear her clothing and then said that she could put it on him in secret if she liked.

Mr Paxton said: “As a result inquiries were made and the defendant was tracked via his email address and the prosecution say this is a case where there are sexual overtones to these messages.

“When Coombes was interviewed by police he said that he had been expecting the police to contact him and said he had already been confronted by his partner about the matter.

“He said the only contact he had had with the girl was through Facebook and admitted sending the messages saying he did not know why he did it but it was not sexual.

“He told the police he liked to wear skirts when he had sex with his partner.”

The court heard that the victim had felt scared and was worried about going outside, what she was wearing and going to school.

“She said she had felt harassed and the messages had made her feel uncomfortable, made her want to stay inside her house and not go out on her own,” added Mr Paxton.

Defending solicitor John Killah said that Coombes “vehemently denied” that there was any sexual innuendo directed at the child.

“What he does in his private life is neither here nor there and cross dressing is not a criminal offence,” he said.

“As far as the victim is concerned, she has received disturbing and odd messages which are menacing but there is nothing to suggest that these were of a sexual origin.”

The magistrates adjourned the case until March 18 when the defendant is due to stand trial on another unrelated matter. This matter would then be adjourned for a pre sentence report to be prepared on a date yet to be fixed.

Until his next court appearance Coombes was released on conditional bail on the understanding he does not contact or communicate with the victim by any means or through a third party and does not go to her address.

March 2014

Coventry man branded ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’ gets three-year community order

A man who tried to persuade schoolgirls to meet him for sexual encounters in a series of texts was ‘‘every parent’s worst nightmare’’, a court heard.

Daniel Frome had sent explicit photos of himself to two of the girls as he had attempted to entice them to meet him.

Frome, 26, of Purcell Road, Courthouse Green, Coventry, pleaded guilty at the crown court in Leamington to six charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity with him.

He was given a three-year community order, with three years supervision, and ordered to take part in sex offender’s programme, to register as a sex offender for five years and to attend for mental health treatment as required.

In addition Judge Peter Carr made him subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the girls and a sexual offences prevention order for indefinite periods.

Prosecutor Ben Close said each of the six charges involved Frome’s phone contact with a different victim, five of whom were aged 15 and one aged 13.

“It did not result in him meeting any of them, but involved persistent attempts to meet them by the canal at a specific location at specific times.”

All the offences took place in October 2012, with his contact with four of the girls lasting for a week before he gave up and sent them a final abusive text; but he persisted for the whole of the month with two of them.

He bombarded the first girl with texts to try to persuade her to meet him.

The girl, who claimed to be 12 in an attempt to deter him, also had 20 calls, which she did not answer, from Frome, whose number was saved on her phone under the name ‘‘weirdo’’.

He sent similar obscene messages to the other girls as he tried to persuade them to meet him, sending texts every few minutes to one girl.

Another of the girls, who had his number stored under the name ‘‘freak’’ received 33 calls from him in one day.

In his texts to the 13-year-old, he begged her to give him the numbers of other young girls and sent her an explicit photo of himself, asking her to send him a picture of her feet in tights, explaining that he had a foot fetish.

At first each of the girls, who were all asked to meet him wearing tights, believed they were alone in being targeted by him – until they began to confide in each-other at school and realised they were all getting messages from the same phone.

After the police were contacted they identified Frome as being responsible because he was using the same phone he had used when reporting that he had lost his keys earlier that year.

Ian Speed, defending, said Frome is a ‘‘vulnerable young man’’ who is inadequate and is receiving mental health treatment.

Judge Peter Carr told Frome: “These girls were aged mainly 15, and all thought initially it was a bit of a joke; but it didn’t take very long for them to realise that what was happening to them was anything but funny.

“And if you had spent just one second you would also have realised the terror it caused their parents. In some ways you are every parent’s worst nightmare.”

March 2014

Man jailed for sex assaults on five children

A man has been jailed for six years and four months for a string of historic sexual assaults on two boys and three girls.

Frederick Sumner, 52, of Boundary Lane, New Longton, pleaded guilty to five indecent assaults on a male, two on a girl and seven of gross indecency, with some of the children as young as eight when the offences started.

Sumner, who was chaperoned by two people in the dock at Preston Crown Court, clutched the top of his walking cane, crying intermittently as he listened to the proceedings.

Some of Sumner’s victims watched from the public gallery, with onlookers in tears throughout the hearing.

Judge Simon Altham heard on some occasions Sumner, known as “Freddie”, had forced two young victims to touch each other.

While one boy eventually told his mother, another boy, who was aged between eight and 16 when the abuse took place, denied it when confronted because he thought his father would kill the defendant.

Prosecuting, Hilary Banks said: “Mr Sumner was interviewed in March 2013. He admitted his behaviour, that he was moody when growing up.

“He admitted that he had shown pornographic material to children and in that he was including the victims.

“He said he was sorry for everything and regretted what he had done. He said he hated himself for it and hoped to God that he would die soon.

“He said he wanted to be in heaven with his mother and he said he had been punished by God.”

Defending, Richard English, said: “Apologies and expressions of remorse ring very hollow for those in the public gallery, but nonetheless he is abjectly sorry for what he has done.”

March 2014

Okehampton man found with child abuse and beastiality movies and images

A divorcee has been sent on a course for sex offenders after being trapped by an international monitoring operation and found with vile images of abuse on his computer.

Neill Sobey was traced to his home on Dartmoor after joining a website called Child Love and found with images and movies of toddlers and babies.

Police also found extreme images including a movie of a man having sex with a Golden Retriever among more than 3,500 illegal downloads on his computer.

Sobey, aged 70, of Hillfield, South Zeal, near Okehampton, admitted a total of 24 offences of making or possessing indecent images of children or extreme pornography.

He was jailed for nine months, suspended for two years, ordered to pay £225 costs and attend the internet sex offenders’ treatment programme as part of two years supervision.

Judge Jeremy Griggs said he was taking into consideration Sobey’s severe respiratory condition, which forced him to carry an oxygen pump with him at all times.

The judge told him: “The number and nature of these images take this case past the custody threshold but you have expressed your wish to undergo the sex offenders’ programme, which it would be in the interests of society for you to attend.”

Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said police did not have the resources to examine all 3,500 files on Sobey’s four hard drives but had found 2,579 child abuse images or movies.

They included three movies showing children being forced to have sex by adults and six still images showing sadism or bestiality.

Among the images were those of a child of about two being abused and another of a girl aged six to eight who was tied up and wearing a mask.

He also had a movie showing a man kissing and having sex with a Golden Retriever.

Mr Richings said that police received information from an international concern called Operation Voyage which had information that persons in this country were accessing a child abuse website.

“It was discovered the defendant was one of those people and a warrant was executed at his home.”

Mr Jeremy Harris, defending, said Sobey started using adult websites after the break up of his marriage and was drawn towards more extreme material by pop-ups.

He said: “Curiosity got the better of him and he started accessing images of young children and accepts he gained some gratification from it. He cooperated fully with the police and made full admissions and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.”

March 2014

Freed sex offender jailed after teachers spot him outside Exeter school

A convicted sex offender has been jailed after he defied an order to stay away from children and was spotted by teachers waiting outside a school in Exeter.

Luke Atherton was banned from having any contact with people under 16 because he has two different convictions for under age sex.

He broke the Sexual Offences Prevention Order when he was supposed to be under supervision at a post-release hostel but started a relationship with a mother who had two daughters.

He went with her to pick up the older child at a school in Exeter and teachers became alarmed because they noticed the girl was worried about going towards him and her mother.

The mother broke off the relationship as soon as she was told about his past by police and social workers.

Atherton was on the sex offenders’ register after being jailed for under age sex in Scotland in 2010 and sexual activity with a child in Cheltenham in 2011. Both cases involved girls aged 14 to 16.

He had been out of prison on parole for seven months and was living at a post-release hostel in Plymouth when he started a relationship with the mother-of-two in Exeter.

He was also subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which required him to notify both the mother and social services if he moved into any home where children were living.

Atherton, of Hermitage Road, Plymouth, admitted breach of the SOPO and was jailed for eight months by Judge Erik Salomonsen at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him:”You started a relationship with the mother of two young girls and spent time with them and were observed at school, where for whatever reason, one of them appeared uncomfortable.

“It clearly caused concern for the teachers who observed what was going on. This was the clearest possible breach of the order.”

Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said:”On his release he was placed in a probation hostel in Plymouth and registered as he was required to do.

“In the early part of last year he started a relationship with a young woman in Exeter which developed into a sexual relationship. She had two daughters, then aged nine and four.

“The defendant accompanied his girlfriend when she went to pick up the older girl from school and waited outside with her. A teaching assistant recalls the girl looking uncomfortable and withdrawn when she was aware of him being with her mother.”

She said Atherton’s first conviction was for unlawful sexual intercourse at Forfar Sherriff’s Court and his second was at Gloucester Crown Court in March 2011 when he was jailed for 38 months.

He was released to the hostel in Plymouth on July 25, 2012 and started his relationship with the mother in February 2013. It ended when social workers intervened on March 28, 2013.

Mr Peter Seigne, defending, said there was no suggestion Atherton had been any threat to or harmed the two young children.

He said:”He regrets not being more open with the mother when they first met. When she found out, he was subjected to a barrage of messages and phone calls from her.

“He needs a short, sharp shock so he understands the seriousness of breaching the order. He was staying at the address and was occasionally helping the mother to pick up the children.”

November 2010

Luke Atherton jailed for under-age sex after rape claim

An Angus man who found himself the subject of a false rape allegation has been imprisoned for having unlawful sex with the 14-year-old girl who made the claim.

Luke Atherton and the teenager had consensual intercourse in a Brechin park, but when the girl later learned that he had also kissed her sister she told police he had raped her.

At Forfar Sheriff Court, 20-year-old Atherton appeared for sentence having earlier admitted having unlawful sex with the girl at the rear of Park View and Viewbank Place, Brechin, on June 13.

The court heard that Atherton, formerly of Angus and now living in Cheltenham, is on remand for a serious offence south of the border.

Defence agent Brian Bell said, “He had met her four or five days before and when this took place they had been drinking, but he certainly knew what he was doing.

“The reason this allegation came to light was that a number of days later he showed no interest in this female and more interest in the slightly older sister.

“She was not enamoured and then reported rape, but very quickly indicated that the initial statement she had given to police was incorrect.

“He does not blame his victim and he accepts he will be jailed,” said Mr Bell.

Sheriff Kevin Veal sent Atherton to a young offenders’ institution for six months and placed him on the sex offenders register for seven years.

“These laws are in place as much to protect the girls from themselves as from others and it is quite clear that she was only 14 at the time,” he said.

“In light of the full circumstances, the only appropriate disposal is one of immediate custody.”

March 2014

Olympian jailed for slapping crying 14-month old baby

A SPECIAL Olympian slapped a 14-month-old baby girl because she cried while he watched football on television.

Volleyball player Steven Morrin, 23, was jailed for 19 months for the attack which left the tot with a serious eye injury and severe bruising.

The girl’s mum said: “She still has nightmares and wakes up screaming in the night.

“The attack left my baby daughter with bruising all over her face. She had bleeding inside her ear. There was congealed blood there and her eyes were all bloodshot.

“I’m glad I have got justice for my wee girl, although I was hoping he would be sentenced to longer.

“My four-year-old son witnessed what happened and he has nightmares too.”

In 2003, Morrin, of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, played for the UK team in Ireland at the Special Olympics, which showcases people with learning disabilities. At Ayr Sheriff Court, he admitted assaulting the tot to her severe injury at a home in Troon. He had slapped her on the face, causing her head to strike an unidentified object.

The baby was taken to Ayr Hospital, where she was found to have extensive bruising to her face, neck and ears and haemorrhaging of her right eye.

Solicitor Matt Jackson said: “Mr Morrin had taken some drink – perhaps three cans of lager – and he was watching a football match.

“He was engaged with that match and the child was demanding of his attention.

“He believes it may have been a build-up of these demands and frustration caused by them which led him to slap the child.”

Sherriff Carole Cunningham said: “An assault on a defenceless child, causing severe injury, is so serious as to merit a custodial sentence.”

March 2014

Sex abuser jailed for ‘humiliating campaign’ against two young girls

A man has been jailed for 17 years after carrying out a “humiliating campaign” of sexual abuse against two young girls.

One victim of Raymond Marasco tried to commit suicide, while the other had to be persuaded by her husband to wear a dress at her own wedding, after he put his hand up her skirt on a bus, a court was told.

The 53-year-old, who is originally from Cardiff, had denied 12 counts of sexual abuse – 11 against one girl, including rape and indecent assault, and gross indecency against the other. But a jury found him guilty.

Jailing him at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, Judge Richard Twomlow said: “This was careful grooming over a period of five years.

“It was a campaign of sexual abuse. It was humiliating and degrading.”

Ieuan Morris, prosecuting, said while babysitting one victim, Marasco would run his hands up her leg and inside her underwear before progressing to more serious abuse.

Mr Morris said he gave the pre-teen girl alcohol “disguised as blue pop” so she fell asleep, allowing him to carry her into a bedroom to have sex with her. The court heard he raped her on subsequent occasions.

“She remembers the pain she endured but did no disclose the abuse she was suffering,” said Mr Morris.

He also promised the child toys if she performed sex acts on him.

The court heard that, as a result, she had tried to commit suicide and would bang her head repeatedly against walls “until she was numb”.

Mr Morris said: “She said she was a happy child but stopped smiling. She feels she is not capable of having a normal life. She has nightmares which are horrific and occur when she tries to forget what happens to her.”

The court heard her relationship with her partner had been affected and she suffered flashbacks but she wished to move on with her life.

Marasco assaulted his second victim as she sat on a bus, running his hand up her skirt.

“She said that since then she has never worn a skirt and her husband had to talk her into wearing a wedding dress,” said Mr Morris.

Alexander Greenwood, defending, said Marasco, who now lives in Lewis Street, Crumlin, was intelligent and had worked all his life but he had now lost his life savings and his home because of the convictions.

Marasco will have to sign as a sex offender for life and is barred from working with children.

He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

March 2007

Already convicted paedophile spared jail for possession indecent images of children

A PERVERT who downloaded a haul of the most serious child abuse images has been spared jail – and won’t be getting any sex offender treatment either.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Ian Cogle, 48, who has served time for indecently assaulting a 10 year old girl, told police he was interested in young girls between the ages of 14 and 16 and thought he had a problem.

The probation service assessed he was at high risk of reoffending, whilst medics claimed it was a medium risk.

The defendant had more than 100 actual photographs of children being sexually abused or posing but did not see the youngsters as victims and did not see why he should change his behaviour.

Cogle was said to have used the internet while his partner was in bed at their Accrington home, the court was told.

His barrister urged the court to make a community order with the sex offenders’ programme if he was not sent to prison.

Cogle, of Persia Street, was given eight months custody, suspended for two years, with two years supervision and a five year Sex Offences Prevention Order He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register.

He admitted four counts of possessing indecent images of children, 47 of them at the most serious level and showing children taking part in sex acts with adults.

Sentencing, Judge Alistair Rumbelow, QC, told the defendant, whose live-in girlfriend was said to be reliant on him, it was clear the victims had been exploited but there was no evidence Cogle had distributed or swapped any images.

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court police raided Cogle’s home last May and seized his computer equipment.

The defendant said the pictures he had viewed came up as pop-ups.

Miss Statham said in 1990 the defendant had been jailed for 15 months, for indecently assaulting a 10 year old girl. Cogle had 35 previous convictions.

Judith McCullough, defending, said Cogle knew his behaviour was unacceptable. He would take any help given to him.

March 2014

Man jailed for 14 years for rape of girl, aged five

A paedophile from Bradford who raped a five-year-old girl has been sent to jail for more than 14 years.

Police described Gavin Prior’s attack on the young girl as “distressing”, after he was sentenced at Bradford CrownCourt yesterday.

The sentencing of the 27-year-old, who lived at Back Lane in Clayton, also took into consideration some other attacks.

Prior was found guilty last month after being charged with the rape of a girl aged under 13 years, which happened between February 21 2007 and June 13 last year.

He was also found guilty of an assault of a girl aged under 13 years by touching, and a sexual assault on a female that happened between January 1 2010 and December 31 2010.

All were described as “distressing sexual attacks” by Detective Inspector Vanessa Smith, from the Bradford District Safeguarding Unit.

The officer also praised the bravery of Prior’s victims and their families for reporting the crimes.

“Prior carried out distressing sexual attacks on his victims, one of whom was just five years old at the time of the offence,” said Det Insp Smith.

“We would like to thank the victims and their families for their courage in coming forward and hope that this lengthy sentence will help to bring them some closure to these traumatic incidents.

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

Prior was jailed for a total of 14 years and four months.

March 2014

Pensioner had 5,456 indecent pictures of children

A PENSIONER from Kirk Ella has been told he was “encouraging the vile abuse of defenceless children” after he admitted possessing almost 5,500 indecent images.

Peter Watson, 72, was found with a total of 5,456 images – some at the most serious level and of children as young as five – and was caught after accessing a child pornography website.

He admitted having indecent images on his computers when he was visited by police at his home in Glenfield Drive on February 16 last year.

But he was too ill be interviewed, and later claimed he could not remember downloading the images because of health problems and medication he had been taking since 2007 when he was finally interviewed in September.

Sentencing Watson at Hull Crown Court yesterday, Judge Simon Jack told him: “The child pornography trade is a vile trade and those who download images of child pornography are assisting in that trade, taking part in it, encouraging it, encouraging the vile abuse of defenceless children.

“You are part of that, and I do not accept for a moment that what you did was due to medication or anything like that.

“You were quite clear when the police came to see you that there would be child pornography images on your computer.

“You knew you downloaded them, you knew what you had done.”

The judge said he was not interested in Watson’s medical condition, saying: “People who commit offences of this kind have no regard for the wellbeing of people who are being abused and the courts will have no regard for their wellbeing.”

Police seized a Hewlett Packard desktop computer that contained 25 indecent images, a Dell computer that contained 263 images, and an 8GB pen drive that contained 5,168 indecent images.

Most were still images, but some videos had also been downloaded.

In total, 3,016 images were at level one, the least serious, while 48 were at level five, the most serious.

Richard Thompson, defending, said Watson had immediately tried to address his offending by undergoing counselling, working with the child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, and contacting the Stop It Now helpline.

Watson received an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years.

He must sign the sex offenders’ register for ten years, and is subject to a serious crime prevention order for ten years, which regulates his use of computers.

March 2014

Pervert who performed sex act on bus in front of 15-year-old schoolgirl

A 46-YEAR-OLD man has been found guilty of a “serious and foul offence” — after he performed a sex act on a bus in front of a 15-year-old girl.

Clement Kumah will be sentenced today for the offence, which lasted eight minutes and happened on the number 36 bus in Bolton on December 31, 2012.

The jury of nine men and three women took three hours to unanimously decide that Kumah was guilty of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

After the verdict was given, it was revealed that, in 1996, Kumah was jailed for four years for two offences of indecent assault on women.

He has also previously been convicted for violence against a police officer and assault causing actual bodily harm.

The trial at Bolton Crown Court focussed on the issue of identity, with IT worker Kumah, of Wateredge Close, Leigh, claiming that a man pictured in CCTV images from the bus, was not him.

The images were circulated in The Bolton News and led to Kumah’s arrest several months later.

A 15-year-old girl, who is now aged 16 and cannot be named for legal reasons, was a passenger on the bus from Bolton to Little Hulton on New Year’s Eve, 2012, when the incident took place.

Addressing Kumah, who was remanded in custody overnight, Judge Peter Davies said: “I regard this as a particularly serious and foul offence in front of a 15-year-old girl who was very affected by what happened.

“There will be an inevitable custodial sentence.”

March 2014

Murton man jailed for coercing 12-year-old girl into sexual encounter

A MAN arranged to meet a girl for a sexual encounter after befriending her on Facebook, a court heard.

Jonpaul Wiseman contacted a number of women and girls, after trawling the internet seeking a potential partner for a “final fling” before settling down with his long-term girlfriend – who was expecting their first child.

Durham Crown Court heard that sexual activity took place on the second rendezvous between 24-year-old Wiseman, who used the name ‘Lee Smithy’, and the 12-year-old.

But immediately after the “liaison”, on grassed area, Wiseman severed contact with the distraught girl, deactivating the Lee Smithy Facebook account.

The girl told friends what had taken place at school next day and they, in turn, told staff, who reported it to police.

Although she initially gave a fictitious account about being waylaid by a stranger, by the time police spoke to her again, it was clear she and one of her friends had been in Facebook contact with the man.

Joanne Kidd, prosecuting, said it included her sending him a topless photo of herself, while he, in reply, sent her a picture of his private parts.

Miss Kidd said Wiseman “coerced rather than intimidated” the girl into having sex, but she was legally unable to consent, due to her age.

He was also aware how old she was from an early stage, despite her falsely claiming her date of birth was in 1994, to give her user access to Facebook.

Miss Kidd said the Lee Smithy Facebook account was traced to Wiseman’s address and, despite his initial denials, when first arrested and interviewed, he indicated ‘guilt’ at his first crown court appearance.

Wiseman, now 25, of Beech Avenue, Murton, County Durham, admitted raping the girl and possessing an indecent photograph of a child.

John Elliott, mitigating, told the court Wiseman, who has no previous convictions, feels, “sick, sorry and ashamed of himself.”

He said it was to be one last fling before settling down with his girlfriend.

Mr Elliott told the court: “He became embroiled in the fantasy world of Facebook, where belief can be suspended.

“He became so fixated with his intention that he went on to commit this really dreadful crime.”

Jailing him for six years and three months, Judge Robert Adams told Wiseman his actions have had a “devastating effect” on the girl.

The judge also made him subject to a sexual offences prevention order, restricting future contact between Wiseman and under-16-year-olds, and registration as a sex offender, both for life.

March 2014

Drug dealer mum jailed for leaving her 1 yr old baby home alone to sell heroin on streets

A lowlife mum-to-be will give birth to her second child in prison after she left her one-year-old son home alone – while she went out selling DRUGS on the street.

Karen Niblett, 27, was arrested by an officer who discovered she had 43 wraps of heroin and cocaine worth £700 stuffed in a plastic Kinder egg hidden in her BRA.

Police raided her home and discovered £416 in cash, weighing scales and drug paraphernalia as well as her terrified baby son who had been left at home by himself.

On Wednesday Worcester Crown Court heard how the tot was found behind a stair-gate with a heavily soiled nappy and covered in nappy rash.

Niblett pleaded guilty to possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply and a separate charge of cruelty by abandonment of a child.

The mum, who is 30-weeks pregnant with her second child, will give birth behind bars after being jailed for a total of 16 months.

Recorder Satiner Hunjan told her: “You left the child at home in an appalling and neglected condition.

“You have a long criminal record but I accept you had been coerced into selling drugs.”

The court heard Niblett, of Worcester, was spotted by an officer on a routine foot patrol on November 18 last year.

Prosecutor Wendy Miller said: “When searched she had 43 individual wraps of heroin and cocaine hidden inside the plastic shell of a Kinder egg capsule inside her bra.”

The court heard Niblett had a string of previous convictions for drug offences and dishonesty.

Shockingly, at the time of her latest crime she was in breach of a community order with a drug treatment requirement.

Barry Newton, defending, said: “Here is an all too typical story of a long standing heroin problem.

“She had been remanded in custody since the offence and being in prison while pregnant has had a devastating effect on her.”