March 2014

Pervert jailed for historic sex abuse – Indecent assault, indecency with a child, rape & kidnapping

A paedophile has been jailed for 17 years for sexual offences committed in the eighties and nineties.

Terrance Bedford , 71, of Market Street, Shawforth was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child, four counts of rape and one charge of kidnapping.

The offences came to light after one of the victims became a mother and struggled to cope with the abuse that had happened in her past.

She confided in her family and after approaching the police was shocked when a second victim came forward.

Speaking after the court case, she said: “It just got to the point in my life were I had a child of my own and I started to reflect on everything because I wanted the best for my own child.”

At the time of his arrest Bedford was living at Platting Lane, Balderstone .

He was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court

March 2014

Paedophile who raped girl, 12, at canal boat festival jailed for seven years

A “predatory” paedophile who raped a 12-year-old girl after befriending her at a CANAL BOAT festival has been jailed for seven years.

James Bill, 29, attended the Braunston Boat Show, Northants., in June last year where he got talking to a mother and her daughter.

A court heard he then went for a walk in a nearby field with the youngster away from the crowds at the UK’s largest narrowboat rally.

After laying down on the ground to look at the trees Bill then viciously attacked and raped his defenceless victim.

Northampton Crown Court was told the girl initially did not tell her mother what had happened but confided in one of her friends at school.

Prosecutor Jonathan Eley said police then investigated the incident and DNA analysis of the girl’s underwear found a semen match that was a “one billion to one” match in favour of Bill.

During interview Bill gave “no comment” to all questions but pleaded guilty to a charge of raping a girl aged under 13 at an earlier hearing.

Last Friday Bill – who has a previous conviction for indecently assaulting three eight-year-old girls – was jailed for seven years.

Sentencing Judge Rupert Mayo said: “This was a gross mistrust against this girl.

“You are a dangerous and pose a significant risk of serious harm to children. I would describe this attack as predatory.”

Bill was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and an extra three years and nine months on licence.

He will serve at least two thirds of his jail term.

February 2014

Man admits child abuse images offences and is sentenced

Timothy Millender, 31, pleaded guilty to eight charges of making indecent photos and two of possessing them, totalling 740 images.

The Defendant was charged with 10 Counts:

1. Made indecent photographs of a child, level 1, Contrary to section 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

2. Made indecent photographs of a child, level 2, Contrary to section 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

3. Made indecent photographs of a child, level 3, Contrary to section 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

4. Made indecent photographs of a child, level 4, Contrary to section 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

5. Made indecent photographs of a child, level 5, Contrary to section 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978

6. Had in possession 637 indecent photographs of children, Contrary to section 160(1), (2A) and (3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

7. Made indecent photographs of a child, a level 5 image of the child, Contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

8. Made indecent photographs of a child, a level 4 image of a child., Contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

9. Made indecent photographs of a child, namely a level 5 image of a child, contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

10. Had in possession 103 indecent photographs of children, Contrary to section 160(1), (2A) and(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

The Defendant pleaded Guilty to all offences.

SUMMARY:

Level 1      275 images
Level 2        46 images
Level 3      214 images
Level 4 Penetrative sexual activity involving a child or children or both children and adults        223 images
Level 5  Sadism or penetration of, or by, an animal.

MOVIES:
Level 1      16
Level 2      17
Level 3      13
Level 4      57
Level 5        3

All of the images are of children aged 6 months to 14 years of age.

Total 770 Images

THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES FOR THE ABOVE OFFENCES:

26 weeks – 18 MONTHS  Custody

MR EDEL WAS INSTRUCTED AND PROVIDED LENGTHY MITIGATING SUBMISSIONS BEFORE THE COURT.

SENTENCE: 

LEVELS 1 / 2 and 3 : Concurrent 2 months custodial sentence.

LEVELS 4 and 5: Concurrent 6 months custodial sentence.

TOTAL : 6 MONTHS CUSTODIAL SUSPENDED FOR 2 YEARS

SUPERVISION REQUIREMENT: 24 MONTHS

REQUIREMENT TO ENGAGE IN SEX OFFENDER TREATMENTS

SEX OFFENDERS PREVENTION ORDER – 10 YEARS

£100 VICTIM SURCHARGE.

January 2014

Man admits child abuse images offences

A FORMER Winchester man has admitted offences of possessing and making indecent photographs of children.

Timothy Millender, 31, pleaded guilty to eight charges of making indecent photos and two of possessing them, totalling 740 images.

The offences occurred between October 2010 and April 2013, Basingstoke Magistrates Court heard.

Millender, now of Fareham, was remanded on unconditional bail for sentencing at Winchester Crown Court on January 17.

March 2014

Paedophile had nearly 2,000 sexual images of children

A paedophile who had 1,887 indecent images has been jailed for eight months.

Aaron Wall, 45, of Terrace Road, St Leonards, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday where he was sentenced after earlier admitting 11 offences of making indecent images of children and two of possession of extreme pornographic images.

The court was told Wall had 1,887 indecent images including level five images, which are the most severe, and ten extreme pornographic images.

A warrant had been executed at his home on November 1, 2012.

Wall was arrested and later released on police bail pending the examination of computer items that were seized during a search of his home.

Detective Constable Kenny Stark said: “We will follow up information about this type of offending, whether it comes from law enforcement as in this case, or from members of the general public.”

March 2014

Paedophile who abused three young girls is jailed for nine years

A predator who “robbed three girls of their childhood” after subjecting them to a catalogue of sexual abuse was jailed for nine years on Friday.

Calls of “yes” rang out from the public benches at the High Court in Edinburgh as Colin Brown was sentenced.

Brown, 43, formerly of Exchange Street, Dundee, was earlier convicted of raping two girls and molesting and trying to rape a third victim.

A judge told Brown that she was satisfied that he “presented a serious risk of harm to children”.

Lady Scott ordered that he be supervised for a further three years and warned that he can be returned to prison during that period if he breaches conditions of his release on licence.

The judge said that Brown’s first two victims, who were the youngest targets of his abuse, were “utterly defenceless” and the third, who was in her teens, had tried to fight back.

Lady Scott said: “Your victims have been left robbed of their childhood.”

The judge said Brown’s convictions showed a persistent course of conduct by him over a period of about four years and the second victim had spoken of being raped “on numerous occasions”.

Brown preyed on one girl from the age of three and molested her and tried to rape her on one occasion at a house in Dundee between March 2001 and May 2002 when she was aged between three and four.

He assaulted and raped a second girl on various occasions between March 2001 and January 2004 at a house in the city when she between five and eight years old.

Brown raped a third victim before her 14th birthday and again after her birthday at houses in Dundee.

He had denied the offences but was found guilty by a jury at an earlier trial of indecent behaviour, attempted rape and rape.

Defence counsel Mark Stewart QC said Brown’s position remained consistent, but he accepted he had been convicted of serious offences.

“The inevitable consequence is a significant custodial sentence will be handed down,” he added.

He pointed out that Brown had no previous convictions for similar offences or other serious crimes. Brown was put on the sex offenders register for life.

March 2014

Child sex pervert branded “scum” for Dundee rapes

A man who raped three children in Tayside should be “hung, drawn and quartered”, a victim’s friend has said.

Colin Brown was convicted of five sexual offences, all of which took place in Dundee between 2001 and 2005 and involved children.

At the High Court in Aberdeen, Brown was found guilty of four counts of rape and one charge of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour.

A victim’s friend said: “He’s lowlife scum. In my honest opinion he should be hung, drawn and quartered.

“He’s not worth the air he breathes.

“He’ll get what’s coming to him, although that’s not going to help.

“I don’t know what to say about him, really. It’s made me feel sick.

“It’s disgusting. I don’t know how anybody could do that to any kid.”

Brown is set to receive his sentence at the High Court in Livingston on March 28.

The 42-year-old committed the offences against three victims, all of whom were under 16 at the time of the crimes.

The friend added: “They were over the moon when he was found guilty.

“The jury broke for lunch at 1pm, and as soon as they got back in the court they had their verdict.

“I was in the court and when they read out the verdict, his physical expression didn’t even change.

“He just stood there not moving as if it was nothing. His expression didn’t change or anything.

“When the lady put the handcuffs on him so he could be remanded, he said: ‘That’s too tight’. That was all. He said nothing else.”

The woman also spoke of the “relief” the victims’ families felt.

“When we were sitting in the courtroom, they were all in tears,” she added.

“I think they were just tears of total relief. They just said: ‘Thank God, that’s it done’.”

March 2014

Former Scout leader jailed for sexual offences

An ex-Scout leader has been sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in jail for historical sexual offences against a child.

Peter Halliwell, 77 from Cheadle Hulme, Stockport pleaded guilty on the day of his trial to three counts of indecent assault in the mid 1960s against a boy when he was 9 or 10 years old.

The charges related to a cub scout who was nine or ten at the time, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

At the Manchester Crown Court hearing, he was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years.

Steve Hoolohan, from the CPS, said: “Halliwell used his role as a scout leader to target a young boy in his care.

“This was a gross abuse of his position of trust in the Scouts and in the local community, whereby he persistently exploited the boy for his own gratification.”

March 2013

Ex-scoutmaster Peter Halliwell on Cheadle Hulme sex attack charges

A man has been charged with indecently assaulting a child while working as a scoutmaster, Greater Manchester Police have said.

Peter Halliwell, 76, of Sherwood Avenue, Cheadle Hulme, is charged with 14 counts of indecent assault.

He is due to appear at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on 7 March.

The charges relate to alleged offences between 1965 and 1967, while the victim was a cub scout with the 6th Cheadle Hulme scout troop, police said.

March 2014

Man’s sexually explicit messages to schoolgirls created ‘climate of fear’

A man who created a “climate of fear” by sending two teenagers explicit and threatening messages has walked free from court.

Paul Kitchin, of The Larches, Egremont, sent intimate photos of himself to two young girls, Carlisle Crown Court heard yesterday.

He had targeted the girls, who were both under 14, and befriended them using a Facebook account to maintain his anonymity.

Kitchin sent them a series of messages which “escalated in seriousness” and started to threaten one of the girls to affect the other, the court heard.

Judge Peter Hughes QC told him that his offences were pre-meditated and involved clear planning.

He added: “You created a climate of fear for both young girls.”

Judge Hughes also said the fact the offences had occurred over a long period demonstrated his inability to appreciate the seriousness of what he was doing or to take into account the “inevitable distress” it was causing the girls.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said Kitchin had been “troubled” by his behaviour and “wishes to address it”.

She added that Kitchin, who had already spent 16 weeks in custody, had been isolated as a child and as an adult, leaving him depressed and out of work.

Judge Hughes took into account a number of psychological factors, including his history of not working, and being at home “isolated from his contemporaries”.

He also recognised that as both Kitchin and the two girls had grown older he had seen the contrast between his life and the lives they were building.

“I strongly suspect that contrast, and comparing your life with theirs’, is an underlying factor of these offences,” Judge Hughes added.

He also told him his actions were “deeply unpleasant and disturbing” for the teens.

Kitchin, 26, previously admitted attempting to cause or incite a child aged 14 to be involved in pornography, harassment, and inciting a 14-year-old child to engage in pornography.

All three offences occurred between October 1, 2012, and November 30, last year.

He was handed a three-year community order with supervision and ordered to complete a sex offenders’ group programme.

Kitchin must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, he was made subject to a five-year sexual offences prevention order and was placed on the sexual offences register for five years.

He was banned from working with children and vulnerable adults and from having any contact any girl under 16. He also must not approach or attempt to contact either of the two victims in the case. Judge Hughes warned him that he could face a substantial jail term if he breaches any of the orders.

March 2014

Notorious paedophile who preyed on the late Rab C Nesbitt star has died before facing further child abuse charges

Paedophile Francis Currens pictured above

A NOTORIOUS paedophile who preyed on the late Rab C Nesbitt star Eric Cullen has died before facing further child abuse charges.

Former scout leader Francis Currens, 62, was set to appear in court after another victim came forward to say he abused her when she was a child, 40 years ago.

The vile pervert – a member of one of Scotland’s worst paedophile gangs – was jailed for 14 years in 1994 after admitting a series of offences against nine boys.

And he faced court again after a woman said he preyed on her in 1974.

But it has emerged he died in Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital in December, suffering multiple organ failure after an illness.

The Crown Office said Currens had been charged last May with sex offences from 1974.

A spokesman added: “Due to the death of the accused, the case is now closed.”

Currens, a former Territorial Army soldier from Springboig, Glasgow, was brought to justice 20 years ago.

When the Hamilton home of Cullen – who played Rab C Nesbitt’s son Wee Burney in the hit BBC comedy – was raided by detectives in 1993, he told police about years  of abuse and Currens was arrested.

Victim: Eric Cullen as wee Burney

Throughout his childhood Cullen had been bullied, beaten and blackmailed into taking part in sex acts.

When Currens was jailed in 1994, Lord Mayfield said: “I regard you as an utterly depraved person.”

Jail did not reform Currens. In 2002, inside information at Peterhead Prison alleged that he and others were plotting to set up a toy shop as a lure for young children when they were released. 

The list of Currens’s prison associates reads like a Who’s Who of Scottish sex offenders. 

Cullen died, aged 31, from complications after a bowel operation in 1994.

Last night, one of Currens’s victims, now 45, said: “He was a waste of oxygen and there isn’t a person alive who would regret that he has died.

Victim of Abuse - Four-foot Eric Cullen, who played Wee Burney in Rab C Nesbitt, was a troubled young man

Cullen was sexually abused by a violent paedophile ring as a teenager, and since his condition meant that he looked much younger than he was, this abuse continued into his twenties. Throughout Cullen’s childhood, a man called Francis Currens had beaten, bullied and blackmailed him into sex acts. Not just with him, but with other paedophiles. Police arrested Currens at his home in Springboig, Glasgow, and he was charged with abusing 20 boys. He was jailed for 14 years in 1994 for abusing nine of those boys but Wee Burney didn’t see justice done. Once he became a successful actor, his abusers returned to extort money with menaces. As a result he developed severe clinical depression

Arrest

He was drawn to police attention by an informant, another victim, in July 1993, but it was Cullen’s home which was raided by detectives.

At the television actor’s house, they seized a large quantity of pornographic video material – an operation which was inexplicably publicised by the police in a complete departure from accepted Scottish practice in criminal arrest matters.

Cullen always maintained that the homosexual pornography involving children was not his but that Killian Coughlan had forced him to keep it. That always had a ring of truth since homosexual paedophiles such as Killian Coughlan are known to be adept at planning ahead against the day when they are caught.

In the event, Cullen’s evidence helped indict Currens, who is now serving a 14-year sentence in Peterhead prison. Because of the enormous publicity, Cullen had suffered near-terminal damage to his television and stage career and, as the police trawled through the pornography, they inevitably found material which pointed to a greater involvement by the star.

The procurator-fiscal refused to accept that Cullen’s part had been solely as a victim and four indecency charges sealed his fate. The charges were not by any means at the top end of the scale of seriousness, so there was shock and amazement when the sheriff at Hamilton swept aside the defence plea and all the supporting evidence and imposed a nine-month prison term.

A shattered Cullen was led away to Barlinnie Prison, where anxious officers ensured his safety by keeping him under surveillance in the prison hospital. A shameful episode was brought to a close by the Appeal Court which quashed the jail term and substituted the probation which should have been imposed in the first place.

Cullen was by then utterly broken and tending towards suicide. That he was saved from this course is a tribute to the McFarlan family and their close circle of friends. McFarlan always believed Cullen pleaded guilty to the indecency charges because he was sick of the heartbreak and close to breakdown.

He wanted it over and done with so he could try to start again, to resurrect his television career.

He was close to returning to something like his old self in recent months. Neighbours had remarked that he was regaining his old cheerfulness and openness. He was also on the verge of getting the breaks he needed to climb again to his star status, until the curse bequeathed him by fate at birth struck again.

Child campaigner

Once the court case was out of the way Cullen dedicated himself to campaigning against child pornography, and to trying to bring his abusers to justice. Of the three men he named as his principal abusers one, Francis Currens, was jailed during Cullen’s lifetime; one, Cullen’s uncle Jack Williams, was jailed after his death (both of them for a catalogue of offences including the repeated rape of young boys); and as of summer 2006 one, whom Cullen named as the ringleader, has never been prosecuted – or even seriously investigated.

Cullen’s arrest in 1993, followed by a long drawn-out police investigation and the persecution by the press, destabilised his mental defences leaving him suicidal for many months. As soon as his prison sentence had been quashed on appeal, he began to be offered acting parts again, but he was still too ill with severe Post traumatic stress disorder to resume work.

Death

Only a day or two before his fatal heart attack, which followed on from surgery for a twisted bowel, he had been asked to take up the role of Wee Burney again. He was however in two minds as to whether to resume his acting career or become a Clinical Psychologist specialising in the treatment of abuse victims; he already had a BA in psychology, and had been accepted to begin a more advanced course in Forensic Psychology that autumn

April 1998

BURNEY’S PERVERT UNCLE GETS 7 YEARS

The pervert uncle of Wee Burney star Eric Cullen was jailed for seven years yesterday. 

Cullen unmasked gay paedophile Jack Williams, 65, before dying aged just 31. 

The tiny Rab C Nesbitt actor told police Williams molested him with two other perverts. 

Williams never faced trial for preying on Cullen, who blamed his own jail sentence for possessing child porn on the abuse he suffered as a lad. 

But thanks to Cullen’s evidence, the pensioner was convicted of abusing three other boys. 

As Williams began his sentence, Cullen’s mum Mary, 60, and dad Eric, 65, accused him of “torturing” their son. 

Mary said: “Eric can rest in peace now. 

“He was brave enough to name Williams and the other men who ruined his childhood and his life. 

“We always thought Eric would be safe with his uncle Jack. How wrong we were. 

“Williams was a Scout leader and a member of the Congregational Church. He took a boys’ football team and appeared to be a normal, caring father. 

“Only now do we know he was destroying the lives of these children with his sickening activities.” 

Cullen’s close pal, sports presenter Bill McFarlan, said he was disgusted Williams had never been charged with abusing the shamed star. 

He added: “Eric was jailed while Williams and others who raped and abused him walked around free.” 

McFarlan said the child porn Cullen was jailed for hoarding had been “dumped” on him by his boyhood abusers. 

Williams denies abusing Cullen. 

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Johnston told Williams he’d committed monstrous crimes which left the victims deeply scarred. 

He said Williams had shown no remorse. 

Williams admitted abusing the three boys years before dumping his wife for a gay lover. 

The offences dated back to 1974. One lad was molested on a camping trip. 

The court heard one victim’s marriage had fallen apart because of what he suffered as a child. 

Norman Ritchie, defending, said Williams was a man with two faces. 

He added: “One was a respectable public face of a man with a good work record, who had done his National Service and was involved in religion. 

“The other, hidden, face was of a man who discovered he was homosexual 20 years ago, at a time when this was not tolerated.” 

Former steel worker Williams, of Highfield Crescent, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, will be placed on the national register of paedophiles. 

Social workers say he could still be a risk to children. 

Mr Ritchie insisted the danger was “minimal” because of Williams’ age, poor health, and the fact he’d been with the same boyfriend for six years. 

Cullen was jailed for nine months in 1995 after police found a huge stash of child pornography at his home. 

He served 15 days in Barlinnie prison before the sentence was branded “inappropriate” by appeal judges and reduced to probation. 

Cullen died of a heart attack less than a year after his release. 

He had told police how Williams passed him on to a paedophile friend, scout master Frank Currens. 

Currens was later caged for 14 years for vile sex acts against boys.

August 2007

Sex offender feared for her life

A CONVICTED sex offender once dubbed ‘Rose West without the bodies’ has fled the area “fearing for her life”, according to police.

Christine Thorpe was forced out of her home and has left the district altogether after friends and work colleagues found out she had once been jailed for taking photographs while her husband raped a 16-year-old girl.

Locals were outraged when they discovered the past misdeeds of the woman they knew as ‘Big Christine’, especially because she had been living in a Skerton flat just yards from schools and a children’s playground.

Peter Thorpe and his wife Christine were described as “extremely dangerous people who will pose a considerable risk to children” in a report by Northumbria police. Both had left prison in July 1996 after serving seven years and four months of a 11-year sentence for the rape of a girl of 16, and a series of indecent assaults on young children.

Thorpe, who is in her early 50s, had also been working in a job that involved close contact with children, until her employer uncovered reports of her past court cases on the internet and sacked her.

But Lancashire Police never revealed Thorpe’s presence in the district, saying she was being supervised and they were not obliged to inform anyone because she was not on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Christine Thorpe and her husband Peter Thorpe, then from Burnley, were released from prison in July 1996 after serving less than seven years of 11-year sentences.

Peter Thorpe had been jailed for raping a 16-year-old girl and a series of indecent assaults on children, and his wife had been convicted for aiding and abetting rape and other sex offences, after what a judge described as “an extreme case of debauchery”.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said Thorpe briefly returned to the area this week to collect belongings, but would be moving on again.

March 1981

Childrens home man had history of sex offences against children

A man with a string of convictions for indecently assaulting children became a voluntary helper at a childrens home

He had been recommended by a clergyman. But within a few weeks he was abusing children again

Finally he ran off with a 15-year old girl. The truth about him came out when police arrested him and searched his flat and found pictures of him and two boys from the children’s home where he worked

At St Albans court, 26 year old Geoffrey Willcocks, of Kimbolton avenue, Bedford admitted two charges of indecent assault, one of gross indecency, abduction of a child under 16 years old and two offences of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child

Further charges alleging gross indecency and indecent assault were ordered to lie on file

The court heard that in 1972, Willcocks assaulted an eight-year old girl while doing similar voluntary work in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 

In 1974 he assaulted a 13-year old boy while working as an attendant at a swimming baths in Birmingham

In 1977 he was jailed for two years for sexually assaulting two eight-year old girls

Soon after his release from prison Willcocks moved to Bedford and a clergyman put him in touch with a county council home for 20 boys and girls

Willcocks, a painter and decorator became a regular visitor at the home in Cave street Bedford, and would take the children fishing or would play tennis with them.

Prosecuting said his first victim was a 12-year old girl whom he took for a bicycle ride

Next, two 13-year old boys became regular visitors to his flat. Willcocks plied them with Newcastle brown ale and showed them pictures of naked females

Willcocks then ran off with a 15-year old girl. She had been staying at the childrens home and he followed her to her own home in Oundle, Northamptonshire

Her parents objected. But Willcocks and the girl met in secret and camped out for several days in the Birmingham area. They had sexual intercourse four or five times

The two returned to Bedford, where they put a £10 deposit on two wedding rings.

The police, who were looking for them found them at the flat after they tried to hide in a wardrobe. When questioned, Willcocks admitted everything

March 2014

Jailed: The double rapist who threatened to kill his 14-year-old victim

A DOUBLE rapist who threatened to kill a teenage girl after he sexually assaulted her in her bedroom is finally behind bars.

Clifford Redhead warned the 14-year-old she would die if she reported the ordeal he put her through at a house in Washington in 1998.

A court heard that Redhead’s warning affected his young victim so severely that she still lives in fear of the 52-year-old attacker.

The threats ensured the schoolgirl’s silence after the rape and Redhead, who lived in Washington at the time, moved away from the Wearside area.

Just months later, the attacker, who has convictions for serious violence, raped another teenager in Scarborough.

The Echo understands Redhead engaged the 15-year-old in conversation in a public gardens area of the seaside town.

He then refused to let her leave and took her to the rear of a Citizens Advice Bureau, which was closed, where he raped her.

The teenager reported her ordeal and Redhead was arrested and later sentenced to six years behind bars by a judge at York Crown Court in November 1998 after admitting the offence.

Yesterday, at Newcastle Crown Court, Redhead, was given eight-and-a-half years for the Washington attack.

Judge Penny Moreland told him: “You went into her bedroom and you raped her in her own bed. You threatened to kill her before and after committing the offence against her.

“She has been permanently affected by the offence you committed. It has changed her life.

“She felt dirty, she felt worthless. You took away her childhood and her innocence.

“She continues to be in fear of you 15 years after the time you committed the offence. A serious aggravating feature was the threats you made.”

Prosecutor Gavin Doig said the threats made during the rape had an ongoing effect on the victim and “restrained her from reporting what had taken place.”

Redhead, now of Monroe Place, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to rape on the day his trial had been due to start.

Katherine Dunn, defending, said Redhead’s guilty plea meant the victim was not forced to relive her ordeal in the witness box.

Miss Dunn said there was “no excuse” for Redhead’s behaviour but he has had an “extremely troubled” background, going back to his childhood.

She added that Redhead has the support of his family, who have been supporting his efforts to change his life.

Redhead, who has 64 convictions, must sign the sex offenders register for life and abide by the terms of a sexual offences prevention order.

March 2014

Paedophile pensioner jailed for 38-year-old crime

David Watson, 79, molested the boy and induced the child to perform a sex act on him while the child was staying for a sleepover at his house in Dunblane.

Watson abused the boy while he was supposed to be reading him a bedtime story.

Dev Kapadia, prosecuting, said: “The boy recalled that he jerked away from the accused, and remembers the accused saying, ‘sorry, did I catch your skin?’ before continuing.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard the incident occurred at Watson’s home in Dunblane – the house in which he still lives – sometime between April 1974 and April 1976.

Mr Kapadia, the depute fiscal, said it came to light in January 2012, when the boy told an aunt what had happened.

Watson was confronted by his family in May 2012.

Mr Kapadia said: “He immediately admitted that it was true, and said that he hoped it was the end of the matter.”

Police were called in, however, and Watson was detained in June the same year.

He was interviewed at Stirling police station, and admitted what he had done.

Watson, of Murdoch Terrace, Dunblane, pleaded guilty on indictment to using lewd and libidinous practices and behaviour towards the child.

Defence agent Frazer McCready said: “We have to remember that the accused is now 79 years of age and this incident happened about 40 years ago.

“When he was challenged by a family member he accepted that something had gone on.

“We are dealing with a one-off incident, not a continued course of conduct.

“I’m not trying to minimise it, but it was a one off. He has no previous convictions and no ongoing cases.

“His wife is divorcing him and it looks like his family have disowned him – he’s going to be a lonely old man. So to some extent he is already being punished.”

Sheriff William Gilchrist said: “This was a very serious offence.

“The complainer was only eight or nine years old at the time.

“If it were not for your age and the fact the offence was committed 40 years ago I would impose a longer custodial sentence.

“But I am going to impose a custodial sentence.”

Sheriff William Gilchrist sentenced Watson to six months in prison, reduced from nine, and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

October 2012

Paedophile gets 15 years in jail; Girl was ‘robbed of her childhood and will suffer all her life’

A “DEVIOUS and manipulative” sexual predator has been jailed for 15 years for repeatedly raping and indecently assaulting a girl.

Neil Marks, 48, of West View Crescent, Trelewis, denied five counts of indecent assault and six specimen counts of rape between December 1997 and November 2004.

But he was found guilty on all counts by a jury at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. There were cries of “paedo” from the public gallery as Marks made his way through the door to the cells from the dock.

Judge Dan Williams told Marks: “The evidence of the witness who gave evidence at your trial showed you to be a controlling, manipulative, violent and devious man.

“You singled her out and told her what you were doing was normal and making her think it was.

“She gave evidence that was compelling. She said you robbed her of her childhood and that she will suffer the emotional upset of what you did to her for the rest of her life.

“Her evidence was as impressive as yours was unimpressive.”

The jury had heard Marks made the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, feel special, sparing her beatings that he regularly administered to others.

Marks, the jury was told, had perpetrated a number of sexual offences against the girl after testing her acceptance.

The assaults began with tickling and touching, before escalating his sexual dominance to repeated rapes. The court heard Marks, an insulin dependent diabetic, had pretended to care about her while abusing her at the same time.

Jennet Treharne, defending, told the court Marks maintained his absolute denial of the offences.

Judge Williams told Marks he would serve two-thirds of his sentence behind bars, unless considered for parole after serving half his sentence.

He will also have to sign as a sex offender indefinitely.

March 2014

Pensioner looked at child abuse images because it was ‘nice’

A PENSIONER, who became obsessed with looking at indecent images of children, told police he did it because it was “nice”.

Police started to investigate Terence Hale, 65, of Creakavose, St Stephen, after a legitimate UK-based website was compromised in June 2011, Truro Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Ramsay Quaife, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the website was attacked by a virus which led to DVDs purporting to contain child abuse images, being advertised on the site.

Mr Quaife said the site was compromised for 57 hours and during that time 3,000 people accessed the DVD advert.

Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said: “That really is a staggering figure … presumably those who enjoy such images were sending messages to others whom they know enjoyed such images to get others to access the site.”

Mr Quaife said police investigating the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses which had accessed the site were led to Hale and that on March 13 last year they raided his home and seized his computer.

They found more than 300 indecent images on the machine, which ranged between levels one to four on the scale police use to categorise such material with five being the highest.

In interview, Hale told police he was not a predatory and that it would never enter his mind to touch a child.

Mr Quiafe said: “He told police that he knew what he had been doing was wrong.

“He told police it was nice to look at and it was just for personal relief.”

At an earlier hearing Hale admitted eight counts of making indecent images of children.

Maurice Champion, for the defence, said Hale had suffered a deformity in his foot which left him in pain and unable to sleep.

He said: “He got into surfing dodgy areas of the internet as a result of spending time in pain at night [when he] couldn’t sleep.”

Sentencing Hale to six months in prison suspended for 24 months, Judge Harvey Clark said looking at pornographic images of children was despicable.

He said: “You became obsessed with this kind of material and it is that obsession that I am primarily concerned with.”

Hale was ordered to carry out an internet sex offenders programme, sign the sex offenders’ register and made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order.

March 2014

Jail for Milton Keynes man who downloaded 8,000 child abuse images

A WOULD-BE Milton Keynes journalist who claimed he wanted to write an article on the dangers of child abuse images was jailed today (Monday) after he admitted downloading 8,000 images, a court heard.

Gabriel May was arrested after he took his computer to be fixed and a technician discovered pictures of animals and babies in vile sex acts organised into folders.

The former journalism student told police he had first searched for child porn to research ‘the big story’ on how easy it is to find online and raise awareness, Aylesbury Crown Court was told.

The court heard he became addicted and downloaded thousands of pictures, never writing more than two paragraphs of his story.

Jailing him for two years today, Judge Francis Sheridan said it was the worst collection of abuse pictures he had ever seen.

Aylesbury Crown Court heard that May, 29, had asked his father Edward to take his computer to Counter-Act Systems IT services in Milton Keynes, Bucks, for repair.

It was examined by a technician who clicked on a non-password protected desktop folder which revealed images of a naked girl aged around eight years.

May was arrested in May 2012 and police found a total of 7,262 child abuse images, with 70 at the most severe level five and 1,297 at level four.

“While he was on bail he had another computer that was later seized. He was downloading further images whilst on bail,” said Nilam Sahl, prosecuting.

A further 837 images were found to have been downloaded by May, of Mitchell Place, Bradwell Common, since his arrest in October 2010.

“He admitted to being addicted pornography and said he downloaded all types and looked at it most days of the week,” said Miss Sahl, who added that only May accessed that computer.

“He came across child abuse images one day by accident and decided to see how easy it would be to find more.

“He said he normally writes gaming reviews and said he would then write an article about how easy it is to download child abuse images and raise awareness.

“He began to find more images and curiosity got the better of him. He said he never wrote more than two paragraphs of the article and never saved it anywhere.”

In mitigation, Laban Leake said May, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, had batchelors and masters degrees in journalism from Lincoln University.

“He had a grand idea of writing the big story, he wanted to make a mark as a journalist,” he said.

“It seems he became addicted to pornography in all its forms.”

The court heard May suffered from psychosis and depression and needed rehabilitation to ‘break the cycle’.

Mr Leake said: “There was no attempt to conceal the images and they were readily available.

“They weren’t disseminated and were for his personal use only.

“He will have to face both his parents, they had to cope with his illnesses but now also this addiction and the fact that their boy is on the sex offenders register.”

Judge Francis Sheridan, in sentencing, said: “These images are truly, truly terrible – probably the worst in terms of baby abuse that it has ever been my misfortune to have to view.

“They were organised, there were folders and sub-folders as you developed a deeper and deeper obsession with this sort of filth.”

He said he took May’s early guilty plea, as well as his high intelligence level, into account.

“You were hoping to write the big story. Rather than that you have become the big story, tragically for those children,” said Judge Sheridan.

Bespectacled May, who wore a black suit and black and white striped shirt, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years.

He was banned from working or having contact with children and had his use of the internet strictly limited by a sexual offences prevention order.

March 2014

Man who previously raped girl, 15, jailed for new sex attack on woman he met on dating site

A rapist who previously attacked an under-age girl has received a lengthy jail term for another horrific attack.

Peter Smith, 42, had begun a consensual sexual relationship with the victim after they had met on a dating website on the internet, a court heard.

But Smith – who had raped a 15-year-old schoolgirl some years before – ended up carrying out a terrifying sex attack on his new lover.

Teesside Crown Court was told how Smith had a smirk on his face before carrying out the attack on Friday, September 13 last year.

Smith was “considerably larger” than his victim, the court heard.

“She was crying, saying ‘No’ and trying to kick him off but he wouldn’t stop,” said prosecutor Dan Cordey.

The victim claimed the whole ordeal made her feel dirty.

In a victim statement, she said she had tried to be strong but felt she was living in fear.

A complaint was made to police and Smith was later arrested. When he was interviewed, he denied any wrongdoing.

But Smith changed his tune and pleaded guilty to the rape on the day of his trial atTeesside Crown Court.

The convicted sex offender also admitted breaching notification requirements by failing to tell the authorities he had stayed at a different address.

The court heard his previous convictions included indecent assault and most seriously the rape of a 15-year-old girl.

She was dragged into an alley and attacked, for which Smith received a seven-year jail term in the 1990s.

Kate Dodds, in mitigation, said the previous rape was a horrific offence but it had happened when he was a much younger man.

In the latest case, she said Smith and the woman had begun a consensual relationship and both had seemed happy at the way it was going.

It was only after a period of days that things began to go wrong and there was no excuse for his behaviour.

Recorder Andrew Sutcliffe QC said he took into account that the previous rape had happened some 16 years ago and the circumstances of this offence were different.

But he told Smith they indicated “a serious propensity to commit offences of this nature”.

Smith, of Maynard Street, Carlin How, was jailed for six years, with an extended licence period of five years.

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

March 2014

Vile pervert jailed for just 20 months for sexually assaulting 4 yr old child

A RETIRED clerical worker who admitted sexually abusing a boy has been jailed for 20 months.

Tony Derrick, 69, of Edna Avenue, Brislington, admitted seven charges of sexually assaulting the child, who was aged as young as four at the time.

Bristol Crown Court heard Derrick would have to register as a sex offender after his release from jail.

March 2014

Undergraduate student had child abuse images in highest levels

YORK’S top judge warned teenagers about the dangers of online child sexual images as he sentenced a young student.

Joshua Simpey, a first-year undergraduate, may find that some careers are closed to him and may be unable to travel to some countries because of his internet activities from the age of 13 to a few days before police knocked on his door when he was 17, York Crown Court heard.

The 18-year-old, of Deer Hill Grove, Clifton Moor, pleaded guilty to 16 offences relating to indecent, prohibited or extreme internet images of children, some of whom were toddlers.

Robert Stevenson, prosecuting, said police found 1,637 indecent child sex pictures on Simpey’s computer including 204 assessed as being of the two most serious levels, 57 prohibited images and three extreme images. They also found 30 illegal videos including 26 of the top two levels. Half the material had been deleted.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, said: “It is important people, particularly in your age group, understand that accessing this material is likely to bring them into conflict with the police.

“The fact that you have been publicly exposed and shamed over what you have done is part of your punishment. You are an intelligent young man. You have career aspirations some of which may no longer happened as a result of your convictions.

“It is sometimes not appreciated, particularly by young people that a conviction for this sort of offence may have a bearing on whether you are able to travel to certain countries in the future. That is a price you will have to pay for your decision to download this particular type of material.”

Simpey was given a community order with two years’ supervision and an internet sex offenders’ rehabilitation course, put on the sex offenders’ register for five years and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order restricting his use of the internet and to children under 16.

His barrister Glenn Parsons said he couldn’t explain why he had done what he had done. He was a gifted student studying science.

March 2014

Melksham man faces sentencing over child abuse images

A Melksham man is to be placed on the sex offenders’ register after pleading guilty to having pornographic films involving children.

Robert Jones, 52, of Forest Road, had stored 20 movies and pictures of children, three quarters of whom were aged under 13.

Police, acting on information from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, seized a laptop and desktop computer from Jones’ address on October 24, 2012.

And after investigation, they uncovered the images, two of which were the most extreme level, dating from nine months before up to the previous day.

Jones must return to North West Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court in Chippenham for sentencing on Thursday, April 17.

March 2014

Truro child rapist left victim notes saying he was sorry

A TRURO man who raped a young girl more than a dozen times and left her notes saying sorry, has been jailed for 10 years.

Christopher Harris, 51, subjected the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to a series of sexual assaults and rapes, over a number of years from 1987.

On Thursday at Truro Crown Court, Harris of Four Acres Road, admitted three counts of indecently assaulting the girl and four of raping her between May 1987 and May 1992.

David Sapiecha, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the girl, who was aged under 10 when the abuse started, told police that on a number of occasions after he had raped her Harris would leave a note saying ‘sorry’.

He said: “She was conditioned to rip up the note and get rid of it.”

Mr Sapiecha said Harris had been cautioned by police in 1995 for indecently assaulting another girl.

Mr Sapiecha said: “I am confident enough to say he would have been dealt with differently today.”

He added that after the girl made a complaint to police last year, Harris had been arrested and interviewed.

He said: “The defendant was very open and candid.

“He did not deny any of the allegations and he accepted doing more than even [the girl] could remember.”

Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said it was clear that the abuse had had a significant affect on the girl in later life.

He said that in a victim impact statement given to police she described how she suffered from stress, anxiety and a lack of confidence and how the abuse may well have contributed to problems she had experienced in relationships.

Jason Beal, defending, said Harris had a vasectomy so there had not been any chance of the girl getting pregnant.

He said Harris was “well aware” of how his behaviour had affected his victim and that he had told his wife, who was in court to support him, about the abuse in 2009.

He said: “In many ways he knew that today would occur at some stage over the last 20 years.”

Sentencing, Judge Harvey Clark, said Harris had perpetuated “terrible sexual abuse” on the girl and ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register.