April 2014

Singers child abuse images shame

A well-known rock ‘n’ roll tribute singer has been convicted of child abuse images offences.

Stuart J Waggett, whose stage name is Eddie Robbins, admitted eight counts of making indecent photos of a child, seven counts of possessing indecent photos of a child and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic imagery depicting a sexual act with an animal.

Waggett has apologised for his crimes, blaming “a bad period of my life”.

Waggett, 44, of Bolton-le-Sands, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs and to attend a sex offenders’ rehabilitation programme.

He was arrested at an address in Lancaster on May 21 2013 and charged on November 6. He pleaded guilty on February 24 2014 and was sentenced on Wednesday at Preston Crown Court.

Waggett regularly performs at local pubs, clubs and festivals singing songs by Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and other 1950s stars.

He told The Visitor: “I’m not proud of what I did. I was going through a bad time.

“It was a short period of my life and it certainly wasn’t the norm to me. Due to the death of my daughter, I was drinking heavily.

“I’ve held my hands up and I want to get on with my life.

“I’m getting all the help and support I need from the right places and I’m trying to turn things around.”

April 2014

Rochdale man jailed for grooming and sexually abusing three girls

A man has been jailed for grooming and sexually assaulting three schoolgirls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Arshad Mohammad, 44, of Merefield Street, Rochdale, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of both sexual activity with a child and meeting a child after sex grooming.

Police said he groomed two girls aged 14 and another, 15, using social media.

At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court Mohammad was jailed for four years and eight months.

‘Gratify his sexual needs’

Police said he befriended two of the victims when they were 14 and 15 between May and November 2012.

He bought them gifts including cigarettes and alcohol, as well as giving them money, said police.

He later took them to a flat in Rochdale where he sexually assaulted them.

In October, Mohammed befriended another girl and after buying her gifts she too was sexually assaulted.

Mohammed also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Det Con Laura Crossley said: “Mohammed used money and gifts to pull the wool over the girls’ eyes to gratify his own sexual needs.

“However, thanks to their bravery in coming forward, he was identified and brought to justice.”

Greater Manchester Police said the investigation was carried out by the Sunrise team, the force’s partnership with Rochdale Council which aims to reduce the number of vulnerable children being sexually exploited and prosecute offenders.

April 2014

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to child sex offences

A FORMER teacher at Holmer Green Senior School has today pleaded guilty to committing sexual offences against a child he groomed online.

Luke Fisher dramatically changed his pleas to guilty when he appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court today, on what was due to be the first day of his trial.

The 28-year-old former history teacher admitted to one count of meeting a child following sexual grooming and three counts of sexual activity with a child under 16, having previously denied all the charges against him.

The court heard the offences were committed against one girl over a period of three months after Fisher sent her Facebook messages that became increasingly sexually explicit over time.

Jurors were told Fisher – formerly of Vipont Court, High Wycombe, but now of Pinkneys Drive, Maidenhead – then met the girl twice, kissing her on both occasions before sexually touching her during their second meeting.

He was bailed ahead of sentencing at the same court on May 7, with Judge Francis Sheridan telling the court: “His career as a teacher is over.”

He was placed on an interim Sex Offenders’ Register and told he would not be allowed unsupervised contact with under 16s ahead of sentencing.

Mary Loram, prosecuting, told the court: “He developed a communication with her, originally over Facebook. They would message each other; it became increasingly explicit over time.

“The defendant and the girl agreed to meet up for what can only have been a sexual purpose. It’s pretty clear from the messages.

“He did meet up with her on two occasions at his flat. He kissed her – not as friends kiss each other, but as boyfriend and girlfriend would. On the second occasion he went further than he had done on the first.”

Fisher was found not guilty of a further allegation of sexual activity with a child, against a second girl, on the direction of the judge after the prosecution offered no evidence.

April 2014

‘Danger to young girls’ – Pensioner jailed for 10 years after sexually abusing schoolgirls

A Hemel Hempstead pensioner has been jailed for 10 years for the long-term sexual abuse of two underage girls.

Trevor Petrie, 69, of Hunting Gate in Grovehill, sexually assaulted one girl from the age of 13 over four years. The abuse ranged from attempted rape to assault by penetration.

The other victim was subjected to sexual assaults for two years between the ages of 13 and 15, St Albans Crown Court heard on Friday.

According to prosecutor Peter Shaw, the girls reported the offences at Hemel Hempstead Police Station on October 28 last year.

The younger victim had told her boyfriend before speaking to the older girl, who revealed she too had been abused by Petrie.

The police arranged for video interviews to be carried out the same day and used them as evidence against the pensioner.

Petrie, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to a total of 12 counts, 11 of which were against one girl. The string of charges included one of assault by penetration, two of causing a person to engage in sexual activity, one of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.

The other charge of sexual assault related to the younger girl.

Defence lawyer Denis Barry described his behaviour as ‘appalling’.

He said: “They are not only my words, they are his.

“Mr Petrie has made full and frank admissions in interviews and has shown some insight into his offending.

“He is very sorry for the damage he has caused to these two young ladies.”

Judge Andrew Bright QC sentenced the paedophile to 10 years in prison, telling him: “You represent a danger to young girls.”

Petrie must register as a sex offender for life and is the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from any unsupervised contact with children.

April 2014

Child groping pensioner is sent to prison

A WIGAN pensioner who sexually molested a boy and girl more than a decade ago has been jailed for 15 months.

Joseph Chisnall had admitted two offences of indecent assault but a judge said that he did not believe the defendant actually accepted that he had committed the crimes.

As the 79-year-old was led to the cells he stopped, glared over at the two victims, now adults, in the public gallery and mouthed abuse.

He had originally faced seven charges of indecent assault but five were dropped after he admitted the other two.

Chisnall, of Dryden Avenue, Ashton, was arrested after the two victims, who had not known at the time of the offences that the other had also been abused, went to his home to confront him.

A poignant videoed audio recording was played to the court in which Chisnall denied their claims and his distressed male victim told him how he had self-harmed and made suicide attempts because of the effects of his offending.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, told Chisnall that they had not wanted to go to the police but decided to do so after that confrontation though they still did not demand vengeance with a jail sentence.

“You posed the question to your victims, ‘what do you want me to say?’. In the court’s judgement that was a very arrogant question asked because you knew full well what they wanted you to say. They wanted you to say, ‘I’m sorry, I recognise my wrong-doing’,” he said.

He said that a pre-sentence report showed he remains in denial and disputed sexualised behaviour. “You showed no victim empathy. It is ironic because your victims have throughout these proceeding displayed empathy to you.”

The judge ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Tom Watson, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that when the boy was seven or eight Chisnall sexually abused him after putting his hand down the front of his shorts.

The other offence involved him leaning the 12-year-old girl over a work bench and molesting her.

In an impact statement the male victim told how the incident later caused him to question his sexuality and caused relationship problems.

The other victim, who had also never told anyone of her ordeal, said that she had had relationship difficulties as a result of what happened to her.

Patrick Williamson, defending, said that Chisnall had not offended before or since the incidents.

He pointed out his age and hard working background and asked him to suspend any jail sentence.

December 2001

John Hall was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court to nine months’ youth detention, and put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years

November 2001

Man admits sex assault on girl of 10

A YOUNG man has admitted a charge of indecently assaulting a 10-year-old schoolgirl. 

A charge of attempted rape on the girl was dropped when he appeared at Mold Crown Court yesterday. 

John Frederick Hall, 18, of Wesley House, Main Road, Ffynnongroyw, Flintshire, was due to go on trial yesterday for the July incident. 

But the prosecution accepted a guilty plea to the lesser charge from Hall, who was said to have a mental age less than his physical age. 

Hall was bailed on condition he lives at an address in Rhyl, does not approach the girl and does not enter the area where she lives. 

Judge John Rogers QC, who said it was a serious matter for which custody would have to be considered, adjourned the case for psychological and pre-sentence reports. 

Hall will be sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court on November 30. 

April 2014

Chatham pervert facing sentence over sick animal pornography of human sex with octopus

Picture above was NOT the octopus that was abused

A Chatham man has admitted possessing extreme pornography that shows people having sex with animals… including an octopus.

Lee Woodman, 37, also pleaded guilty to possessing and making indecent images of children when he appeared before Medway magistrates.

Woodman, of Melville Court, has admitted 15 separate charges relating to the images, which also show someone having sex with a calf and a dog

April 2014

Burnley nurse had child and extreme abuse images

A BURNLEY nurse caught in possession of child and extreme porn has been warned by a judge that he could face a prison sentence.

Locum David Hartley Haigh, 52, admitted three allegations of making an indecent photograph of a child between August and October 2012.

Five videos were graded at level four, the second-most serious category, another two videos were said to be at level two and a further 56 videos at level one, Burnley Crown Court heard.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornography – 12 pictures involving sex with animals – between the same dates.

Haigh, of Brunshaw Road, was bailed until May 9, for a pre- sentence report.

Under conditions of bail he must not contact named individuals, not have any unsupervised contact with any child under 16 and must live at his home address.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.

Adjourning the case, Judge Beverley Lunt warned Haigh: “These are serious matters.

“All sentences, including prison, will be considered.”

Haigh has been suspended by his professional watchdog, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) since his employer, Pulse Staffing Ltd, reported the matter to it in November 2012. The nurse had told his bosses about his arrest four days earlier.

He was charged by Lancashire Police late last year and made his first appearance before Burnley magistrates on Christmas Eve.

The NMC’s interim orders panel, sitting at the Old Bailey in London, has suspended his registration for 12 months, pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

April 2014

Child abuse survivor says she forgives father for raping her

A WOMAN who was repeatedly raped by her father from the age of five says she has forgiven him for the years of abuse.

Yesterday, 71-year-old Terry Haynes was found guilty of 12 counts of rape, 11 counts of indecent assault and one attempted rape.

The victim of all but one count was his daughter Teresa Haynes who said giving evidence against her father in Oxford Crown Court was “the worst thing ever”.

Terry Haynes, of Mathews Way, Abingdon, has now been convicted of the crimes against her which took place in Abingdon and Swindon over a 10-year period dating back to the beginning of the 1980s.

During a four-day trial, the jury heard that he was known to others as the Rev Haynes.

He has now been told by a judge he will recieve a substantial jail sentence.

He was also convicted of an attempted rape in relation to another woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Miss Haynes, who now lives in Reading, has waived her right to anonymity to be named and pictured in the Oxford Mail and to reveal the years of abuse she suffered.

She said: “It’s affected me all of my life – I can’t forget what my dad has done, but I forgive him.

“If I didn’t forgive him I would hate him for the rest of my life and I will just become an angry person.”

The 39-year-old said she burst into tears in a clothes shop when a friend called her to tell her the verdict.

She said: “I am shocked because everyone for years told me no-one would believe it.”

But the mum-of-eight said it was painful to testify against her dad, adding: “It was the worst thing ever. He is still my dad at the end of the day.

“I have no feelings for him. I still love my mum but I have no feelings towards my dad.”

Miss Haynes, who works in a primary school library, said her immediate family turned against her ahead of the trial.

She said: “All I did was step up in court and tell the truth.

“I can move on now everything is out in the open.”

Haynes was also cleared of a further five counts of rape and will be sentenced at the same court on April 11.

In 2012, Miss Haynes appeared in the Oxford Mail after former Salvation Army volunteer James Summers, then 79, was jailed for raping her and other young girls in the 1980s.

Click this link for Ex Salvation Army volunteer jailed for rape

April 2014

Pensioner found guilty of sexual abusing two young girls

A war veteran in his early 80′s has been found guilty of the sexual abuse of two young female children. Gordon Cracknell, (also known as Johnny) was a well respected member of his local church.

However he denied the allegations, but was found guilty by a jury during his trial at Norwich crown court last month

The girls were aged between 9 and 11 years old at the time of abuse. The abuse lasted over a period of several months. The offences date back to the 1980′s

Following a trial at Norwich crown court which began on 24th March 2014, pensioner Gordon Cracknell was found guilty of the following charges:

1. Indecent assault on a child contrary to section 14(1) of the sexual offences act 1956 (4 counts)

2. Indecency with a child contrary to section 1(1) of the indecency with children act 1960 

Cracknell was found not guilty for 5 remaining counts of indecent assault of a child

The case has been adjourned to 2nd May, 2014 for sentencing

April 2014

Convicted Birmingham Paedophile Jailed Again

A convicted paedophile from Birmingham has been jailed again after being caught grooming and assaulting young girls.

Darren Whitby had only been out of prison for a few months when last year he began to make contact with the teenagers by phone and social media.

The registered sex offender, who was sentenced to 12 years in 2001 for rape, indecent assault and gross indecency, was handed an 18-year jail term at Birmingham Crown Court today (2 April).   

He was also given a lifetime Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and a Sexual Offender Register Order (SORO).

The sentencing comes after Whitby, of Oak Bank in Hockley, Birmingham, admitted two counts of sexual grooming, breaching a sex offender register order, sexual assault and three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Northumbria Police were contacted by the dad of one of the 38-year-old’s victims, who identified him on a list of frequently dialled numbers, whilst scrutinising his daughter’s £355 phone bill.

When officers from West Midlands Police, who were monitoring him, became aware of the call, an investigation was immediately launched and he was quickly arrested in September 2013.

Officers found evidence he had been regularly visiting the teenagers and uncovered explicit text messages between him and his victims.

When the girls were interviewed by specially trained detectives from the Public Protection Unit (PPU) they told of how Whitby had encouraged them to send naked ‘selfies’ via text message or Facebook.

They also revealed how he coaxed them into meeting him for sex.

DC Mick Clark, from the force’s Public Protection Unit, said: “Darren Whitby is a serial sex offender who poses a real danger to children and young people − the streets are safer with him in prison.

“I want to commend the young girls who gave evidence against Whitby. They were brave to come forward and to work with us to bring him to justice.”

He added: “We have specialist officers who work closely with other organisations to support people through every step of the criminal justice process.

“There are a range of measures designed to protect victims, which include giving evidence in court via video link or from behind a screen.”

April 2014

Vile Margate pervert, 88, ‘will die in prison’ after catalogue of child rapes and indecent assaults

A vile elderly sex pervert who attacked two children has been given a sentence that will mean he is expected to die in prison.

Doctors have said 88-year-old Alfred Hynds, from Margate, has only months to live because of lung cancer.

A judge said the Second World War veteran’s rapes and indecent assaults on the girls merited 18 years behind bars.

But because of his age and medical problems, she told Hynds – who walks with a frame – she would cut that sentence to 14 years.

Judge Heather Norton said Hynds had tried to claim he had been the victim, accusing one of the schoolgirls as being “provocative and suggestive” and claiming the second had lied.

But a jury at Canterbury Crown Court rejected his claims and convicted him on all 14 charges of rape and indecent assault.

The judge then ordered the courtroom to be cleared “so he could be taken away by prison staff with dignity”.

Hynds, of Cobbs Place, was found guilty after a prolonged trial that began on March 10 and in which the jury had to hear evidence for just two hours a day.

He should have gone on trial in August and then again in January, but on each occasion he claimed he could not face trial because of his medical condition.

His lawyers then appealed to the Attorney General to issue a nolle prosequi, which would have ended the prosecution. It was rejected.

And after studying his medical records and hearing evidence from a hospital consultant via a TV link, the judge ruled that despite his claims, Hynds was fit to stand trial.

The jury then heard of his sex attacks on the girls going back more than 10 years – which included the twisted pervert making and using a model penis.

But prosecutor Janine Sheff told how one of his victims was so traumatised by the paedophile attacks she became an alcoholic and could only have sex with men now when she was drunk.

In a victim impact statement read to the judge, the woman – who is now in her 20s -described the attacks as “emotional torture”, adding the “worst aspect was not (initially) being believed”.

She said: “I now feel ecstatic that I have been believed.”

A second victim thanked the jury “for believing me and for changing my life”.

Hynds’ barrister Paul Hogben turned to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice to plea for a sentence that would mean he would not have to die in custody.

Quoting from the character Portia’s “quality of mercy” speech, Mr Hogben said justice should be seasoned with mercy, adding: “Without mercy, there is no justice.”

The barrister said: “I could see at an early stage that there was a compelling and overwhelming case again Mr Hynds.

“And I could see that at the end of the trial process would result in the court deciding whether to imprison a man for the remainder of his life.”

He then quoted from Banks, the judges’ “Bible”, saying that “it must always be remembered that sentencing is an art rather than a science… that leniency is not in itself a vice and that mercy should season justice is as soundly based in law as it is in literature”.

Mr Hogben said Hynds had been told in January he had less than a year to live, he has a pacemaker, his heart is working at 35% and his breathing at 65%.

“He had been sent home to die, he said. “He will spend the rest of his life in prison and will die in prison. It is the equivalent to a whole life sentence.”

But the judge told Hynds she could not take “a wholly exceptional” course after hearing that the prison authorities said his medical condition could be managed inside jail.

She added: “There is no authority of which I am aware which states that it is be wrong in principle to pass such a sentence and it is not for me to try to predict when the end of your life will be.”

April 2014

Further jail sentence for ‘serial sex abuser’ from West Norfolk

A former West Norfolk man, who has been serving an eight-and-a-half year sentence for sex offences against a young girl, has been jailed for a further 14-and-a-half years at Norwich Crown Court

John Slater, 73, who was described as a “serial sexual abuser” was convicted of nine sex offences involving four young girls and a boy, following a trial. He had denied all the offences. Slater who was said to be of high risk of offending, was also placed on the sex offender’s register for life and the court heard that in view of his age he might end his days behind bars.

During the trial, the jury heard how Slater had moved from Terrington St Clement to Spain in 2004, but was convicted in November 2011 of sex abuse on a young girl and was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

He served some of his sentence in Spain, but moved back to this country to serve the rest.

The jury heard how allegations were first made against Slater in 2004, but at that time it was not proceeded with and Slater was living in Spain then. However, he was finally brought to justice when further complaints were made against him and he was charged in May, last year.

Andrew Shaw, prosecuting, said: “He is a man who, over a decade, has serially sexually abused children.”

The court was also told he had a previous conviction for having sex with a 12-year-old girl in 1974.

Jailing Slater, Judge Stephen Holt told him that in some cases he had groomed the victims by giving them alcohol and showing them pornographic films before he sexually abused them. He said his victims were all very young, with one girl aged about three to four years old, when the abuse took place. The eldest was about seven to eight years old.

“It is quite clear your behaviour has devastated their lives and had a deep effect on them.”

He said: “You are 73 now and will not be released until you are over 80. By that stage any risk you present to the public will be managed.”

Hugh Mullan, for Slater, said he suffered from ill health.

“He is 74 in three months’ time and the nature of the sentence will mean he will be in his 80s by the time he is released. It may mean he spends the rest of his days in prison.”

After the case Det Con Elaine Goodall said: “The victims have had to wait a long time for this to come to court, while the Spanish process concluded. They, and the witnesses, have been very brave giving evidence during the trial and we are pleased the case has resulted in this sentence.”

April 2014

Former Coventry policeman admits child abuse images charges

A former Coventry policeman has admitted making and distributing indecent images of children.

Paul Hancock-French, 39, was arrested last July by Warwickshire Police officers.

At the time he was a serving police constable based in Coventry.

He was immediately suspended by the West Midlands force before being dismissed in September.

Yesterday, at Coventry Crown Court, Hancock-French, who lives off Lutterworth Road, Nuneaton, entered guilty pleas to seven counts relating to making and distributing indecent images.

A judge warned him: “All options options are open to sentence you.”

Hancock-French pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children between July 2012 and July 2013.

The images are graded at one to five, with five being the most serious.

Six images were at level four, two were at level three, one was at level two and five were at level one.

Hancock-French also admitted three counts of distributing indecent images of children last May.

Two were at level four, one was at level three and two were at level two.

He pleaded guilty to a separate charge of possessing a prohibited weapon, identified in court as CS spray.

Michelle Healey, defending, asked for the case to be adjourned so a pre-sentence report and a psychological report can be prepared.

Judge Richard Griffith-Jones said: “Your bail will be as before. You will be sentenced in May, probably in Leamington.

“You have to keep in touch with your solicitor about where to go and when. I’m giving you bail.

“I know nothing about your case. It follows from that you mustn’t see the granting of bail as an indication of sentence.

“All options are open to sentence you.”

Hancock French was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police confirmed that Hancock-French had been dismissed from the force.

He served with the force between July 2003 and last September.

He is known to have spent time with the Sherbourne neighbourhood team in the Coundon area of Coventry.

April 2014

Pensioner David Hughes jailed for indecent assaults on schoolboy

PENSIONER David Hughes has been jailed for more than three years after he indecently assaulted a boy.

The 71-year-old, who used to run a youth club, committed the offences on a schoolboy who was aged between 10 and 12.

The assaults took place on a regular basis over a period of more than two years.

Now Hughes has been jailed for 40 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Neil Ahuja said the abuse started when the victim was aged 10.

Mr Ahuja said: “He started to tickle him under his arms and behind his knees.”

The court heard Hughes then indecently assaulted the boy.

The abuse stopped after the boy confided in a friend at school when he was aged 12.

Mr Ahuja said the victim, who is now an adult, has been severely affected by the abuse and has made attempts on his own life.

Hughes handed himself into police in December. He admitted his offending and said he knew it was wrong. He added he believed it was curiosity which made him abuse the boy.

Hughes, of Chell Green Avenue, Chell Green, who is of previous good character, pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said the aggravating features were the ongoing effect on the victim and the duration of the offending.

He said Hughes’s family have had to live with the embarrassment and shame of his offending.

Mr Muldoon said Hughes has been on remand in prison for four months. He added: “This is a very sad case.”

Judge David Fletcher said the offending was aggravated due to Hughes’s persistence and the victim was a vulnerable child.

Jailing Hughes, Judge Fletcher said: “To say you ruined the victim’s life is not to overstate the true position because that is what you have done. That was a wicked thing for you to have done.

“You caused severe psychological harm to your victim.”

After the sentencing hearing, a Staffordshire Police spokesman said: “Staffordshire Police is committed to protecting children and other vulnerable members of the community.

“We thoroughly investigate all allegations of sexual abuse, including historic offences, and work with partners to tackle these very serious crimes in a sensitive manner.”

April 2014

Pervert sent teen text messages wanting sex after meeting her on Facebook

PERVERT Luke Potter sent a 14-year-old girl texts asking her to send him pictures of her naked.

The 20-year-old used false names when contacting the schoolgirl on social networking site Facebook and even told her he had cancer.

He was aware of her age but when she added her mobile phone number on Facebook the defendant began sending her sexually implicit texts.

Potter has now been sentenced to a lengthy community order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Prosecutor Nick Tatlow told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court Potter asked to meet the teenager after contacting her on Facebook but she refused.

Potter responded by sending a text saying he would take her to the woods and have sex with her.

The girl showed the text to her parents and her mum sent Potter texts telling him to stay away from her daughter.

But on May 22, 2012, Potter, who was then aged 18, sent a series of texts including, ‘I am going to have sex with your daughter so hard she screams, ha ha’.

Police arrested Potter on October 11, 2012. He accepted speaking to a girl on Facebook but denied sending the texts.

In a later interview he accepted sending the texts and admitted he knew the girl was 14. He said he was angry and the texts were intended to scare her.

Potter, of Perry Close, Hanley, pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16 following sexual grooming on the day of his trial.

The court heard Potter has a caution for sending menacing messages to a young female.

Catherine O’Reilly, mitigating, said Potter has been making efforts to address his problems.

Judge David Fletcher sentenced Potter to a three-year community order with supervision and a requirement to complete the community sex offender group work programme.

He was also made the subject of a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

The judge also made a residence requirement which means Potter has to live where directed by the probation service. He will not be allowed to live with his brothers who are both subject to SOPOs themselves.

Judge Fletcher said: “I have seen the nature of the text messages which you sent to this girl, this child, who was 14.

“She indicated she did not want to continue liaison with you. Your response was to send a particularly distressing message you knew her mother would read.”

April 2014

Paedophile who sexually abused girl, 5, caught after partner found footage on his mobile phone

A WOMAN checked her lover’s phone thinking he was cheating – and found footage of him sexually abusing a five-year-old girl she knew.

Julian Mark’s partner suspected he was contacting his ex-wife but discovered three clips while he was out at work in January.

Mark recorded the abuse – which included him raping the youngster twice – after being left with the girl.

Prosecutor Murdoch MacTaggart told the High Court in Glasgow yesterday: “Having viewed the videos, she phoned Mark at work. She told him what she had seen and then hung up on him.”

Mark contacted his girlfriend and claimed: “I’m so sorry – I know what I have to do.”

The woman said his apologies were not enough and called police. Mark was arrested at a car park with an apparent suicide note in his pocket. It read: “I deserve to die.”

The convicted sex offender moved in with the woman in Irvine after lying that he had done time for assault when he had actually been jailed for three years for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old boy in 2004.

Mark, 40, admitted assaulting and raping the girl between December 2012 and January.

He also pled guilty to failing to tell the authorities he had moved, as registered sex offenders must. Sentencing is on April 25.

March 2014

Two men sentenced for indecent images of children 

Two men were sentenced on Wednesday after police raids at their homes revealed indecent images of children on their computers

John Thomson and David Watkin (pictured above) , who appeared on unrelated cases were both placed on the sex offenders register

Sheriff Petra Collins told Thomson, 67: “Any indecent image of a child will always be treated as a serious matter because these are not just pictures.”

“Behind every picture there is a real child who has been subject to real sexual and psychological abuse”

“And those looking at such images created the demand for such pictures”

Thomson now living in Hamilton admitted downloading 20 moving images and one still image of a child between August 2010 and June 2013, whilst living in Tainloan Drive, Carluke

Acting on information, police obtained a warrant and went to his house at 9-15am on June 27th. Thomson told them the computer was his and that his wife knew nothing about it.

The court heard that an analysis of the images showed he “had a predilection” for children aged between five and twelve years old. The images varied in seriousness of indecency

His defence told the court that Thomson had given great service to the community.

“He finds himself, having strayed from the path, in a simply catastrophic situation” he said

“Every facet of his life has been shattered by the situation he finds himself in”

Sheriff Collins placed Thomson on a community payback order for 30 months, ordered him to do 101 hours of unpaid work, and placed him on the sex offenders register for 30 months

David Watkin, 20 had also been caught after police officers armed with a search warrant went to his family home in Lesmahagow at 9am

Indecent images of children – mostly girls aged between eight to fifteen years old – were found on two computers

He had downloaded them between September 2011 and April 2012. All were still images

The court was told his offending had caused difficulties for his parents 

Watkin, now living of Knocklea, Biggar was placed on the sex offenders register for two years and put on a community payback order with supervison

January 2008

Sexual assaults led to suicide bid of victim

Years after becoming the victim of sex assaults by a factory worker, a woman tried to commit suicide, a court has been told.

And almost two decades after he carried out assaults on his victim, Gary Maylor is beginning jail sentences totalling three years, nine months.

Preston Crown Court Judge Pamela Badley said the suicide attempt, which thankfully was not successful, had been largely blamed on the girl being badly affected by what he had done.

Maylor, 48, of Gaskell Road, Lower Penwortham, near Preston, was convicted on four charges of indecent assault by a jury at Preston Crown Court.

He indecently touched his victim when she was eight or nine years old, said prosecutor Richard Hunt

He was also found guilty, at an earlier trial, on a separate

allegation of assault causing actual bodily harm.

The jury had been told that on that occasion he hit his victim so hard she suffered temporary hearing loss.

Maylor denied all charges and told the jury the offences had not happened.

His barrister, Zillah Williams, told the court he had no previous convictions of any kind and still maintained his denials of the offences.

For a man of his previous good character jail would be hard to endure, she explained.

Judge Bradley told Maylor he had been convicted by the jury of serious offences against a young victim who was badly affected by the memory of what happened to her.

She sentenced him to three years, nine months on the sex charges, with six months concurrent for the assault causing actual bodily harm on the woman.

In addition, Maylor will be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and is disqualified from ever working with children.

April 2014

Paedophile on the run!

Police hunt man who fled court as verdict for abusing three-year-old is delivered

A manhunt is under way for a paedophile from Hemel Hempstead who fled from court this afternoon while jurors deliberated on whether he had sexually assaulted a young child.

Ian McDonald, 39, went on the run from St Albans Crown Court but the jury convicted him in his absence of the historic sexual abuse of a three-year-old almost 12 years ago.

McDonald, of The Heights, Highfield, had denied the offence, but Judge Stephen Gullick sentenced him to four years in jail for the abuse, which took place in the town in December 2002, and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

He told the jury McDonald had absconded but continued to sentencing, saying: “This was an extremely serious offence against a young girl.”

The court heard McDonald, who is from Hemel Hempstead, also had previous convictions for dishonesty.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to help track down McDonald.

Spokesman for the Herts force Giles Cooper said: “Anyone who knows of his whereabouts or believes they have seen him should contact police immediately on the non-emergency number 101. Alternatively call Crimestoppers, the independent charity, anonymously on 0800 555 111.”