Paedophile had more than 1000 indecent images of children on his computer

A pervert has been jailed for 8 months for downloading child sexual images

David Cocks who designs multi-media equipment, was caught with 1,117 images, seven at the highest level five and 54 at the next most serious level four.  

The 45-year-old father of Lyndhurst Avenue, Gillingham, admitted making indecent photographs of a child

Prosecution said one of the images involved a new born baby

Cocks continued to deny he was sexually attracted to children

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said: ‘The images were across the whole range of seriousness. On any view, these are serious offences’, he continued

‘People who glory in such images feed the substantial market which causes untold psychological and other damage to large numbers of children, most of whom are likely to remain unknown’

‘You chose to download and collect these images and retain them for some time, a period of some three years’

The judge said Cocks appeared to be in denial to the extent he did not accept he was sexually attracted to children’

‘It is a position I regard as frankly untenable’ he added

Cocks will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order, banned from working with children and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years

April 2014

Police gave indecent images of children BACK to a Lichfield paedophile by mistake

POLICE inadvertently handed a video showing sick images of children back to a Lichfield paedophile after he was released from prison, a judge heard.

The tape, showing undressed youngsters on Blackpool beach, should have been destroyed when Ian Owen was convicted in May 2007 of making indecent photos of children and jailed for six months.

But it was found six years later by officers carrying out the annual inspection at Owen’s home. In between time, the tape had been edited by Owen for his own gratification using recording equipment he was banned from having under a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said another video showing three naked girls getting in and out of swimming pools was also found during the police check on 6 October last year. Owen said he had been given it by another man in Lichfield.

Owen, aged 53, of Smithy Lane, Lichfield was given a three year community order to undergo a sex offenders’ treatment programme after admitting breaching his SOPO, making an indecent image of a child and possessing an indecent image of a child.

Owen was also ordered to re-register with the police as a sex offender for the next five years and his SOPO was extended indefinitely.

Recorder Mr Timothy Raggatt QC said Owen posed a serious sentencing problem and the alternative was a very short stay in prison, but he warned Owen: “You will be under the watchful eye of the probation service for as long as possible.”

Stafford Crown Court heard that this was Owen’s fourth set of paedophile offences: in 1996, and 2003 at Blackpool, he was fined for taking indecent photos before being jailed at Stafford in May 2007.

Mr Spratt said “There is a peculiar feature to this case. Following his conviction he was released from prison and went to the police to collect various items of property.

“It’s unfortunate he received back material he should not have done, but he knew he should have given it back to the police.”

When the police visited Owen’s home on October 6 they found a DVD recorder, a camcorder and several mobile phones capable of video recording – all equipment he was banned from possessing.

Owen admitted editing the two illicit videos for his sexual gratification.

In his garage were 19 videos recorded from mainstream TV, some showing young persons in a state of undress, said Mr Spratt.

Mr Mark Nicholls, defending, said that when his client was convicted in 2007 an order was made for the destruction of the Blackpool video.

At the time he had recorded old versions of Top of the Pops and he was allowed to apply for the return of those.

“When he went to the police station, he was also handed a camcorder, which he handed straight back. He does accept he made no effort to return the [Blackpool] video.

“While I don’t use this as an excuse, there was some confusion abut what he could and couldn’t have,” said Mr Nicholls.

April 2014

70-year-old man jailed for 15 years for sex offences against young children

A 70-year-old man has been jailed for 15 years after admitting 17 sexual offences against children aged between seven and eight years old.

Christopher Mitchell, formerly of Ferndale Avenue, Coley, was told by the judge his ‘appalling offences’ had had a devastating impact on his two victims.

The court heard Mitchell subjected one girl to multiple rapes over a one-year period and carried out other sexual abuse to both girls over a number of years in the 1990s and 2000s.

Mitchell appeared at Reading Crown Court for sentencing on Friday after changing his plea to guilty on all counts on the first day his trial was due to start, on March 25.

He admitted one count of raping a seven-year-old girl on multiple occasions between November 2001 and November 2002, 10 charges of indecent assault between November 2001 and April 2004 and between January 1991 and January 1993, four charges of indecency with a child between November 2001 and April 2004 and one charge of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity between May and November 2004.

Rina-Marie Hill, defending, admitted Mitchell still did not accept the offences had taken place even though he pleaded guilty to them.

She said he was of previous good character and that at 70 years old he may not leave prison alive, depending on his health and how he coped with being in custody.

Miss Hill said she was particularly concerned for his wife.

She said: “She has been married to him for 50 years and considers him to be her soulmate.

“She is 67 and the reality is she will spend the next 10 years or so on her own and that is something she and Mr Mitchell are very concerned about.”

But Judge John Reddihough, sentencing, described Mitchell’s catalogue of offences as appalling.

He said: “I have no doubt at all, as indicated by the victim impact statement from one of your victims, they would have had a devastating effect on both of these little girls’ lives and will continue to do so in the future.”

Judge Reddihough continued: “Maybe you thought you would never be reported and prosecuted for these offences, but it sends out yet another message that however long ago people commit offences against young children, it’s likely the law will catch up with them and they will be punished whatever age they are.”

However, he said he would give Mitchell a 15 per cent discount on his sentence for pleading guilty before his victims were forced to give evidence in court.

Judge Reddihough sentenced Mitchell to 15 years in prison for the multiple rape charge with sentences for all other charges to run concurrently.

Mitchell said he would serve up to two thirds of his sentence in prison before being released on licence for the remainder of the term.

April 2014

Newport man who raped child under 13 years old jailed

A NEWPORT man who admitted raping a child under 13 was jailed for 10 years.

Ryan Edwards, 24, of St David’s Crescent, persuaded the girl to get into a compromising situation with him in October last year, when he was then 23, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Ieuan Bennett, prosecuting, told the court that in interview the victim said she’d asked the defendant to “stop because it was going too far”.

She remembers the defendant asking her: “Don’t you want it to happen? Because I do.” She remembers telling him “I don’t know because, like, I don’t know – you’re meant to have your first time with someone special”

“She remembers the defendant telling her “Yeah but it doesn’t matter”.

“It of course is rape because she was under 13 and could not give consent. No doubt of course the defendant knew her age.

“There’s no claim he threatened her or used any violence.”

Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 13.

Rupert Lowe, defending, said: “He’s not somebody who will do anything like this again. This was an immature young man with no previous record and from a good family.

“He was the adult, she was the child. She was reciprocating, but the responsibility was entirely his.”

Judge Philip Richards told Edwards: “You were in a far more powerful position – you should have been behaving as an example to her. Instead you abused her. There was a gross abuse of trust.”

He sentenced Edwards to 10 years in prison for each of the three counts, to run concurrently.

Edwards was also told to pay a £120 victim surcharge and was barred from working with children and must register as a sex offender for life.

April 2014

Paedophile claimed indecent images of children were ‘a joke’

A SEX offender has admitted having indecent images of children – claiming it was a “joke”.

Ian McDougall, 56, who was previously jailed in 2011 for 14 months for downloading thousands of indecent images, was being monitored by police because he was on the sex offenders’ register.

But he was caught out when a neighbour found a USB stick belonging to McDougall with 86 images.

McDougall appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted taking or permitting to be taken indecent images of children between January 27 and 31 this year.

Fiscal depute Anne MacDonald said the images were of girls between the age of 10 and 14.

Defence agent Liam McAllister described McDougall as a “very bright man and a very foolish man”.

Mr McAllister said there was a break down in relations between McDougall and the officers monitoring him.

He said: “In a bizarre turn he thought he would show the flaw in the thinking of the police officers, that there was nothing preventing him or any other individual accessing images on another person’s computer.”

Sheriff Graeme Napier deferred sentence on McDougall, described as a prisoner of HMP Grampian, until next month for a report.

April 2014

Detective praises young victim after Runcorn man is jailed for sexual assault

A RUNCORN man has been jailed for two years after being convicted of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16.

Alan Dougherty, aged 34, of Grangeway, was placed on the sexual offences register for 10 years when he was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday.

Dougherty was convicted of sexual touching the girl on July 1 last year, but cleared of two other offences after a trial last month.

DC Justin Jones from Runcorn CID, today praised the young victim for her courage. He said: “This has been an emotional case for all those involved, especially the victim who was made to re-live what happened when the defendant pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial.

“The victim and her family have been supported throughout the investigation by specially trained officers.

“I hope that the successful conclusion of the case brings about a degree of closure for her and helps her to move forward with her life.

“Cheshire Police takes any incidents of this nature extremely seriously.

“I hope that the bravery shown by the victim gives others who may have suffered in silence the courage to come forward.”

May 2014

Nursery teacher jailed for 10 years for repeated sex attacks on girl aged just 5

A former nursery teacher has been jailed for ten years for repeated sexual assaults on a girl from the age of five.

Liam John Wilson, 24, forced himself on the girl over a period of years, a court heard. Wilson, of Hackberry Close, Broadheath, Altrincham, denied a series of offences but was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison for rape and a further 12 months behind bars for sex assault.

The abuse started when the girl was aged five and continued over a number of years. He was convicted of six sexual assaults, rape and attempted rape.

His victim was in court to see him sent to prison on Monday.

She had kept the abuse secret for years before eventually reporting the crimes to her parents, who then alerted police. An investigation was then launched and Wilson was arrested.

It is understood Wilson, a former pupil at Altrincham College of Art, has worked as a nursery teacher at a string of day nurseries around Greater Manchester looking after children.

He also worked in care homes for the elderly. His victim was not a child at any of the nurseries where he worked.

After the hearing, a relative of the girl said: “He’s evil. He knew she was vulnerable and took advantage.

“This really has totally messed up her life. I don’t think she’ll ever get over it. He pinned her down and did awful things.”

May 2014

Child rapist jailed for raping 11 yr old girl and rape on 14 yr old girl on his wedding night while his new bride slept in next room 

A man has been jailed for raping two young girls during the 1970s – one of whom he attacked on his wedding night as his new bride slept in the next room.

William Jordan, 59, of Greyhound Road, west London, was handed an 18 year jail sentence at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of that rape, as well as repeatedly raping his family’s babysitter, Scotland Yard said.

The court heard how Jordan raped a 14-year-old girl after his own wedding reception in 1973, as the teen slept in a bed in the home of a family friend.

Jordan attacked her as his new wife slept next door.

The victim did not tell anyone about this attack until 40 years later, when she was contacted by police investigating linked historic abuse.

Police gained her confidence and she provided a compelling account of the abuse received at the hands of Jordan, police said.

His second victim, an 11-year-old girl, worked as a babysitter in Jordan’s house in Hammersmith between 1977 and 1979.

After about an hour, Jordan would return from the pub and if the children were asleep, he would rape her.

He would then leave to return to his wife.

Police said this happened on more than one occasion whenever she babysat.

Detective Inspector Tim Wilkinson from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “This conviction sends out a very strong and positive message to Londoners that those who commit serious offences will be brought to justice without the passing of time being a barrier.

“I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victims who found the strength to give evidence in court. We know that only a proportion of rape victims report to police, I hope that this conviction encourages other victims of rape to come forward.”

May 2014

Pervert jailed after hiding child abuse images stash in family home

A man was jailed yesterday after a hidden stash of child abuse images was uncovered at his home

Nearly 1,500 obscene images were uncovered on computers seized from Andrew Elrick’s family home in Mintlaw. The collection dated back to 2005.

At the time, the property was used by his wife as a base for her child-minding business. The explicit pictures featured children as young as two years old.

May 2014

Greylake Pervert Larry Bale weeps as he is spared jail

A BUSINESSMAN who sexually abused a teenage girl wept in the dock as he was spared jail by a judge.

Larry Bale, aged 51, of Greylake, near Bridgwater, indecently assaulted the 15-year-old in the 1990s, a court was told.

Bale was initially charged with rape but pleaded guilty to two counts of a lesser charge of indecent assault.

When he appeared at Taunton Crown Court last week, Bale cried as he was given a three-year community order.

Judge David Ticehurst said: “There has been no repetition of this type of offending and you have no previous convictions of this type.

“The fact you have not acted in this way since the offences is significant.

“You have established what appears to be a law-abiding business and you are working hard for yourself and your family.

“As I said earlier, it is not just criminals that suffer or the victims and their families – it is also your family that suffers.

“Imprisonment of 18 months would not address the underlying issues and problems that may have led to you committing these offences.”

Prosecuting, Ian Dixey said the offences took place in the late 1990s.

He told the court that the victim was more than 20 years younger than him at the time.

The court heard that Bale runs a business from his home in the summer, while he has a job as a lorry driver in the winter.

May 2014

Wife of jailed ‘selfie’ paedophile aids police in extending his sentence

The estranged wife of a jailed American paedophile came forward to provide police with more than 3,000 ‘erotic’ images of children her husband had amassed to increase his sentence.

Patrick Sears, was convicted last month for sexual assault on a girl under the age of 13 and was jailed to Wormwood Scrubs for five years, however a further four months has now been added to that sentence after further evidence came to light on Thursday.

Judge Jeremy Donne, addressing Sears, 32, who was appearing via video link from prison, said: “You have pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing this material, and the quantity had ran into the thousands.

“As a result his marriage has broken down and his wife contacted the officer in the case.

“These images were found on the hard drives of two computers.”

The court heard how the officer visited her home, in Salisbury Road, Harrow, where further evidence was obtained containing hundreds of indecent and ‘erotic’ images of children under the age of 16.

The defence lawyer, addressing Judge Donne, said: “He has blighted his own good character and indeed his own life.”

The court heard of Sears’ desire to return to his home country, The United States of America, with his defence adding: “His experience of the United Kingdom has not been entirely happy.”

Sears was given a four-month sentence for the four counts of possession of the images he admitted to, which will be served concurrently alongside his current five-year sentence.

Judge Donne described the nature of the images as to be in the “least serious category” of images, and that they were not obtained through a vicious industry but instead were pictures the girls had made themselves – colloquially known as ‘selfies’ – many of them involving the pictured girl being topless.

The judge added: “I have no doubt at all that if the judge who sentenced you initially had this further evidence, the sentence would not have been any longer.”

Sears is currently undergoing a rehabilitation programme while in prison.

May 2014

Easingwold Paedophile Jailed for 11 Years

A man from Easingwold has been jailed after pleading guilty to a number of sexual offences against children.

John Burns, aged 60, of Station Court, was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment at Teesside Crown Court on Thursday 1 May 2014.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to six counts of sexually assaulting a young girl, over a six-year period between 2007 and 2013.

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of taking an indecent photograph, one count of sexual touching and one count of voyeurism.

His two victims came forward to report the offences in May 2013.

Detective Constable Rich Hampson, of Northallerton Protecting Vulnerable Person’s Unit, said: “John Burns is guilty of a disgusting level of abuse which he carried out over a long period of time.

“Thankfully his victims eventually plucked up the courage to report their ordeal and their bravery in coming forward means that Burns has now been brought to justice.

“Hopefully he will spend his time in jail reflecting on the years of torment he put his victims through and the lasting impact it will have on them for the rest of their lives.

“I also hope that the conclusion of this case can allow the victims and their family to try and move forward and feel some sense that justice has been done.”

May 2014

Convicted paedophile caught looking at child abuse images at city library

A CONVICTED paedophile was caught by police accessing abusive photographs of children on a public computer in Wells Library.

Officials at Somerset County Council were trawling through computer records and noticed that somebody had been using the library network to look at indecent images of children.

Peter John Hoare was identified as the user who had accessed the photos and when police searched his home found 66 similar photographs saved onto a memory stick.

The 44-year- old, of Portland Road, Frome, was arrested and appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates, sitting at Yeovil.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of making an indecent photograph of a child at Wells on July 23 last year.

He also admitted making 52 indecent images of a child between September 11, 2012 and August 4, 2013 and a similar allegation involving 10 indecent images between the same dates.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said that the Network and Security Services manager for Somerset County Council was involved in doing checks on the computer networks across the libraries in Somerset.

“In July 2013 he identified a number of inappropriate and potentially illegal websites visited during a particular library session from a single PC based in Wells Library between 11. 45am and 12.25pm,” she said.

“It was a public internet session set up using Hoare’s library card and the manager then produced a spreadsheet which identified dates, times and locations of all the PCs used by the defendant and informed the police of what he had found.

“The police went to Hoare’s home address and searched the property and various items were seized including a 2GB memory stick in his rucksack.”

He made no comment during interview. The memory stick was analysed it was found to contain 66 indecent images, 56 in the lowest category one and 10 in category 2.

The photographs dated from September 2012 to August 2013 and when he was further interviewed he made no comment again.

The court heard Hoare had a number of previous convictions for similar offences involving photographs in the more serious categories.

Miss Hart said that the defendant was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) but the way it was worded meant that these latest offences had not put him in breach of the order’s terms.

Defending solicitor Louise Eaves said that in light of her client’s previous offences and the fact that he was subject to a SOPO meant that he would be likely to be sent to the crown court for sentence.

The magistrates refused to accept jurisdiction for the case saying that they believed the defendant should receive grater punishment than they could impose.

They adjourned all matters until Friday May 23 when Hoare must appear at Taunton Crown Court for sentence.

They released on the defendant on bail with conditions that he must not enter any public library and must not use any electronic device capable of accessing the internet.

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: “We have robust filtering software in place and all web users are expected to adhere to our terms and conditions which state that usage can be monitored. If we are aware of any suspicious behaviour, we always report to the police.”

May 2014

Sex pest caught masturbating in front of 13 yr old girl on bus is locked up

A MAN who committed a “disgusting” sexual act while travelling on a bus through the borough will spend the next 12 months behind bars.

David Murphy-Hinds, 26, of Denmark Road, Turnpike Lane, was jailed for a year at a hearing in Wood Green Crown Court on April 23 after pleading guilty to one count of outraging public decency.

He was also sentenced to an additional 16 weeks in prison for breaching a suspended sentence issued to him in January for an unrelated offence.

On March 14 Murphy-Hinds’ a 13-year-old girl got on to the 121 bus at Palmers Green, heading towards Southgate station, where the pervert boarded the bus.

He sat near the girl and when she went to get off the bus she realised that the fiend was masturbating.

Police officers used CCTV images from the bus to identify Murphy-Hinds and he was arrested and charged on March 28.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Wood Green Crown Court on April 9 where he pleaded not guilty. 

However he then changed his plea and was sentenced last week.

Siwan Hayward, Transport for London’s deputy director of enforcement, said: “We are absolutely determined to eliminate sexual offences from our transport network, so I am pleased this sex offender has been jailed for what was a disgusting and offensive crime. 

“With the help of our policing partners we will always push for the toughest penalties possible.”

Chief Superintendent Sultan Taylor, from Safer Transport Command, added: “We are committed to tackling sexual offences on London’s buses and this sentence demonstrates our commitment to bringing those responsible to justice.

“If someone has made you feel uncomfortable on your bus journey – however minor it may seem to you – reporting it to police can help us target the perpetrator and prevent it happening to another passenger.”

May 2014

Woman guilty of luring ‘vulnerable’ girls into prostitution

A woman who used drugs and alcohol to lure “weak and vulnerable” girls into a life of prostitution has been found guilty of running a child sex ring.

Amanda Spencer, from Sheffield befriended some girls as young as 13 – later forcing them to have sex for cash.

She used the money to fund her drug and alcohol addictions.

Spencer, now 23, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of 16 counts relating to child prostitution.

She was cleared of seven other charges, including arranging or facilitating child prostitution, intentionally causing or inciting a person to become a prostitute, and one count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

The jury will resume deliberations on Friday regarding 15 remaining charges Spencer faces.

During a trial lasting more than two months, the jury heard Spencer deliberately targeted vulnerable girls in Sheffield.

Prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC said Spencer gave the girls alcohol and drugs and “when [they were] weak, introduced them to a life of prostitution”.

“She hung around the town centre identifying and befriending vulnerable children.

“She made them feel loved, she gave them a shoulder to cry on, a friend who purported to understand whatever sadness they were experiencing in their lives and in turn lured them into a life of abuse, which she exploited and profited from.”

Ms Colborne told jurors Spencer groomed the girls for abuse.

She said: “She told them how to dress more provocatively, to lie about their age and to close their minds to the reality of the sexual experiences, concentrating instead on the drugs.

“Those who had the temerity to refuse to do as they were instructed felt her wrath, she was violent and they were very frightened of her.”

Between 2006 and 2011 Spencer befriended and exploited the girls, forcing them to have sex with men, both at her own flat and at other homes across South Yorkshire.

One girl told the court she was forced into prostitution days after meeting Spencer in 2008.

Judge Michael Murphy QC said the girl had told police: “She [Spencer] used to take me to people’s houses and sell me for money.

‘Locked in room’

“If I did not do it she would beat me up and if I did she would get money and she would just go and get drugs. She used to do that every day and I used to fall for it because I used to take drugs as well.”

The court heard that on one occasion the girl was locked in a room and forced to have sex with seven men in one night. When she refused Spencer punched her, giving her a black eye.

She estimated she was abused by 16 different men on up to 50 occasions over a period of about two years.

Spencer denied all the crimes of which she was accused, claiming her victims had either made up their accounts or that she had never met them.

Three men on trial with her were cleared of the charges they faced.

Another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been convicted of three counts of sexual assault.

May 2014

Rapist who sexually assaulted very young girls jailed for 21 years

A rapist who indecently assaulted three schoolgirls over a period of two decades has been jailed for 21 years.

The youngest victim of Derek Osborne, 72, was just four when he sexually assaulted her.

He will have to serve at least 14 years of his sentence and could die in prison, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Jailing the former Sizewell B worker, Judge John Holt said Osborne’s victims had all suffered “devastating” psychological effects.

He said a probation officer who interviewed Osborne, formerly of Pakefield, near Lowestoft, had assessed him as “dangerous” and said he had shown “very little” genuine remorse.

Judge Holt said Osborne would have to serve at least 14 years before he could be considered for release by the parole board and he would only be freed when he was no longer considered dangerous. On his release, he will have an extended licence period of five years.

Osborne admitted 16 offences between 1982 and 2004, including eight of indecent assault and seven of indecency with a child – relating to three schoolgirls. He also admitted raping a woman.

The court heard Osborne had offered one of his victims money to perform sex acts on him and had lost his temper with another, when she refused to do what he wanted.

He had sexually assaulted one of the girls after making her watch pornography and when she was eight or nine he had made her dress up in women’s underwear.

The offences came to light when one of the victims confided in her partner and he got her to contact the police.

When he was arrested, in February last year, Osborne denied all the offences and claimed one of the girls had made sexual advances towards him.

Neil Usher, for Osborne, said: “There is every likelihood that he will die in prison.”

He said, recently, Osborne had been living in a bedsit in Blackpool and he was unlikely to reoffend. “He has no sexual urges whatsoever,” said Mr Usher.

After the sentencing, one of Osborne’s victims, a woman in her thirties, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described his sentence as “amazing” and said she had been worried he would only be jailed for a couple of years. She was four when he sexually assaulted her and only realised what he had done was not normal when she saw a TV programme on sex abuse when she was 10.

She said she was not surprised to hear Osborne had not showed any real remorse.

“If he couldn’t show any compassion or remorse to a young child, why would he show remorse now?” she said.

May 2014

Man who raped girl, 15, jailed for more than 7 years

Alex Penman, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court, after pleading guilty to rape and assault by penetration at an earlier hearing.

The judge handed the 53-year-old a jail term of seven year and six months for rape, and five years for assault by penetration, which will run concurrently.

The Judge also granted a Sex Offender’s Prevention Order for life, meaning he cannot live in the same house or have unsupervised contact with anyone under 16.

The sexual assault happened at a house in the south Leicestershire area, while the victim was at a friend’s house party.

The detective investigating the crime said the victim had been very brave throughout the trial, and urged other victims of sex crimes to come forward.

April 2014

Pervert caught with shocking 19-minute clip of a young child being violently abused and 8,000 other obscene images

A man whose home overlooks a north-east village play park has been caught with a huge stash of child abuse images.

Almost 8,000 obscene images and videos were uncovered when police raided Robert Strachan’s home at Boddam, near Peterhead.

Among the haul was a shocking 19-minute clip of a young child being violently abused against his will.

Strachan, 35, appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court and admitted possession of the computer files, some of which date back to January 2006.

He was given an extended five-year jail sentence, meaning he must serve 20 months in prison and will be released on licence for the remaining 40 months.

Fiscal depute David Bernard told the court that officers descended on Strachan’s home after receiving a tip-off. They arrived just after 6pm on Sunday, January 27, last year and seized a computer tower and two laptops.

Mr Bernard said the equipment was analysed and a total of 7,654 obscene pictures and 120 videos were found. Almost 400 photos and 47 videos were classed at the higher end of the court’s indecency scale, featuring sex between children and adults and sadism.

When interviewed, Strachan told police he had received images of children from other people online. He said he deleted the files after opening them.

The court heard graphic details of what the images depicted. Some featured children as young as one, and most of the images were of boys. Some were stored in a folder marked “Roy Chubby Brown”, the court was told.

Defence agent Sam Milligan said Strachan, of 21 Claymore Crescent, had no criminal record and had been a “net contributor to society”.

He said more than 60% of the videos and 90% of the pictures were at the lower levels, grades one to three, of the indecency scale used by the courts.

Sheriff Alison Stirling told Strachan: “You have pleaded guilty to a very serious offence. I have viewed a selection of these videos and images at all levels of the scale. I watched a 19 minute video which was at level five, which showed the violent treatment of a child who clearly wasn’t a willing participant.

“In my view, a community disposal is unrealistic. Custody is the only appropriate sentence.”

Strachan was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. He showed no emotion as he was handcuffed and led out of the dock, while people in the public gallery called out “beast”.

March 2010

Prison for man who groomed under-age girl

A FARM worker has been jailed after admitting sexual activity with a child.

Dean Wilshaw was handed two-and-a-half-years after he pleaded guilty to sexually touching a girl aged under 16, and having sex with her three times. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the 30-year-old, from Market Drayton, had unprotected sex with the girl on at least one occasion. She was told not to tell anyone.

Prosecutor Edward Coke said: “All the evidence is this young girl was groomed.”

Wilshaw was arrested in March last year. He accepted the girl was underage, but denied sexual activity with her. He pleaded guilty to the charges this week.

Peter McCartney, defending, said Wilshaw, of Napley Heath, parted from his wife in late 2008 and was mentally fragile at the time of the offences. He said: “He acted entirely out of character.”

Judge Granville Styler said: “You knew she had a crush on you. You groomed her for your sexual gratification. You were more than twice her age.”

Wilshaw was made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and will be on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years. He will serve no more than half the sentence in prison, the rest on licence.

April 2014

Paedophile jailed for sexually abusing two young brothers

A Belfast man who sexually abused two young brothers, attacking one of them when he was four to five years old, has been jailed for a total of 16 years.

The victims both waived their right to anonymity so their abuser, Harry McFerran from Orangefield Parade, could be publicly identified.

Last month, McFerran was convicted of 22 sex abuse charges against the pair.

One brother said he was elated by the sentence and called on other victims of historical sex abuse to come forward.

Speaking after Thursday’s sentencing, the now grown man warned other sexual abusers: “You might hide and long runs the fox, but you will be caught and the justice system will deal with you”.

He added that going through the trial process was “a hard thing to do”, but added: “I have done it and have come out the other side better than I expected”.

“I would urge others to come forward and tell your story. I am not going to say it is easy, but its worth it in the end.

“It really really is, the sense of justice of being believed at last by 12 people that didn’t know me,” the victim said.

The Belfast Crown Court trial had heard that McFerran had committed 20 of the 22 against the older brother, and that he abused the boy “in every conceivable manner” over a ten-year period.

The offences date back 43 years, to when the victim was a vulnerable four or five year old child.

The victim went on to say that his whole life “has been very much on hold” but added that “now of the first time I can get on living my life”.

“I would reiterate, that if there is anybody out there thinking of reporting it, please do so…whether historical or not,” the man said.

Earlier he and other members of his family listened as the judge told 68-year-old McFerran he was guilty of “an extreme breach of trust”.

She said his crimes were made all the more serious by his constant denials, which had meant the brothers had to “contend with the unpleasant experience” of having to give evidence in open court.

The offences ranged from indecent assaults, to gross indecency and one occasion rape.

The judge said McFerran’s abuse of the brothers was both “systematic and sustained” and had been carried out over a prolonged period of time when they would have been vulnerable.

The court heard that according to victim impact reports, McFerran’s abuse has had a lasting impact on both of his victims’ lives.