January 2017

Man jailed for sexually abusing a child in Wisbech in the late 1980s

Paul Pluck, 44, of Eagle Way, Hampton Vale, Peterborough was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 at a trial at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday (January 9).

The court heard that Pluck was about 17-years-old and babysitting the five-year-old victim when the offences occurred in the late 1980s in Wisbech.

Yesterday (January 11), Pluck was jailed for four years and six months for each count to be served concurrently.

Detective Constable Leanne Malinowski said: “The victim has shown great courage taking the brave step of speaking out. I hope that the guilty verdict and sentence given to Pluck will help her move forward with her life.

“We take all reports of sexual abuse seriously, no matter when they occurred. This case demonstrates that justice can and will be served.”

Pluck was found not guilty of two further charges of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years.

January 2017

Man who sexually assaulted teenager is spared jail

A Dereham man who sexually assaulted a teenager and sent indecent images of himself has been given a two year suspended sentence and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Samuel Pickering, 28, of Boundary Close, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today after previously pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault by touching of a child under the age of 16.

The charges related to incidents which happened between May and September 2014. The court heard that Pickering befriended his victim, offering him cash and an iPad, in order to gain his trust before carrying out the assaults.

He also sent the victim indecent messages and images, which were seen by a friend and prompted the police investigation. Pickering was arrested and a subsequent search of his home address led to police seizing a number of electronic items, including his laptop and phone.

Officers found a number of messages to younger males on his mobile phone, although they were not of a sexual nature.

Appearing before Judge Maureen Bacon, Pickering was given a two year suspended sentence, placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a period of 10 years and a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

January 2017

Man filmed himself sexually assaulting a baby… Then sent the footage to his boyfriend

A Moray man who filmed himself sexually assaulting a screaming baby then sent the video to his boyfriend is facing a lengthy jail sentence.

Ryan Simpson admitted recording the vile footage of him kissing the infant before sharing it with his partner in Northamptonshire.

The 31-year-old also boasted that he would have gone further with the assault and “done as he wanted” had he not feared being caught.

Simpson, who is currently on remand at Porterfield Prison in Inverness, also admitted possessing indecent images of children when he appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court.

He had been due to face sentence yesterday, but Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov asked for further psychological reports to be carried out.

Fiscal Alison Wylie said he had been in a long distance relationship with Scott Ayres when the offences took place.

When his partner’s home in the south of England was raided by police in the summer, Simpson’s video recording was discovered.

Ms Wylie said: “They previously lived together in Bedford, Northampton, and it was when police visited another male at that address that this came to light.

“The accused was back in Scotland at the time when this other male was arrested.”

The court heard that police seized all the electronic devices in the property, including a Samsung tablet which belonged to Simspon’s then-partner.

Ms Wylie said that when police reviewed the device they found a “Category” A indecent video showing Simpson lewdly kissing his tiny victim.

The prosecutor added: “The baby was distressed and crying during the video footage.”

Officers later discovered messages Simpson sent Ayres at the time the clip was recorded.

In one message Simpson asked Ayres for his e-mail address to send on the video, and a subsequent one asked whether his former partner had seen it.

The court heard it read: “I didn’t have much time, or I would have done as I wanted.”

The police inquiry shifted north of the border at that point, and Simpson was quizzed about the film.

Officers seized two mobile phones belonging to him, and on one they found two video clips showing children being sexually abused.

It also appeared he had been sharing them with friends in a WhatsApp chat group.

One was graded Category A, the most serious, and featured an infant aged between six months and a year being abused.

The other phone contained footage of a boy aged between four and six being sexually assaulted, as well as other Category B material.

Ayres was also arrested in August and charged with “aiding and abetting in the sexual touching of a child aged under the age of 13” among a string of other offences.

Simpson earlier admitted charges of taking indecent images of a baby, distributing those images, and of possessing indecent images of children.

He also admitted sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13.

Sheriff Pasportnikov said she was concerned about the degree of risk he posed to the public.

She said she would not sentence him until psychological assessments had offered her an answer.

Simpson is due to return to court on Thursday, February 2.

January 2017

Suspended sentence for man found with indecent images of children

Obscene videos of children were found on computers when police raided the house of a Cambridge man, a court has been told.

Three of the videos were of the most serious Category A level

Stephen Gurner, 63, of Dennis Road, admitted two offences of possessing indecent images and two offences of making them.

He was jailed for 18 weeks, suspended for 20 months, ordered to undergo 20 days of rehabilitation and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Gurner was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £115 surcharge.

Paul Brown, prosecuting, said: “He came to the police’s attention because the police service was informed that the IP address was being used to download these images.”

Mr Brown said Gurner, who was the only person living at the property associated with the IP address, admitted downloading the images.

He told the court that there had been a small number of low level images but the Category A videos were an aggravating factor.

January 2017

Kempston man guilty of ‘sickening’ sexual abuse of young girls in 1970s

A MAN has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young girls forty years ago.

Eugene Mitcham, 66, from Eaton Road, Kempston, was convicted on Tuesday following a trial at Luton Crown Court.

During the trial the jury heard how Mitcham sexually abused two girls over a period of years from 1974 to 1980.

The girls were aged just eight and 11-years-old when the abuse started.

Detective Constable Samantha Shane, from the Bedfordshire Police Child and Vulnerable Adult Abuse unit, said: “I’m really pleased that Mitcham will be made to pay the price for his sickening actions, despite the length of time that has passed since the offences took place.

“It is never too late to report abuse and I hope that this case shows to others that if you come forward, you will be listened to, you will be believed, and justice can be done.”

Mitcham will be sentenced on January 27.

January 2017

Iranian sex gang leaders who groomed and abused 14-year-old girl ‘fear execution’ if they are deported

Mehdi Zare (left) and Mohammad Rostami

TWO IRANIAN Pizza Shop workers who groomed and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl fear they could be executed in their homeland if they are deported after serving a total of 33 years in prison.

Mohammed Rostami, 37, of The Renown, Shoebury, and Mehdi Zare, 32, of Lupin Drive, Chelmsford, were found guilty after a trial of abusing the girl over several years and supplying her with drugs.

Another man, Amin Kaveh, 35, also of The Renown in Shoebury, was jailed for a total of ten years for his role in supplying the victim, another teenager and a young woman with drugs, as well as for a leading role in an Essex-wide drugs conspiracy. 

Amin Kaveh

The gang were convicted in December after an eight-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Sentencing the men, Judge Patricia Lynch called their crimes “abhorrent” and said they treated their victim “like a piece of meat”.

She said: “Ten years ago, because she was a troubled child she would have had no voice. Nobody would have listened to her and nobody would have believed her.

“But it’s because she was a troubled child that she was so vulnerable. She was easy prey.

“Sexual activity with a child is abhorrent but what’s more abhorrent is the grooming with drugs, inducing cocaine addiction, and then pimping that child out to other men with the same proclivities.”

Gareth Hughes, mitigating for Zare, said deportation proceedings started against his client following a separate conviction for drugs offences in 2015.

He said: “These sort of offences involving sexual activity with children are a capital offence in Iran. So if he is to be deported at some stage his future is really precarious.

“That’s something that he will have to live with. It’s a fact that is causing him considerable fear.”

The teenage victim met Rostami when he worked in a pizza shop in Duke Street, Chelmsford in 2006. He offered her free pizza and asked her to be his girlfriend. The pair ended up having sex in his car and on numerous other occasions.

Rostami deliberately got her hooked on cocaine and paid her with drugs in return for her agreeing to have sex with dozens of other Iranian men.
He passed her to Zare a few years later when he met his future wife.

He continued the pattern of abuse, even taking her to a loft space above CM Pizza in Duke Street for sex.

The court was read a statement from the victim who said the men “took away my innocence” and deserved long prison sentences.

She said: “By the time they get out I want for me and my family to have moved on with our lives.

“I don’t want another child to go through what I and my family have gone through for the last ten years.

“After doing something like this, how can they call themselves human beings?”

Rostami was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child; one count of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child; supplying a controlled drug of class A to another; supplying a controlled drug of class B to another.

The jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict on one count of rape so the offence will lie on file.

Zare was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child; arranging or facilitating sexual exploitation of a child; supplying a class A drug to another; three counts of supplying a class B drug to another.

He was cleared of two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Amin Kaveh was found guilty of supplying a controlled cannabis and admitted a further two counts of supplying drugs before the trial.

He was cleared of one count of sexual assault; three counts of rape; causing or inciting prostitution for gain.

A charge of controlling prostitution for gain relating to a 16-year-old girl was dismissed during the trial.

The victim and her family were in court for the hearing, and breathed a sigh of relief as the pair were handed long sentences.

Addressing Zare, Judge Lynch said: “Although you didn’t groom her and get her addicted you were aware that she had been groomed and you were aware that she was being used like a piece of meat.

“You dealt with her as a commodity not a human being and not the child that she was.”

The victim and her family were in court for the hearing, and breathed a sigh of relief as the pair were indeed handed long sentences.

Rostami was jailed for a total of 15 years for the sexual offences, plus another six years for his admitted part in a seperate drugs conspiracy. The sentences are consecutive, meaning he will serve a total of 21 years.

Zare was jailed for a total of 12 years for the sexual offences. He was not part of the drugs conspiracy.

Amin Kaveh was found guilty of supplying cannabis and admitted a further two counts of supplying drugs before the trial.

He was cleared of one count of sexual assault; three counts of rape and causing or inciting prostitution for gain.

A charge of controlling prostitution for gain relating to a 16-year-old girl was dismissed during the trial.

Kaveh was jailed for a total of one year for the drugs offences, however, he was found guilty at a previous trial of a conspiracy to supply mephedrone, alongside Rostami and two other men.

He was jailed for ten years for his role, making a total of ten years.

February 2014

Brutal rapist jailed for 20 years branded ‘an extremely dangerous man’

A dangerous rapist will spend 20 years behind bars for the horrific abduction and rape of a female jogger.

Peter Watton, of Henley Road, Lache lay in wait for a victim on the Duke’s Drive, Chester before dragging a woman into the bushes and raping her eight times during the nightmare ordeal.

Watton had only been released on licence for two days when he threatened her with a knife, forced her to perform sexual acts on him and led her to the banks of the River Dee, where she feared she was going to die.

On Friday (February 7), The Recorder of Chester Judge Elgan Edwards branded Watton as an ‘extremely dangerous man’ as he sentenced the remorseless criminal to an extended sentence of 24 years.

Watton, 37, who refused to attend court to hear his punishment, will serve 20 years behind bars for the horrific crimes – he will spend the final four years on licence.

Judge Edwards branded Watton as “significant risk of serious harm to all women” saying it was the “worst rape case he had ever heard” in his many years as a judge.

“There is not a shadow of a doubt that Peter Watton is an extremely dangerous man,” said Judge Edwards, who said his victim had been degraded in every possible way, and slated Watton for refusing to attend court, despite forcing his victim to relive her experiences in court.

“He lay in wait for anyone who happened to come in his vicinity. It was unfortunate for that young woman who was there simply running with her dog, a past time one would have thought safe so near to the city.

“She did not escape for some nine hours. She escaped by showing a great deal of courage. I accept she genuienly believed she was going to die.”

“No woman should have to be put through the kind of torment this lady had to be put through, and the torment continues to this day.”

As the sentence was read out Watton’s mother and family hung their heads and sobbed from the public gallery, but Judge Edwards said the 37-year-old had not shown a ‘shred of remorse’ for his ‘horrific’ crimes.

“He put forward a ludicrous defence that she had consented on a woodland path on a wet day in June,” he said.

“In my judgement the defendant Mr Peter Watton is a dominating and extreamly dangerous man, a man who was calculating, and a man who has his own way whatever the views of other people where.

“This is the worst case of rape and repeated rape I have ever had the misfortune to come across.”

Watton’s defence argued the 37-year-old had never been physically violent towards his victim, but Judge Edwards said that was down to her ‘intellegence’ and ‘courage’ and her realisation that by keeping him calm she might be able to escape her greatest fear “that she was going to die”. 

In a victim impact statement, read out to the court by Owen Edwards, prosecuting, Watton’s victim said she ‘no longer felt safe’ and had nightmares about her abduction.

“She no longer feels safe, she is scared of strangers and of men,” said Mr Edwards.

“She no longer feels safe outside the house. She finds it extreamely difficult to discuss the details of this case with anyone outside her immediate family.

“She’s lost weight, she feels embarresment, She has nightmares and finds it really difficult to work.

Mr Edwards said Watton’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons was a fit person and a regular runner who felt safe running around Chester before that day – she never thought for one moment she would be a victim of such a horrific crime.   

Watton, has 27 convictions for 132 offences, including kidnapping and robbery offences in 2010 for which he served half of a six year sentence before being released on licence last year.

Two days later he lay in wait for a random victim, before ambushing her and raping her eight times, assaulting her with objects, before she finally ran for her life nine hours later.

Back in 1999 Watton, was jailed for six years after attempting to violently abduct a lone woman when she was driving along Eardswick Lane, Crewe after absconding from HMP Sudbury and stealing a car with a fellow inmate.

He had pretended he was a plain clothes police officer, pulled her over for speeding and tried to abduct her on the side of the road. He punched her repeatedly in the face.

But the court heard how despite the victim claiming the attack had a sexual element to it, Watton had never been charged with a sexually motivated crime despite his lengthy record.

Watton walked out of an open prison in 2009, three days later he kidnapped a teenager from a house in Davenport Avenue, Crewe for hours and robbing a terrified young couple in their Holmes Chapel home.

The 37-year-old convicted kidnapper was found guilty of raping the jogger eight times, sexually assaulting her with objects and threatening her with a knife, during the horrifying nine hour abduction.

It took the jury of nine women and three men just over two hours to find Watton guilty of all 12 counts, following a harrowing five-day-trial at Chester Crown Court, last month. 

For the count of possession of a knife, Watton recieved an additional sentence of four years, to run concurrently.

On June 14 last year the 44-year-old victim – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was out jogging with her dog when she was dragged into the woodland by Watton, who tied her up and repeatedly raped her during the nine-hour abduction.

She eventually ran for her life, scaling fences and running flat-out with her dog towards houses to get away from muscle-bound Watton.

“He was very intent on getting me down to the river,” she said during a police interview played in the trial, describing the final scene of her terrifying abduction in broad daylight at 3pm.

“I thought he was going to whack me over the head, stab me with the knife and throw me in the river. I thought I would be found floating towards Chester. I didn’t want to die that way.”

Throughout the trial, heavily tattooed Watton strenuously denied abducting and raping the female jogger, insisting they had consensual sex.

Instead, he had threatened his victim with a knife, saying he had been ‘watching her for two weeks’, knew where she lived and threatened her family.

A nationwide manhunt was launched after Watton went on the run. He was arrested five days later after an off-duty special constable spotted him on the railway tracks and chased him. He was eventually arrested on the A483 near Rossett after walking out on to the road.

Watton’s victim left a trail of clothing as she was led to three remote parts of the woodland path and repeatedly raped – she hoped someone would realise what had happened to her if she didn’t get away.

She also collected evidence in the hope she would be able to identify her attacker and led police back around the route, just hours after she ran for her life from the man she was sure was about to kill her.

July 2010

Duo jailed after kidnapping teenager in hunt for drugs

TWO robbers who kidnapped a teenager and forced him to drive them around while they tried to score drugs have been jailed for a total of 11 years.

Peter Watton and Reginald Corbett were convicted of kidnap and two charges of robbery following a trial at Chester Crown Court in May.

The court heard yesterday that on November 30 last year, the defendants intimidated 18-year-old Daniel Copper into driving them around Crewe to find cannabis. At one point the victim was blindfolded.

Nicholas Williams, prosecuting, said: “They ended up at a flat in Crewe which belonged to Daniel Taylor. He was not in, but his housemate and his 16-year-old girlfriend were there.

“The defendants searched the place and stole a laptop and a significant amount of clothing. Watton threatened the pair and Corbett threatened to ‘burn the place down’ before they left.”

The court heard that a third man involved, who has not been identified or caught, was armed with a screwdriver.

Watton, aged 34, of West Street, Crewe, was jailed for six years in 2000 for an attempted kidnapping, and has a lengthy record of dishonesty offences.

Corbett, aged 25, of Marshfield Avenue, Crewe, was given an indefinite jail sentence in 2008 for two charges of rape.

He later successfully appealed against one of the convictions.

David Mawdsley, defending Corbett, said: “This wasn’t a planned offence nor was it a violent robbery. No weapons were brandished by the defendant and any threats made were brief and verbal, and did not involve any violence.”

Simon Christie, defending Watton, told the court his client had shown remorse for what he did.

He said: “There has been a clear admission of guilt and a desire to put all this behind him when he finished his spell in prison.

“He has written a letter to the court to express his remorse and fears for his future.”

Judge Thomas Teague told the pair: “Your victim, who you made drive around Crewe so you could obtain drugs, was significantly younger than you. You intimidated him, blindfolding him at one point, which must have been a very frightening experience for him.

“I sentence you on the basis that you were not armed with weapons but your accomplice had a screwdriver.

“You demanded money from a young man and his girlfriend, and then stole a laptop and clothing, before you threatened to burn the flat down.

“They were obviously left frightened and distressed by the ordeal.”

Judge Teague sentenced Watton to four years for the kidnap and six years for the robbery, to run concurrently.

Watton was also given an additional 12-month concurrent sentence for handling stolen goods, which related to an incident in which number plates were replaced on a stolen BMW.

Corbett was sentenced to three years for the kidnap and five years for the robbery, to run concurrently.

January 2017

Rapist carved named into 15-year-old victim’s arm before stabbing her in neck

A teenage rapist who carved his name on a schoolgirl’s arm before leaving her for dead in a graveyard is facing years behind bars.

Miles Hughes talked about serial killers and monsters before asking: ‘How would you react if I said I was going to kill you?’

He then used a Stanley knife to etch his name on his 15-year-old victim before launching the horrific rape attack.

Hughes, who was 17 at the time, repeatedly stabbed her in the neck and chest, but ran off when a member of the public spotted the attack in north London’s Hampstead cemetery.

He told police he laughed and smiled as he fled the scene.

A female friend recalled how Hughes said he was happy he had carried out the attack and enjoyed seeing the victim distressed.

Hughes dialled 999 to say he had murdered a girl in the graveyard and police arrived at his home to find two hand drawn pictures in his bedroom drawers.

One was of a clown’s face adorned with a swastika and the numbers ‘666’, while a second sketch of a person bore the words: ‘Anger creates Monsters, Hatred gives them reason.’

Hughes told cops the drawings were a depiction of voices in his head and admitted he had intended to kill the 15-year-old.

He claimed in court they had consensual sex before he lost his temper, but had only meant to cause ‘really serious harm’.

The teenager pleaded guilty to wounding with intent but was found guilty of attempted murder and rape at the Old Bailey.

Judge John Bevan, QC, remanded him in custody ahead of sentence on February 24.

Hughes met his victim in July last year before taking her to a quiet area of West Hampstead graveyard, where they chatted and listened to music.

Hughes talked about serial killers and how they were created, and he started to poke the knife towards her neck, asking: ‘How would you react if I said I was going to kill you?’.

‘The defendant then moved to her left arm and started to carve his name into her left bicep with the knife,’ said prosecutor Jane Osborne.

Hughes pushed his victim back onto the floor and climbed on top of her holding the knife in his hand, then covered her mouth until she was choking.

In a police interview, the victim told how he pulled his trousers down and raped her.

‘He wouldn’t accept the fact I had to go. He was sat on top of me saying, “you’re going to tell the police,” she said.

‘He said, “there are voices in my head saying I need to kill you”.

‘I started to cry. He started to cry and said, “I’m sorry”. He went to stab me but he grabbed my other arm.’

She said she tried to fight back, but was repeatedly knifed in the neck and chest, leaving her with puncture wounds, lacerations and scratches.

Hughes finally fled when a member of the public shouted ‘get off’, allowing the girl to get help and call for an ambulance.

Hughes returned home and dialled 999, telling them he had killed a girl by stabbing her in the throat.

He admitted: ‘I intended to cause her really serious harm and nothing else,’ but insisted: ‘I was not intending to kill her.’

Hughes, of Camden, north London, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He denied but was convicted of attempted murder and rape.

January 2017

Pervert tried to groom ‘girl’ online

A man in his 40s had highly sexualised conversations with a person he believed to be a girl aged 15 – but it turned out to be an online vigilante.

Matthew James Colvin had admitted attempting to groom an under-aged girl for sexual purposes, but later claimed he had been put under pressure to plead guilty, Mold Crown Court heard.

He even wrote to former Prime Minister David Cameron at one stage complaining about the activities of the vigilante after it turned out that it was not a girl at all but a grown man he was speaking to.

Colvin, 44, of Harwood Road in Brymbo, Wrexham, previously failed to withdraw his guilty plea.

Today (Friday), his barrister Gwen Henshaw said her client did not accept his guilt but accepted the court decision.

He received an 18 month prison sentence suspended for two years with 40 days rehabilitation.

Judge Niclas Parry ordered him to register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order was made.

Prosecuting barrister Brett Williamson said that Mr Richard Teszke was targeting those on the internet who would want to involve themselves in sexualised conversations with children and making arrangements to meet up.

He posted a social media profile in the name of Jennie but she did not exist. “She was a fiction,” Mr Williamson explained.

The man posed as a girl in conversations with Colvin over a four-day period.

He first messaged her at 2am in April last year, asking how she was.

“She” responded by saying “Sorry, I am 15, so probably too young for you.”

There followed a series of exchanges, but innocuous pleasantries often turned sexual.

He asked her if she was still a virgin, asked her personal questions of a sexual nature, and he exchanged text messages with her about music, computer games but at all times returning to sex.

It was established where “she” lived and tried to meet up. When obstacles were put in his way he would suggest alternatives and at one stage said she could be his birthday present.

Mr Teszke got in touch with the police, Colvin was traced and admitted engaging in conversation with the profile but said he would not have visited her and would not have done anything sexual.

The defendant told how he was separated from his wife at the time and the messages were providing some sort of social comfort to him.

Miss Henshaw said the defendant did not accept the case against him and said that there was no suggestion that he posed a danger to children.

Judge Parry warned Colvin that it was important he accepted the chance he was now giving him.

If he did not, then the suspended sentence would be activated and he would go to prison.

Judge Parry told him: “At a very low ebb in your life when you were very depressed, effectively ill and lonely and in drink, you fell to temptation.

“You acted entirely out of character. But what you did was to embark upon a very dangerous course of conduct.

“Had you gone on to do the things that were being described, then the sentence would have been one of five years.

“You will understand that if men do that to children, then they deserve it,” he said.

But in his case, there was no contact, and crucially there was no victim.

“This was talk,” he said.

“But this law is there to protect children. That is why it is viewed seriously.”

January 2017

Cumbria man jailed for possessing indecent images of children

A MAN from Cumbria has been jailed for three years and six months for possessing, making and distributing indecent images of children.

Neil Cameron McIntosh, 51, of Stanley Road, Brampton, was sentenced today at Carlisle Crown Court.

He was also sent to prison for possessing extreme pornographic images, including portraying an indecent act a dog.

McIntosh has been placed on the sexual offender register indefinitely and received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Officers found McIntosh to be in possession of almost 3,000 indecent images which fell into categories A to C – with A being the most serious.

The offences occurred between July 2014 and April 2016 on a number of devices and all took place in Brampton.

February 2016

Leeds prevert preyed on schoolgirls

A PERVERT has been jailed after a court heard how he sexually abused two girls and “robbed them of their childhood”.

Alan Robertson, 61, was jailed for 14 years, three months, after a court heard how made threats against one victim and paid money to another in order to silence them.

Leeds Crown Court heard Robertson sexually abused his first victim when she was around 10 years of age in 1995.

The youngster was threatened in order to prevent her from telling anyone about Robertson had done to her.

Robertson, from Leeds, then preyed on a second victim eight years later, in 2003, when she was aged.

The abuse took place on repeated occasions and grew more serious. Robertson would give the girl cash in order to keep her quiet.

Robertson accused both victims of lying when he was arrested. He pleaded guilty to six offences of indecency with a child, nine of indecent assault, two of sexual activity with a child and one of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard Robertson had been granted bail in December last year as he awaited sentence after admitted the offences. He was then taken into custody after attempting to commit suicide.

Robin Frieze, mitigating, said Robertson should be given credit for pleading guilty to the offences and sparing the victims the ordeal of giving evidence at a trial.

Jailing Robertson, judge Geoffrey Marson, QC, said: “It is perfectly obvious that each of these girls, now adults, has carried these offences with them for many years and they have been profoundly psychologically affected. You robbed them of their childhood.

“What you did to them will scar their lives. I suspect for ever. They will never be able to put it out of their minds.”

January 2017

Depraved Maybole paedophile hoarded hundreds of sick images of children being raped and abused

A paedophile hoarded hundreds of images of children being raped and abused.

Kenneth Campbell, 45, had 797 sick pictures and 169 moving images on a computer in his living room.

Many were of the most serious category A – with one showing a three-year-old girl being raped by someone called ‘Dad’.

Another showed a little boy being abused.

Police stormed his home in Maybole at 9.25am in December 2015 and seized the computer.

He was taken to Ayr police office after they discovered the evil stash.

Depute fiscal Neva Houston told Ayr Sheriff Court this week: “During the police interview, he admitted downloading indecent images of children.”

Computer forensic experts found 204 still pictures and 75 moving images graded as the worst sadist category along with hundreds of other indecent images.

The Maybole factory worker appeared in court on Tuesday.

Lawyer Peter Lockhart said Campbell expressed “relief that the matter had been detected”.

“He wanted to bring the matter to a head,” the court was told.

The solicitor also said his client “feared retribution and was concerned for his safety”.

He told the court Campbell gave up work after his father was diagnosed with cancer and receiving chemotherapy.

Mr Lockhart said his unmarried client started viewing pornography and “matters escalated”.

Describing Campbell’s background, he said: “He disclosed he had been sexually abused as a child but not by a family member.”

Mr Lockhart continued: “He accepts the damage this type of offence does to vulnerable children and the rightful revulsion society feels for these offences.”

He said his client would move home but probably stay in Ayrshire.

Campbell admitted taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent pseudo or pseudo photographs of children. He also pled guilty to failing to attend court in August last year.

He was due to be sentenced this week.

January 2017

Men had sex with schoolgirls in Dunfermline caravan

TWO men who had sex with 15-year-olds in a caravan in Dunfermline were sentenced at Dunfermline Sheriff Court this week.

Jordan Hamilton, 22, was jailed for eight months while Kieran Forbes, also 22, was sentenced to a community payback order with three years’ supervision and 225 hours of unpaid work.

Hamilton, of Alexander Road, Glenrothes, had earlier admitting having sex with a girl under the age of 16 between December 11 and 12, 2015, in a caravan at an address in Dunfermline. The offence was carried out while he was already on bail.

Kieran Forbes, of Ellon Road, Kirkcaldy, admitted having sex with another girl under the age of 16 in a caravan in Dunfermline on December 11 and 12 2015.

Defence solicitor for Hamilton, Chris Sneddon, said his client hadn’t intended to have intercourse with the girl. “Things happened once they got back to the caravan – it was not a particular plan,” he told the court. 

“Drink was consumed and the offence was committed. 

“He is not normally attracted to a person under the age of 16. This lady was three months short of her 16th birthday.”

Before sentencing, Sheriff Charles Macnair told the pair: “You were significantly older than these children. They were under 16 and you knew – or ought to have known – that.”

He said Hamilton, who was already serving a prison sentence, had committed the offence while on four bail aggravations. “Having regard to your record and the bail aggravations, I am satisfied that the appropriate sentence is a custodial sentence,” he said. 

He imposed the eight-month sentence to run consecutively to his existing sentence which ends in May and ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders list.

In sentencing Forbes, he said the fact he was a first offender meant he could give him a non-custodial sentence. As well as his community payback order, he was told he was also subject to the sexual offenders’ notification requirements.

January 2017

Former Scout leader admits possessing indecent images of boys aged between three and 16

A FORMER Carmarthen Scout leader has admitted possessing indecent images of boys aged between three and 16.

Robert Charles Umney, who had been with the 1st Carmarthen Scout Group for more than 20 years, pleaded guilty before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court, to making 77 indecent images of a child between January 6 and February 22 last year.

Police executed a warrant at the home of the 44-year-old, of Parc Thomas, following information they received of images he may have downloaded at the property.

When officers spoke to Umney, a former mountain rescue and Llansteffan Coastguard member, he asked to go to the toilet as they were carrying out the search.

He was allowed to do so, under supervision by officers, and it appeared he was concealing an ‘SD card’, which was then seized by officers, and later found to contain images referred to in the charge.

Umney was arrested, and after the search took place, he was taken to the police station where he made “full and frank admissions” in way of a prepared statement.

He admitted downloading images of male children aged three to 16 onto an SD card and that he was solely responsible.

Two devices were removed from his property, and found to contain images of children

The court heard Umney had no previous convictions. A forfeiture of equipment used — namely the SD card, a computer and HP laptop, was requested by the prosecution service.

Mitigating, John Allchurch said: “I think the main thing I would stress is he is a 44-year-old man of good character.

“For someone to have been arrested, taken to the police station on two occasions in relation on this type of offence and have to come before court is an unwelcome experience.

“The press are here and this will be reported in newspapers and that is punishment alone, along with the stress and anxiety he has experienced.

“I would ask you to take into account the regret and remorse he feels for his offending.”

Umney was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work.

He was also been given a rehabilitation activity requirement, while a forfeiture order was made for the equipment.

Magistrates also imposed a sexual harm prevention order until January 2022, banning him from “possessing any computer, iPhone, mobile telephone or any device capable of recording and storing images without notifying his monitoring police or probation officer of its acquisition within 3 days thereof”.

He was also banned from using any device capable of recording or storing images unless it has the capacity to retain and display the history of any recordings made, and he makes the device available on request for inspection by a police officer.

January 2017

Cullompton library user caught with images after contacting girl, 14

A man who tried to contact under age girls over the internet was found with illegal images on his phone after police arrested him at a public library.

Colin Drew was already subject to a community order because of similar offences when he was caught with more images on his phone and laptop in June last year.

No action was taken on his attempts to contact a 14-year-old girl but he was prosecuted over the 940 indecent images which were recovered.

Drew, aged 41, of Fairfax Drive, Cullompton, admitted four counts of making indecent images of children when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court.

All but 125 of the images came into the lowest category C, which shows naked children in indecent poses. The remainder were category B images which show non penetrative sexual activity.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, adjourned the case for sentence next month and ordered a probation report. The report will contain an update on the work Drew is doing under his existing community order.

He told Drew:”The position for you is much more serious than it has been in the past because images were downloaded after the previous sentence. I will renew bail but make no promises about the outcome.”

Mr Lee Bremridge, prosecuting, said:”These offences came to light as a result of a compliant from a 14-year-old girl who said he was sending her messages and asking to meet her at a Tesco.

“Police intervened and arrested him at a library in Cullompton. Two mobiles were found on him and his ex partner brought in a computer which also contained images.

“A decision was taken not to proceed in connection with the other matters.”

He said the images on the phone had been downloaded recently but others on a memory card and the computer may day back to 2009.

January 2017

Dunstable man inflicted ‘abhorrent abuse’ on young children in 1980s and 1990s

AN elderly man from Dunstable sexually abused two children in the 1980s and 1990s, a hearing has found.

Charlie Jones, 77, from Maidenbower Avenue, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to health issues.

But a trial of issue relating to nine charges was heard at Luton Crown Court.

The jury found that four of those charges were proven and today, Jones was ordered to be placed in secure accommodation outside of the county and banned from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years old.

Jones was proven to have indecently assaulted a seven-year-old boy over a period of four years in the early 1980s.

The other three charges related to the indecent assault of a girl in the 1990s. The girl was aged just five years old when the abuse started.

January 2017

Lincolnshire charity worker caught with over 1,200 indecent videos involving girls as young as four

A Lincolnshire charity worker who downloaded indecent videos showing girls of just four years old being raped has been jailed at Lincoln Crown Court.

57 year old Andrew Martin, who worked full-time for the charity LIVES, was arrested in 2015 after police raided his home following a tip-off and seized computer equipment.

Sam Skinner, prosecuting, said that officers received information that Martin was using a file sharing site to distribute illegal child sexual abuse images

Mr Skinner said: “When the police arrived Mr Martin was at work. Officers seized a computer tower and hard drive.

“The material on the computer was accessible to the user but had been placed in a hidden file. Only this defendant knew it was there until it was analysed by a computer expert.”

A total of 1,278 videos depicting child sexual abuse were found including 597 which were of the most serious level.

A further 1,072 still images of children were also found.

Analysis of the computer showed that one of the images had been distributed to 130 other viewers using a file sharing site.

Mr Skinner said that police only examined a small proportion of the 120,000 files on the computer as a full examination would have taken several months to complete.

He said it was likely that more child porn would have been found if more work had been carried out.

Martin, 57, of St Andrews Street, Heckington, admitted six charges of making indecent images of children, one charge of distribution of a pornographic image of a child and a further charge of possession of 34 extreme pornographic images.

The offences took place between February 2009 and September 2015. He was jailed for 16 months and placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years. He was also given a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told him: “There is just far too much material and this went on for far too long a period of time for me to do anything other than impose an immediate custodial sentence upon you.”

Christopher Hopkins, in mitigation, said Martin accepted full responsibility for what he had done and has sought help.

Mr Hopkins added: “He lost his job with the LIVES charity and has lost his relationship of 26 years as a result of these matters.”

January 2017

Mansfield man jailed after sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl

A 25-year-old Mansfield man of has been jailed after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Shawn Horsfield appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 20 November. The offence had taken place at a house in Mansfield sometime between 31 January and 2 February this year.

Horsfield, of Littleover Avenue, who had admitted two counts of sexual assault at a previous hearing, was told he would serve a prison sentence of 32 months.

January 2017

Teenager pleads guilty to string of sex offences including child rape

A teenager from Leek has pleaded guilty to a string sexual offences including the multiple rape and abuse of a small child

Teenager Luke Alexander-Morrison pleaded guilty to three charges of raping a child who was under the age of 13.

The 19-year-old, of Cornhill Gardens, Leek, also admitted:

• Sexual assault of a child under 13

• Six offences of making indecent photographs of a child

• Distributing indecent photographs of children

• Two offences of possessing an extreme pornographic image

• Possessing a paedophile manual.

The court heard that when police examined Alexander-Morrison’s computer, they found a manual that contained advice or guidance about abusing children and how not to get caught

Also contained on the computer was clear evidence that not only was he in possession of indecent images of children and humans having sex with animals, but he was also sharing them online with other paedophile’s.

He will be sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after reports are prepared on him by the probation service and a doctor.

His bail was extended.

January 2017

Praze artist told police he wasn’t ashamed of child abuse pics because ‘children were enjoying it’

A paedophile caught with child sexual abuse images on his computer told police he wasn’t disgusted with the material because “the children were clearly enjoying it”.

John Gilbert-Heighton, from Trethannas Gardens, Praze, appeared at Truro Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced after pleading guilty to four counts of possessing indecent images of children

The court heard how artist Gilbert-Heighton, 80, had inappropriate images of children ranging from seven-years-old to 12.

He was found to possess more than 500 images and videos – some of which the category A, the most serious type which showed young children being raped

When arrested Gilbert-Heighton, who has no previous convictions, denied having any sexual interest in children and said he was only interested in the images for the purposes of his artwork.

Further forensic examination revealed more images, that had previously been deleted, and internet searches for indecent images.

Whilst being quizzed by police officers they asked him if he was disgusted, to which he replied “why would I be disgusted? The children were clearly enjoying it”.

Sentencing Gilbert-Heighton, Recorder Ignatius Hughes QC said: “The images involved children which were perverted and filthy. Any notion that they weren’t is wrong-headed.

“The fright of potential consequences of the crimes both to yourself and your family would have been significant and the suspended sentence imposed will have two effects.

“You will receive individual sessions for men who do what you have done and the sentence will hang over your head so you know that if you do it again you’ll go straight to prison.”

Gilbert-Heighton was handed a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years, issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to attend a rehab activity requirement.