May 2015

Transexual woman jailed after raping Tamworth girls when she was a man

A MAN who raped two young Tamworth girls before undergoing a sex change operation has been jailed for 16 years.

Nicola Cope – formerly known as ‘Gordon’ – groomed the girls for sex before systematically abusing them over a number of years, a jury at Stafford Crown Court ruled.

Cope, now aged 57, of St Marys Courtyard, Atherstone, was found guilty of a total of nine charges of rape and four of indecent assault on the two girls between 1987 and 2003 when the defendant was living as a man in Tamworth.

She was cleared of indecently assaulting a third young girl.

‘Gordon’ underwent a sex change in 2008.

Judge Mark Eades told her: “These are dreadful offences. You groomed mercilessly in order to commit sexual acts against [these girls].

“It is difficult to imagine a worse case.

“You knowingly set out to groom these children so you could have intercourse with them. It went on for a long time.

“Ordinarily I would consider you a dangerous person, but now you have undergone your sex change, the likelihood of repetition is ruled out.

“You have never once shown any remorse or sorrow for what you have done.”

Along with the jail sentence, Cope was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and banned from working with children, also for life.

Mr Peter Arnold, prosecuting, said Cope’s sexual abuse began when one of the girls was aged either four, five or six. The other girl was aged seven when Cope began to abuse her.

Mr Arnold told the jurors they may be wondering why, if the abuse happened “a fair time ago”, it had only just come to court.

“You will be aware from all those cases in the papers, about celebrities: talking about intimate things, people bottle it up when they are younger, are confused about how they will be judged, are threatened by the abuser.

“It is commonplace for those things not to come out until much later, some people go to their graves with it.”

Cope had denied all the charges, claiming the abuse never happened. Her barrister, Miss Siobhan Collins, said: “There is no mitigation about these offences.”

May 2015

Man who attempted to kidnap 13-year-old girl jailed

A teenager narrowly escaped being kidnapped when she was grabbed by a stranger on her way to school.

The 13-year-old only managed to break free when two parents saw Ismail Uradde trying to drag her away and stepped in to rescue her.

As the terrified youngster fled across Blackpool Road, she was almost hit by a truck in her efforts to get away from the stranger.

Less than half an hour earlier, Uradde had stopped a young teaching assistant in her tracks and tried to persuade her to go with him, Preston Crown Court was told.

Now Uradde has been jailed for two years after admitting the bizarre spate of attempted abductions and common assaults in which he threatened to get a gun.

Judge Heather Lloyd commended the two parents who intervened to help the youngster to safety as they walked their own children to school.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard Uradde, 26, was high on drink and drugs when he firstly approached the teaching assistant close to the junction with Miller Road, Ribbleton.

The woman said he was so close to her that she could feel his spittle on her face as he asked her for a light and told her she was pretty.

He asked her to go with him but the woman said she had a boyfriend and was not interested. Uradde followed her but she pushed past him, threatening to punch him and call the police.

Shortly after Uradde, of no fixed address, approached the schoolgirl in a newsagent’s and attempted to pass her his phone number. He asked the girl – who was wearing her school uniform – to go with him and if she knew anyone over 16.

The youngster ignored him and carried on her way to school but Uradde followed her on to a pedestrian crossing and grabbed her by the arm, trying to pull her away.

Two parents saw what was happening and the woman told the girl not to go with Uradde, to which he replied: “Don’t start on me. She can come with me if she likes. I’ll knock you out right here in front of your kids. I’ve got a gun.”

The woman moved her own children away and the schoolgirl fled across Blackpool Road towards home – across the path of a oncoming lorry.

At this point Uradde became aggressive towards the man – Lee Warner – bouncing on his toes and adopting a boxing stance, before punching him in the head.

The schoolgirl’s mother – who had gone out to find the man after seeing her daughter terrified and distressed when she arrived home – spotted Uradde.

He asked her if she was all right and she told him “No. You have just really freaked my daughter out,” threatening to “batter him”.

The police arrived but Uradde’s behaviour was so out of control it took a number of officers to restrain him and put him in the back of the van.

During the course of his arrest he assaulted a number of officers and spat in one PC’s face.

Judge Lloyd said: “This was a particularly unpleassant incident for all involved, particularly the schoolgirl who thought he was going to kidnap her.”

The court heard Uradde – who usually lived in London with his mother – had been “sofa surfing” since the death of a close family member.

He had turned to drink and drugs and did not remember the incident, although he accepted he needed to stop abusing substances.

Judge Lloyd told him: “She (the schoolgirl) was terrified. She feared she was going to be taken by you. (Onlookers) very bravely confronted you. You punched Mr Warner as you were shouting that you were going to get a gun.

“It took six officers to get you out of the van when you arrived at the police station and you were physically and verbally abusive towards them.

“The alarming fact is that I see from your pre-sentence report that this is not behaviour that is unusual for you.

“You have previous convictions for assaulting random strangers and your last conviction was against a lone female who was driving her car. You tried to open her car door and were abusive towards her.

“This is a significant escalation in your offending and in the past your response to community orders has been poor.

“Any attempted to abduct a child is serious. Two lone females were approached. Several people were assaulted. Despite the early hour you were very intoxicated.

“You say you were out of control that day. It may well be that you are out of control in your behaviour when you drink but you were not so out of control that you were unable to walk or to go into a shop and buy something.

“If you continue to drink and abuse your body you will commit further offences and be sentenced to longer terms of imprisonment.”

May 2015

Sick paedophiles who ‘cruised Cleethorpes’ for victims jailed for a total of 28 years

TWO serial paedophiles who targeted young boys while “cruising around Cleethorpes” have been jailed for a total of 28 years.

They “caused horrendous suffering” to the victims and had “ripped their lives apart and stolen their childhood”, a court heard.

Paul Jennings, 59, and his boyfriend, Adrian Jagger, 48, of Anthony Way, Stallingborough, denied a series of more than 30 offences.

Jennings was convicted of 17 offences, including rape, gross indecency with a child, sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He earlier admitted one offence of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for 16 years.

Jagger was convicted of 14 offences including gross indecency with a child, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He earlier admitted another offence of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was locked up for 12 years.

Paul O’Shea, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that the sexual abuse had caused great suffering for the four male victims.

“They have been very badly affected by it,” he said.

“Two of them used the expression that their childhoods had been taken away by the actions of these defendants.”

Judge Sean Morris said the pair had been convicted on “overwhelming evidence” of a “campaign of homosexual paedophilia” carried out over many years.

Jagger began the abuse but was later joined in it by his boyfriend, Jennings.

“You have caused horrendous suffering,” said Judge Morris.

“I have seen it. I have seen it on the faces of the victims who gave evidence – their body language, their anguish, their tears, their shaking.

“You have ripped their lives apart and stolen their childhood.

“They will never recover, probably, from what you have done but they deserve nothing but praise for their courage in the way that they sought, and I hope that they think they have obtained, justice.

“You are both going to be out of the system for a long time.”

There would, for them, be “no more cruising around Cleethorpes inviting boys to come and join you”, said Judge Morris.

The pair were given indefinite sexual harm prevention orders and will have to register as sex offenders for life.

Katherine Goddard, mitigating after the verdicts, said a prison sentence would be more difficult for Jagger than for someone of a similar age because of the difficulties he suffered.

Anil Murray, representing Jennings, said: “I have got no mitigation.”

Jennings was cleared of two offences on the direction of the judge. Jagger was cleared of four offences, one of them by the jury of attempted rape and three on the direction of the judge.

The jury deliberated for nine hours and 24 minutes over two days, split by the bank holiday.

Most of the verdicts were unanimous but five, three of them against Jennings and two against Jagger, were on majority decisions of ten to two.

May 2015

11 years jail for ‘vile’ paedophile who abused boy, 6, and girl, 8

A “vile” Halifax paedophile has been jailed for 11 years after being convicted of a series of sexual offences against two children.

Malcolm Ashley, 55, was convicted of three offences of rape and also a sexual assault.

At the time the offences – which were of a historic nature – took place the male victim was age six and the female victim was age eight.

Ashley, who a judge described as “vile and perverted” was arrested in January 2014, before being charged in October last year following a detailed investigation.

Last week a judge at Bradford Crown Court jailed him for 11 years, made him subject to a life long sexual offences prevention order and put him on the Sexual Offenders Register.

Speaking after the court case, Det Insp David Shaw of Calderdale CID, said: “Ashley clearly poses a real danger to young people and I hope his victims can take some measure of comfort from seeing justice done. We would always encourage victims of sexual offences to come forward and can promise that reports will be investigated and victims will be treated with the utmost sensitivity.

“We were very pleased to see Ashley receive a substantial sentence for these offences which were described as ‘vile’ by the judge during the sentencing hearing.

“The trauma he has inflicted on his young victims cannot be calculated and we would echo the comments of the court in commending them for the courage they have shown in coming forwards.”

May 2015

GP escapes jail despite possessing hundreds of thousands of indecent images of children

David McMaster (50), a doctor at Quayside Medical Practice in Failsworth, pleaded guilty to six charges at Warrington Crown Court yesterday.

McMaster, who was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, was arrested last June after officers from Cheshire Police raided his Lymm home on charges covering July 2007 to June 2014.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of making 1,811 category A images, 1,856 category B images and 170,008 category C images.

He also pleaded guilty to further counts of possession of 6,435 indecent images with a view to distribute, possession of 120,675 indecent images and possession of 13 extreme pornographic images.

Simon Christie, defending, said: “He was a distinguished GP who went over and above his normal duties and worked phenomenally hard.

His addiction overtook him and destroyed his career and life as he knew it.

He has fallen a very, very long way and he should have known better. He was relieved when the police came to see him.

“There is no indication he was actively involved in the distribution or taking of these images. He paid for a course to tackle his addiction and took steps to break it. His life needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.”

Judge Woodward said: “Over a long period of time you have been accessing indecent images of children.

“The stresses you were under with work, your finances and relationship were factors but it in no way explains or excuses what you did.

“You would have known through your training and career the severe damage that is done to young people as a result of sexual offending.

“These are large and lengthy charges that have had a devastating impact on you and your family, who must have been shocked when they found out.”

McMaster will have to complete an internet sex offenders’ treatment programme and will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £500. He has been banned from working with children or vulnerable people indefinitely.

McMaster, former clinical director for NHS Oldham CCG, was suspended by the General Medical Council last July. This will remain until the GMC has concluded its own investigations.

May 2015

Former vicar jailed for indecently assaulting young girl 

A retired vicar who indecently assaulted a young girl more than 40 years ago has been jailed following a trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Graham Gregory, 79, of Brockfield Park Drive, Huntington, York was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday (May 26), having been found guilty in 2014 of two counts of indecent assault on a girl under 13 years.

Gregory was acquitted of two further counts of indecent assault following a retrial at the same court.

Detectives were contacted by a woman in 2012 who claimed that she had been abused as a child between 1969 and 1971 when she lived in Wandsworth and attended the church where Gregory was curate.

She told officers that he kissed her on several occasions before assaulting her.

A second woman, who also knew Gregory through the same church, informed officers that she too had been abused as a child.

Gregory was interviewed on January 26, 2013, by officers.

He denied the allegations and claimed not to know one of the women.

He was summoned to attend Kingston Crown Court on Monday, December 8, 2014 with five counts of indecent assault on a female under 13-years-old and found guilty of two indecent assaults.

Detective Constable Aaron Vardy, of the Met’s Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “Gregory abused his position as a figure of trust and authority.

“It takes a lot of courage to report this type of crime and in some cases victims feel that they are only able to come forward years after the offence.

“This conviction highlights that regardless of how much time has passed, we remain committed to bringing offenders before the courts.

“I would urge anyone else who may have been a victim of Gregory’s abuse to contact with the police.”

As well as working as curate in Southfields, Wandsworth, Gregory also held positions in Hastings, Chichester, York and the Isle of Man as a vicar.

May 2015

Grandfather admits touching young girl

A 50-year-old grandfather who admitted sexually touching an under-age girl appeared at Omagh Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday).

Dermot MacBrien, from Derrin Road, Enniskillen pleaded guilty on March 25, 2015 to intentionally engaging in sexual touching of a girl under 16 on a date between January 1, 2012 and October 15, 2013. At that court hearing, a second charge of meeting the underage girl with the intention of carrying out a sex act was left on the books.

Yesterday (Wednesday), MacBrien listened as the Prosecution barrister read an agreed statement of facts to the court.

The court heard MacBrien became aware of the underage girl in 2012. Correspondence between him and the girl led her family to state that the contact between them was not natural. Underwear found in the girls room was examined by police, who matched bodily fluid found on the lining of her pants to MacBriens DNA.

The girl cannot be named for legal reasons.

The Crown also submits that the significant disparity between their ages results in a breach of trust.

MacBriens defence barrister Martin Rogers told the court that MacBrien accepts the courts concern with his relationship with the girl. He said MacBrien had inappropriate empathy with the girl given his own background, adding that MacBrien had a difficult upbringing. He stated that MacBrien is prepared to engage in therapeutic counselling.

Mr. Rogers told Judge Paul Ramsey QC that MacBriens wife had died tragically and he currently has a son in foster care. He asked that, if MacBrien is given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), he would be permitted to see his five grandchildren.

The Court heard that MacBrien has been in custody since February 28, 2014.

Judge Ramsey stated: Ive listened to the Prosecution outline the agreed facts. Its a difficult area. Im going to have to think about it. Im not going to sentence you today.

He remanded MacBrien in custody, for sentencing on June 11.

Letters from MacBriens family, who were present in court, were handed in to Judge Ramsey.

May 2015

Pervert used Facebook to groom young boys

A SEXUAL groomer lied about his age on Facebook in a bid to meet up with two underage boys, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Scott Lowndes swapped indecent photos with a 13-year-old child and asked a 14-year-old to be his boyfriend.

Lowndes, 20, of Crosley Wood Road, Bingley, pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two offences of attempting to arrange to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He had been held in custody since committing the offences in August last year.

Prosecutor Katherine Robinson today told the court that Lowndes pretended to be 16 on Facebook and his profile featured a photo of a person who looked that age.

He sent indecent photos to the 13-year-old, who sent three similar images of himself back.

Lowndes suggested meeting up but the boy told his mother and she said no.

He told the 14-year-old he was 17 and suggested seeing him in a hotel, the court was told.

Miss Robinson said Lowndes had a prolific criminal record for dissimilar, low level offending.

In mitigation, Lowndes’ barrister, Stephen Wood, said his client was a vulnerable and troubled young man.

He had never made any definite plan to meet up with either boy.

“It is almost as if the arrangements were some sort of fantasy that would never come to fruition,” Mr Wood said.

Lowndes pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was very frank with the police.

“On a level of maturity, he is about the same as the victims,” Mr Wood said.

Lowndes had a very impressive report from his probation officer and had battled psychological problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

His sister, who was in court to support him, was willing to let him live with her.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC sentenced Lowndes to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with supervision and a high level activity requirement with the probation service.

He said they were “very serious and troubling offences.”

Lowndes had groomed and lied to the boys.

“If you start messing about with kids, I will send you to prison,” Judge Durham Hall told him.

The judge also made Lowndes the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered him to sign on the sex offenders’ register for ten years.

May 2015

14 years in prison for Wollaton paedophile who filmed sex acts with young boys

Child molester Steven Peck has been jailed for 14 years after admitting he groomed young boys for sex.

Over a seven-year period, he befriended three youngsters, plying them with gifts and taking them on days out, while abusing them – at venues including Wollaton Park. It was only when one of the victims told his grandmother two years ago that the crimes came to light.

Yesterday, the 38-year-old was finally brought to justice after Nottingham Crown Court heard how he had “ruined” their childhoods.

As Peck was sentenced for 12 offences, including rape and sexual activity with children, Judge Michael Stokes QC told him: “You were considerably older than these boys when you abused them over a substantial period of time.

“They obviously found you in some way attractive or wouldn’t have sought out your company.“But one of the gravest aspects of this sort of behaviour for a man who’s an adult – doing this to young boys of primary school age and above into their teens – is that it causes untold psychological damage.”

Peck, of Tranby Gardens, Wollaton, wore a white and blue shirt in the dock and put his head in his hands as his offences – which were committed between April 2002 and December 2009 – were listed.

Prosecutor Dawn Pritchard said the victims were all aged between 10 and 15 at the time but were now in their early 20s.

She said he was known to all the boys, who often visited his home and accompanied him on trips to Alton Towers and go-karting – referring to him as like a “cool, older brother”.

He also gave them presents, such as a stereo and clothes, as well as alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.One of the victims said they would often watch videos in his attic with another of the boys but one day the youngsters were asked to undress and engage in sexual activity.

The boy, who was 13 at the time, said the molestation continued for two years. He was also asked by Peck to perform sex acts with the other boy.

Peck molested them in his house, car, garage, a shed and at Wollaton Park, occasionally filming the acts.

The other youngsters gave similar stories when later interviewed by police after Peck was arrested in April 2013.

Miss Pritchard said one of the boys believed he had “lost his childhood” and had self-harmed as a result.

She said: “This young man doesn’t have many friends and is a bit of a loner. He lacks confidence and is often depressed.

“He has problems with relationships, trust issues and feels out of step with others.”

Another victim said in a statement: “It’s ruined what is supposed to be one of the most important and exciting times of my life.”

Michelle Clark, in mitigation, said Peck had been abused as a child and was sorry for what he had done.

She said: “It doesn’t excuse the abuse of those who came into his house. He’s a damaged individual.

“He rightly or wrongly had a great deal of affection for these boys. It’s not something he planned to do from the very beginning.”

Ms Clark added that Peck was willing to undergo psychological treatment.

The charges included three counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child and sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of rape.

Peck had denied the rape and those that included sexual penetration but, on the first day of a planned trial last month, admitted all the offences. He will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

May 2015

Pensioner jailed for abusing boy after police find victim’s naked picture in bedside cabinet

May 2015

Sex offender broke order by sleeping in same house as teenage girls

A registered sex offender stayed in a house with teenage girls after being taken home by a new girlfriend who knew nothing about his past.

May 2015

Pensioner jailed for sex offences against 3 girls in Surrey and North East Hampshire

A pensioner has been jailed for a string of sex offences against girls in Surrey and North East Hampshire.

69-year-old John Wooldridge, of St Johns Road in Yeovil has been jailed for five years.

His victims were as young as 10 and he carried out abuse over almost two decades.

The offences happened at houses in Guildford, Ash and Aldershot in the 1970s and 80s.

His victims were aged between 10 and 17 at the time.

They have released a joint statement calling on more victims to come forward if they are out there: “John Wooldridge destroyed lives with his disgusting actions and we would encourage anyone who may be affected by this to come forward so that their voices may be heard too.

“We carry both physical and mental scars. The hurt he inflicted on us all, we have carried for the whole of our lives and for us this has been a life sentence.

“He shows no remorse for his actions, which for us is another blow and we can only hope and pray that justice is served on him at long last.”

Wooldridge has been convicted of 11 counts against three girls.

Ten counts are of indecent assault, one is indecency with a child.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Sue Champion from the Northern Investigation Team said: “Wooldridge’s offending spanned nearly 20 years and had an extremely traumatic effect on all three victims.

“He deliberately took advantage of children as young as 10 in order to gain sexual gratification.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the three victims in this case for being brave enough to come to court and give evidence against him. It is because of their courage that he is now facing a long time behind bars.”

May 2015

Bideford man admits downloading more than 2,000 child abuse images

A BIDEFORD man has admitted downloading more than 2,000 child abuse images or movies from the internet.

David Foster, aged 40, of Clifton Road, admitted a total of ten charges of making indecent images when he appeared before Exeter Crown Court.

He admitted making the images, which included some of serious child abuse, between June 2006 and January 2014.

He admitted having 158 images and 121 movies at the most serious category, level A. He admitted having 140 images and 28 movies at level B and 1,700 images and 18 movies at level C,

Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, adjourned the case for a probation pre sentence report and ordered Foster to sign on the sex offenders’ register.

He warned him that all options, including custody, will be open to the sentencing judge

May 2015

Married father-of-two caught arranging to meet up with 14-year-old girl in Blackburn

A SELF-STYLED “paedophile hunter”, who has made it his mission to root out child abusers, caught a man arranging to meet up with a 14-year-old girl in Blackburn.

At Bolton Crown Court married father-of-two Stephen Thomson was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years, sentenced to a three-year community order and told he must participate in a sex offenders treatment programme.

Thomson, aged 57, was the subject of a sting by Stinson Hunter, a freelance journalist and researcher who featured in The Paedophile Hunter, a television documentary which won a BAFTA award earlier this month.

Speaking after the case, Mr Hunter said: “When I met Stephen in Farnworth to film him, he didn’t think he had done anything wrong. He had arranged to meet a 14-year-old child but then decided against it. He was trying to deflect the blame to me, saying I had entrapped him. He was not a pleasant man and didn’t seem to care.

“At least he is on the register so that will stop him from being around children in Bolton.

“Obviously the convictions like Stephen Thomson are a good thing, but I don’t do it to blow my own trumpet, saying, ‘look what I’ve done’. It’s all about getting people thinking, which I hope to some degree I have achieved.”

In court Joanna Rodikis, prosecuting, told how, on August 19 last year, Thomson entered an adult chat room on the internet and came in contact with someone calling themselves Kayleigh.

In reality Kayleigh was Hunter, posing as a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

The court heard that over three weeks Thomson had regular contact with Kayleigh, initially over the internet and then by using Whatsapp on mobile phones.

Thomson engaged in sexual talk with the “girl”, requested to see her breasts and sent her a photograph of a penis.

But when they arranged to meet in a Blackburn park, Thomson did not turn up, telling Kayleigh in a text message: “Please forgive a stupid old man and find someone of your own age.”

Hunter later confronted Thomson in the street, videoing their conversation, passing his evidence to police and posting it on his Facebook page 

Thomson, of Lower Rawson Street, Farnworth, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child to look at a sexual image and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Thomas Fitzpatrick, defending, told the court: “Although this defendant has been the recipient, as it were, of a sting, he holds no grudge against Mr Hunter and, in some respects, applauds his motives.”

“He is a man who has always worked hard and provided for his family and led an industrious and blameless life who now finds himself in the invidious position of being labelled a sex offender,” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

He added that Thomson had “immersed himself in a fantasy” which was at an embryonic stage and only the defendant knows whether he would have carried on with the offending if Kayleigh had been a real girl.

“In the final text he came to his senses,” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

Sentencing Thomson, Recorder Karen Brody told him: “These are serious offences because children who use the internet are increasingly prey to men and women who can groom them. It can cause immense damage.”-

April 2014

Boys’ Brigade leader jailed for more than two years after haul of indecent images of children found at his home

Sick Gordon Spence, 49, gathered thousands of pictures and videos of children over more than a decade and shared them with other paedophiles online. 

Police found more than 8000 images stored on various devices after raiding Spence’s home in Rutherglen in February 2013.

Spence, a former captain at a number of different BB companies in the south of Glasgow, admitted downloading and distributing indecent images.

Glasgow sheriff Lindsay Wood told Spence there was no alternative to jail before sentencing him to 28 months. He will also remain on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

The court heard that Spence denied taking any of the indecent images himself, saying they were all down-loaded from the internet.

A BB spokesman said: “We have a policy on safeguarding young people and all leaders undergo a criminal record check.

“There are approaching 12,000 BB leaders in the UK and although cases such as this are, thankfully, very rare, they are always distressing.

“However, it is important that this case should not eclipse the otherwise excellent work done by our voluntary leaders.”

May 2015

Man searched for bestiality on Conwy library computer

A man caught searching for bestiality on a Conwy library computer had child abuse images on his own laptop at home, a special court heard.

Jay Bolton, 28, of Conwy, admitted possessing 94 indecent child images in April 2014 and making child abuse images in 2012.

He also pleaded guilty to having bestiality pornography during a hearing before magistrates in Llandudno.

Bolton will be sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court on 19 June

June 2015

Lorry driver fled South Yorkshire after arrest over child abuse images

Lorry driver Craig Whitehead fled South Yorkshire for his own safety after being arrested for downloading child abuse images, a court heard.

Police searched his Barnsley home following ‘disturbing allegations’ and seized two laptop computers and a mobile phone.

Still images and four videos were recovered with the most serious of the images, said Michael Tooley, prosecuting.

Whitehead, aged 44, now of Beaumont Crescent, Peterlee, County Durham, used a mobile phone to send the images to an unknown address.

He admitted two offences of making indecent photographs and distributing them following the raid in February, 2013.

Julian Brook, defending, said Whitehead earned up to £1,500 a month as an HGV driver and was arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation by police into ‘serious matters’.

Only a low number of images were found and Whitehead had been candid and entirely co-operative with officers.

“He has moved from his home in South Yorkshire to County Durham as a result of fear for his own personal safety,” said Mr Brook.

His behaviour related to a lack of control and poor victim empathy. His emotional needs were not met as a child by his parents and domestic violence was “commonplace” in the home.

He argued prison would do little to address his behaviour and he would lose his job and accommodation. “He sorely needs assistance,” he said.

Judge Simon Lawler jailed Whitehead for 18 months.

June 2015

Pervert pensioner who hid in park bushes before sexually attacking schoolboy is jailed

An elderly sex pest who stalked a schoolboy through the streets after subjecting him to a sex attack has been jailed.

William Stewart, 70, lurked in the bushes as youngsters were coming home from school and then exposed himself to a 14-year-old boy before groping him in Heaton Park.

He then limped after the terrified youngster while he was on the phone to police – and even waited outside a shop for him when he went inside to escape him.

Now Stewart, of Parksway, Blackley, has been jailed for two years by a court which heard the offence, at 3.30pm on March 13, was the latest in a series of sex crimes he has committed against boys and young men since 1969.

Shortly after the boy spotted Stewart performing a sex act in bushes, the pensioner demanded sex, gripped hold of him, shoved him against a tree, and fondled him.

The boy, who had been on his way to a friends house, escaped Stewart’s clutches and rang police.

But Stewart, who has mobility problems and walks with a limp, trailed him through the streets for the length of the 16 minute call.

Even when the boy was advised to go into a shop by the 999 operator Stewart waited outside, staring at the boy for seven minutes.

Stewart has now been jailed for two years after admitting sexual assault.

The boy, who sustained cuts and bruises to his back during his ordeal, now suffers nightmares and panic attacks.

Stewart has six previous convictions for sex offences against boys and men, and has previously served a ten year sentence for buggery.

Sending him down, Judge Michael Henshell said he had ‘lurking in bushes’ at a time ‘when children might be expected to be passing by coming from school’.

“You have a quite dreadful record for offences committed against boys and men – although the last conviction was a long time ago, in 1983”, the judge added.

“It’s perfectly clear from the nature of this offence that although time has passed by you are still prone to commit offences of this type.

“This was a prolonged incident, you followed the child after the incident, you followed him whilst he was calling the police, it was an offence that I would describe as strong restraint by you. There’s some evidence given the timing and where you were that you were targeting at this time. An overwhelming aggravating feature is your appalling record.”

November 2008

Sex attacker jailed after House of Lords ruling

A SEX attacker whose case reached the House of Lords because of a legal blunder is finally behind bars.

Daniel Boyle was quizzed by police in August 2006 after his victim finally broke her silence. He went on to admit repeatedly sexually abusing the victim as a child in the 1970s.

But Newcastle Crown Court heard how, against good practice, he was charged with a single offence of indecent assault – limiting sentencing powers at the time to a maximum two-year jail term.

The case was adjourned for review by Mr Justice Openshaw in January last year.

And it was only after a ruling in the House of Lords that new charges were laid against the 56-year-old, who admitted eight offences of indecent assault.

Boyle, of High Carr Road, Durham, was yesterday jailed for five-and-a-half years, ordered to register as a sex offender for life and banned from working with children indefinitely.

Euan Duff, defending, said Boyle deserved maximum credit for his admissions and was not to blame for the delay in resolving the case.

He said: “The victim is owed a massive apology, not simply by the defendant, but those who conducted this prosecution because it was conducted with nothing less than ineptitude to begin with.”

March 2015

Pervert prison warder who took over 100 pictures of a 10-year-old girl naked has been jailed

A pervert prison warder who amassed a collection of 100 indecent pictures of a 10-year-old girl naked in the bath or stripped off in the shower has been jailed today

Darren McGarey (26) spent a year snapping the primary-age youngster with his mobile phone when she went into the bathroom, until he was exposed by her 14-year-old brother.

The schoolboy told his gran that “something was going on”, and “they should watch” McGarey. Stirling Sheriff Court was told that the grandmother then spoke to the girl, who for legal reasons cannot be identified.

The girl’s mother phoned McGarey and gave him an hour to leave the house, six miles outside Stirling where, it turned out, he had been photographing the girl naked over a period of a year.

The family called police and McGarey was stopped hours later, driving north on the A9 near Inverness.

Officers seized his mobile phone and found he had deleted 120 pictures of the girl. However, the “thumbnail” copies were still on the device.

A total of 100 of them were erotic, and showed her fully naked, either standing showering or lying in the bath.

They were categorised by experts at level one, the least serious, on the scale used to assess pornographic images of children.

The girl was interviewed by police and social workers, and disclosed that McGarey would “come in and just watch her” in the shower while he was on his mobile phone.

McGarey, who was immediately suspended by the Scottish Prison Service and later quit, turned out to also have another 26 images of other girls naked in the shower.

The court was told that it had not been possible to identify who these girls were, but their ages were estimated at nine to 11 years.

A further 74 indecent images of children were stored as thumbnails on his phone.

Of these, 14 were assessed as “level three” indecent images, showing sexual activity between adults and children.

In total, there were 200 pornographic images of young girls on the prison officer’s phone.

McGarey, of Hebridean Gardens, Crieff, pleaded guilty to a charge of recording the girl doing a private act, with the intention of enabling himself or others to look at the resulting images, repeatedly entering the bathroom, pulling back the shower curtain, and photographing her with his mobile while she was showering, having a bath, or drying herself with a towel.

The offence was committed at the address between 24 May 2013 and 23 May 2014.

The court heard that McGarey, a first offender, had been assessed by social workers as at moderate risk of committing a further offence of a similar nature.

Virgil Crawford, defending, said McGarey accepted that a custodial sentence was an option.

Mr Crawford added: “He lost his employment as a result of this, but he can’t have any complaint about that, given the nature of his job.”

The girl’s family shouted “yes” from the public benches when Sheriff Wyllie Robertson told McGarey that because the offences involved breach of trust, no sentence other than custody was appropriate, despite his lack of record.

He imposed an extended sentence of four years four months – 10 months’ imprisonment plus a further three and a half years during which he can be recalled to prison if he re-offends.

During the three and a half years, Scottish ministers will be able to direct him to receive treatment for deviant sexual urges.

Sheriff Robertson ordered by McGarey’s name should be held on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. McGarey showed no emotion as he was led to the cells.

Outside court, a member of the girl’s family told a reporter: “He deserved the jail, but nothing is long enough for what he did.”