July 2015

Man jailed following sexual activity with girl of eight

A man from Burgess Hill was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to sex offences against a girl of eight.

Stephen Agate, 34, a factory worker, of London Road, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday July 2.

At a previous hearing, he had pleaded guilty to causing a child aged under 13-years-old to engage in sexual activity, and to sexual activity with the same girl.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault, and the charge was left to lie on the court file

Agate was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, severely restricting his access to children, and will be a registered sex offender for life.

Sentencing, Judge David Rennie said that Agate’s crimes ‘had a bad impact on that little girl’.

Detective Constable Dani Flude, of the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit, said Agate had ‘exploited the natural innocence and vulnerability of a young child’ for his own sexual gratification.

“His guilty pleas, and the court’s agreement not to proceed with the other offences, has achieved justice for the victim without her having to give evidence – even though special measures would have been provided by the court to help her through that process.”

July 2015

Halifax man jailed for sexually abusing teenage girl

A Halifax man has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage girl.

Mohammed Ajaib, 33, of Knight Street, had denied being responsible for the repeated abuse of the complainant, but after more than three hours of deliberation a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty on 12 charges relating to various kinds of sexual assault.

After the jury returned their verdicts Peter Hampton, prosecuting, read an impact statement provided by the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

In it she said she now felt like “an outsider” and could not trust anyone.

Judge David Hatton QC imposed an indefinite restraining order on Ajaib which bans him from having any contact with the complainant.

Ajaib will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

The defendant was assisted throughout his five-day trial by an interpreter and his barrister Frida Hussain submitted that Ajaib’s language difficulties, and the fact that his family still lived in Pakistan, would mean he would have to endure a period of real isolation while in custody.

July 2015

Elgin man jailed over possession of child abuse videos and images

A Moray man who admitted possessing almost 800 indecent pictures and videos of children was jailed yesterday and placed on the sex offenders’ register for a decade.

Charles Douglas was sentenced to six months in prison after police found 770 indecent photographs and 14 videos on his laptop computers.

Douglas, of 5 Muirfield Court, Elgin, was caught after police in Cornwall traced him through a Facebook account.

The first offender admitted compiling the images between August 2010 and July 2014, but Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday that he had failed to accept full responsibility for his crime and refused to co-operate with the author of a psychological report requested prior to sentencing.

Solicitor Robert Cruickshank said: “It’s fair to say the psychological report we do have shows a distinct lack of insight into this nature of offending and the impact that this form of offending can have on children.

“That is not something I think at this stage that Mr Douglas fully grasps or understands.”

Sheriff Raymond McMenamin told Douglas he had considered the case at some length before deciding on the punishment.

“You pled guilty, but I have to say I am concerned by your failure to fully accept responsibility for your crime and your failure to allow a psychologist to contact the police,” he said.

“Each photograph and video represents the serious abuse of the children depicted.

“With regard to the nature and extent of the photographs and all other relevant factors, I have come to the conclusion that there is no alternative than to impose on you a custodial sentence.”

July 2015

Registered blind man jailed after downloading and sharing child sex abuse images on Skype

A registered blind man was jailed after he downloaded and shared child sex abuse images on Skype.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Timothy Marshall had to use “significant magnification” to view his collection of sick pictures and videos.

The 23-year-old, of Marine Promenade, Wallasey, admitted making (downloading) 819 files and distributing 372 between 2012 and 2014.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said police raided Marshall’s home on April 28 last year.

His computer was seized and found to contain 139 Category A images – the most serious category – 151 Category B and 529 Category C, the least serious category.

Marshall, who carries a white stick, cried in the dock as the court heard three Skype accounts were also discovered on his computer.

One of the accounts had attempted to send and receive nearly a thousand indecent images of children.

Mr Blasbery said: “When interviewed by police he admitted using the dark web, designed to mask yourself from the public.

“He used it to download images and videos that were illegal.”

Marshall had two previous convictions for violent attacks on his mum.

John Weate, defending, said his client was a young man who was “inadequate in many ways” because of experiences in his childhood.

He said Marshall had sex with youngsters of his own age at an early age, “suffered at the hands of others” and went into foster care.

Mr Weate said his client also had problems with his mum and that his dad had died.

The court heard he is diabetic, suffers from anxiety and depression and self-harmed.

Mr Weate said Marshall made no excuses to police and had admitted his crimes and was now in a stable relationship with his partner, who cares for him and was sat in the public gallery.

Judge Andrew Hatton said that while it was not known for sure, it was common sense that some of the indecent images and videos Marshall shared online must have been Category A files.

He said: “This was not an isolated incident, It was over a significant period of time.

“A significant number of young children suffered significant abuse to provide sexual gratification for those such as you.

“To collect and accumulate such images over a period of time is serious enough. To then distribute them is more serious still.”

Jailing Marshall for 16 months the judge handed him a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.

July 2015

Man admits making indecent images in Skipton

POLICE found 247 indecent images of children, some at the most extreme level, on computers seized at a man’s family home in Skipton, the town’s magistrates were told.

Timothy Grainger, 33, described in court as “sexually and socially immature”, admitted 11 counts of making indecent photographs and movies at Gargrave Road over two years between May, 2012, and April, 2014.

He further admitted one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a dog on April 28, 2014.

The court heard on Friday that a number of computer devices were seized and on them were 49 images at the lowest level of seriousness, 144 at the medium level and 54 at the most extreme.

When interviewed by police, Grainger made a full admission and said that he had sought help from a charitable trust set up to help offenders.

Grainger, who the court heard now lived in a bedsit in Padiham Road, Burnley, but continued to return to his mother’s home, was vulnerable to internet images, because of his social difficulties.

He had no previous convictions, and there was no suggestion that he had distributed the images.

In mitigation, Alex Preston said he had shown genuine remorse and had successfully completed a ten-week course with the child protection charity, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

She said he had co-operated fully with the police, including the handing over of his computer hard-drive, where most of the images had been stored.

He no longer had his own computer, although he did have access to his mother’s computer at the family home, but it was fitted with a device that sent a message to the foundation if it was used to access pornography.

In addition, he had no previous convictions and was supported by his mother, who was with him in court, she said.

Magistrates said they did not agree with the crown’s case that Grainger should be sent to crown court for sentencing, and asked for a full, pre-sentence report, adding that he could still be sent to the higher court.

He was allowed bail on condition he was not left unattended with any child under the age of 16 years old and will be sentenced at Skipton on July 24.

July 2015

Pervert admits possession of child abuse images 

A paedophile who kept a collection of thousands of child abuse images and videos is facing jail today.

Adam Harper, 28, admitted to making 10,762 images of children on or around May 29 last year.

Wearing a dark suit and white shirt, Harper spoke only to confirm his name and enter his guilty plea to the charge at Southwark Crown Court.

His collection ranges from category A, which covers the most serious images, to category C which contains indecent images not concerning sexual activity.

July 2015

Torquay man jailed for 14 years for ‘foul’ sexual abuse of six-year-old girl

A TORQUAY man has been jailed for 14 years for the ‘depraved’ sexual abuse of a six-year-old girl.

Julian Soper, 51, of Thurlow Road, was found guilty of five offences of indecency with a child and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual behaviour after a trial at Exeter Crown Court.

Sentencing him for the offences, which took place several years ago, Judge Jeremy Griggs said: “This was foul, degrading and depraved behaviour on numerous occasions.”

Soper had pleaded not guilty to the offences.

Judge Griggs said: “I have searched hard to find any mitigating features but have been unable to find any.”

The court was told the girl was just six years old when Soper started the abuse.

As a result the victim had suffered deep psychological scarring.

“She will at least have the comfort of knowing justice has been done,” said the judge.

Soper was put on the Sex Offender Register for life.

July 2015

Rapist abused girls when he was aged between 10 and 15

A MAN who repeatedly abused and raped two young girls when he was aged between 10 and 15 has been jailed.

Craig Evans, 27, was found guilty by a jury of a series of offences against the two girls, dating back to late 1990s and early 2000s.

Evans, a father-of-one, was jailed for 11 years at Portsmouth Crown Court by a judge after the trial. He denied the charges.

Judge Ian Pearson said: ‘The effects on the younger girls have been traumatic.

‘Clearly these events have blighted their lives.’

He added: ‘These offences are very serious indeed.

‘This was a significant breach of trust, you sexually exploited much younger girls for your own purposes.

‘This was over a period of years, not just single incidents.’

The two victims cannot be named for legal reasons.

The jury found Evans guilty of four counts of indecent assault and two rapes, all of which were multiple incident counts, meaning they happened more than once.

He was also found guilty of one charge of gross indecency.

Judge Pearson said he had hoped a pre-sentence report would show Evans’ remorse for the attacks.

But he added: ‘No remorse is there. You continue to blame the victims for fabricating and lying and conspiring against you.’

Judge Pearson said he would sentence Evans as an adult, but would reduce his prison term in line with guidance on youth sentences.

Addressing Evans, Judge Pearson added: ‘This was really a campaign of sexual exploitation.’

Dressed in a white T-shirt and heavily tattooed, Evans stared at the public gallery as he was taken down to the cells by the dock officer.

Both his family and that of the victim were present in court for the sentencing hearing and one of them shouted abuse at the other after Evans was jailed.

In a statement released after the hearing, investigating officer Detective Constable Hannah Waterman praised the victims for coming forward and welcomed the sentence.

Det Con Waterman said: ‘These were very traumatic offences for the victims and I would like to thank them for their courage throughout the case.

‘Craig Evans’ sentence reflects the seriousness of the offences, which were carried out over a number of years against the victims.’

Evans was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and was also barred from working with children.

Judge Pearson said he was satisfied that Evans, of Sultan Road, Buckland, was not a continued risk to children.

Chris Gair, defending, said: ‘It’s a tragic case for the victims, for Mr Evans, for his family. Clearly this matter is going to blight the rest of his natural life.’

Mr Gair added Evans was under 15 at the time of the majority of the offences.

June 2011

Paedophile ‘must take his medicine’, court hears

A RETIRED Formula 1 worker who filmed and photographed his abuse of a young girl has been jailed.

Sixty-year-old Stephen Fowler’s paedophile abuse came to light when police raided his Yateley home after tracing indecent child images to his computer.

Officers found more than 1,000 images of children and discovered Fowler’s horde of films and pictures documenting his abuse of the girl.

At his sentencing at Guildford Crown Court on Monday Judge Peter Moss told Fowler only an immediate jail sentence was fitting for his crimes.

Prosecutor Rachel Davies said when police spoke to the girl after discovering Fowler’s obscene digital stash she partly confirmed the abuse.

Miss Davies said: “She was aware she was being filmed, though he tried to hide the cameras but she was well aware and thought it was a bit embarrassing.”

Miss Davies said the photos and images Fowler had made of the girl showed him touching and abusing her to a greater extent than she told police. After his initial arrest, Fowler was released and police interrupted his Devon holiday to bring him back to Surrey for more questioning.

During his journey back Fowler told officers he found caring for his wife’s multiple sclerosis hard work.

He said: “It does not excuse what I have done but it does take its toll.”

Fowler later told another officer at Woking Police Station he wished the internet had never been invented.

As well as the pictures and videos of the girl, the court heard officers found 1,026 indecent images of children on Fowler’s computer. Of the images he had, nearly 200 were in the most obscene categories. 

Rupert Hallowes, speaking in Fowler’s defence, said his sentencing represented a “spectacular fall from grace” for his client.

He said until the abuse came to light Fowler had a good career in the Formula 1 racing industry and been a good husband and father.

Mr Hallowes said as well as the trauma of his offences Fowler’s wife would further suffer as she would be deprived of his support and care through the immediate prison sentence he faced.

However he added: “This defendant must now take his medicine.”

The judge was told Fowler admitted four counts of indecently touching the young girl, and five counts of making indecent images of her.

He admitted a further 10 counts of possession indecent images of children from category one to five.

Judge Moss gave Fowler, who moved to Hill Brow, in Sittingbourne, Kent after his arrest, four separate sentences of four and a half years in jail for the charges relating to abuse of the girl.

Fowler was given a further two four-year sentences, three three-year jail terms, four 18-month sentences and six 12-month sentences for the indecent picture charges.

However Judge Moss said the jail terms would run concurrently meaning Fowler’s total sentence was four years and six months, of which he would serve half inside.

Fowler was also told he would have to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and when he was released would be the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, limiting his contact with young people.

June 2015

A young man who sexually touched two young girls is to be sentenced by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.

Joseph William Bradley entered guilty pleas to three offences when he appeared before magistrates in Carlisle yesterday morning.

Prosecutor John Moran said the offences came to light after one of the girls, who was eleven at the time, became distressed and told her parents.

Bradley, of Lyndhurst Gardens, Morton, Carlisle, committed two of the offences in 2011 and one in October of last year, magistrates heard.

Mr Moran described how the second offence involving the same girl when she was just eight years old came to light after Bradley confessed it to his parents.

“He confirmed exactly the same thing had occurred when the girl was a lot younger,” said Mr Moran. “She pushed his hands away.”

Bradley went on to admit a third similar offence against another girl, who was aged 11 or 12.

“He said he had watched adult pornography and this caused problems for him, though he had never seen any indecent images of children.

“He knew the girl was 11 or 12 at the time and he knew that it was wrong to touch girls for sexual gratification if they were as young as these girls.”

Anthony Wilson, for Bradley, said: “He admits that he wanted to get this off his chest.

“He feels guilty. He knows he’s done wrong.”

Presiding magistrate Marcia Reid Fotheringham said that the bench felt their sentencing powers were not sufficient for the case so Bradley would be sentenced at crown court by a judge.

He will be sentenced on July 10.

In the meantime, background reports will be prepared and he must sign the Sex Offenders Register, and the period for which his name remains on it will be determined by his ultimate sentence.

Bradley, who was supported in court by his family, was granted bail.

December 2007

Child rapist jailed for 13-years

A MARRIED man who repeatedly raped a young girl has been jailed for 13 years at Teesside Crown Court.

The victim told the court yesterday that she had been sexually abused by Joseph Kamara since she was six years old.

The jury found Kamara, 53, guilty of four specimen rapes, eight indecent assaults, six of indecency with a child and an actual bodily harm assault.

The jury took five-and-a-half hours to reach majority verdicts of 11 to 1.

Judge Peter Bowers told them that they had listened to a harrowing tale of a girl who had been abused for over ten years, and it had had a profound effect on her life. The offences had taken place in Hartlepool.

Prosecutor Tina Dempster said that Kamara had started by showing the girl pornographic books and added: “She was 13 when he first raped her.

“She was told that it was a secret and that nobody would believe her, and that if she said anything she would be taken into care. She said that she was frightened of him.”

Anne Zimbler, defending, said after the verdicts that Kamara’s sentence was inevitable and nothing further could be said on his behalf.

The judge told him: “You robbed her of any childhood. It profoundly affected her life and it was obvious from the way she gave her evidence.”

After Kamara was led away, the judge told the jury: “That was probably one of the more difficult and harrowing cases that we get.”

Kamara of Front Street, Shotton, who denied that anything had happened, was jailed for 13 years, banned from contact with children for life and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

July 2015

Category A indecent images found on man’s computer – No prison

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A GORSEINON man has been given a community order after being found with indecent images of children on his computer.

Swansea Crown Court heard that police swooped on Jason Sinfield’s house in Rowan Close in January this year after receiving information that a computer was being used to access peer-to-peer file sharing sites — officers seized five devices from the property and on one of them found one indecent photograph and 11 film clips, nine of which were classed as Category A, the most extreme kind.

The 48-year-old previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children when he appeared in the dock.

His Honour Judge Peter Heywood said people like Sinfield needed to understand that he was not just viewing “simple images” but real children who were being exploited by others so that viewers could satisfy their “prurient interest”.

His Honour said Sinfield could not complain if he was sent straight to jail — but he did not think a short period of custody would address any underlying issues that led the defendant to view the material.

Sinfield was given a three-year community order with one-to-one supervision, and was told to complete the community sex offenders group work course.

He will also be put on the sex offenders register for five years.

June 2015

Man had indecent images of children

A man has admitted making and possessing indecent images of children.

Jason William Hannah, 25 of Hafod close, Connahs Quay, appeared at Mold Crown court

He admitted 14 charges of making and possessing still and movie images between 2013 and February this year

The court heard he had 1,607 indecent still images, 280 of the most serious category A still images, 392 Category B images and 935 Category C images

He also admitted 104 movies of child abuse 

Judge Rowlands ordered him to register as a sex offender. He will sentenced next month

May 1991

Man kept schoolboy prisoner and indecently assaulted him

Thompson pictured above in May 2015

A man has been found guilty after a weeks trial of:

• Falsely imprisoning a teenage boy at his home in Grange Mount in Birkenhead threatening to kill him

• Administering an noxious substance

• Assault occasioning actual bodily harm

• Attempted buggery

• Indecent assault

Neil Brian Gerrard Thompson, aged 34, has been jailed for six years at Liverpool Crown Court

Judge Sir Sanderson Temple QC said when sentencing Thompson, that he had been convicted of very grave offences. Over a period of hours, the recorder added,  you subjected that boy to an horrendous ordeal

Mr Robert Atherton – prosecution – had told the court that having taken the boy – who must not be identified – into his house and had accused him of stealing some cannabis

When this was denied, he

• Threatened to cut his throat with a pen knife

• Tried to burn his hair with a cigarette lighter

• Poured petrol on him and threatened to light it

• Put washing up liquid into his mouth thinking if the boy had swallowed the cannabis then it would make him vomit.

Finally he turned to sexual and depraved acts by repeatedly indecently assaulting the boy.

July 2015

Social worker escapes jail after admitting having sex with child in her care

A social worker who was ‘brilliant’ with residents has escaped jail after admitting having sex with a boy in her care.

Claire McDonald, 42, who was employed at a Tameside council children’s home, pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

She was a linked social worker to the victim.

At Manchester Crown Court in Minshull Street, the experienced care worker was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.

She was also made the subject of a two years supervision order, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

McDonald, from Hyde, was also made the subject of a residence requirement and given a Sexual Harm Prevention order until further notice. A charge of child abduction was allowed to lie on the file.

The carer worked with vulnerable children suffering from emotional and behavioural problems and had previously been praised by Ofsted.

But she was suspended after council bosses were tipped off by a whistleblower and police were later called in last year.

In a statement Greater Manchester Police said: “In October 2014, Greater Manchester Police’s Public Protection Investigations Unit were made aware of concerns relating to a former member of staff at a children’s home in the Tameside area.

“As a result, an investigation was launched and in December 2014, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised three charges of abuse of position of trust, causing and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity against Claire McDonald.

“On May 29th 2015, she was given a 12 month sentence suspended for two years, ordered to undertake 150 hours unpaid work, given a supervision order, fined £100 costs, made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the Sex Offender’s Register for 10 years.”

Commenting on the case, Tameside MP Andrew Gwynne said: “These are serious and sensitive matters. There is an obligation on the council, as the corporate parent, to safeguard children in their care. I’m informed that the authority acted swiftly once it was aware of the issue and a case has been brought through the criminal justice system”.

Tameside Council say they acted quickly to protect the young victim. But the council – and its executive director for children’s services, Stephanie Butterworth refused to say whether McDonald had been sacked or resigned from office.

May 2010

Paedophile jailed for sexually abusing three children aged under 13-years-old

A paedophile has been jailed for just over six years after he was found guilty of sexually abusing three young girls

Unemployed Aaron Scott Haywood, 26 of Hyde appeared at Manchester Minshull street crown court and was found guilty of: 

Eight counts of sexual assault on a child aged under 13-years-old

One count of sexual assault by penetration

The court heard that the abuse took place over an 18 month period between 2007 and October 2009.

The girls were aged just six, eight and eleven years old

Haywood was jailed for a total of 78 months imprisonment, and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life

April 2007

Rapist filmed sex attack on mobile

A MAN who filmed his sex attack on a 14-year-old girl on his mobile phone has been labelled a serious risk to young girls.

Former cricketer Ajmal Mohammad had driven the girl to Blackpool after meeting her in Accrington, given her alcohol and then abused her as she lay in a hotel room.

Over two or three hours, he carried out a series of sex offences on her, knowing he was infected with Hepatitis C.

The 40-year-old, of Audley Range, Blackburn, was jailed indefinitely for public protection.

A judge told him he would have to serve a minimum of five-and-a-half-years but warned he would not be released until the Parole Board was satisfied that he no longer posed a danger.       

A Preston Crown Court jury convicted him of charges of rape, taking a child out of the control of her parents, sexual assault and indulging in sexual activity with a child.

Mohammad, who played for Ribblesdale League side Blackburn Northern, admitted a separate charge of a sexual  assault which he filmed in a 51- second clip while the girl was asleep at the Avanti Hotel in Albert Road, Blackpool.

He claimed at his trial that there had been no other sexual activity with the girl, who had been a virgin. He now admitted he lied.

He was diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C back in 2002 and Mr Philip Andrews, defending, said there had potentially been a risk of him infecting the girl through sex.

The court heard that the girl later took an overdose.

Judge Edward Slinger said it was a particularly unpleasant case. 

Mohammad,  described in testimonials as a good reliable family man, will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely and banned indefinitely from working with children.

April 2010

“He raped me and they let him go and rape again …”

A TEENAGE girl raped by her best friend’s father says others may have been spared a horrific ordeal if police had put her attacker behind bars.

Chloe was just 15 when she was raped and sexually assaulted by her friend’s father when she was babysitting for him in August 2006.

Despite being arrested by police, charges were not pursued and her attacker went on to commit two other sexual assaults, two years after Chloe reported the incident.

Now 17, the brave teenager has decided to speak out about her ordeal.

Steven Whitworth, of Rowen Drive, Bury, was sentenced to just two years in prison on Friday, September 12, for raping Chloe.

He was also sentenced to eight years in April this year for the two other offences.

But Chloe says that if the police had charged Whitworth when she made her allegations against him, the other two assaults would not have happened.

Chloe, who waived her right to anonymity, said: “I wanted to speak out to encourage other women to come forward. I’m really angry that the police let him go.

“He was able to go and commit those assaults while he was out and I feel sick that he was able to do that.”

The incident happened two years ago in Whitworth’s house in Bury.

The 41-year-old forced Chloe to perform sex acts on him before raping her when everyone else in the house was in bed. In doing so he gave her two sexually transmitted diseases.

Chloe, then 15, reported the incident to the police a month later, but at the time police said there was insufficient evidence to convict Whitworth.

She said: “I got called a slag and a slut and had people screaming at me, calling me a grass.

“It was horrible and at the time it was really scary. I’ve been through two years of hell because of what he did to me. I’ve had to suffer knowing that he gave me STIs and it was horrible knowing that I had that. I felt dirty and used.”

The 17-year-old is now trying to put her life back together and move on from her ordeal.

She said: “I am trying now to get my life back on track.

“Sometimes it is hard because when I think about it, obviously it is quite upsetting. I’m attending counselling at the minute and that is helping to get it off my chest but it is difficult.

“I want to get my head down and try to get a job but at the minute I’m just not in the right frame of mind.

“I just want a normal life like the other girls I know.”

April 2010

14 years in jail for ‘vile’ child abuser

A PERVERT labelled a ‘vile child abuser’ has been jailed for 14 years after he was convicted of child rape.

Derek Ashton, aged 59, of Foliage Crescent, Brinnington, abused two victims almost 20 years apart, when they were both under 16, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Ashton pleaded guilty to indecent assault and indecency with a child but was also convicted of two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault on a child.

Judge Andrew Lowcock told him: “You have robbed your victims of their childhood. This appaling conduct towards your victims defies belief. The sexual assaults include sexual touching, oral intercourse and the use of a vibrator.The description given by a witness of the first occasion is one that will not be forgotten by anyone who heard it,” Judge Lowcock told Ashton.

“Twenty years after that abuse ended you started again. This abuse started with you touching her breasts, but it is clear you had in mind more than that.The verdicts show you are not only a vile abuser of children but a vile bully.”

Ashton will be put on the sex offenders register for life and is banned from working with children or being alone with anyone under 16.

Defending Ashton, Paul McDonald said: “It was an unusual case in that the jury heard details which were never disputed by the defendant. These are serious offences and the far reaching effect this has had on his victims is conceded.The defendant has never sought to blame anyone else but himself. At this time of life the deprivation of his liberty will have a significant impact on him.His greatest fear is that he will never see the light of day again and will die in prison.”

April 2010

Child abuse pervert jailed

A SEX offender who abused three little girls has been jailed for seven years at Manchester Crown Court.

Landscape gardener Peter Ogden, 55, was told by a judge he had caused ‘stress, anxiety, shame, confusion, hurt and humiliation’ to the victims by forcing them to go through the ordeal of a trial.

Judge Elliot Knopf said he now hoped they and their families, some of whom were in court, could now ‘draw a line’ under the tragic events.

Ogden, a man of previous good character of Shawclough, Rochdale, had been convicted at an earlier hearing of 10 offences of sexual abuse against the girls.

The offences occurred over five years when they were under 10.