July 2015

Jail for former Nuneaton cab driver who groomed schoolgirl

A FORMER taxi driver from Nuneaton has been locked up after grooming a child over the internet

Paul Ian Nightingale from Borough Way in Stockingford had contacted the victim – aged 14 – through social media and arranged to meet her in a park in June 2014, police confirmed this week.

But the victim’s father attended the park and Nightingale left the area.

The 34-year-old was later arrested and his taxi driving licence, issued by Tamworth Borough Council, was suspended while an investigation by Warwickshire Police was carried out.

Nightingale was charged with grooming a child under 16 years of age and he pleaded guilty to the offence at Warwick Crown Court.

And at a hearing on June 20 this year, he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.

He will now remain on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years following the sentence.

PC Jade Badham of Warwickshire Police, said: “This was a long and protracted enquiry involving a number of departments supporting the investigation which has resulted in the offender being brought to justice.”

News about his prosecution comes as a licensing committee meeting will be held at Marmion House in Tamworth today to inform members about the incident.

Under law, only a “fit and proper person” may hold a hackney carriage or private hire driver’s license.

A spokesperson for Tamworth Borough Council said: “Mr Nightingale’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver’s Licence was suspended while the police investigation was carried out, as a precautionary measure.

“His licence lapsed and he did not seek to renew it.

“This means that Mr Nightingale is no longer a taxi driver.If he were to reapply for a licence, he would need to show that he was a ‘fit and proper person’.”

Police have said they are committed to protecting victims from similar incidents.

Sergeant Steve Newman, of Warwickshire Police, added: “Warwickshire Police are committed to protecting people from harm, and especially those who are deemed to be vulnerable.

“Incidents such as this have been highlighted in the national media in recent memory and this demonstrates that we will locate the offender, we will gather evidence and work with partner agencies to bring offenders to justice.”

July 2015

Stoke-on-Trent senior scout leader caught with 11,000 indecent images of children

ONE of Stoke-on-Trent’s most senior Scout leaders has resigned after being caught with more than 11,000 indecent images of children.

Former teacher Brian Billington’s reputation is today in tatters after he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The 71-year-old assistant commissioner for Stoke-on-Trent District Scouts had been held in ‘great esteem’ until his arrest when police discovered the ‘vile’ pictures on a computer at his home in Blurton.

Billington’s hoard of 11,019 images included 82 ranked as category A – the most serious – in a span of offending that covered more than six years.

Now the Scout Association has condemned Billington’s actions as he was sentenced to a three-year community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

The retired school teacher downloaded the images between September 2007 and November 2013.

Now Billington, who has no previous convictions, has been handed a community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Joanne Wallbanks said police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home on November 15, 2013.

She added that searches on his computer suggested an interest in young boys.

The defendant, of Fieldway, Blurton, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children.

Judge David Fletcher sentenced Billington to a three-year community order with a requirement to complete the internet sexual offences treatment programme.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period. And he was ordered to pay £1,200 costs.

July 2015

Plymouth ‘birthday sex’ flasher gets seven years on the register

A MAN who denied exposing himself to two young girls, claiming he’d already enjoyed ‘birthday sex’ with his wife has been put on the Sex Offenders Register for his next seven birthdays.

Anthony Dannon, aged 27, was found guilty of indecent exposure following a trial at Plymouth Crown Court which saw him claim that as he had engaged in marital relations with his wife as a birthday treat, he would not have propositioned the girls, aged 14 and 16, at a bus stop.

He had told the court: “You only need it once”.

The jury heard that Dannon had been drinking all day before the incident at the bus stop outside the Ivor Dewdney shop in Wolseley Road on March 30 last year.

Prosecutor Sarah Vince said Dannon approached the girls, requested a cigarette and then asked their ages.

Dannon, of Wolseley Road, claimed he was 17, said they were beautiful and asked to kiss them.

He then asked the 16-year-old for sex and exposed his genitals before following them and asking to have sex with them both.

In mitigation, Piers Norsworthy said his client’s wife worked, but Dannon was still actively seeking work, having completed a number of return-to-work courses.

A pre-sentence report by the Probation service noted how Dannon was “extremely, hugely” under the influence at the time and his training courses included “customer service and forklift driving”.

Judge Simon Carr told Dannon it was an “unpleasant incident” brought about by him drinking “far too much”.

He said was sceptical about Dannon’s inability to remember the matter and that he was “not man enough to face up to what you did”. He said Dannon knew “full well” the girls were underage before “engaging in sexual banter which initially was amusing but became more concerning”, compounded by exposing himself and following the girls.

However, Judge Carr accepted it was more a case of “drunken stupidity than anything else”.

He ordered Dannon to complete 180 hours unpaid work over the next 12 months, be in an electronic curfew between 7pm and 7am for the next three months, pay a victim surcharge of £60 and remain on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years

A pervert has received a prison sentence in excess of five years for multiple sexual offences involving a 13-year-old boy.

Coach driver Anthony Reed, 57-years-old of Walsall appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court and pleaded guilty to:

• Three counts of sexual activity with a child

• Two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity

• Causing a child to watch a sexual act

• Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

The court heard that the abuse took place over an estimated 8-month period.

The judge sentenced Reed to a total of five years and four months imprisonment.

Reed was told that he must serve a minimum of half the sentence in prison giving him a release date in 2017.

October 2005

Pervert walks free from court after pleading guilty to abusing schoolgirls

A Thatcham man who sexually assaulted three girls has walked from court with a five-year community rehabilitation order.

Scott Grineau, of Pegasus Close, has also been told he will stay on the Sex Offenders’ Register after admitting a string of offences against children.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court to seven indecent assaults against three girls under the age of 15 – all of whom he knew.

Detective Constable Jason Watkins, who led the investigation, said:

“I’m pleased this case has concluded and Scott Grineau has been brought to justice for the offences.

“His behaviour has had a serious impact on the young women involved, and they will continue to be affected for a long time.

“I hope the fact the investigation and prosecution has now concluded gives them and their families some peace of mind.”

The offences involved:

• A sexual assault on a 13-year-old and a girl of 14 in Thatcham

• Individual attacks on 14-year-old girls at houses in Thatcham house and in his car

July 2015

Man jailed after nine child sex assaults

A LLWYNHENDY builder has been sent to prison for seven and a half years for carrying out nine serious sexual assaults on a child.

Hedd John, 55, had pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually assaulting a child and two of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, John, of Ynyslas, was jailed for seven years and six months for his crimes.

He must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life upon his release

All of his offences took place against a child under 16 years of age who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The offences took place over a two year period, but were reported to police in 2014.

The result came at the end of a difficult investigation for Llanelli CID that began in September of last year and ran for nine months up to the sentencing on Friday.

DC 610 Ashleigh Jones, who led the enquiry, said: “Dyfed Powys Police take all allegations of a sexual nature seriously and this long and at times difficult enquiry and the crown court result today has highlighted the forces commitment to bringing all offenders involved in sexual offences to justice.”

The news has caused upset in the local community.

Local councillor Theresa Bowen said she was “disgusted” at the news and said it was her “worst nightmare”.

“It’s not just over with when he’s sentenced as the victim has to live with this the rest of their life,” she said.

“This is disgusting and degrading and anyone who does something like this to a child deserves the maximum sentence they can get and seven and a half years almost doesn’t sound long enough.

“It makes you physically sick to think of what he’s done and the effects it will have had on his poor victim.”

John is understood to have bought his house on Ynyslas several years ago, but is believed to have moved earlier this year.

July 2015

Teen thug inflicted ‘gross and horrific’ injuries on baby boy’s genitals because he urinated on him

A teenage thug has been locked up for inflicting “gross and horrific” injuries on the genitals of a baby boy because he urinated on him as he looked after him.

Police suspected that Jordan Hall, 19, who has a record of assault convictions, brutally attacked the child’s penis using either his teeth or a ligature.

The youngster was bleeding from his genitals when he was taken to hospital where he needed treatment for a cut and bruising.

Nursing staff at the Medway Hospital in Kent were suspicious and called police and Hall, then aged 18, denied knowing how they were caused.

Prosecutor Martin Yale told Maidstone Crown Court: “There was a suggestion there might be a bite mark or ligature. Mr Hall chose not to answer questions.”

Hall eventually admitted he was responsible claiming he was bending down and the baby started to urinate.

It was going on him, he said, so he grabbed his penis.

Mr Yale added: “As soon as he saw blood he realised he had used too much force.”

Hall, from Gillingham, Kent, claimed the injury was accidental but then admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on the basis he was reckless.

He has a previous conviction for actual bodily harm, two for battery and two for common assault.

Tom Stern, defending, said Hall was introduced to alcohol and cannabis at an early age and had to fend for himself. He found himself in a children’s home.

He argued there was a series of factors which entitled the teenager to a non-custodial sentence.

Mr Stern told the court: “Of huge importance is the progress he has made over the last year.

“He is in supported accommodation. There is a network of support around him.”

“He acted impulsively and excessively. There was no intention to cause harm.

“He accepted his culpability and tried to improve himself.”

But Judge Michael Carroll disagreed and sentenced Hall to 14 months youth custody.

He said: “In the four to five seconds he was acting recklessly he managed to inflict these injuries on that little lad’s genitalia.

“The force he must have applied must have been pretty excessive because he had the temerity to urinate, as baby’s often do.”

“It set in train a series of events which, in my view, are gross and horrific.

“You have a number of previous convictions for violence so I can’t say it was an isolated incident.”

July 2015

Quedgeley man admits charge of child abuse images

A 52-YEAR-OLD Quedgeley man made indecent videos of a child, downloaded child abuse images and made a video of a woman having a shower, a court heard today, Thursday.

John Hall, of Shelduck Road, Quedgeley, admitted the offences when he appeared at Gloucester Crown Court.

In June he had pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of a child and he also admitted downloading images of underage teenage children.

Prosecuting barrister Julian Kesner: “He also admits a charge of voyeurism in that between June 13, 2012 and April 2, this year he made a video of a 27-year-old woman having a shower for his sexual gratification.”

His Honour Judge Jamie Tabor QC ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared and granted Hall conditional bail until August 13, when he will be sentenced.

July 2015

Victim’s despair as child abuser walks free

A VICTIM of historic sex abuse says he feels “cheated” after the man who destroyed his life avoided going to prison.

Anthony Webb, 74, was ruled to have abused his eight-year-old victim seven times in the late 60s.

But he was found unfit to plead and could not be sent to prison.

The victim, now 58, who cannot be named because of the nature of the charge for legal reasons, said: “I never, ever stop thinking about it. It keeps me awake. I feel like I have been cheated. If he had gone to prison for a couple of years I would have felt justified.

“All the time he is going to be walking the streets I am never going to feel safe even though I know he can’t touch me now. I am just never going to feel right about it.”

During a trial of the facts, a jury considered whether Webb, of St Leonard’s Close, Bulford, had committed 14 acts of indecent assault and gross indecency with a child. They found he had committed seven of the acts.

Recorder Nicholas Haggan QC last week issued a five-year sexual harm prevention order and a supervision order for 18 months.

The victim said: “It was never about compensation.

“It was solely about getting justice and for someone to pay for destroying my life.

“I could have had a totally different 50 years if that had not happened.”

Winchester Crown Court heard the offences happened between 1965 and 1969 when Webb was in his twenties and the victim was aged between eight and 12.

The victim says the abuse has had a significant impact on his life and that he has had a number of nervous breakdowns and suffers from anxiety as a result of his ordeal.

Speaking about the sentence He said he was “disgusted” by the result which he said would never give him closure.

“I don’t feel like he is being punished,” he said.

“The sexual harm prevention order is complete rubbish for that amount of crimes.

“He has been given the absolute minimum.”

And the victim says his statement about the impact the assaults had on his life was never read out during the court hearings. saying: “There was no mention of the impact on me during the trial.”

At the hearing Recorder Haggan said: “Given the seriousness of the allegations it is perfectly clear to me that an absolute discharge will not be appropriate and you are not a candidate for a hospital order.”

The court heard Webb had been previously convicted of sexual offences but these acts had been committed before those convictions.

As part of the sexual harm prevention order given by the court, Webb is subject to a number of conditions which state he must not have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16.

July 2015

Depraved father and son locked up for a total of 23 years for “gross” sexual abuse

Peter Reed raped one young girl and also abused another girl.

He and his father Gordon also molested one of the girls as they watched pornography.

July 2015

Worcestershire PCSO admits to child sex allegations

A WORCESTERSHIRE police community support officer admitted five child sex allegations when he appeared before a crown court judge.

Kieron Pritchard, aged 41, of Mount Road in Wolverhampton, who was based in the North Worcestershire area, was suspended from duty by West Mercia Police on April 23 after the offences came to light.

He admitted causing a girl aged nine or 10 to engage in sexual activity.

He also pleaded guilty to distributing two indecent photographs of a child and three offences of possessing indecent photographs of children between May 2014 and April 23 this year.

Pritchard appeared before Judge Robert Juckes QC at Worcester Crown Court, when he was remanded in custody for sentence on a date yet to be fixed and ordered to sign the sexual offenders register.

Appearing alongside him was a 47-year-old woman, Joanne Heathcote, of Four Acres, Bristol.

Heathcote had earlier, when she appeared before Redditch magistrates, admitted causing or inciting a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexually assaulting a girl under 13 and distributing an indecent photograph of a child.

She was allowed bail and her case was adjourned until August 28.

The crown court heard that Heathcote would eventually be sentenced with Pritchard.

July 2015

Bridgnorth man, 31, sentenced for sex assaults he committed as a child

A Bridgnorth man has been given a suspended prison sentence for 15 counts of indecent assault that happened when he was a child.

Carl Thomas Thackeray, now 31, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years for the assaults, which dated from 1993 to 1997.

He was given a two-month supervision order, ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and was barred from working with children.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Thackeray, of Hazelwells Road, Bridgnorth, was arrested after the victim went to the police in 2013.

Miss Jane Sarginson, prosecuting, said the charges relate to when Thackeray was aged 10 to 14.

She said: “The abuse has had a profound effect on the victim.”

Mr Timothy Harrington for Thackeray said his client had lost his job and his  life “has fallen apart”.

July 2015

Voyeur soldier told ‘to return to Army’

A soldier who secretly filmed teenage girls in the shower has been spared jail to continue serving in the Army.

Matthew Walters, 37, used a miniature camera to record the girls aged 12 and 16 naked in their bathroom.

Walters pleaded guilty to voyeurism at Exeter Crown Court and was ordered to attend a sex offenders programme as part of a three-year supervision order.

The judge told Walters he was “a good man” and his return to the Army would be “wholly appropriate”.

The court heard Walters, of Kilkhampton, near Bude in Cornwall, was visiting the house in Devon when he made video clips of the girls that were found on his laptop by the victims’ mother.

Recorder Ignatius Hughes QC noted Walters’ long and distinguished record of active service with the Royal Green Jackets, now The Rifles, and said combat fatigue and post traumatic stress disorder may have contributed to his behaviour.

He said: “For many years you have served your country and put your own life at risk again and again.

“If I imposed a short prison sentence you would almost certainly lose your career in the Army. That may happen anyway, but I hope not.

“It would be wholly appropriate for you to return to the regular army and I hope that is what happens.”

Stephen Nunn, defending, handed the judge a sheaf of testimonials from soldiers who had served with Walters in war zones including Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said: “He felt so thoroughly disgusted with himself he described himself as a monster and made a serious attempt to take his own life and was treated under the Mental Health Act.”

Walters was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and his use of cameras was restricted by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

October 2006

Teaching assistant who had affair with 14-year-old pupil walks free

A teaching assistant who had an affair with a 14-year-old pupil has escaped a prison sentence.

Nicola Jackson, a married mother-of-three, bombarded the boy with letters and text messages.

She told him he made her feel young again and sent him messages saying “I can’t wait to touch you again”.

When the relationship was discovered, Jackson, 40, who lives in Swindon, twice attempted suicide.

The couple had spent hours together at the house she shared with her children, aged 16, 14 and ten.

A court heard they kissed in Jackson’s bedroom, living room and a caravan in her garden.

The teenager had been friends with Jackson’s 14-year-old daughter, but it was only after she got a job at the boy’s school in Dorset that they started “falling in love” in May this year.

The relationship came to light when the boy discussed it with a counsellor, saying he and Jackson were in love and planned to buy a flat together.

Despite the intensity of the affair, she and the boy – who has an academic age of nine and cannot be named for legal reasons – did not have sex.

At Bournemouth Crown Court, she admitted breaching a position of trust by engaging in sexual activity.

Tom Garnham, prosecuting, said: “This year the relationship with the boy changed to being a loving relationship and she fell in love with him.

“She said he was romantic, affectionate and would tell her that he loved her. She said their first kiss was the best she had ever had and it made her feel like she was 15 again.

“She said that lying next to each other was a daily occurrence. She said they had not had sex but had thought about it.”

The boy suffers from a disorder which causes him to become obsessive in relationships. But the court heard Jackson also became possessive towards him.

On one occasion they fell out during a birthday party for Jackson’s 16-year-old son after she became jealous of him showing attention to a girl his own age.

Mr Garnham said: “When he went away on holiday he started receiving text messages from her, one of which said, ‘I can’t wait to touch you again.’

“The boy spoke to a counsellor and confessed his love for her and said that she loved him and they were planning to buy a flat.”

But Robert Grey, defending, said Jackson had become “emotionally carried away” and was deeply ashamed of her actions.

Sentencing her to four months in prison, suspended for two years, Judge Roger Jarvis said: “When children are at school they must be safe from those charged with their education, especially when the child is vulnerable.

“Where there has been a breach of trust, the court is bound to take it very seriously.”

Jackson was put on the sex offenders’ register for seven years and banned from working with children over the age of ten.

July 2015

POLICE found indecent images of children and extreme pornography after searching a pensioner’s computer equipment, a court heard.

John Stocks, 69, of Arthur Street, Grimsby, admitted three offences of making 217 indecent images of children, two offences of possessing 12 such images and another of possessing three extreme pornographic images, involving an animal. The offences happened between January 2008 and September 27 last year, Grimsby Crown Court heard.

Police searched his then home in Eastwood Avenue, Grimsby, on September 26.

He was given a three-year community order and must register as a sex offender for five years.

July 2015

Mold man admits possession of child sex images

A FLINTSHIRE man must register as a sex offender and attend an internet sex offender programme after he admitted child porn charges.

Leslie Paul Davies, 50, of Stryd Hen Ardd, Mold, said he had been curious about young boys, but stressed that he had never done anything physical himself with young boys and would never do so.

Judge David Hale, sitting at Mold Crown Court, yesterday gave him a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

He was placed on supervision and sent on an “onerous” sex offender group work programme which the judge said that he would find difficult and embarrassing.

The need to sign the sex register, and a sexual harm prevention order, would remain for seven years.

Davies admitted possessing indecent photographs of children in March of last year – a total of 1,514 images had been found by police.

Judge Hale told him: “This was shameful conduct.

“You must understand that somewhere in this world some child will never be the same again because of what that child underwent in order to give you some perverted pleasure.”

All the courts could do – because they could not normally find in some obscure part of the world the producers of the images – was to deal with the customers.

“The customers, you, have been publicly shamed by your arrest.

“You must understand that nothing like this must ever happen again.”

Judge Hale said that he took into account that the defendant was 50, and that he had never been in any trouble before.

John Philpotts, prosecuting, said that the defendant was arrested when police executed a search warrant and seized his computer.

At the time he said that they would find naturist type photographs of boys aged between ten and 18.

He told police that he had never, and never intended, to do anything physical with anyone under age.

After the images were found – and they included some of the most serious class A variety – he made no comment.

Andrew McInnes, defending, said that his client had been frank and open and had already taken his own steps to deal with the issues that led him to commit the offences.

He had been in touch with organisations that could help, and he had completed online assessments.

The barrister stressed that there was no suggestion that he had ever done anything other than look at the images, although that was serious.

There were relatively few images, he had pleaded guilty and he had displayed clear and genuine remorse, he explained.

The judge imposed a number of conditions in the sexual harm prevention order, including banning him from using file sharing or anonymity software.

He must retain the history of his computer use and make it available for police inspection.

Davies was warned that he could face up to five years’ imprisonment if he breached the terms of the order.

July 2015

Facebook friend who turned out to be man asked 12-yr-old to swap naked photos

A MAN from Redland who befriended a 12-year-old girl online and asked her to send him naked photos of herself has been handed a suspended jail term.

The youngster accepted a Facebook friend request from a James Brown who said he was 15, Bristol Crown Court heard.

In actual fact Callum Buck, aged 22 at the time but now aged 23, was the man she was chatting to and they agreed to exchange intimate photographs.

The court heard the experience has caused the traumatised youngster to self-harm.

Buck, of St Oswald’s Court, St Oswald’s Road, pleaded guilty two charges of inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted two charges of making indecent photographs, by receiving the pictures the child took of herself.

The recorder Mr Atkinson QC handed him a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He told Buck: “Your actions resulted in a lot of pain and suffering for a number of people.

“It is not that many years ago that I stood behind my daughters when they were in their early teens, gazing at the computer to see what they were doing, who they were contacting and who was contacting them.

“The risk and danger of approaches being made by people who lie and deceive others are well illustrated in this case.”

Buck was told to go on the Thames Valley Sex Offender Programme for 60 days and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was told to register as a sex offender for ten years and was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, banning him from unchecked use of the internet open for inspection by police.

Buck sobbed in the dock as Timothy Bradbury, prosecuting, told the judge how he had made out he was 15, then 18 to the child, and doing his A levels in Bristol.

The conversation turned sexual, with Buck asking the child to describe her underwear and send him naked pictures of her, the court heard.

She went on to send him a picture of her private parts and her chest, the court heard.

She told police Buck sent her naked pictures of himself, and they had “limited” contact by phone but didn’t arrange to meet.

When the child’s family became aware of what was happening police were contacted and Buck was traced to Cotham Brow.

He provided a statement apologising for his actions and confirming he had sought help from a therapist.

The youngster’s mother made a victim impact statement in which she said the child was hospitalised after harming herself, inflicting 60 cuts to one arm.

The victim had lost confidence and self-esteem, was an intoverted with mood swings and displayed aggression, the court heard.

Tabitha Macfarlane, defending, said her client worked in the catering industry from when he was aged 13 and was well educated to Master’s Degree level having attended the University of the West of England.

Miss Macfarlane said a probation report described Buck as a pro-social man who couldn’t believe what he had done.

Buck expressed a willingness to engage in treatment on an intensive sex offender’s programme, the court heard.

Miss Macfarlane said: “It could be immediate custody would not address concerns of any risk of offending. This is my plea of mercy to Your Honour.”

July 2015

York man sentenced over indecent images

A RETIRED company director is today a convicted sex offender after pleading guilty to possessing indecent images of boys.

York police found indecent images of children on John William Rootes’ laptop and home computer, Hannah Lynch, prosecuting, told York Crown Court.

They also found details of a Skype conversation in which he had talked about visiting swimming pool changing rooms to watch boys showering.

Rootes claimed the conversation was about fantasies which he had never intended to carry out.

The officers were following up a tip-off from Canadian police that Rootes, 77, had bought DVDs of naked teenage boys from a website they were investigating.

Kevin Blount, defending, said Rootes had a “long-term interest in naturism and has been involved in that activity”. He wasn’t interested sexually in boys or children, but only in nudity, he said.

The DVDs he bought had been legal and most of the website’s naturism films were legal. But it also sold illegal films of children which sparked the police investigation. 

Rootes, of St Andrewgate, central York, pleaded guilty to ten charges of possessing indecent images of boys and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was put on the sex offenders’ register for seven years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order curbing his use of the Internet and contact with children for five years.

He must also pay £425 prosecution costs.

Judge Guy Kearl QC told Rootes about the illegal images found on his computers: “This sort of offence is aimed at preventing the exploitation of young children in both a sexual and a physical manner. It is the continued peddling of images of this nature which creates the market for the continued exploitation of children.”

December 2012

Pervert admits making indecent images of children

Steven Quantick, 33, of Wellshead Lane, Harwell, admitted five charges of making indecent photographs of children between July 6, 2009, and May 20, 2011, at Wellshead Lane, Harwell.

Community order made with a programme requirement and a 36-month supervision requirement.

Told to pay £85 costs and sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

July 2015

Redditch rapist has too soft sentence doubled to 20 years

A rapist jailed for a string of vile sex attacks on four women has had his sentence doubled to 20 years.

John Dennis, 43, of Bushley Close, Redditch, was branded a “manipulative bully” after his ten-year jail term was beefed up at the Court of Appeal today, Wednesday.

He was convicted of five offences of rape and three of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Birmingham Crown Court in April.

The Attorney General’s Office, which revealed his increased sentence, said he tried to discredit the victims as liars and fantasists.

His trial heard the attacks covered a 16-year period from 1997 to 2013.

But one of his victims, from Longbridge, went to police in September 2013, prompting three more to come forward.

The Court of Appeal heard his first victim was just 15 when she was attacked as she slept in 1997.

He knew she was a schoolgirl and gave her a contemptuous “pat on the bottom” before leaving, the court was told.

Judge Lady Justice Rafferty said the victim “endured years of psychological upset”.

Dennis’ second victim was a woman he twice raped, said the judge, adding he also subjected her to violent assaults by strangulation and an attack with a broom.

His third and fourth victims were women who were both separately raped as they slept, after he met them in a pub.

In each case the women believed they had been drugged or had their drinks spiked, although that was not part of the case against Dennis.

“He had, however, said the Crown, capitalised on the intoxication and taken advantage of it,” said Lady Justice Rafferty.

Doubling Dennis’ original sentence, the judge said she had “just pulled back” from handing him a life term.

The argument that his’ sentence was far too light was “unanswerable”, she added, particularly given the emotional devastation suffered by his victims.

All had been left psychologically scarred by his attacks, said the judge.

One woman tried to hang herself shortly before she was due to testify against Dennis.

The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Cranston and Judge Deborah Taylor, said she had, “with some reservations”, decided not to pass a life sentence.

But she added: “This was a chronicle of cold and callous sexual degradation of four women committed over 16 years.

“The youngest victim was a sad and turbulent schoolgirl of 15”.

The sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient by Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP.

He said: “I asked the Court of Appeal to look at this ten-year term under the unduly lenient sentence scheme because of the seriousness and magnitude of rapes committed over a sustained period of time.

“John Dennis’s highly predatory behaviour caused untold misery to his victims, who should be commended for finding the courage to come forward.

“I hope the doubling of this sentence to 20 years offers some degree of comfort to them and reassures the public that offences of this kind will be treated with the utmost seriousness and the perpetrators will serve a long time in prison.”