July 2013

Teacher to be deported from US after being accused of improving teenage girl’s grades for nude photos

A teacher from Wales is being deported from the US after being accused of improving a 16-year-old girl’s grades in exchange for nude photos.

Gawain Roberts, 36, from Swansea, also sent nude pictures of himself to the teenager, according to prosecutors.

Roberts collapsed in the Colorado court hearing on what was described as “essentially his last free day in the US” after being charged with the attempted sexual exploitation of a child.

He agreed to plead guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a child as part of a plea bargain of up to six years in prison suspended.

As part of the deal he is being deported back to the UK and was taken into custody by immigration officials earlier this week.

Roberts – who is married to an American woman and has two children – is still in custody awaiting deportation.

He will never be allowed to re-enter the US.

He will face a separate deportation hearing but, as part of his plea deal, it is understood he is not allowed to fight it.

However, his wife told us she believes Roberts is innocent and said he had been “working with troubled kids for years”.

She said he had no choice but to agree to a plea bargain because of the cost of fighting the charge in court.

His wife, who asked not to be named, said: “If he’s a predator, there would be more than one kid.

“I decided that if more than one came forward, he was truly a predator and that was something I couldn’t live with.”

She said US police had said they found “multiple photos” of young women in Roberts’ possession but said these “weren’t illegal or even inappropriate” and that her husband had started a photography business to make up for a 5% pay cut he’d experienced as part of funding cuts.

She added: “When this hit the media circuit we were contacted by about a dozen or so of his former students (and some of their parents).

“They wanted us to know they knew Gawain wasn’t the man the police were making him out to be and that Gawain had made a positive impact on their lives.”

She said the family thought coverage of his arrest would make a fair trial unlikely and that it would cost them another $50,000 to go to trial, having already spent Roberts’ pension.

She said: “This deal allows Gawain to return to the UK without any jail time.”

She added: “If he was truly doing what they say, why would they give him a deal that doesn’t have any jail time? A teacher leveraging his power to get nude photos of students is horrifying.”

Roberts reportedly resigned from the Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado, back in October at the start of the police investigation.

According to US media, he had been working there teaching a small group of high school-aged students through an alternative education programme based.

He had been hired by the district in 2006 after passing a background check.

Charges were filed against him last year.

Prosecutors said he started a Facebook conversation with the girl which later turned sexual and that, afterwards, her grades “improved dramatically”.

David Vandenberg, Larimer County Deputy District Attorney, said: “He basically offered to help her improve her grades if she would do certain things, and the conversation goes on for a while, but at some point it does turn sexual.

“She did send him six photographs. In return he sent nude photos of himself back to her. We were able to tell from the school’s record that her grades improved dramatically.”

Questions have been raised in America as to whether Roberts’ punishment should have included time behind bars, with it being suggested that deportation may represent a “vacation”.

In response, Vandenberg said: “The charges in the case were not of the type that required mandatory prison.

“Certainly, do I think that some amount of prison would be justified based on what he did? Yes I do.

“The most important aspect would be that he have a permanent felony conviction for a sex offence.”

Roberts’ attorney Kirk Brush said he thought his client had been given a “serious” punishment.

He said: “Usually, the fact of deportation and the loss of permission to ever come back again is actually the most serious consequence they’re considering when they decide whether to fight charges or try to work out some sort of plea arrangement.

“Do I think this was punishment? Yes.”

Roberts’ wife added: “Why would I leave my career, family, support network to follow a man that I wasn’t absolutely certain about?

July 2013

Young sex offender Michael Stone detained under the Mental Health Act after repeatedly vowing to take revenge on his victims

Donald Down and Michael Stone

A young sex offender who has repeatedly vowed to take revenge on his victims has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

Michael Stone committed offences with pervert pensioner Donald Down, 76, of Winchester Crescent, Gravesend, who was jailed earlier this month for eight-and-a-half years.

Stone, 20, of Valley Drive, Gravesend, was found to be unfit to plead to offences of attempted rape, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child

July 2013

Birmingham sex attacker loses appeal against jail sentence

A Birmingham sex offender who preyed on lone women late at night and tried to pull the clothes off a teenage schoolgirl in an alleyway, has failed in an appeal against the open-ended jail sentence he was handed.

John James Twamley, 26, of Grendon Road, Maypole, pounced on a 15-year-old girl when she left a party to make a phone call, dragging down her trousers and underwear, and pulling her into an alleyway.

She forced him away from her, but he left his DNA at the scene after committing a sex act while standing and laughing at his terrified victim.

The horrific attack came just two months after Twamley had cornered a 21-year-old woman as she walked home from a pub in Yardley, dragging her to the ground and pulling down her trousers.

She fought back and Twamley ran off, but she was left with “life-changing” effects, including shattered confidence, poor sleep and emotional problems.

The pervert admitted two sexual assaults and one assault by penetration, and was jailed indefinitely at Birmingham Crown Court in October 2011.

His imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence is almost identical to a standard life term because he can only be freed when – and if ever – he is considered safe back on the streets by experts.

Sentencing him, the crown court judge said he considered Twamley a “significant” risk of “serious” harm, justifying an open-ended prison sentence.

On Friday he appealed against the sentence and the five-year stretch he must serve before he can even apply to the Parole Board for release.

A sentence which included a definite release date, then an extended period of supervised licence, would have been enough to protect the public, his defence team pleaded with appeal judges.

But Lady Justice Hallett said: “This man knows the devastating impact on victims and yet he goes out and is clearly a sexual night-time predator.”

Rejecting the appeal, Mr Justice Jay said: “This offender was likely to be difficult to treat, and there was no material in his favour to suggest he could be safely managed in the community.

“The judge was entitled to be of the view that the risk was unlikely to have reduced to an acceptable level by the time the appropriate custodial term had expired.”

Upholding the minimum term, he added: “These were two night-time offences, perpetrated in a predatory manner. Although undoubtedly a severe sentence, we have concluded the minimum term of five years cannot be challenged in this court.”

Twamley can only be freed after serving five years if he is considered safe. The majority of prisoners on IPP sentences serve much longer than their minimum terms.

July 2013

Child rapist babysitter jailed for 14 years as jury reduced to tears

By Nicky Harley – Hull daily mail

A CHILD rapist has been jailed for 14 years after being found guilty by a jury who were reduced to tears by evidence heard during the five-day trial.

Daniel Bottger attacked the young girl while babysitting her, Hull Crown Court heard.

During a recorded interview, shown to the jury, the victim told a specially trained police officer: “I have been brave at hospital. They gave me medicine.”

The jury took three and a half hours to find Bottger, 24, unanimously guilty of two counts of rape on a child aged under 13.

Clutching a Disney Princess Belle doll, the child played on the sofa in the police interview suite as she relived her ordeal.

She revealed to the interviewer how she had immediately told her mother she had been hurt when she came to collect her.

Bottger, from Hull, but of no fixed address, had only been alone with the girl for two and a half hours, the court heard.

Prosecutor Richard Woolfall said: “It hurt her and upset her and left her with some injuries.

“She was unable to keep what had happened to herself and told her mother. She later told medical staff and then went on to tell the police.”

Bottger had insisted nothing sexual had happened

For more on this conviction click this link

June 2013

Father who shook baby daughter jailed for manslaughter

A father who violently shook his baby daughter leaving her with severe brain damage which contributed to her death has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Ocean Elliot was just three and half months old when Benjamin Curtis “lost control” and caused the significant injuries which left his daughter functionally blind and suffering from severe seizures.

She died just over two years later having contracted swine flu following a number of complications caused by the injuries inflicted by Curtis.

Ocean was forced to spend long periods in hospital and despite the fact the assault had taken place two years earlier, a court heard that the injuries she suffered were “a significant contributory factor” in the cause of her death.

Curtis, 30, from Mallard Close, Eastbourne was due to stand trial for manslaughter but changed his plea to guilty at Guildford Crown Court today.

The court heard that Ocean had been left in his care at an address in Sheerwater, Woking on the night of 2 April 2007.

Curtis called on a neighbour that night claiming his daughter had started shaking and shivering when he went to change her nappy. He called for an ambulance and later told doctors that Ocean had bumped her head on the side of her cot.

However later medical examinations concluded that the injuries she had suffered were as a result of head trauma caused by shaking. Curtis was arrested and at first denied causing Ocean any harm. However he eventually admitted to detectives that he “lost control momentarily” and shook her four or five times back and forth.

He was previously jailed for 20 months in April 2008 after admitting assault occasioning GBH.

After her health deteriorated, Ocean died on 18 August 2009 at St Thomas’ Hospital, London aged two years and eight months.

Curtis was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in November 2009 and following medical reports and advice was charged in September 2012.

Following today’s hearing Detective Chief Inspector Juliet Parker said: “The actions of Curtis that night left a young baby with terrible injuries from which she never recovered.

“Ocean was a healthy and vibrant young baby but the consequences of the violent shaking that Curtis subjected her to left her suffering from severe ill-health for the rest of her young life.

“This has been a difficult, complex and tragic case and has taken some time to get to today’s hearing. I hope that the outcome can bring about some justice for Ocean and closure for her family.”

The judge told Curtis: ‘Like most babies, she cried. You picked her up and shook her four or five times. You may have been tired. You may have been uncertain as to how to placate Ocean.

‘You may have been cross with your partner. But none of that is any excuse whatsoever for your loss of temper and mistreatment of that baby. The results were catastrophic.’

He added: ‘Consequences matter and when the consequences become the more serious they can lead, as in your case, to more serious charges.’

The judge said that if Curtis had contested the present charge, he would have given him three years, but because of Curtis’s plea of guilty, he would reduce it to two.

Ms Glynn had told the court that Ocean’s mother had started her relationship with Curtis in 2005, and there was disharmony, with each adult enduring violence from the other. The mother had signed an agreement with social services that she would not leave her daughter on her own with Curtis. But she did not comply with this, including on the evening of the assault. She left the address where they were living in Woking, Surrey, to go to bingo with a friend.

Ocean’s mother said: ’Where is the justice? Two years isn’t long enough, what will he serve, a year of that? I would have preferred five years’

April 2013

Pervert caged for grooming girl is arrested after children’s party

A convicted peadophile who groomed a Northern Irish schoolgirl online has been arrested working as a kids DJ. Depraved Anthony Scott Taylor, of Hornby street, Bury, was caged for in 2010 for a series of sickening sex attacks on a 15-year-old.

The overweight pervert was jailed for nine months after he pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful carnal knowledge between September and December 2007. Taylor admitted flaying to Northern Ireland three times and having sex with the vulnerable young girl after first meeting her on an internet chat room.

But Taylor ignored the conditions to put on a monthly disco for under-11s at the Funtastic Play Centre in Radcliffe. Following the venue’s first show on March 1, bosses became aware of Taylor’s past and immediately called police.

He performed for more than two hours to a crowd of around 25 children for a £30 fee and later told officers he had not understood the terms of the order.

During his sentencing hearing the court heard sickening evidence that Tylor booked into hotels in Antrim three times during a four-month period in 2007 for sex with the girl after he had phoned and texted her.

The court was told that on one occasion the girl came straight to the hotel straight from school in her uniform and she had her schoolbooks with her, leaving Tylor in no doubt about what age she was. The girl told police that she informed Taylor she was 15 at their first meeting and he replied : “That’s all right.”

In interviews, Tylor said the girl had a young looking face, but he claimed nothing was ever mentioned about her age. He said the sex was consensual and that the girl was “an experienced and willing participant “. The court heard the girl told police that in her view the accused had done nothing wrong. The lawyer said that the girl’s mother rang Taylor to tell him to leave her alone because she was only 15. He claimed he immediately broke off contact with the girl, but the girls mother said her daughter’s third meeting with him came after a phone call.

Judge Gemma Lough ran said that by sending Tylor to prison she was sending out a clear signal that the law existed to protect all young people. As well as serving time Tylor was ordered to sign the sex offenders ‘ register and was banned from unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18 for five years. 

But the brazen pervert ignored the conditions and was this week hauled before the courts after he was discovered organising a monthly disco for under 11s at the Funtastic Play Centre in his home town of Radcliffe.

Following the venue’s first show on March 1, bosses became aware of Tylor’s past and immediately called police. He performed for more than two hours to a crowd of 25 children for a 30 fee and later told officers he had not understood the terms of the order. He was arrested for breaching the order after the disco, and hauled before Bury magistrates court.

Shazia Aslam, prosecuting, said : The defendant is prohibited from working with children or vulnerable adults and is allowed no unsupervised contact with any under-18 unless it is consented by the parents or police.

The court heard an employee had approached Taylor with a view to employing him to DJ a monthly children’s disco for zero to 11-year-olds beginning on March 1. The court heard the staff member contacted Taylor as he is the brother of one of her good friends.

She made it clear to him that the party was for children aged under 11. He set up his lights and DJ equipment and the children started to arrive at 5.45pm and were supervised by parents. The party ended at 8pm when the music was stopped and the defendant left at 8.30pm.

Emma Savage, defending, said : There’s clearly work that needs to be done with Mr Taylor. This offence has been committed as he had some confusion with the conditions of the Sex Offender Order. 

He was given a six-month community order with supervision. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge. A spokesman for Funtastic Play Centre said : Everyone at Funtastic Play Centre is deeply upset by the recent events and we are relieved the matter has been dealt with.

January 2010

Man jailed for sex with Northern Irish 15-year-old girl

A 27-year-old man who travelled to Northern Ireland to have sex with a schoolgirl he met on an internet chat room has been jailed for nine months.

Anthony Scott Taylor, of Northlands in Radcliffe, Bury, admitted three charges of unlawful carnal knowledge.

Antrim Crown Court heard the 15-year-old schoolgirl told police in her view Taylor had “done nothing wrong”.

Judge Gemma Loughran said even young people “experienced beyond their years” must be protected from themselves.

Taylor will also serve 18 months probation on release.

A prosecution lawyer told the court, which was sitting in Belfast, that Taylor booked into hotels in Antrim three times in a four-month period in 2007 for sex with the girl after he had phoned her and texted her.

The court was told that on one occasion the girl came to the hotel straight from school in her uniform, leaving Taylor in no doubt about what age she was.

The girl told police that she informed Taylor she was 15 at their first meeting and he replied: “That’s alright.”

In interviews with the PSNI, Taylor said the girl had a young-looking face but he claimed nothing was ever mentioned about her age.

Taylor said the sex was consensual.

The court heard the girl told police that in her view the accused had done nothing wrong.

The lawyer said that the girl’s mother rang Taylor to tell him to leave her alone because she was only 15.

He claimed he immediately broke off contact with the girl but the mother said her daughter’s third meeting with him came after that phone call.

Judge Loughran said by jailing Taylor, she was sending out a clear signal that the law existed to protect all young people.

She said the message must go out to anyone wanting to have sex with people who were under age that they face imprisonment.

Taylor was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register and banned from unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18 for five years.

July 2013: We do not want to give his actual address but we can say he is now living in Newcastle – Near to St Anthony’s park and Monkchester community centre

August 2009

Carer, 32 had child abuse images on computer

A PERVERTED carer with a stash of child abuse images has been spared prison.

Paul Bond, 32, had a total of 465 images, including 16 films, on the computer at his former home in Routledge Road, Stockton.

The former Microsoft certified computer engineer blamed the break-up of his previous relationship for developing an internet porn habit that led to him seeking the illegal images.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court Bond’s secret offending was only discovered when a 14-year-old girl contacted West Midlands Police with a complaint.

“He was sending her messages of a sexually explicit nature,” said Mr Dodds.

Cleveland Police carried out an early-morning raid on his house on September 6, when they seized computer equipment.

Bond had a computer tower containing five separate hard drives – police found the images on two of the hard drives, Mr Dodds told the court.

Some of the material was what is know in legal terms as “level four” – meaning it was at the more explicit end of the spectrum, worst of which is level five.

Bond, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children downloaded between July 2005 and April 2008.

Chris Baker, defending Bond, told the court he started drinking heavily and using internet porn after a relationship break-up in 2005.

He added that since the incident, Bond had a new partner who suffered several disabilities, and he was now her full time carer.

Mr Baker added that Bond’s partner was new to Teesside, and he provided her only link to the area which would be lost if he was sent to jail.

She accompanied him to court, as he sat in the dock wearing a dark suit, tie and glasses.

Judge Peter Armstrong said Bond had “sought solace in pornography on the internet” which had led him to accessing the images.

He handed down a three year community order, telling Bond he must attend a sex offenders’ treatment group, banned him from working with children, made him the subject of a five-year sexual offences prevention order and ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register.

“If you breech this community order, I am going to send you to prison,” said Judge Armstrong.

July 2013

Dangerous paedophile locked up for seven years – Police found 3.5 MILLION child abuse images

A dangerous paedophile has been jailed for seven years after police found more then 3.5 million indecent images on his computer.

Thomas Owen, 33, also paid for a seven-year-old Filipino boy to be abused to order.

Detectives chanced upon a web chat Owen, known as Porkchop91 online, had with another paedophile who they arrested as part of an investigation into the file sharing site Gigatribe.

When he was arrested they found his computer and hard drives were protected by an encryption code which prevented them seeing what he stored.

Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said Owen, of Wilton Street, Wallasey, admitted being attracted to children wearing nappies and swimwear but would collect anything he could swap with other perverts.

He gave them the passwords to his files where they found more then 3.5 million indecent images of children and more than 16,000 movies, so many that most of them could not be categorised for seriousness because it would take too long.

Owen, who was jailed for three years in 2003 for “fondling” an eight-year-old boy in South Carolina while he was working for Camp America as a volunteer, pleaded guilty to 27 counts of inciting a child to commit indecent acts, making, distributing and possessing indecent images of children.

Zilla Williams, defending, told the court Owen was “shocked and surprised by the numbers being talked about but he doesn’t seek to challenge them at all”.

She added: “This is a case where the defendant has paid directly three specific sums of money to a particular family or individual where one child has been involved. Whilst he may have mentioned it to another on a chat line he has not sold those images. Those were images he paid for for himself.”

Judge Brian Lewis branded Owen a “dangerous offender”. 

He added: “This court in the course of its duties sadly has to deal with many cases like this involving the exploitation of children for sexual purposes but rarely I can say has one come across a case with such exceptional levels of criminality.”

He jailed him for seven years with an extended license period of three years and told him to sign on the sex offenders register for life.

July 2013

Jail for man who had indecent images of children

A man caught with indecent images of children has been jailed for six months.

A man caught with indecent images of children on a computer has been jailed for six months.

Griffin Wyatt, formerly of Beck Row but currently serving a prison term for another matter, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court last Friday (19).

The court heard that police had discovered illegal sexual images of children on a computer owned by Wyatt at Beck Row earlier this year.

Wyatt, 21, pleaded guilty to four offences of making an indecent image of a child.

Judge John Devaux jailed Wyatt for a total of six months to run consecutively to a sentence he is already serving.

July 2013

Weston-super-Mare teenager who exposed himself to schoolgirls in court after he was tracked down on Facebook

A TEENAGER exposed himself to schoolgirls and photographed a two-year-old girl in changing rooms.

Jamie Fowler targeted youngsters in the street and filmed them on his phone as he carried out lewd acts from his car, Bristol Crown Court heard.

The 19-year-old, who has a history of indecent exposure, was tracked down after he was recognised on Facebook.

Fowler, of Upper Bristol Road, Weston-super-Mare, pleaded guilty to two charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, as well as voyeurism and exposure.

Julian Howells, prosecuting, said in April a 14-year-old girl was walking in Uphill Road, Weston, when Fowler pulled up in his car and said she had a nice bottom. Even though she told him to go away he followed her and she saw him committing a sex act from his car, telling her: “Look what I’m doing – I’m going to rape you.”

Mr Howells said: “She ran home, told her family and they rang the police. She was in a deep state of distress.”

The court heard Fowler was tracked down via Facebook and arrested in a MacDonald’s car park. Police analysed Fowler’s mobile phone and found video clips of him engaging the girl in the street, along with further footage of him carrying out separate sexual acts in front of two 13-year-old girls wearing school uniforms. A third clip was of a girl, aged two, getting changed with her father in changing rooms at Hutton Moor leisure centre in Weston.

Fowler told police the offences were carried out on the spur of the moment for his sexual gratification.

Susan Cavender, defending, said: “He is a real worry both to himself and his mother, who is understandably distraught. She feels that he needs help.

“He has said to me that he knows he needs help and he really wants it.”

Ms Cavender said Fowler had failed to complete a previous sex offenders’ course due to “dramatic transport difficulties”.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer QC handed Fowler an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, banning him from having unsupervised contact with or filming girls aged under 16, before adjourned the case for sentencing next month.

July 2013

Rugeley man jailed for abusing young girls

A RUGELEY man who systematically abused two girls, each as young as seven years old, has been jailed for 30 months.

John Freeman groped the victims in incidents separated by over 20 years, Stafford crown court heard.

Mr Philip Beardmore, prosecuting, said the girls described “systematic and continued abuse at the hands of this defendant.”

In personal statements, the girls, both now adults, described the impact Freeman’s behaviour has had on them. One still struggles with any sexual intimacy and has had suicidal thoughts. The other feels that her adult life has been ruined.

Freeman, aged 69, of Bower Lane, Rugeley admitted two charges of indecent assault, one against each of the girls.

Judge Simon Tonking said the charges did not represent single incidents, rather a number “not measured in twos and threes but on numerous occasions which cannot be given a precise number.”

He told Freeman that one of his victims “has lived with the memory of what you did to her. She complained….when she was 19, no-one would believe her. She knew it was true and so did you.

“These were unquestionably indecent sexual assaults. To this day each of them suffers from what you did all those years ago.”

Along with the jail sentence, Freeman was also banned from working with children and vulnerable adults for life.

Mr Robin Howat, defending, said: “He has expressed sorrow for the hurt and pain he has caused. He is coming to terms with it, day by day. His major concern now is for his wife – they have been together for 41 years.”

Mr Howat said his client’s good character has been used against him by the complainants and the Crown, accusing him of leading a ‘double life’.

Judge Tonking repsonded: “I am not punishing him for leading a double life, I am punishing him for committing these offences.”

July 2013

Horncastle man Michael Hicks jailed for 16 years over child rape

A Horncastle man has been jailed for 16 years after he was convicted by a jury of raping a young girl.

Michael Hicks had denied sexually abusing the child, who cannot be named, during the trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

But he was convicted of two charges of rape and six charges of sexual assault between December 2011 and April 2012.

He was also found guilty of a further charge of possessing indecent photographs of a child.

Grace Hale, prosecuting, said an investigation began after the girl’s mother discovered explicit text messages on her daughter’s mobile phone.

Hicks was arrested after police found two indecent photographs of the girl on his phone.

Hicks, 49, of High Street, Horncastle, denied sexually abusing the girl and claimed the photographs on his phone were not of the girl but of an adult woman.

Recorder Timothy Spencer QC, told Hicks: “Until about 18 months ago or so you were of exemplary character.

“I don’t know what aberration came over you or why you didn’t resist it.

“This was a cynical course of conduct over a number of months. It was exploitation.

“You have had a trial and you put the girl through the ordeal of giving evidence and put other people through the trauma of giving evidence.

“It means that I can extend to you no credit whatsoever for any plea of guilty or any expression of regret.

“I detect not a scintilla of remorse. That can mean only one thing, a significant sentence of imprisonment.”

Hicks was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and banned from working with children.

July 2013

Gosport teacher pleads guilty to abusing boys at Fareham school

A TEACHER has admitted sexually assaulting several young boys in his care.

Nicholas Quest, 56, from Linden Grove, Gosport, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court charged with six counts of indecent assault.

Quest pleaded guilty to all of the offences, which took place from September 1, 1976, until June 14, 1989.

At the time of the offences, Quest was a teacher at Boundary Oak boarding school, Wickham Road, Fareham.

He joined the school in 1976 and has since retired on health reasons following an investigation being launched into his behaviour.

The youngest victim was just seven years old, the oldest was 14 years old

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports. Quest was released on unconditional bail and will appear again at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, August 16.

Judge Sarah Munro QC said: ‘Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the inevitable consequences of them… I am going to grant you bail but be under no illusion of the likely custodial sentence you will receive.’

The school is helping police with the investigation.

July 2013

Jail warning for Carlisle man who had child abuse images

A Carlisle man has been put on the sex offenders’ register after admitting downloading indecent pictures of children from the internet.

Stobart Rail worker Nickki Whyte, 24, pleaded guilty at the city’s Crown Court today to 15 charges of making indecent images of children.

They covered a total of 160 separate photographs, ranging from level 1 (the least serious) to level 4 on the official five categories of seriousness.

Whyte denied a further charge of possessing an image of extreme pornography – a “grossly offensive or disgusting” picture.

This was left on the court file and will not be proceeded with after the prosecution lawyer said the guilty pleas Whyte had entered were enough to mark the gravity of the case.

Whyte, who lives in Tarraby Road, was remanded on bail for background reports and will be sentenced on August 22.

The length of time he has to stay on the sex offenders’ register will be decided then.

Judge Paul Batty QC told him the fact that he was being allowed bail did not mean he would not be sent to prison.

“All sentencing options are still open,” he said.

July 2013

Paedophile tried to hide his rape victim in Hanley flat

PAEDOPHILE Emlyn Francis has been locked up for 10 years after raping a child.

The 56-year-old former soldier – who was already a registered sex offender – subjected the girl to a campaign of sexual abuse.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the victim, who was aged under 13, was assaulted over a three-year period.

Francis’s crimes were discovered when police found the girl at his home during a routine check.

Prosecutor Neil Ahuja said: “Police visited his flat as part of monitoring him as per his sex offenders registration.

“There was a reluctance by the defendant to open the door, he was nervous on arrival and tried to hide the girl’s presence.”

Following the police intervention the victim told a family member what Francis had done to her.

Officers seized his mobile phone and found photographs of the abuse.

Francis, of Linfield Road, Hanley, pleaded guilty to two counts of raping a child, and seven counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Mr Ahuja said: “The counts are based on a combination of the victim’s disclosures to a family member, those made during her interviews and the photographs found on his mobile phone and what they revealed.”

The court heard Francis was dishonourably discharged from the Army in 1990 after he sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl.

In 2001, he was convicted of three counts of indecently assaulting a female under 16, and gross indecency with a child.

Anis Ali, representing Francis, said his client had been ‘hard-working’ for most of his life.

“Of late, he has lived a lonely, perhaps sad, and isolated existence without active support,” said Mr Ali.

“He lost the support of his wife when he was last convicted, and he has no meaningful relationship with his children, who are now adults.

“He accepts full responsibility for his conduct.

“He is able to demonstrate a level of understanding of the long-lasting consequences and the trauma that he has caused the complainant.”

Judge David Fletcher sentenced Francis to 10 years in prison for the two rape charges and eight years – to run concurrently – for the seven further counts, making a total of 10 years.

He said: “You utilised your position, as an adult in a position of power, and you also used coercion.

“You required her to do things and if she did them she got a reward – that’s grooming.

“When the victim was interviewed she found the whole experience hugely difficult.

“I suspect that going through life she will find the recollection of this whole set of circumstances equally difficult to deal with.

“Goodness knows how this is going to affect her in years to come.”

July 2013

Jail for paedophile who claimed he took Viagra, fell asleep and was raped by teenage girl

A pervert in his 50s who got an under-age girl pregnant claimed she raped him as he lay unconscious after taking a cocktail of cocaine, alcohol and Viagra.

Stephen Farrington, from 
Cambridge, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for grooming and having sex with the teenager, who went on to give birth to their child.

The 53-year-old claimed he was unconscious or deeply asleep 
after taking a cocktail of drugs – including the sexual performance stimulant – when she had sex with him without his knowledge at a party.

He said he only knew about it when she told him the following morning.

But the jury did not believe his account and he was found guilty at Cambridge Crown Court of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

After the hearing a person 
previously close to Farrington told the News the sentence was not long enough.

She added: “That baby has got to live her life and eventually they will have to tell her where she came from and that she was a rape baby.”

Farrington, of St Thomas’ Square, Coleridge, was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order indefinitely.

The order means he is banned from unsupervised contact with children, and must sign the sexual offenders’ register for life.

The baby was taken into care in June last year.

Det Con Natalie Marriott, investigating officer, said: “Farrington exploited this young girl’s vulnerability and his actions will affect her for the rest of her life.

“He manipulated the girl to satisfy his own desires then tried to get away with his offending by concocting a story that it was she who had assaulted him.

“He is a dangerous individual and we are pleased he has been brought to justice and is now 
behind bars.”

July 2013

Veteran likely to die in prison for child sex attacks

A DEPRAVED veteran who raped and abused young girls over a period of 45 years has been jailed for 12 years.

David Kendrick appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court for sentencing after being found guilty by a jury of 33 counts of sexual abuse.

The 81-year-old was found guilty of two counts of attempted rape along with a catalogue of other charges.

He used pocket money and sweets to buy his victims’ silence and had also convinced them that the abuse was normal.

One of Kendrick’s victims was two years old at the time of the attacks.

But the jury was told he targeted girls aged between five and 14.

The court heard how Kendrick, from Bedhampton Place, Havant, abused nine different children, switching child when they threatened to speak out.

He used his good standing in the community to hide the attacks, which started in 1955.

Kendrick served for many years in the RAF, later becoming a bus driver and a milkman.

Defending Sarah Jones said: ‘He said and will say that he loved every single one of his victims.

‘His love was just, in these respects, entirely deviant.’

She added: ‘What this was, was misguided and self-serving demonstrations of his love and undoubtedly, what he has found most difficult to accept, to meet his own desires.’

The court heard about Kendrick’s health issues and a recent suicide attempt.

The defence added: ‘He’s a man in his 80s, a man who had done a great deal of charity work and served in the forces.

‘He will now die in prison without any family support or concern and with significant difficulties physically.’

Judge Sarah Munro QC said: ‘The effect on many of these girls was devastating. Several gave evidence about the real difficulties they have experienced in the rest of their lives especially when it comes to trust.

‘Many had buried the experiences but this trial has brought it all back.

‘The real gravity in this case is that you committed so many offences against so many victims over such a long period of time.’

Judge Munro sentenced Kendrick to 12 years in prison for each of the two rape charges, to run concurrently.

She gave him the maximum prison terms for all the other offences, to run at the same time, meaning he will serve a minimum of six years.

July 2013

Jailed For Historic Sex Abuse

Kenneth Rushworth (born 8/11/1941) of Coniston Road, Stretford pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child and causing actual bodily harm.

On Friday 19 July 2013, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, he was sentenced to a total of four and a half years in prison.

He has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Detective Constable Rachel Di Nicola said: “The three victims suffered abuse at the hands of Rushworth between 1972 and 1978. Two of the victims were just teenage girls the abuse started.

“It is very brave of them to have come forward after this many years and now they will be able to hopefully get closure for these events and progress with their lives. The length of the sentence reflects the serious nature of the offences committed.

“I understand that victims often feel that the easiest thing to do is simply try and forget about the past and keep their experiences bottled up.

“But you can never really shake off what has happened, while the person who carries out this offending often lives a normal, free life.

“Bringing that person to justice is often the only way for victims to truly move on.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Greater Manchester Police is committed to thoroughly investigating all reports of historic abuse and that we can make the experience as easy as possible for the victims.”

Anyone who has been a victim of rape or sexual assault can contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. GMP has specially trained officers in place to provide a first class response to victims and help support them through the criminal justice process.

St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester, can also be contacted on 0161 276 6515. This provides a comprehensive and coordinated forensic, counselling and medical aftercare service to anyone in Greater Manchester who has experienced rape or sexual assault. Services are available on a 24-hour basis and people can access them either as a self-referral or via Greater Manchester Police.

July 2013

Ex-BBC engineer admits child abuse images charges

A former BBC engineer has admitted downloading tens of thousands of indecent images of children.

Darren Shearer, 26, from Newtown Road, Worcester, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to 18 counts of making the images and five counts of distributing them.

The court heard 270 of the images he viewed were at the most serious Level 5 category.

He will return to Worcester Crown Court for sentencing on 30 August.

The offences took place between December 2008 and February this year and were said by defence barrister Daniel Oscroft to depict teenage boys who had “gone through puberty”.

Shearer worked at the BBC’s outside broadcast unit based at its Mailbox site in Birmingham at the time the offences came to light.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Darren Shearer no longer works for the BBC – he was suspended at the earliest opportunity upon hearing of the shocking allegations and was dismissed in March 2013.”

July 2013

Trowbridge man to be placed on sex offenders’ register

A Trowbridge man is to be put on the sex offenders’ register after admitting making obscene photographs of children as young as six.

Jose Carlos Barreiro, 43, of Church Street, pleaded guilty to 12 charges involving indecent images when he appeared at North West Wiltshire Magistrates Court in Chippenham on Thursday, July 18.

His possession of such images dated over a nine-year period from December 2002 and his computer contained two extreme pornographic images.

There were also 4,975 images and 230 pseudo photographs, the vast majority level 1 but some as severe as level 4.

Barreiro’s stash was discovered through intelligence from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which led to a search of his property towards the end of 2011.

The case was adjourned for a report to be prepared by the probation service. Barreiro will be sentenced at court in Chippenham on Thursday, August 8.

He is bailed on the condition he has no unsupervised contact with any children aged 16 and under.