May 2014

Gravesend pervert jailed for sex abuse after branding young victim a liar

A pervert who branded a young girl a liar when she accused him of molesting her has been jailed for nine years.

Matthew Underwood was arrested after the youngster confided in a relative she “had a secret, but wasn’t allowed to tell”.

But the girl then revealed how the 34-year-old had abused her. This included making her touch his genitals as well as performing sex acts.

She later described Underwood in a note as a “dirty man”. After his arrest, Underwood denied any sexual activity with the girl.

However, Maidstone Crown Court heard that on the day his trial was due to start he admitted four offences of sexual assault and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

He denied two charges of rape and four of assault by penetration and these were left on the court file.

Passing concurrent sentences ranging between four years and nine years, Judge Philip St. John-Stevens said the affect of Underwood’s abuse on his victim was yet to be determined.

“Any harm caused may be very long-standing, and it is impossible to assess the impact of your crime on someone so young,” he said.

“It must be understood that whatever sentence I pass is not meant to compensate for the anguish upon that young child or her mother. The affect one does not know and cannot be determined.”

Upon his release, Underwood, formerly from Gravesend but now of no fixed address, must sign on the sex offender register indefinitely.

He was also made subject to a sexual offences prevention order and barred from working with children.

Prosecutor Simon Stirling said the girl, having confided in one relative, then repeated the accusations to others.

She later told police Underwood pulled his jeans down, exposed himself and got her to perform a sex act.

“When asked how it made her feel she said: ‘I think it’s disgusting’,” added the prosecutor.

The court heard Underwood also performed a sex act on the girl. “He told her she would have to keep it a big secret,” said Mr Stirling.

In a victim impact statement, the child’s mother said she was now “emotional” and suffering from night terrors and bed-wetting.

James Martin, defending, said the best mitigation he could put forward on his behalf was his guilty plea and the fact it meant the child did not have to give evidence.

He added Underwood also felt remorse and shame and had attempted suicide while on remand awaiting sentence.

“He accepts what he has done was wrong and is deeply ashamed of his action,” said Mr Martin.

January 2003

Airman freed after sentence cut

A former airman who was arrested at North Yorkshire’s RAF Leeming fighter base for downloading child abuse images has had his sentence cut.

The Appeal Court reduced James Richard Poole’s jail term from 18 months to three, which saw him released from custody.

The 34-year-old airman, from Dalford Court, Telford, Shropshire, had been found guilty of downloading indecent pictures of children at Teesside Crown Court in October.

The Appeal Court said the trial judge did not have the benefit of sentencing guidelines which were formed after Poole was jailed.

October 2002

Child abuse images at RAF Leeming

THOUSANDS of pornographic images, including illicit pictures of girls under the age of 16, were found on a computer at RAF Leeming.

A former airman, who was accused of visiting Internet websites in search of child pornography, told Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday that pornography is rife within the RAF and indecent images were often swapped in men’s barracks for videos and cigarettes.

The court heard James Richard Poole, 33, a father of two, deny 12 counts of taking indecent photographs of young girls between September 2000 and his arrest on August 9 last year.

The pictures were found when Ministry of Defence police raided his room at Blackburn Barracks and seized his PC which contained a file labelled “Sorted Porn”.

Poole, of Dulford Court, Hollingswood, Telford, Shropshire, was arrested just days before he was due to leave the RAF following an allegation of harassment, and an image was discovered on his computer.

Officers inspecting a copy of the computer’s hard drive discovered an encrypted site but Poole refused to give them the password for the site or say what it contained.

Poole said the images must have been placed on his computer remotely by someone else.

Mr Peter Johnson, prosecuting, said Poole, who served in the forces for 12 years before leaving to work as a self-employed IT consultant, was experienced in computer use.

Det Con David John Lewis of the MoD police said Poole used software to automatically download images from the Internet from a number of sites.

The court later heard that Poole had 6,000 pornographic images on the hard drive of his computer and two CD Roms full of indecent pictures, among which were pornographic images of girls believed to be under 16.

When interviewed, he claimed a former lover, who he had harassed in the past, had installed a programe on his computer which could be accessed remotely.

He suggested this may have been used to download child pornography.

However, he told the court he did not believe she or her subsequent boyfriend, a Microsoft certified systems engineer, had anything to do with the images being downloaded on to the computer.

Under cross-examination, Poole admitted downloading amateur cartoon pornography – Japanese Hentai and Manga – which he distributed to other servicemen, but denied ever being involved in searching for child pornography.

“I am the father of a six-year-old girl. I am not a child pornographer,” he said.

“The one thing I cannot stand, the one thing that really gets my back up is child pornography.”

Poole told the court he could not explain how child pornography images appeared on his computer but said his room had been open and his computer available for other servicemen to surf the Internet.

And in court the following day, Leeds computer consultant Jonathan Vogler said files were created on Poole’s PC following his arrest but could not explain how they got there

He said MoD police had not followed police guidelines after Poole’s arrest

Detectives who searched the room did not immediately switch off his computer, even though it was connected to the Internet and by network to his next-door neighbour’s computer.

May 2014

Former scout leader from Hucclecote jailed for five years, 30 years after abusing teenage boys on camping trips

JUSTICE finally caught up with a scout leader who abused four boys when he took them camping in the 1970s and 80s.

Brian Lewis, 81, of Gilpin Avenue, Hucclecote, was jailed for a total of five years and months today for sex offences against the teenagers more than 30 years ago.

Gloucester Crown Court heard three of his victims, then aged between 12 and 14, were scouts he took away on camping trips.

The fourth was a boy he preyed on after he had been asked to resign from the Scout movement in 1982.

Jailing Lewis, Judge Jamie Tabor QC told him as a result of his offences “all your victims have suffered from various psychiatric problems, principally in forming relationships with others”.

Lewis admitted seven charges of indecent assault and two of gross indecency with boys dating from September 1978 to December 1984.

Julian Kesner, prosecuting, said the case had come to light thanks to the bravery of one of the three scouts who decided in September 2012 to report Lewis.

The scouts all told similar stories of how Lewis would take groups of boys away on camping trips around the UK.

He had a camper van and boys would sleep with him in the vehicle or sometimes in tents.

During the nights Lewis would grope them and perform sex acts.

All three scout victims had told police that Lewis was a good, friendly, knowledgeable and respected leader – but one with a dark side.

One victim said: “I always knew that what was happening was not right. But I never understood how wrong it was.”

Mr Kesner said that in 1982 Lewis was asked to resign from the scouts after allegations were made by other boys – not those involved in this case.

He then turned his attentions to a fourth victim and started molesting him.

Joe Maloney, defending, handed the court references for Lewis including one from a former scout who went on to become a police officer.

“The references speak of his great leadership skills and of him passing them on to others,” he said.

Mr Maloney said he hoped the victims would feel a sense of relief and closure following Lewis’s admissions.

Lewis felt great remorse and wished to apologise to everyone involved, he added.

Judge Tabor told Lewis: “You have impressed many people. Regrettably, as in some other recent cases, there was another side to you, the dark side, and it was a side that may not have reached the public’s ears until after your death.

“You used your role to gain access to young boys as a means of gratifying your sexual appetite.”

December 2013

Former Rugby man in custody for under-age sex offences

A young man who had sex with an under-age girl has been remanded in custody after a judge heard he already had a caution for a similar offence.

Loukas Warne, 20, who is from Rugby but now of Leicester Road, Nuneaton, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to three charges of sexual activity with a child.

The charges relate to one occasion earlier this year when Warne had sex with a 15-year-old girl and two when he engaged in other sexual activity with her.

The court heard Warne had also received a caution in 2011 for similar activity.

Colin Charvill, defending, said: “He has clearly done this before.”

Judge Richard Griffith-Jones adjourned the case until the new year to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

He refused an application for bail and remanded Warne in custody and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

May 2014

Eleven years jail for Sowerby Bridge rapist who abused child

A 65-year-old man has been jailed for 11 years after he gave money to a vulnerable teenager who was sexually abused and raped by him.

A judge heard today (Wednesday) how the youngster, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, spent the cash on more cannabis and alcohol to “block out” the abuse she endured at the hands of Michael Rhodes.

Rhodes was arrested at a farm in Sowerby Bridge after his victim finally revealed details of the abuse she had suffered about a decade earlier.

Last month when Rhodes’ case was listed for trial at Bradford Crown Court he entered guilty pleas to three offences of indecent assault and one of rape.

Prosecutor Sophie Drake told the crown court how Rhodes raped the girl when she was 16 and left £150 under her pillow.

Miss Drake said the abuse began after Rhodes told the 14-year-old he would give her some money if she let him touch her breasts.

She said the teenager refused, but Rhodes touched her under her clothing anyway and also kissed and licked her breasts.

The court heard that Rhodes told the girl she was beautiful and gave her £20.

Miss Drake said the teenager used the money to buy cannabis so she could forget what had happened.

She said the complainant told police that she began drinking more regularly and smoking cannabis to block out what was happening to her.

The rape offence took place after Rhodes told the teenager he would give her more money if she let him do more to her.

Miss Drake said the girl was saying no throughout, but after committing the rape Rhodes left £150 under her pillow.

When Rhodes was arrested in Sowerby Bridge in July 2012 officers found a floppy disc containing almost 30 indecent images of children and in December last year he admitted possessing the child porn.

Barrister Camille Morland, for Rhodes, said he had been in care and had had “a very difficult upbringing”.

“He should not have offended in the way that he has and now at effectively retirement age he has to face up to those offences,” said Miss Morland.

She said it was not accepted that the complainant’s use of cannabis and alcohol began as a consequence of Rhodes’ conduct and he was now regretful and remorseful for his offending.

The Recorder of Bradford Judge Roger Thomas QC imposed an indefinite sexual offences prevention order on Rhodes which bans unsupervised contact with children and he also told the defendant that he would have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

The judge said the offences reflected something “very dark and nasty” about Rhodes’ life which had only now come to light.

He said Rhodes, who used to live in the Pudsey area, had become sexually attracted to the teenager at a time when she was pushing the boundaries of her behaviour like many adolescents.

Judge Thomas said the offending had been committed against a “vulnerable individual” and it was a serious case of its sort.

Rhodes, who had no relevant previous convictions, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for the rape offence with an additional two-and-a-half years in prison for the indecent assault matters.

The possession of child porn offences were dealt with by way of a concurrent prison sentence of six months.

May 2014

‘Predatory’ pervert jailed after making girl, 13, pregnant

A “PREDATORY” 22-year-old man who has a history of stealing has been jailed after he made a 13-year-old girl pregnant and later sparked a police hunt when he ran away with her.

Oliver Fearnall, of Meadow Walk, Droitwich, first met the girl shortly after her 13th birthday, Worcester Crown Court was told. He went with her to a funfair in Stourport and gave her drinks of vodka, white wine and lemonade until she passed out, Michael Aspinall, prosecuting, told the court.

She woke up in a stranger’s house in Kidderminster with “love bites” all over her neck, Mr Aspinall said.

She did not see Fearnall again until he asked to be her friend on facebook using a false name. She accepted and she then realised it was him. They developed a relationship on the internet and she met him in a flat above an abandoned shop in Kidderminster, where they had sex on three occasions, Mr Aspinall said.

The girl became pregnant and told her mother, who called police. She had a termination to end the pregnancy, Mr Aspinall said.

In October last year, they got in contact again and agreed to run away together, travelling to Lichfield in Staffordshire and going missing for two to three days. While the girl was sleeping on a park bench, Fearnall decided what he had done was wrong and ensured he could be picked up on CCTV walking around the town and allowing police looking for them to find him.

Miss Diljit Bachada, defending, said a psychiatric report showed Fearnall had mental health issues but they were not serious enough for him to be in a hospital. She said he had the maturity of a 14 or 15-year-old boy.

Judge Abbas Mithani, QC, said Fearnall had exploited a vulnerable child.

“She might not realise now the effect this has had on her but when she does realise how she has been abused she might never overcome the psychological damage,” he told Fearnall.

The fact that she had become pregnant made it even more damaging, the judge told him and it would have been even more serious if they had had sex after he ran off with her.

This type of “predatory” offending rightly caused the revulsion of the public and could only be met with a jail term, he said.

Fearnall pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual activity with a child and was given three years and eight months concurrent on each count. He also pleaded guilty to child abduction and was given a 12-month consecutive sentence, making a total of four years and eight months.

He was also given a sexual offences prevention order banning him from working with children until further order and will have to give notification as a sex offender indefinitely.

May 2014

Matthew Wickens jailed for Devon baby throwing death

A man who killed his crying baby by throwing him so violently into his cot that he suffered massive head injuries has been jailed.

Matthew Wickens, 24, tried to cover up five-week-old Rilee Gardener’s head injury by putting a hat on him, Exeter Crown Court heard.

He did not raise the alarm or try to get help

Rilee was found “lifeless and cold” by his mother, in November 2012.

Wickens, of Waltham Road, Newton Abbot, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for six years and five months.

Simon Laws QC, prosecuting, said that by shaking Rilee and throwing him into his cot, Wickens had caused him serious head injuries.

When Rilee’s mother, returned home Wickens pretended the baby was safe and asleep, Mr Laws said.

It was only when she became concerned about how long he had been silent that she found him collapsed in his cot, the court heard.

Wickens went on to lie about what had happened to his son for 15 months, saying he accidentally dropped his child, the court was told.

His lies led to suspicion temporarily falling on Ms Gardener, who was wholly innocent, the court heard.

Asda worker Wickens, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for six years and five months by Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

Post-mortem examinations on Rilee’s body showed a combination of internal bleeding inside the head and eyes, which is associated with non-accidental shaking injuries.

Mr Laws added: “Wickens said he felt like his life was over and he was a father all the time, while his mates were off doing different things and experiencing stuff.”

Mr Paul Dunkels, QC, defending, said a lack of sleep and fatigue caused by combining the duties of parenthood with a full-time job could have contributed towards Wickens losing his temper while he was caring for Rilee.

Mr Simon Laws, QC, prosecuting, said Wickens was left in sole charge of Riley on the afternoon of November 25, 2012, and caused serious and unsurvivable head injuries by shaking the child and throwing him in his cot.

When Gemma returned home he pretended the baby was safe and asleep and it was only when she became concerned about how long Riley had been silent that she found him lifeless and cold.

She fetched her father Christopher Gardener, who ran a shop opposite the flat in Winner Street, Paignton, who is a trained first aider and who rushed over and tried to resuscitate Riley without success.

Wickens told paramedics he thought the child may have choked on vomit but once at hospital doctors found bruising on the head which had been concealed by a hat he had put on the baby.

Post mortem examinations showed a combination of internal bleeding inside the head and eyes which is associated with non accidental shaking injuries.

Wickens finally gave an account of the killing in which he said:”Riley would not stop crying. I lost my self control and shook him and flung him face down into his cot.”

Mr Laws said Wickens later told a psychologist how he felt the birth of his son had robbed him of his freedom.

He said:”Wickens said he felt like his life was over and he was a father all the time while his mates were off doing different things and experiencing stuff. He felt his career had gone and Gemma would not let him join the army.”

The mother Gemma Gardener and her family sobbed in the public gallery as Mr Laws told how she had made a victim impact statement about the loss of Riley .

He said:”She spoke movingly about the fact she has to live with the moment she discovered him and more than anything how she feels the loss of her son.”

Mr Paul Dunkels, QC, defending, said Wickens was immature for his age but had done his best to be a good and supportive father who had got up five times a night to change or feed the child.

He said his loss of temper may have been caused in part by the lack of sleep and fatigue caused by combining the duties of parenthood with a full time job.

January 2005

Serial child sex abuser convicted and sentenced

A 62-year-old man from Manchester has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for 18 counts of child abuse.

Edward Moran pleaded not guilty to six counts of rape, six of indecent assault and two counts of cruelty to a child.

He also denied two counts of indecent assault on a male, one count of indecency with a child and one count of attempting to commit an offence.

Moran, of Yew Walk, Partington, was sentenced on Friday at Minshull Street Crown Court.

The pensioner was convicted in December 2004. A number of incidents of rape and sexual abuse had been reported to police three years earlier.

They were alleged to have happened to a girl when she was aged between seven and 16 in the 1960s and 1970s.

Following this, another woman and a man reported being sexually assaulted by Moran.

Det Con Linda Parry, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “This is a man who took advantage and abused vulnerable children.

“It has been a traumatic experience for all the people concerned and it has taken a lot for them to come forward.”

May 2014

Guernsey sex offender given eight years

A Guernsey man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a range of sexual offences, including assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 1999.

Wayne Brouard, 42, of St Martin’s, had denied that charge but admitted taking indecent photographs of an 11-year-old girl in 2011.

Guernsey’s Royal Court ordered Brouard to serve eight years in prison, with a five-year extension.

Brouard was caught when police searched his home in 2013 on unrelated matters.

Officers found 31 indecent images on a mobile phone memory card.

Brouard pleaded not guilty to charges of indecent assault and gross indecency at his trial in February, but pleaded guilty to taking indecent images.

Judge Russel Finch said it was “extremely concerning” that Brouard forced a vulnerable witness to re-live events that took place 15 years ago.

A psychologist’s report declared Brouard was an extremely high re-offending risk and would require serious help and strict conditions on his release.

May 2014

Pervert jailed for four-and-a-half-years after grooming victims through Facebook and Skype

A man who groomed his young victims through Facebook, Skype and X Box has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Luke Collie from Bournemouth offered gifts to children in return for performing sexual acts and became abusive and used threats when his advances were rejected.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Dorset Police launched an investigation through POLIT, the Police Online Investigation Team, after being alerted to the 24-year-old’s activities.

Now officers have urged parents to keep a close eye on what their children are doing online.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Johnson said he believes Collie poses a significant risk of further sexual offending and causing harm to children. On release from prison he will spend a further eight years on a dangerous person’s licence under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. A breach of the conditions of this licence can result in an immediate return to prison.

Collie was also given a Sex Offenders Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

May 2014

I’m a sick man, I need help’ – Sunderland sex offender’s urges over young girls

A HIGH-risk sex offender is facing jail after being caught with a stash of child abuse images.

William Carmody, from Sunderland, was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life in 2000 following a conviction for indecent exposure.

The pervert’s latest convictions come after the 38-year-old was caught looking at pornography while he was staying at a hostel in Newcastle’s Westgate Road.

Police then searched his home address in Azalea Terrace North, Sunderland, where Carmody handed them a computer memory stick filled with pornographic photographs, cartoons and films.

At Sunderland Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded to five charges of having indecent images (dating back to December 19, 20 and 23) and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

John McGlone, prosecuting, told the court that Carmody is classed as a high-risk sex offender who had “numerous” previous convictions for similar crimes.

Magistrates heard that a fellow resident in the bail hostel he was staying at saw him looking at images of semi-naked girls on one of the hostel’s computers.

The computer was seized and CCTV footage showed Carmody removing a memory stick from the computer tower.

When officers searched his home, he handed over the USB drive – which contained a large amount of adult pornography, an indecent image of a girl aged between 10 and 14 and another image of an older teenage girl. They also discovered 16 animated films or cartoons, as well as an extreme pornographic image involving an adult woman and an animal.

Willie Johnstone, defending, said Carmody should be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court.

He added: “He told police ‘I am a sick man and I need help’.

“He was about to attend Turning Point and Lifeline, to address his alcohol problems, as alcohol seems to be the dis-inhibitor.”

Mr Johnston told the court that Carmody was trying to suppress his urges about young girls by fantasising about older women.

In 2009, Carmody was jailed for 18 months after exposing himself in Sunderland’s city centre library.

May 2014

Exeter pensioner admits historic sexual abuse including rape

A pensioner has been warned he faces jail after admitting historic sexual abuse.

Robert Newsham, aged 77, pleaded guilty to ten charges of sexual assault including offences of rape when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court.

Newsham, from Exeter, was released on bail but told he will face a lengthy sentence when he returns to court next month.

Judge Mr Justice Burnett adjourned the case and ordered a pre sentence report but told the defendant:”In granting you bail I have to make it clear this is not an indication of the sentence.

“As you appreciate, in the light of your pleas, a lengthy period of imprisonment is inevitable.”

The Judge ordered a probation pre sentence report and gave the prosecution two weeks to confirm they will not pursue other allegations to which Newsham has pleaded not guilty.

May 2014

Paedophile who travelled hundreds of miles to abuse Meopham schoolgirl caught in undercover sting

A paedophile who travelled hundreds of miles in the hope of plying an eight-year-old Meopham schoolgirl with alcohol before sexually abusing her has been jailed.

Phillip Matthews, 38, travelled from his home in Whitefield, Manchester, to Baker Street in London on March 14 to meet with a woman he had been talking with over the internet regarding carrying out acts of sexual abuse against her eight-year-old daughter.

Matthews sent various communications to the woman via email, chat rooms and telephone, explaining in great detail the acts that he would like to commit upon the girl. He also made suggestions around giving the girl some alcohol beforehand.

Unbeknown to Matthews he had actually been talking to an undercover police officer and the girl was not real.

And when he arrived in London the meeting was interrupted by detectives from the Kent Police child exploitation investigation team, who arrested the paedophile on suspicion of arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

Matthews pleaded guilty and on May 14 was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to six years in custody. An indefinite sexual offences prevention order was imposed, and Matthews will appear on the sex offender register for life.

Detective Inspector David Shipley from Kent Police said: “Matthews knew exactly what he was doing when he travelled from Manchester to meet someone in order to abuse an eight year-old child. His protestations after arrest that he merely wanted to tell this individual to stop ruining the child’s life shows that he knows full well the impact that such abuse can have. There are a number of ways he could help children, and it starts by not engaging in such vile behaviour in the first place. I am glad that once again the child exploitation investigation team has been able to make Kent a safer place for children by bringing to justice another individual who had every intention of abusing a child in this county.”

May 2014

Tonbridge man jailed for string of sex attacks against child

A 51 year-old man from Tonbridge who committed a series of sex offences against a teenage girl has been jailed for more than seven years.

Andrew Bond, formerly of Silver Close, Tonbridge handed himself in to police last year after the victim told her mother of his crimes.

Bond began abusing the girl in 2008 and went on to commit further offences over a period lasting four years.

They all took place when the victim was under 16 years old and he used locations including a park and the inside of his car to carry out the acts.

In an effort to prevent his victim from revealing what he had done Bond told her she would get the blame and that “everyone would hate her”.

But in September of last year she told her mother what had been happening.

He was challenged by the victim’s mother about his behaviour and handed himself in at Tonbridge police station on October 1, 2013.

During interview he denied some of the allegations put to him and claimed that poor health, including strokes, had left him unable to remember details of his crimes. He said he knew what he was doing was wrong but didn’t know why he was unable to stop.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court on May 9, Bond was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a count of rape, one count of sexual assault of a child aged under 13 and four counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child under 16.

Leading the investigation was Detective Constable Brian Elsdon who said: “Bond tried to scare his victim into thinking that she would be the one to suffer if his crimes were ever exposed. However, it is thanks to the courage of this child that he will now spend a lengthy time in prison, where he will have time to reflect on the incredible amount of damage that he has caused.

“This case shows that the police will always listen and investigate and that no one should suffer in silence.

“I would urge anyone who may be suffering abuse or who has been a victim of crime in the past to come forward now and speak to us.”

Bond will be subject to a sex offender prevention order, and his name will appear on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

May 2014

Former Teacher Jailed For School Trip sexual Assaults On Young Boys

A former deputy headmaster of a Hayes junior school has been jailed for indecently assaulting boys during school camping trips in the 1970s and 80s.

Now police are urging any other victims to come forward.

Anthony Roy Dowsing, 69, a former deputy headmaster of Hayes Park Junior School, was sentenced on Friday, May 16 at Isleworth Crown Court to four years’ jail, for five counts of indecent assault on boys under the age of 14, and nine counts of possessing indecent images of children.

The paedophile came to the attention of police in 2013, after a man came forward to report that he had been indecently assaulted as a child by Dowsing during a school trip approximately 35 years ago.

Dowsing of West Meadow Road, Braunton, Devon, admitted the offences in February. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

After the man’s accusation, an investigation was immediately started by the Metropolitan police, which led to a further three victims being identified, all between seven and 10 years old at the time. All five historic sexual assaults had taken place on the four boys between 1976 and 1985.

Dowsing was arrested at his home in April 2013, and during a search officers seized a large quantity of indecent images of children appearing on his computer, ranging from level one, to level five: the most serious.

Detective Constable Kate McDuff said: “This is a historical case going back nearly 40 years, where Dowsing used his position of trust as a deputy headteacher to abuse vulnerable children over a nine year period.

“We commend the actions of all four brave victims who have come forward to report Dowsing’s sickening actions. We take all allegations of child abuse and sexual assault extremely seriously regardless of how long ago the offences took place.

“Dowsing is known to have worked with a number of children’s clubs and charities in the London area and there may be further victims of his abuse who we would urge to come forward and speak to us.”

April 2000

Paedophile jailed for abusing three sisters

A PAEDOPHILE who systematically abused three young sisters over nearly two decades was jailed for eight years yesterday.

Father-of-ten Patrick Hogan, 59, carried out one drunken sex attack hours after a prayer meeting following his own daughter’s suicide.

After his arrest, he told police he was ”the scum of the earth” and admitted indecently assaulting the girls, but he later pled not guilty and forced each to give evidence.

His eldest victim, 38-year-old Mrs X, said the first attack happened in the 1970s when she was about 12.

She said Hogan carried out indecent acts at his former home in Hawthorn Drive, Craigneuk, Lanarkshire.

He had sex with her on a regular basis and forced her to carry out depraved acts.

Mrs X, who came from her home in Italy to testify, missed almost all of her secondary education through truancy and ran away from home.

Her 27-year-old sister, Miss Y, said she was the victim of sex attacks by Hogan at the same house, at his next home in Whitehill Avenue, Airdrie, and in his Hillman Avenger car.

The third sister, Miss Z, 20, who is five months pregnant, said the abuse started before her first Holy Communion when she was seven.

He made her perform a sex act and was sexually assaulted ”every other day”, including just after the suicide of one of Hogan’s daughters.

Lord Carlaway told Hogan he had been convicted of extremely serious charges for which his drinking was no excuse. ”The damage you have caused is incalculable,” he added.

March 2011

Paedophile pensioner targeted girls aged just seven and nine

A FORMER Coventry pensioner who committed “vile” sexual abuse opf two young girls has been jailed. 

The victims of Barry Fielding were as young as seven and nine when the abuse began. 

The 77-year-old, formerly of Ashington Grove, Whitley, admitted 18 counts of sex offences against children between 1999 and 2004. 

And at Coventry Crown Court yesterday, Fielding, who now lives in Derby, was jailed for eight years.

The court heard Fielding’s abuse of his victims spanned two years for each girl and progressed in severity. 

He warned them not to tell anyone and the on-going abuse was their “little secret”. 

He later admitted to police he was attracted to young girls. 

Prosecutor Eugene Hickey told the hearing Fielding’s first victim was abused between the ages of seven and nine, with the first incident taking place when the pair were dog walking in the woods. 

Referring to a statement made by the victim, Mr Hickey told the court: “She says he has taken away her innocence and childhood and this has had an impact on her being an adult.” 

Fielding’s second victim was abused between the ages of nine and 11. Mr Hickey explained the abuse she suffered has also had a devastating impact. 

He said: “She is trying to deal with this herself, but she is struggling. She tries not to sleep because when she sleeps, she has nightmares. She says it’s like an action replay in her nightmares. 

“She says she doesn’t have much of a social life because she feels uncomfortable around males. She adds ‘I think about what happened to me every day’.” 

The court was told Fielding was convicted in 1993 for two counts of indecency with a child. 

Describing Fielding’s offending as “vile”, Judge Peter Carr said: “The effect this abuse has had on these girls is set out in the victim impact statements. 

“They show the devastating effect your abuse has had on these girls. 

“Your first victim’s secondary school education was severely effected, she was almost taken into care, turned to drugs and her relationship with her parents suffered profoundly.

She has had counselling. “Your second victim has also had counselling and she has difficulty sleeping because she has nightmares because of what you did to her.”

Fielding was also made subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which, upon his release, prevents him from having unsupervised contact with those under the age of 16 or working in a job where he would be unsupervised with children. 

December 1997

My stepdad sexually abused me for 14 yrs .. I hope my story will help other victims be brave enough to speak out

Kelly is an attractive confident young woman with her life in front of her. She is studying hard to qualify in computing.

But to get this far today, she has had to overcome the memory of her harrowing yesterdays – 14 years of sexual abuse at the hands of her perverted stepfather. 

Evil Kenneth Lines, 39, who had raped, degraded and humiliated her since she was four, was jailed for 13 years.

Now, nearly a year on, Kelly is strong enough to tell her disturbing story 

She hopes it will give other victims the courage to speak out 

I Hardly remember when it began, because I was only four. My real dad had left us. 

He and Mum got married when they were teenagers, and I think they were just too young. 

My mum met Ken, and he moved in with us. My younger brother was two then. 

I was a friendly child, and the first time I met Ken, I climbed on to his knee and asked him if he was Mummy’s friend. 

He was wearing an open-neck shirt and I pulled at the hairs on his chest. I remember Mum telling me not to, but he said it was all right. 

We lived in a flat on an estate in Surrey. We weren’t well off, but we didn’t go short. Mum was very sociable and had lots of friends until Ken moved in. 

The first night it happened, I was four years and six months old. My brother and I had bunk beds and I was on the top. 

Ken told me to come into the living-room. I have no idea where Mum was that night. He made me take off my nightie and I remember lying over the back of our couch, looking at the brown and white striped pattern. 

I didn’t really understand what had happened to me. All I knew was I didn’t like it and it was happening at least twice a week. 

At nursery one day, we were told to sit down on these red seats and I said I couldn’t because I was sore. 

They asked me why and I didn’t say anything, because Ken had told me not to. It was our little secret. 

But then a teacher asked me if Daddy played with me and I said Yes. I was taken for all these examinations and the police and social services were informed. 

They went to see Ken, and in the end they said it was my overactive imagination. 

I remember coming home after all this and Ken had his head in his hands and he was crying. He told me off and said I shouldn’t have told anyone because it was our secret. 

And it carried on. He told me not to tell anyone again, and I didn’t – apart from my little brother, and what could he do? 

He and my mum married when I was six, the year he took my virginity. I was used to abuse by then. Sometimes he told me: “I will tell Mum if you don’t do this.” 

I was scared of Mum finding out. She knew nothing about it. I don’t know why I kept silent – maybe I thought it was my fault. But part of me wanted to protect her. I didn’t want her to know what he was really like. 

Everyone else just thought I was his favourite. He would sit next to me and cuddle me all the time. Mum thought his devotion to me was like any other dad. 

Sometimes he abused me when she was in the room, but she never knew. 

He would push me onto my side on the couch and make sure we were covered with a rug. Mum would be watching telly and never noticed anything. 

I was having a terrible time at school. I had dyslexia and learning difficulties. As a result, I was bullied. 

Social services visited me three times over three years, but I didn’t tell. I felt no one believed me the first time and they still wouldn’t. 

I dreaded Sundays more than any day, because Mum was often out, and he had sex with me whenever and wherever he could. 

His birthdays were horrible days, too.

It was his treat to have sex with me. I blotted it out. I made my mind go blank and mentally scrunched myself up into a ball and clenched my fists. 

When I started at secondary school, he made me wear my mum’s underwear. 

One day, I wore stockings and suspenders to school. When I undressed for PE, all the girls laughed at me. 

Ken controlled us all. He and Mum argued a lot about money. He had a nasty temper and hit my brother if he didn’t behave. 

He drilled a hole in the attic above my bedroom so he could watch me. 

He even forced me to have sex with one of his friends, Barry Talbot, while he watched.

I was about 12 when I really realised that what he was doing was wrong. But I felt so helpless. 

I screamed at him sometimes – but Mum thought it was normal adolescent stuff. I still don’t know why I didn’t tell her. 

Ken had threatened to kill me if I told, but it was more than that. He made me feel dirty – as though it was my fault. 

When I was 17, an older boy I liked called for me. Ken wouldn’t let me out – then had sex with me. 

I phoned the boy next day and spoke to his mum. She just said to me: “Have you told your mum he hits you?” 

I said he didn’t and she said: “Is it sexual abuse?” I broke down and started crying.

She came round to where I worked at the hairdresser’s, and they helped me go to the police.

I was interviewed for hours and examined. Ken was arrested next morning. I had still not spoken to my mum, and I went to the house. She was crying and saying: “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

The day he was jailed, I had such a feeling of freedom. 

I don’t blame Mum, but I am angry with social services, because they are supposed to be trained to see the signs. 

It Upsets me that Mum keeps in touch and visits Ken. She doesn’t seem to understand the effect it has had on me. 

He is still in my life and still controlling it. I don’t know what will happen when he comes out. 

I’m working hard at college so I can get a good job and get away. 

I want my life back. I want to have a decent husband and children. 

And I will give them so much love and put them before anything and anyone else. 

March 2000

Schoolmaster is jailed for sex assault on boys

A former teacher at a public school has been jailed for sexually assaulting male pupils. 

Dennis Fletcher (50), of Birchington, Kent, who taught French at Junior King’s prep school in Canterbury, was sentenced by Judge Hamilton to three years at Maidstone Crown Court. 

Fletcher, who admitted seven counts of sexually assaulting children under 16 and making an indecent video, will be placed on the national sex offenders’ register. 

Det Con Nick Symons, who led the investigation following a complaint made in 1998, said: “This was somebody who was in a position of trust in a boarding school.

There was a lot of trust in him and he abused that.” 

The Kent Police special investigations unit, joined by Kent social services, launched an inquiry into Fletcher after a former pupil made an allegation of sexual assault in November 1998. 

During the year-long inquiry, officers interviewed hundreds of Fletcher’s pupils and former pupils, finally bringing 11 charges of indecent assault dating back to 1987. 

Fletcher, who was suspended from Junior King’s – the prep school attached to King’s School – at the start of the inquiry, was eventually sacked. 

At Maidstone Crown Court on February 8, Fletcher admitted seven offences of indecent assault on children under 16 and to making the indecent video of one of his former pupils. 

Four charges of indecent assault were left on the file. 

No one at the prestigious Junior King’s was available for comment.

September 1999

Pervert jailed for over 25 attacks on 10-year-old

A TWISTED pervert who said he was in love with a 10-year-old girl was jailed for four years after series of sex attacks on the youngster. 

Paedophile David Alan Edwards said he was lonely when he met the little girl and thought they were in a deep and loving relationship. 

He believed the eight months he spent sexually abusing her was perfectly normal. 

And yesterday the judge at Mold Crown Court who put him behind bars said the 57-year-old had “robbed the girl of her childhood”” and slammed Edwards as “gross”.

The court heard how Edwards, from Rhosnesi, near Wrexham, had indecently assaulted the young girl more than 25 times. 

He met her while he was looking after his senile 77-year-old mother and ended up indulging in various sordid sex acts. 

Edwards – who wept in the dock – pleaded guilty to four indecent assaults and one count of gross indecency. 

The court was told Edwards already had two previous convictions and had been to prison once before for similar offences. 

The judge said it was disturbing that Edwards saw his relationship with the minor as a loving one. 

He told him: “You did not give her a choice, that is why such a relationship is properly described as abuse.” 

Defending Mr John Lever said Edwards had led a lonely life was wholly inadequate in dealing with sexual matters.