Latest Offenders

Description

A former Plymouth criminal defence solicitor has been found guilty of sexually assaulting clients he had been appointed to help.

Alan Harris, 72, was today convicted of 10 offences against seven victims – six male and one female - following a five-week trial at Winchester Crown Court.

Harris committed the offences between 1988 and 2015 with the majority happening during private legal consultations at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court and Charles Cross police station.

Harris, of Thorn Park, Plymouth, denied the charges but was found guilty today, 10 December, of five counts of indecent assault and five sexual assaults.

He will be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 25 and 26 February 2026.

Senior Investigating Officer Chief Superintendent Roy Linden said:

“We welcome the jury’s guilty verdicts at Winchester Crown Court today.

“Alan Harris has been convicted of despicable sexual offences against victims he targeted because of their vulnerability, thinking nobody would ever believe them. 

“The victims in this case have shown enormous courage in reporting these offences, placing trust in the criminal justice process and in giving evidence in court. Our thoughts are with them today.

“Speaking directly to victims of sexual offences: We would encourage anyone who has been in this situation to come forward, and we will review each case on its own merits to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed.”

Description

Ryan Mitchell, 33, from Carn Gwavas Terrace in Newlyn, was sentenced at Truro Crown Court on December 11 to 17 years in prison for raping and violently assaulting a woman.

He was convicted on November 14 of three counts of rape in west Cornwall over five years ago, and one count of grievous bodily harm with intent in 2022, despite pleading not guilty to all charges.

Judge Simon Carr imposed 12 years for each rape count (concurrent) plus five years consecutive for the GBH.

Mitchell will be on the sex offenders register for life, with a restraining order until further notice.

Description

A 49-year-old man has been sentenced to an order of lifelong restriction and will serve a minimum of five years in prison for sexual and violent offences against women.

Robert Davie was found guilty of offences including rape, indecent assault, and serious assault, following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh on 17 December, 2024.

The offences took place against a woman in the Falkirk area between 1994 and 2022.

Davie was sentenced at the same court on Monday, 15 December, 2025.

Detective Inspector Frank Keegan, of the Domestic Abuse Task Force, said:

“Davie is a violent, sexual predator, who now faces the consequences of his depraved actions.

“Our thoughts remain with the woman, and I hope this sentencing brings them some sense of closure."

Description

A rapist has been jailed after abusing his victim for five years.

Following a two-week trial at Guildford Crown Court, 36-year-old Jamie Elliott was found guilty of:

• Three counts of rape
• Two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13
• One count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
• One count of sexual assault
• Two counts of assault by penetration
• One count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity

Elliott was found to have groomed his victim, who was known to him, plying her with alcohol and showering her with gifts and subjecting her to repeated abuse for half a decade before his crimes were discovered when explicit texts were found on the victim’s phone.

Elliott, (12/06/1989), of Egham, was sentenced today (Monday 15 December) at Guildford Crown Court. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison, with an additional extended term of five years on licence and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Investigating officer, DC Hollie Grant, said:

“Elliott carried out a catalogue of sustained abuse over five years, betraying his position of trust in the victim’s life to carry out these crimes. I hope that his time in prison will allow him the opportunity to find some remorse for his despicable actions.”

Description

A rapist who subjected a child to horrendous sexual abuse has been jailed.

Sebastian Robinson, 20, lived in a "fantasy world" of porn that shaped his attitudes toward women and girls, leading to horrific sex offenses, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He committed multiple rapes and sexual assaults against the child victim as a teenager, threatening they would be arrested if they reported him to police. The victim suffered a mental breakdown from the trauma.

Found guilty after trial, Robinson appeared for sentencing Friday. Judge Jo Kidd said: "You began looking at porn, shaping your attitudes between women, girls and sex. It was a toxic combination...you plummeted into a fantasy world."

The court heard his behavior was "bullying" and "threatening." In a statement, the victim said Robinson "controlled" them via arrest threats.

Mitigating, Paul Abrahams noted Robinson's previous good character and neurodivergence.

Judge Kidd imposed seven years in a youth offender institution, a restraining order, indefinite sex offender registration, and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A 71-year-old man has been jailed for sexual offences against teenage girls in Shetland more than 30 years ago.

Anthony McElhone was found guilty on Thursday, 13 November, 2025, of indecent assault and rape between March 1993 and December 1996 at various locations in Shetland.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, 12 December, 2025. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Detective Constable Nina Crehan said:

“McElhone subjected these girls to sustained sexual abuse over a number of years.

“I would like to thank them for their assistance with our investigations. My thoughts are with them, and I hope this result brings them some sense of closure.

“Sexual abuse will not be tolerated, and this case shows that time is no barrier to justice. I’d urge anyone who has experienced or is experiencing abuse to report it to us and we will investigate thoroughly.”

Description

A man from Felixstowe has been jailed after committing a string of sex offences.

James Hawker, 45, of Cornwall Road, was sentenced to 28 years in jail, and a further six years on extended licence, at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 12 December after being found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault, four counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration and one offence of attempted rape.

Hawker, at an earlier hearing, pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of voyeurism.

The offences all took place between August 2008 and December 2020. The three-week trial heard he made more than 210,000 indecent images of children.

The offences first came to light in February 2021 when the first victim reported it to police. Following his initial arrest on 1 February he was arrested again on 7 October 2021 and was subsequently charged in October 2023.

Detective Sergeant Jennifer Botting, the investigating officer, said:

“This was a horrific series of crimes committed by Hawker over a 13-year period, so to see him convicted for his reprehensible deeds is extremely satisfying. This was a highly complex and lengthy investigation bearing in mind the duration the offences took place and the number of victims that Hawker abused. I would like to pay tribute to the four victims and their parents for their bravery in reporting and giving evidence at trial. This by no means was easy for them to do and they will no doubt be carrying this appalling experience with them for the rest of their lives.

“I only hope that this conviction will bring some measure of justice and reassurance – not only to the victims in this case but to others who may be suffering in silence.

“Suffolk Constabulary remains committed to fully investigating any allegation of sexual abuse and providing the highest level of support and care to any victim while a thorough investigation is carried out. I hope this result will also encourage those victims who may be currently suffering in the same way to come forward report the crime to us.”

Description

Tom Milton, of Clive Road in Eston, set up and switched on the camera that he had hidden in the changing room of the premises.

The 32-year-old, who worked as a school technician at the venue, then went back to the changing room with a view to remove the device only to find it had already been taken from its hiding place.

Prior to handing himself into police an investigation had begun by detectives from Cleveland Police that included up to 35 devices being recovered, seized and forensically examined.

This led to him being charged with voyeurism and creating pseudo image offences and he was remanded in custody until the day of his trial.

On Monday 3 November Milton appeared at Durham Crown Court and following an eight-day trial, a jury found him guilty of five counts of voyeurism. Milton had pleaded guilty to three counts of creating pseudo images at an earlier hearing.

Milton appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Monday 15 December to be sentenced to three years. He was also put on the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

During the trial the court heard how on Saturday 5 July, the camera had been sighted inside an air conditioning unit and removed by a child who then handed it to an adult.

Later that night the woman attended to a police station to report and hand in the camera that had been located.

Three days later, on Tuesday 8 July, Milton disclosed to another woman, who had re-visited the venue, that he was the one who had put the camera in the changing room. He then also said the same comment to another member of staff which led him to attend Middlesbrough police station a short time later.

Upon his arrival, he was arrested and questioned by detectives while in custody. He disclosed he had placed the camera in the changing room and in the bedroom of a property without members of the public or the occupant knowing.

Meanwhile, officers had already begun seizing devices and conducting a search of Milton’s home.

What followed was detectives spending time reviewing hours of footage that uncovered Milton had been filming for a period of six years. As well as the footage, he had also made numerous pseudo images.

The case was put to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who authorised he be charged and remanded.

Detective Constable Jonathon Collins said:

“From the beginning, Milton has consistently made outrageous claims for why he chose to place cameras in the changing room and in the bedroom of a property to secretly film members of the public, refusing to acknowledge and accept any wrongdoing.

“He has violated the privacy of many people, including young children, spying on them for what I believe is for his own gratification.

“The investigation involved reviewing countless amounts of footage and then in doing so we came across images that Milton had created from the content he had filmed.

“I am pleased a jury could see through his lies and convict him of these offences where he has been rightly sentenced, securing justice for all the victims.”

Description

A man has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison, after he was found guilty of a sexual assault.

In September, James Thomas, 28, of Valeside, Hertford, was found guilty of sexual assault by digital penetration by a jury at Inner London Crown Court. Thomas will be put on the sex offenders register.

The assault took place in a hotel on Harrow Road on 29 April 2023, in the early hours of the morning.

The victim left the hotel on her on own and that afternoon called Rape Crisis. She reported the assault to police on 1 May and Thomas was arrested on the same day.

Officers contacted the hotel and staff assisted in providing CCTV footage to help secure a prosecution.

Detective Constable Dan Lambert, at the City of London Police, said:

“I want to commend the victim for the extraordinary courage she has shown in coming forward and seeing this case through to the end. I hope she feels some sense of closure and justice as a result of this conviction.

“We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls, and we take all reports of rape and sexual assault seriously and encourage victims to report their experience to police, no matter the length of time that has passed.

“We will believe you, listen and support you throughout every step of the investigation and do everything we can to bring the offender to justice.”

Description

A man who raped a woman in Newcastle-under-Lyme has been jailed for nearly a decade.

Daniel Tyrone Hemmings, 34, of Birmingham, has been sentenced to nine-years-and-six-months behind bars at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Friday (5 December) after he was found guilty of the rape of a woman at an earlier hearing. He pleaded guilty to harassment without violence, sending communication threatening death or serious harm, failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offender’s Register and stalking involving serious harm and distress.

He made unwanted advances on the survivor and ignored her efforts to stop him when it happened in 2021.

A few days after, the survivor bravely came forward and told us what Hemmings had done. He was arrested and brought in for questioning, where he denied the offence.

Due to the survivor’s bravery and the quality of our evidence, we secured the charges against him and took him to court. He continued to plead his innocence in relation to the rape offence, but the jury deemed him guilty.

As part of his sentencing, Hemmings was served with a restraining order. He was also ordered to pay a £228 financial penalty.

Detective Constable Diane Sproston, from our public protection unit, said:

“Hemmings tried until the last minute to deceive the jury, but because of how strong the survivor was and our evidence, he has now been punished for his crimes.

“I’d like to commend her bravery in coming forward and I hope this shows other survivors that we are determined to act robustly against sex offenders in Staffordshire.”

Description

A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual and violent offences.

Jonathan Moroney, from Aberdeenshire, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow today, Friday, 12 December, 2025, after being found guilty at the same court earlier this year.

The offences, which include rape and assault, took place between 2012 and 2023.

Detective Chief Inspector Steven McDonald said:

"Moroney is an abusive individual who carried out sexual and violent offences for his own gratification. 

"He will now face the consequences of his actions and I hope this sentence provides some sense of closure to those affected.

"Police Scotland will fully investigate abuse wherever it occurs - whoever the perpetrator is and no matter how long ago it happened. 

"I'd encourage anyone with concerns about sexual abuse to contact officers on 101 or one of our support services."

Description

The man pictured is 41-year-old Bo Yang and he is a violent rapist.

At just after 11pm on 15th April of this year he attended the victim’s address in Burnley and engaged her in conversation.

Following a disagreement about money, Yang took a knife from his right pocket, forced the victim next to a bed and used the knife to tear her clothes. Yang then took out a metal bar from the bag he was carrying and used it to savagely beat the victim. It was then that he raped and sexually assaulted her.

Not content with having committed the violent, sexual attack, Yang then removed rope and tape from his bag and tied the victim up – placing tape around her head. He then used the knife to slash her.

Yang then took items from the victim’s purse, including her bank cards and money. He used her facial recognition on the victim’s phone in an attempt to transfer money into his bank account.

The victim managed to run from the property when Yang had his back turned and sought help from neighbours who rang the police at 3.46am – bringing to an end her five-hour ordeal.

Yang was identified as a result of CCTV and forensic enquiries, including from fingerprints recovered from the tape he had placed around the victim’s face.

In what is thought to be a first is Lancashire, our officers also managed to recover data from 'We Chat' which is the Chinese version of WhatsApp. This evidence proved vital in this case.

Yang, of Winn Grove, Sheffield, was arrested and later charged with two counts of rape, sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, robbery and possession of a bladed article.

Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, Yang was today (12th December) found guilty on all counts. He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced at the same court on 6th February.

DC Jodie Nolan, from our Burnley Rape And Serious Sexual Offence Team, said:

“Yang is an extremely violent sexual predator who exposed his victim to a sustained and horrific ordeal.

“I would like to thank the jury for their considered verdicts and the investigation team, including DC Asad Mirdad, for obtaining the vital evidence which helped secure this conviction.”

Description

A man has been jailed for more than 11 years for raping two teenage girls.

Taranvir Galsinh took a 14-year-old girl to a hotel where he raped her, sexually assaulted her, and paid her for having sex with him.

He sexually assaulted her in a car several times and on one occasion tried to strangle her.

Galsinh, of Sunderland, also raped a second girl who was 12 years old at the time and forced her to engage in sexual activity in his vehicle. He also paid her.

He appeared at Durham Crown Court in July where he pleaded guilty to rape of a girl aged 13 to 15, two counts of rape under 13, intentional strangulation, three counts of paying for sexual services of a girl, sexual assault of a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child and assault by penetration of a child.

The 45-year-old was last week jailed at Teesside Crown Court for 11 years and three months.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and lifetime restraining orders against both girls.

Detective Constable Hanna Liddle, of Durham Constabulary, said:

“This was an horrific ordeal for these girls and the consequences of Galsinh’s actions will be felt for the rest of her life.

“What he did is unforgiveable. He took advantage of the girls and has shown no remorse for his actions.

“The girls have been incredibly brave throughout what has been an extremely difficult process for them to deal with.

“I hope they can begin to move on with their lives knowing he has been brought to justice.”

Description

A man has been found guilty of multiple offences including the rape of a teenage girl, sexual assault of another teenager and abduction.

Kassam Hussain was found guilty of nine offences by unanimous verdict at Birmingham Crown Court last Thursday (4 December).

The two-week trial heard how Hussain raped a teenage girl in September 2024.

He also groomed and sexually assaulted another teenage girl in the same month, then abducted her in May 2025.

Hussain also abducted a third teenage girl in May 2025.

The girls have since been safeguarded, and we continue to offer them support having undergone the horrific ordeal.

Hussain, of Antrobus Road, Handsworth Wood, will be sentenced in February 2026.

DC Sarah Toye, from our Central Complex Child Public Protection Unit, said:

"This has been a complex investigation into the abuse of young girls who were groomed by Hussain.

"He preyed upon them when they were at their most vulnerable, and took advantage of their own personal circumstances.

"I commend their bravery in being able to speak out and share their stories and I would ask anyone who has encountered similar experiences, or any kind of abuse, historically or recently, to speak to the police.

"We are here to create a safe space for you and we will listen.”

Description

A violent rapist who showed contempt for women and denied his crimes has been jailed for 15 years, with an additional two-year extension on licence due to the danger he poses to the public.

Aaron Huggins, 31, of Little Horton Lane, Bradford, was described as a "Jekyll and Hyde" figure who hid his dark side, which included strangling, kicking, and stamping on a victim while raping her multiple times in attacks involving "an element of degradation."

A jury found him guilty of rape and other offences after a trial.

In a statement read to Bradford Crown Court, the victim described suffering flashbacks, sleeping no more than four hours a night, and needing anxiety medication. She felt isolated and unsafe in her own home.

Huggins had prior convictions, including robbery and a 2020 grievous bodily harm offence for which he served three years in prison.

In mitigation, barrister Christopher Dunne said Huggins was "intrinsic and important" to his family, adding: "It’s almost like a Jekyll and Hyde picture … and I suspect that that goes for any one of us. We all have masks that we wear in public and private. There’s more than one facet to a person’s personality or character. That was never more obvious than when one reads the references in this case. He is not all bad."

Mr Dunne noted Huggins' "very ancient and negative attitude towards women," and while he was not remorseful due to denying the offences, "this is not a man who is completely lost and without hope."

Her Honour Judge Sophie McKone said Huggins' trial evidence revealed his desire to dominate and control his victim through violence, and he spoke of women "in the most derogatory and insulting terms."

Addressing Huggins via video link from HMP Leeds, she said: "This is another indication of your contempt for women. I have read a number of references from your family and friends. You obviously show to them a very different side to your personality. You’re described as Jekyll and Hyde. That is perhaps a good characterisation of you."

She added: "You do in my view present a significant risk of harm to the public. You are in my view dangerous. You have no insight into the way you have behaved."

Judge McKone explained: "In my view a determinate sentence of 15 years imprisonment would not address fully the risk that you currently represent and will do so in the future."

Huggins must register as a sex offender for life.