Search results for Andover

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A woman has been jailed for 11 years after admitting sexual offences against children, in a case linked to a ‘highly manipulative and exploitative’ man.

Sarah Johnson, 57, of Tintagel Close, Andover, was sentenced at a hearing at Winchester Crown Court on Friday 13 February, alongside Elliot Jones and two other women.

The sentences came following an investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Major Crime Team.

Johnson had admitted 18 charges, including taking indecent images of children and distributing them.

She was jailed for 11 years, with an extended licence period of one year.

Johnson is to be made subject to indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and notification requirements, the court heard.

The abuse was reported by one of the victims when he became an adult, and enquiries identified further victims. A large number of indecent images and videos of children which evidenced the offending were also found on devices seized when Jones was arrested, including phones, USB sticks and a hard drive.

Other evidence of offending was found on devices belonging to the other defendants.

Detective Sergeant Sam Grant, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Major Crime team, said:

“This is an appalling case. The offences spanned a number of years, and had one common theme – Jones’ awful and manipulative behaviour.

“I want to commend the victims for the courage they have shown throughout this process and talking to the police about what happened. Their bravery and telling us what happened to them has brought these four people to justice.“

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A PAEDOPHILE who moved the underwear of a child to take photos while they were sleeping has been jailed.

Daniel Burridge, 38, of Newbury Road, Enham Alamein, pleaded guilty on March 27 to several offences, including a child under the age of 13 by touching, and creating indecent images of children in Category B and Category C.

During his sentencing hearing in Winchester Crown Court on Friday, June 27, the court heard the Burridge's offending was discovered by his friend who briefly borrowed his phone and found indecent images of children.

The court heard that Burridge had moved a child's underwear while they were asleep in order to take a photo of their genitals.

Burridge was in possession of three phones, all of which had indecent images of children on them.

In sentencing, Judge James Newton-Price KC noted that the appropriate punishment was immediate imprisonment.

Burridge was sentenced to 22 months behind bars and must comply with all instructions given to him.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed.

An order for the forfeiture and destruction of Burridge's three mobile phones was also made.

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An Andover man has been jailed after being found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Matthew James Parker, 45, of Picket Twenty Way, had been found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child for offences that took place between May 2022 and April 2023.

Parker had also admitted 15 breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and his sexual offender notification requirements before the trial, which took place in March.

On Tuesday 30 April, at Winchester Crown Court, Parker was sentenced to a total of 14 years, with up to nine years in prison and five years on an extended licence.

A further three breaches of his order and notification requirements were taken into consideration at the sentence hearing.

The trial had heard that in 2019, Parker was convicted of attempting to arrange or facilitate a sexual offence against a child, for which he was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence and an indefinite SHPO.

He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

The court heard that on Friday 29 September, 2023, Parker completed a notification requirement at a police station, and it was noted that Parker had failed to disclose new bank accounts within a specified time period.

His Offender Managers searched Parker’s home address and he was arrested.

Evidence of further breaches were found at the address, including attempts to change his name, travel outside the UK, the creation of new bank accounts and possession of internet-enabled devices.

Officers also found evidence of contact with a teenage boy. The court heard that further enquiries established that Parker had sexually assaulted the boy on separate occasions in 2022 and 2023.

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Deranged James Ford, 33, ambushed two teenagers and two women in a spate of “worrying” incidents in Andover. It led to the flasher being jailed for two years at Winchester Crown Court.

The sex attacks happened on June 23, with the first of those taking place at around 1pm when a 29-year-old woman was on Anton Lane when Ford cycled past her. He then dismounted from his bicycle and pulled down his trousers before putting his hand in his pants and touching himself inappropriately in front of her.

A short while later, Ford cycled past a 17-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her. This was at the junction of Colonzo Drive and Vigo Road.

Officers then received a report at around 2.45pm that a 23-year-old woman saw a man masturbating in some bushes on Picket Twenty.

Ford also assaulted a 14-year-old girl on the same day. At around 4pm the victim was walking on Anton Lane Path when Ford cycled past her and sexually assaulted her.

Following police enquiries, Ford was arrested at his home address on 24 June. Whilst at his address, officers seized a bicycle matching the description given by the victims.

Ford, of Dines Close in Andover, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault, two counts of indecent exposure, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

On top of his two-year jail term, Ford received a seven year restraining order for each of the victims and his Sexual Harm Prevention order amended to include further restrictions.

Detective Sergeant Mike Jarvis said: “Ford’s behaviour towards these women is very worrying and I am glad that he has been held accountable for his actions.

“I hope this result sends a clear message that we take these reports very seriously and will investigate thoroughly. I am pleased that we have secured justice for these victims. Reducing violence against women and girls remains one of our top priorities and together with other agencies we do a lot of work to tackle this issue.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that if you have been the victim of a sexual offence, please report it to us – you will be listened to and you will be taken seriously. We will also work to get you the support that you need.”

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A 55-year-old man from Latvia has been jailed for sexually assaulting 2 young girls on the Isle of Wight back in 2011, more than 4 years after his victims reported their ordeal to Police.

Sergeis Jakobovskis, formally of Batchelor’s Barn Road in Andover, first appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court back in August 2020. He stood accused of 2 counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13 and 1 count of sexual assault on a female aged 16 or over.

It’s said that Jakobovskis intentionally touched the 2 girls, the youngest of which was just 8 years old. The matters only came to light when the victims, both now adult women, courageously reported the crimes to Police in 2018.

The case was sent up to the Isle of Wight Crown Court where it was heard for the first time in February 2021 – with an interpreter present. A plea and trial preparation hearing followed in April 2021, followed by another hearing in June. The trial got underway in February of last year but was halted in March, followed by a further case management hearing in early October.

It was later in October 2022 that Jakobovskis was found guilty of all 3 charges against him and he was remanded in custody.

The 55-year-old, who has been in the United Kingdom for over 11 years, was initially due to be sentenced on 12th December but it was only today (Tuesday) that he was finally sent down.

Appearing at the Isle of Wight Crown Court earlier today, Judge Mousley handed Sergeis Jakobovskis an immediate prison sentence of 4 years and ordered him to sign as a registered sex offender. He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

He was sentenced to 6 months in prison for sexual assault and 4 years in prison for each of the 2 counts of assaulting a girl under the age of 13 by touching. Each sentence will be served concurrently totalling a 4-year prison term.

DC Dave Widger of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has said:

“Finding the confidence to report sexual abuse takes an incredible amount of bravery on behalf of the victim. I want to commend these two young women for their courage and patience throughout this investigation.

“For any victim, going through the criminal justice process is effectively being made to relive the trauma of what happened to you. I am so pleased that both victims got some very hard earned justice.

“Protecting children is a duty we take extremely seriously as police officers, and we will do everything in our power to bring child sex offenders like Jakobovskis to justice.”

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Thomas Martin, 30, set up a Snapchat profile with the name 'TomLock11' and came across a 15-year-old girl asking for someone to buy her tobacco. He agreed but in return for a picture of her boobs, she did so and sent his account to her friend as she also wanted tobacco.

Once he had indecent images of the two girls, Martin used them to pressure the girls into sending more, by threatening to show the images publicly if they didn't comply.

Russell Pyne, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court that Martin, of Launcelot Court, Andover, also sent images of his penis and made his victims watch him masturbate.

Mr Pyne said: "(One of the victim's) asked him to delete what he had. The defendant replied saying that he wouldn't but also would post them on four social media sites, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram."

The other girl said that she would go to the police, but he threatened her saying "he would ruin her life more than she could ruin his". He sent an indecent image of the girl to her friend.

The blackmail came to end after one of the victim's stepmother saw the girl attempting to take an indecent photograph.

Martin was arrested and his phone was examined which was found to contain indecent images – one of Category A, deemed to be the worst by police, 10 of Category B and two Category C.

One of the victim's said: "The experience I went through definitely ruined my life for a while. It was demeaning, I was scared that people would find out what happened. I didn't know who Tom Lock was or if he knew who I was."

The other victim said she felt violated after what happened and left her having panic attacks.

Martin previously pleaded guilty to two counts of blackmail between May 1 and October 21, 2019, disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress and three charges of making an indecent photograph of a child.

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Following sentencing last week, Benjamin Cheyne will face 11 years in prison, after he was found guilty of two counts of assault by penetration, and two counts of sexual assault against the minor.

On October 7, at Salisbury Crown Court, Judge Barnett described the actions that took place between February 2019 and May 2020 as "an extremely serious offence".

"Your selfish, totally unthinkable conduct, on the last two occasions while she was sleeping, caused unthinkable damage to her," he said.

In a statement from the victim's mother, it was revealed that as a result of the assaults, the young girl has "deteriorating self esteem and confidence".

"The impact is immediate and will affect her for the rest of her life," she told the court.

It was heard that the now 11-year-old finds her own home triggering and suffers from night terrors, with a lack in sleep affecting her learning.

She worries about trusting people and making relationships, fearing Cheyne, a father-of-two himself, will come and take her away.

Judge Barnett added that what happened has had "far reaching consequences" on the victim's "happiness, development, relationships with others and schooling", causing "enormous trauma".

The court heard that Cheyne, aged 32, did not agree with the jury's guilty verdict following the trial, but respected it, and he plans to move away from the area as soon as his sentence is over.

Following his 11-year sentence, Cheyne, of Pilgrims Way, will be under licence for a year, and a sexual harm prevention order and restraining order will be in place indefinitely.

Detective Sergeant Eileen Speck of the Child Abuse Unit, Basingstoke, said: "I would like to thank DC Jenks for her hard work in investigating this complex case and in supporting this family. This is a really positive result at Crown Court.

"Working in the Child Abuse Unit provides immense rewards for our detectives and police constables in protecting children against all levels of abuse. The dedication and passion they have to their role, allows children to have a brighter future and achieve the goals they so rightly deserve in life."

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Jonathan Furber, of Salisbury Road, had previously pleaded guilty to two charges, attempting to incite a child to sexual activity and attempting to incite a child to watch a sexual act. He was arrested after paedophile hunters arranged a meeting at a pub where he was confronted.

The 31-year-old was given a 16-month sentence for the offences, suspended for two years.

Sentencing Furber on January 28, Judge Miller QC said that this was "a one and only" opportunity for him, but warned that any reoffences or breach of the sentence would see him returned to court.

Winchester Crown Court heard from prosecutor Roderick Blain, who said that in 2018, Furber began messaging with an account that he believed was used by a 14-year-old girl called Hannah. This account was actually being run by an adult female member of a "vigilante organisation".

Despite telling Furber that the supposed user of the account was underage, he proceeded to send sexually explicit pictures. Conversation then moved to WhatsApp, where "extremely graphic and sexualised" messaging continued, including video of the defendant masturbating and suggestions 'Hannah' should do the same.

A meeting was then arranged at a pub, where the court heard that Furber "wanted to take her into the forest for sex". Upon arrival, he was confronted by the paedophile hunter group "in numbers", who livestreamed their citizens arrest on the internet. Police subsequently were called and arrested Furber.

Mitigating, Ruby Selva said that Furber had lost his job and his relationship, and had not been taking medication for ADHD. She said that he had been communicating with adult females, and this "spiralled", leading to him being "humiliated" on the internet.

She said that there was "no suggestion" her client had been pursuing others, with no evidence of other messaging or sexually explicit images of children found on his phone or computer.

Furber had been "wholly co-operative" with the investigation and prosecution, she said, having pleaded guilty even after the Crown Prosecution Service informed the defence that the vigilante group was not responding to their attempts at contact, with the leader having been prosecuted.

Selva said that he had "expressed true remorse" for his actions, and had "strived to address his offending", calling for a suspended sentence to be given.

The judge agreed with Selva, with the starting point of four years for the first charge halved as the offence in question could never have taken place, as the 14-year-old child did not exist. This was then reduced by a third due to his guilty plea, and then suspended for two years.

Sentencing Furber, Judge Miller said that he had demonstrated "considerable remorse" by pleading guilty despite the absence of evidence from the paedophile hunters, and said that was "a real chance of rehabilitation."

"I am being lenient," she said. "You're not going to get another chance like this, it's a one and only."

She warned him against reoffending or breaching the terms of his sentence, adding: "This is a chance. Please don't make me regret it."

In addition to his suspended sentence, Furber was ordered to attend a sex offenders course and to attend 25 days of rehabilitation, as well as conduct 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to surrender his phone, which is to be destroyed.

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A MAN from Andover has pleaded guilty to sexually grooming an underage girl, which was actually a decoy.

Alan Smith, of Collingwood Walk, admitted attempting to meet with a child with the intention of sexual activity.

The offence took place between July 3 and September 8, last year, but according to court records Smith was talking to a decoy.

He appeared at Winchester Crown Court on Friday November 13.

The 40-year-old will be sentenced at the same court on December 18.

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AN ANDOVER man who drove hundreds of miles to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex, only to be caught by a paedophile hunters group, has been jailed.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Ian Mace, then 51, travelled 400 miles to Scotland thinking he was going to meet a teenager he had been speaking to online.

It was reported that Mace had sent her thousands of messages on WhatsApp and app Highfive over the course of a month.

But when he arrived at the destination, 'Kelly' was not there. The girl who he thought he had been talking to was instead an adult from a group called 'Rising Against Online Predators', which describes itself as a "team who endeavour to take as many people who sexually exploit children online off the streets to make it a better place for children to grow up."

At a previous appearance at Hamilton Sheriff Court, he admitted communicating indecently with 'Kelly' and also attempting to meet with her between February and March 2018.

On Friday last week (August 21), Mace was jailed for 30 months for the incident.

A statement released on behalf of Hamilton Sheriff Court read: "The court having seen and considered the reports and having heard from Counsel in respect that no other method of disposal is deemed appropriate sentenced the accused to six months imprisonment from this date on charge 1.

"The court sentenced the accused to 24 months imprisonment on charge 3, said period to be consecutive to the period imposed on charge 1.

"Total period of imprisonment 30 months from this date."

Mace was placed on the sex offenders' register. Mace was present at sentencing.

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A PICKET Twenty man arranged to meet a "13-year-old boy" at a theme park after grooming him through an online dating app.

Matthew Parker sent messages to the boy's profile saying he wanted to "kiss, cuddle and hold hands" with him after meeting him on Grindr.

The 41-year-old later bought tickets for the pair to go to Thorpe Park.

But the 13-year-old's profile was actually a fake – run by an adult working for paedophile hunter group Child Safe UK.

Parker, a former Red Funnell ferry officer, was arrested by police and pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to facilitate a sexual offence against a child.

Last Thursday, at Southampton Crown Court, Parker was given a suspended sentence.

The court heard he first began speaking to the boy through Grindr, an online dating application geared towards gay, bi and trans people.

Prosecutor Nick Wells told the court that Parker had stated in his profile that he was "only into young guys".

Mr Wells said the conversation between the Parker and the boy later moved to free online chats website Kik Messenger.

He said Parker sent a number of "inappropriate messages" to the boy, including telling him he wanted to "kiss, cuddle and hold his hand", but said that they could do "nothing more".

Parker, who was previously employed as a First Officer on Red Funnel, the company that operates ferries to the Isle of Wight, was arrested in July last year after arranging to meet the young boy at Surrey-based theme park, Thorpe Park.

In mitigation, Lucy Conroy said Parker had undertaken counselling sessions since his arrest.

In sentencing, Judge Gary Burrell QC said Parker's case was unusual.

He said: "Throughout the conversation you do not try to promote messages of a sexual nature and you do not request sexual pictures or send any yourself. This is unusual [in these cases]."

Parker, previously of Holbury, near Southampton, but now of Picket Twenty Way, Andover, was sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 55 days of rehabilitation activity requirement, pay £600 in court costs and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking after the case, a Red Funnel spokesperson said Parker left the business in October 2018.

The spokesperson added: "As the court ruling against Mr. Parker does not pertain to his employment at Red Funnel, it would be inappropriate for us make any further comment for legal and data protection reasons."

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POLICE have released the picture of an Andover man who was jailed for almost five years for covertly filming young children in an Andover supermarket.

John Fielding pleaded guilty to a number of sexual offences when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday 22 July.

The 46-year-old, of Old Winton Road, was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison.

He pleaded guilty four counts of outraging public decency, six counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, two counts of possessing a prohibited image of a child, two counts of possessing extreme pornography, and three counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

The court heard that Fieldings offending came to light in Friday 27 May, when he was confronted by a customer at the Lidl store in Western Avenue.

The customer had become suspicious of Fieldings behaviour in the store and, with the help of other customers, detained him until police arrived.

A camera pen was found in Fieldings bag.

The court heard that during the subsequent investigation, officers from Hampshire Constabularys Northern Investigations team discovered videos Fielding had covertly filmed children and young people in public places across the South and South West of England using a camera pen or Go Pro camera.

Officers also found thousands of indecent images of children that Fielding had downloaded to his computer from the internet since Friday 29 January.

As well as being sentenced to four years and ten months imprisonment, Fielding received a sexual harm prevention order, until further order.

He was also placed on the sexual offenders register, again until further order.

PC Stephen Court, officer in the case, said: John Fielding is a devious man who used covert methods to film children in public places.

This offending came to light thanks to the actions and bravery of a vigilant member of public who had spotted Fielding acting suspiciously in the Andover Lidl store on May 27.

I would like to place on record my thanks to this customer, and to the other members of the public, who showed bravery and restraint in detaining Fielding in the store until officers arrived.

This investigation and subsequent sentence serves as a reminder that we take the kind of behaviour shown by Fielding very seriously, and strive to bring such offenders to justice.