Latest Offenders Barnsley

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A woman sexually assaulted by a vile predator has urged other victims to report crimes.

The woman has spoken out after her abuser, George Grace, 78, of Royston in Barnsley, was found guilty of rape and two counts of indecent assault.

Grace was jailed for 14 years on November 10 at Leeds Crown Court. The offences took place between 1985 and 1992 in the Huddersfield area when the woman was a young child.

She said: My message to other women and men who have gone through this is to contact the police and get justice.

You are stronger than you think and I can promise the support is really there for you. Pre trial and post-trial, there is help in place and it is worth its weight in gold. "

The woman said she had been overwhelmed when the unanimous guilty verdicts were read out and added that she was still processing it.

DC Megan Boothroyd of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Team, said: George Grace committed dreadful offences against a then young child over a sustained period and we welcome the sentence imposed by the courts against him.

She has shown great courage in coming forwards and doing everything she possibly could to ensure Grace was put before the courts. We continue to urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence and has not reported it, for whatever reason, to contact the police.

All reports are thoroughly investigated by specialist officers who can also signpost victims to the help and support they may need.

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A Barnsley man sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy, before offering him ‘gaming tokens’ in a bid to bribe him into allowing him to continue with the abuse.

Describing the circumstances of Bryon Shepherd’s sexual offending, Judge Graham Reeds KC told the defendant: “You made him sit on your knee, put your hands down his trousers and touched his penis…you offered him money to allow it to carry on, well not real money but money for use on a game, but he refused.” 

Prosecutor Nicola Quinney told Sheffield Crown Court that Shepherd, aged 21, offered the boy ‘gaming tokens’. She said the sexual assault only came to an end when Shepherd was disturbed by an individual returning to the property where the assault took place.

During the course of a subsequent police interview, the boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said Shepherd ‘wouldn’t stop doing it,’ although she acknowledged the sexual assault took place over a ‘relatively short period of time’. 

A hearing held on November 16, 2023 was told that at the time of the offence, Shepherd was on bail for other alleged offences. 

Ms Quinney said one of the conditions of Shepherd’s bail was that he was prohibited from having ‘any contact with a child under 18’.

The nature of the other allegations was not disclosed in court, however. 

In a statement to the court, the mother of the boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said that after learning of Shepherd’s offending she felt as though she had ‘failed’ her son, and that she ‘wasn’t good enough’. 

She went on to say that she hopes her son will not be ‘haunted’ by what Shepherd did to him, and that he can now ‘move on with his life’. 

Ms Quinney said Shepherd has a number of previous convictions, dating back to 2013, for offences including possession of an offensive weapon, battery and criminal damage. 

Shepherd pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 at an earlier hearing. 

Defending, Thomas Penman said Shepherd has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which manifests through his ‘impulsivity’ and ‘thrill-seeking behaviour’.

He cited Shepherd ‘running across the M1’ as an example of such behaviour.

Mr Penman also suggested Shepherd’s condition means there is an ‘element of reduced culpability,’ when compared to individuals without ASD. 

But Judge Reeds told Shepherd he could not ‘see any clear link between your condition - as it has been described - and your offending’. 

Mr Penman said Shepherd has spent 145 days in custody on remand, and suggested that his client was likely to find a prison sentence ‘particularly difficult’ because of his condition. 

In response to this, Judge Reeds noted that an assessment carried out by a doctor suggested Shepherd had been coping relatively well in prison, owing to the ‘structure’ of a custodial setting, and the fact he had been able to obtain a job. 

Mr Penman said that while Shepherd still has not ‘accepted’ his offending to the author of his pre-sentence report (PSR), he stands by his guilty pleas. Mr Penman also suggested the the ‘risk of sexual offences against children’ Shepherd has been deemed to pose by the author of his PSR could be ‘reduced’ through the conditions of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order applied for by prosecutors. 

Judge Reeds told Shepherd, of Grange Road, Barnsley, that the only ‘appropriate punishment’ for the ‘harm you’ve caused to this young child and his family’ is one of immediate imprisonment, and jailed him for 18 months. 

He added: "You've not shown any remorse at all."

Shepherd was also made the subject of a 10-year restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting the complainant or his family, as well as a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. 

He will also be required to sign on to the sex offenders’ register for the same period of time. 

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A paedophile who was told by a judge he could go on a Greek holiday while on bail has been jailed for more than 15 years.

Matthew Thompson, 48, was given permission by Judge Jonathan Gibson to go on a two-week trip to the island of Kos despite admitting to sexually assaulting two girls.

Lorry driver Thompson was told to sign the sex offenders' register before he flew out in October and report to police when he returned, according to the BBC.

The holiday abroad was not mentioned during his sentence hearing at Bradford Crown Court on Friday, and it is understood he never went on the vacation.

Thompson’s offending, which dates back almost a decade and took place in West Yorkshire, involved two girls who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Prosecutor David McGonigal said Thompson had used a sex toy, a vibrator on one girl and repeatedly had sex with the second after he’d given her alcohol and drugs.

The judge, recorder James Baird heard moving victim impact statements, read out by Mr McGonigal, in which the complainants described the devastating effects of the abuse on them.

Recorder Baird said Thompson, who has previous convictions for sexual offences, was described in a pre-sentence report as “a predatory male with a sexual interest in children”.

He said Thompson had been hiding that interest over the period of the abuse and had been preying on two vulnerable young girls.

The judge added that Thompson had started by bullying and grooming his first victim to satisfy his sexual desires.

Recorder Baird said: “You would give her money to curry favour with her and if she did not do what she was told to do she would be punished.”

Thompson, of Bentham Drive in Monk Bretton, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and taking indecent photographs of a child.

Thompson, who now has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, was jailed for a total of 15 years and 10 months.

The judge added an extra year of prison licence onto his sentence because he was classed as “an offender of particular concern”.

Barrister Gillian Batts, for Thompson, said it was very rare for a defendant facing such allegations to enter guilty pleas.

She added: “It is an acknowledgement from the defendant, by virtue of his guilty pleas, that these things happened and the victims are telling the truth about what happened to them.

“The victims did not have to give evidence and did not have to go through the process of being cross-examined and inevitably being called liars.”

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Shaun Wightman, 57, absconded from his trial in Sheffield before being caught in Scotland and eventually jailed for 16 years.

A paedophile who was found living with children after going on the run to Scotland during his trial has been jailed. Shaun Wightman, 57, had been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court last year but fled the Yorkshire city.

The beast had been charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of causing or inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity and multiple charges relating to engaging in sexual activity in front of a child and taking indecent images of a child.

In his absence, Wightman was found guilty of eight of the charges against the girl, with whom he had been in a "position of trust". The court heard he was re-arrested on October 31, after intelligence led cops to a property in Scotland. 

Officers they found the sick sex offender hiding out with children and he was hauled back to court. Appearing in court on Friday, November 4, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Examiner Live reports that judge Jeremy Richardson said he was in "no doubt" the abuse "would have escalated had she become older before what you did to her was discovered." The judge told how jurors were forced to view sick images that Wightman had taken of the child after he disappeared on the second day of the trial.

The Recorder of Sheffield said: "Eventually, on the fourth day the decision had to be made by the court as to whether to proceed in your absence to the defence case, final speeches and summing up. On October 25, 2022 it was thought, as a result of evidence from the police, that you were in Scotland. You were arrested on October 31, 2022."

Wightman admitted a bail act offence relating to his failure to turn up for trial. Rodney Eric Ferm, Mitigating, told the court that the sentence would be the longest the sex offender has served, having no crimes on his record since 1995.

Mr Ferm said: "It is a long sentence which will be hard to bear when you haven't been in that kind of environment and at the age he is at. He is not in the best of health - he had a motorcycle accident many years ago, around 20 years since then, but he has been unable to work and one of the effects of this is his mental health issues which were accepted by the Department of Health and Social Security and it has led him on more than one occasion to contemplate suicide."

The lawyer urged the court "to measure the sentence against that background" as Wightman had been placed on suicide watch and was undergoing tests for cancer.

Sentencing Wightman Judge Richardson told the court: "You were arrested in Scotland by the police hiding in a house where there were children. You were a fugitive from justice. This case involves the cruel abuse of a girl." He handed him a total sentence of 16 years imprisonment.

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AN SEX offender was jailed after a court how he sexually assaulted a particularly vulnerable victim at his home.

Robert Denny (pictured), of Bondfield Crescent, Wombwell, will serve 14 months in jail for preying on a girl who visited his house in July 2020.

Judge David Dixon told Sheffield Crown Court the victim had gone to Dennys house with her friends for what she thought it was going to be a celebratory event.

The judge added the victim had been wearing loose-fitting clothing because she had a fake tan on and Denny (37), seen an opportunity.

The judge said: You took advantage of her.

You preyed on this woman by touching her inappropriately.

You were squeezing her bottom in an inappropriate way.

You then took it further and picked her up and touched her bottom with two hands, and then ran your hand up to her breasts.

She was particularly vulnerable.

Judge Dixon said the ordeal had had a huge impact on the victim.

Denny was convicted of three counts of sexual assault.

He was sentenced to 12 months for one offence, a further two months for the second and a concurrent sentence of one month for the third.

Judge Dixon also issued a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order banning Denny from contacting the victim.

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A man who sexually abused three young girls - subjecting each to "utterly horrific ordeals" - has been jailed for 30 years.

John Kelk, 68, from Barnsley, physically abused his victims, dragging one girl by her hair, beating her and making her drink weed killer.

He was convicted of 22 offences, including rape and sexual assault, committed in the 1970s and 80s.

Police described his crimes as "vile and "sickening".

'Courage and dignity'

Speaking after the sentencing Det Con Nicola Milner, of South Yorkshire Police, described the crimes as "horrendous" and said each victim had been put through "utterly horrific ordeals."

Allegations were first made against Kelk in 2018, when one of the victims reported what had happened to her as a child to her local police force.

An investigation was launched and two further victims came forward, South Yorkshire Police said.

Det Con Milner said: "Kelk's abuse began for one of the victims when she was just seven years old and continued into her teens.

"The others were also just young teenagers when he committed these despicable acts."

She added: "I am full of admiration and respect for the victims, who conducted themselves with remarkable courage and dignity throughout the investigation."

Kelk, of Wingfield Road, Athersley South, Barnsley was sentenced on Friday following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

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A truly wicked paedophile has been jailed for repeatedly raping a young boy and making him carry out sex acts.

Kristopher Griffiths was told to reflect on what he had done by a judge who sentenced him to 17 years behind bars for the abuse of a boy aged under 10.

The 30-year-old, from Barnsley, would make the young boy carry out sex acts upon him and told his victim not to tell anyone about the abuse, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The boy is said to have suffered severe psychological problems as a result of the abuse.

Amy Earnshaw, defending, told the court that Griffiths had been attacked while in prison and had to be moved from one wing to another.

Judge Jeremy Richardson told him the reality is that sex offenders are targets within the countrys prisons.

Sentencing him to 17 years in prison after admitting two counts of rape of a child and one count of sexual activity with a child, he said: I am aware that you will find prison particularly hard.

Offenders of your type, Im afraid, face particular problems in the custodial environment.

I have all of that well in mind and all other various features in the case.

Griffiths, of Meadsted Drive, Royston, was also made the subject of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Judge Richardson added: I have kept a sense of proportion when fixing the sentence in this case. I make it clear it could easily have been slightly longer than that which I am imposing.

That boy has suffered severe psychological harm.

Your conduct was truly dreadful towards that boy. You deserve to be punished, of that there can be no doubt.

Reflect on what you have done. It was truly wicked.

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A stalker has been jailed after repeatedly tracking down a woman he met through a dating website and offering to pay her for sex.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on December 22 how Craig Lawrence, aged 46, of Oakroyd Crescent, Grimethorpe, Barnsley, initially met the complainant only four times during two weeks via a dating website before he started stalking her over eight years.

Richard Davies, prosecuting, said during Lawrences offending he entered her home on three occasions while she had been in bed and on two occasions he shone a light through a window.

Judge Peter Kelson QC told Lawrence: This case is as serious an example of its kind that I have ever seen. The extent of your stalking of your victim which as the offence states causes fear, alarm and distress is for the remarkably long period of time from May, 2013, to June, 2021.

"It includes public humiliation. It includes the multiple location of her changed address. No matter how many times she has changed her address you have found her. It includes multiple intrusions into her home or on the doorstep of her home. Those intrusions are in themselves terrifying.

Mr Davies said Lawrence attempted to contact the woman by social media and she received notes at her home in Doncaster, saying he would pay for sex.

Lawrence also came into her home when she was in bed with her partner in 2016, according to Mr Davies, and he drove past the complainant in Doncaster town centre and asked if she wanted sex.

Even after the complainant moved address she was mortified to find Lawrence at her door in 2018 and he visited her on two or three different occasions in August that year, according to Mr Davies.

Mr Davies said Lawrence walked into her bedroom in October, 2018, while he was under the influence of alcohol and she had been watching television in bed.

The complainant moved to another address but in May, 2019, she found a note from Lawrence offering 70 for sex and weeks later he appeared in front of her window, according to Mr Davies.

Lawrence again offered the complainant money for sex after he appeared at a Chinese restaurant in October, 2019, and in March, 2020, he appeared at the complainants bedroom window and on two further occasions in 2020 he shone a light into her home, according to Mr Davies.

Mr Davies added Lawrence also contacted the complainant at a takeaway and approached her while she was in a shop.

Lawrence also visited the complainants home when she was looking after grandchildren, according to Mr Davies, and she was in bed when he offered to pay for sex with her.

The defendant, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to stalking.

Edward Moss, defending, said: He knows this contact that he instigated - although sometimes it was random and at times it was clearly planned - was wholly unwanted by the complainant and perhaps for the first time he understands that.

Judge Kelson sentenced Lawrence to four years of custody and imposed a lifetime restraining order.

He told Lawrence: She has been advised by the police to move yet again and all of this stemming from a meeting from a dating website.

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A sex-offender who sedated a 14-year-old girl with the zombie-drug spice before anally raping her has been put behind bars.

Liam Hodgson, aged 31, of Abbots Road, Lundwood, Barnsley, gave the vulnerable youngster a cigarette spiked with the cannabinoid drug spice in Barnsley town centre before taking her out of sight and anally raping her, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, told the hearing on August 5 that the 14-year-old was a vulnerable girl who had been wandering around the town centre around midnight on July 15 and 16 when she encountered the defendant on a bicycle with another man and she asked for a cigarette.

The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she saw Hodgson put different coloured material in the cigarette, according to Mr Sharp, who claimed this was the synthetic cannabinoid drug spice which caused her to start hallucinating and wobbling.

Mr Sharp, who stated some of the incident was captured on CCTV, said: The defendant can then be seen cycling after her and catching up with her and its plain to see she is wobbling.

He added: He put his arm around her and they walk off. They walked off out of camera range. It is not possible to say precisely what happened then but The Crown say it is shortly after that he annally raped her.

Mr Sharp said: Its a case where he took advantage of her intoxification, and he had caused or contributed to it, and at a time when she was not in a position to consent.

The complainant woke up bruised near the Town Hall with her pants torn and her bag and phone missing. After she complained to police, evidence of semen was found as well as traces of the synthetic cannabinoid in her system.

She stated the rape left her very upset and frightened and she has not been able to go into the town centre on her own for a very long time.

Hodgson, who has 23 previous convictions including robbery but nothing of a sexual nature, pleaded guilty to anally raping the 14-year-old.

Richard Davies, defending, said: He knows he has got a lot of work to do with the authorities whilst in prison to re-set a lot of his attitudes and his entire mindset in respect of his behaviour.

Mr Davies added that Hodgson has had problems with drug addction and homelessness and he has expressed remorse.

Judge Peter Kelson QC told Hodgson: You encountered the victim when she was aged 14 and it was at night-time and she was on her own and she is described by the prosecutor as a troubled young lady.

He added: You knew you would take advantage of her and that is exactly what you did. You raped her anally and ejaculated inside her and you left her on the streets with her underwear down and her leggings down. You used her and threw her away as an irrelevance to you.

Judge Kelson sentenced Hodgson to eight years of custody and made him subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.