Latest Offenders Bedfordshire

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A Bedfordshire paedophile who sexually assaulted a young girl also downloaded thousands of disturbing child sex abuse images of children as young as eight years old.

Justin Sandilands, of Shefford, Bedfordshire, has been jailed for four years for sexual assault and downloading child sex abuse images onto his computer and other devices.

Police found the material after visiting Sandilands’ home in September 2019.

Officers had gone to the address in Church Street, Shefford, after receiving information that he had been viewing the material.

Luton Crown Court heard that when the items seized were examined it was found Sandilands had 36 Category A images of young people - some as young as eight - being abused.

This is the level given to the very worst depraved material found online.

He also had 123 Category B images - the next most serious category - and thousands of Category C images.

Officers could see the search terms Sandilands had been using to seek out the sickening material on the internet, some of which included moving images of child sex abuse.

In court on Friday, August 13, he appeared for sentence having earlier pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child, three offences of making indecent images of a child and one offence of possessing a prohibited image.

Judge Gary Lucy jailed him for a total of four years and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the devices on which the material had been found.

Sandilands was also told he would be made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will, once he is released, monitor his internet use.

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A paedophile has been jailed for eight and a half years after sexually abusing a little girl in Luton.

Ben Storey, 26, who until recently was residing at Marlborough Road, Banbury, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court today after being found guilty of four counts of sexual touching and two counts of assault by penetration in October.

Storey assaulted the young girl on a number of occasions over a period of time in 2016. He was arrested when the child told her mum about the abuse who then contacted the police.

DC Stephen Francis said: “Fortunately Storey’s victim disclosed her abuse to a trusted adult and as a result Storey has now been locked away and can no longer cause harm to others.

“I hope this sentence shows how seriously we take child sexual abuse. It will not be tolerated and we will do anything in our power to bring abhorrent offenders such as Storey to justice, while providing our support to victims and their families.

“We’re also continuing to work with our partners to educate both parents and children around the issue of child sexual abuse in order to help reduce the risk of it happening.”

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A 70-year-old serial sex offender will almost certainly die in prison after being jailed for 23 years for sexually abusing four young girls over a period spanning some three decades.

Pensioner Michael Grimes pleaded guilty to 17 counts of child abuse against four young girls.

The judge described his actions as ‘beyond normal human comprehension’ and said they were ‘vile, despicable, and perverted’.

Grimes, of Croft Green, Dunstable, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Friday.

As well as the sentence, he was also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

He was caught after police received information that an IP address linked to his home was being used to download indecent images of young children.

Police then raided his home and they found devices containing more than 4,600 indecent images of children and babies, including almost 1,000 of the most severe category.

During their investigations, four women came forward to claim they had been sexually abused by Grimes.

The abuse spanned over a period of some 30 years.

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A paedophile has been handed a two-year jail sentence for grooming a girl he believed was 12.

Craig Hall, of High Road in Sandy, was jailed at Luton Crown Court yesterday after being found guilty of three counts of attempting to incite a child under the age of 13 to engage in a sexual act.

The pervert struck up an online conversation with someone he believed to be 12 years old, and sent her sexually explicit messages as well as trying to persuade her to carry out a sexual act on him in exchange for money.

But Hall was shocked to find he was being duped and was in fact talking to a 17-year-old teenager – who reported him to Bedfordshire Police.

Investigating officer Nicky Owen, from the Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team at the force, said: “Hall believed she was only 12 years old, and thinking she was of such a young age spurred him on even more in his attempts to engage in sexual activity.

“Behaviour such as this is completely unacceptable and it’s only right and proper that we thoroughly investigate sexual predators such as Hall, in order to ensure that they are made to pay the price for their actions.”

The convicted paedophile has also been placed on the Sex Offender Register for 10 years and has received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A man who sexually abused and shared indecent images of children has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

43-year-old Duncan Hogben, of Cranfield, was convicted of 11 counts relating to the sexual abuse of children and charges associated with taking, distributing and making indecent photographs of children.

After being convicted on 29 June, Hogben was sentenced at Luton Crown Court to a total of 18 years behind bars.

Hogbens dark secret transcended the cyber world into reality, involving the direct abuse of children. His online offending contributed to the worldwide cycle of child abuse, which is the scourge of our society.

I would like to pay tribute to the brave testimony of the victims and witnesses in this case, as without their support we would not have achieved the result we have today. I am pleased that the courts recognised the severity of his sickening activities and passed a long sentence though in my eyes no jail term will be long enough for Hogben to accept what hes done and truly pay for the lives he has ruined.

Detective Constable Paul Fitzharris from the Cyber Hubs Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAIT)