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A man who raped a 13-year-old girl in a hotel after befriending her on a beach has been jailed.

Matthew Tallentire attacked the girl after she visited Blackpool in the summer of 2020, Lancashire Police said.

The 32-year-old was convicted of two offences of rape and one of attempted rape following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Appearing for sentencing at the same court on Friday, Tallentire, formerly of Blackpool but now of no fixed address, was jailed for nine years.
Police said the girl had travelled to Blackpool with two adults, and Tallentire had befriended them on the resort's beach.

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A pervert mum who was jailed in 2018 for flashing her breasts at a 15-year-old boy has been sent back to prison after making an ill-advised trip to a Nando's in Barnsley with a group of youngsters.

Karen Robb, 48, from Blackpool, who is a mum-of-one, was first exposed as a predator after grooming a 15-year-old boy on Facebook for over eight months between 2016 and 2017. During video chats with the "naive" teenager, Robb flashed her breasts and promised to do "naughty things" when they met in person.

When the boy's parents found out about his online relationship with the then 43-year-old woman by looking at his phone, they decided to deal with the problem themselves. But when Robb's partner at the time found out about her lewd online relationship, he called the police, reports LancsLive.

In 2018, Robb was sentenced to 16 months in prison and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years. She was also handed a sexual harm prevention order which prohibited her from spending time with under 16s without the prior consent of their parents and social services.

But in August 2023, Robb flouted the order and attended a family meal at Nando's in Barnsley with four children under the age of 16. Between August 15 and September 7, 2023, Robb also stayed at a house in Blackpool where a child lived.

She did not tell the police she was staying there and was banned from doing so under the terms of her notification requirements.

Judge Darren Preston said only an immediate prison sentence could be justified. He jailed Robb, of Barton Avenue, Blackpool, for 28 months.

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A prolific child sex offender befriended a family and babysat their two young children, buying them sweets, ice cream and toys, a court heard.

Their parents knew nothing of Stephen Carruthers' sordid past. He's now been jailed for breaching a court order which stipulated any contact he had with children aged under 18 must be approved.

Carruthers, 64, was only caught when the children's nursery raised concerns with the parents. He was the subject of an indefinite sexual offending prevention order (SHPO) when he first met the children's mother.

Carruthers, of Clevedon Road, Blackpool, was invited to the house but did not mention his previous convictions, Preston Crown Court heard. As he got closer to the family he began looking after the children while their parents went to work.

He put them to bed and would be in the same room when they were having a bath, the court heard. He stayed over at the house on several occasions and was often trusted to be alone with them. However when the parents - who knew nothing of his past - were told by staff at the nursery they were worried about the children's behaviour, reports Lancs Live.

The children's father said Carruthers was "very keen on the children" and would buy them sweets, ice cream and toys.

He visited the house almost every day and would often bend down to cuddle them. When the parents went out and left him with the children, Carruthers told them not to rush back, he said.

Preston Crown Court heard the defendant was subject to indefinite notification requirements, otherwise known as the sex offenders register, which meant any contact with children under 18 must be approved. He had not told the police or social services he was visiting the house and spending time alone with the children.

He has a string of convictions dating back to the 1970s and in 2009 was handed an indeterminate sentence for public protection for an offence of sexual activity with a child. During that hearing, the court heard how he and another paedophile he met in prison lured four teenage boys to a flat they shared in Blackpool, with boasts of money and celebrity contacts.

Judge Christopher Cornwall described the pair as "incorrigible, predatory paedophiles." Carruthers' release was only granted when the Parole Board considered he was no longer a risk, however when his contact with the children came to light he was immediately recalled on licence.

Carruthers pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching of a SOPO and two counts of breaching notification requirements. Judge Sarah O'Brien said there was no evidence he had harmed the children. She said: "Your probation progress report sets out that you have attended all your appointments and have been open with professionals, however you failed to share the most important information - that you were having unsupervised contact with two young children.

"You managed to gain the trust of these parents to be left in charge of two young (children). These are not just persistent, but flagrant breaches." He was jailed for three years.

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A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up for his vile activities online in which he tried to arrange meeting up with ‘children’ for sexual activity.

David Dutton used the internet in Warrington to commit sexual offences against people he believed were children.

They were in fact decoy accounts, with the 67-year-old caught out in a sting by those looking to root out online offenders.

Dutton was subsequently charged with three counts of attempted sexual communications with a child and three of arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

He appeared to be sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday, June 23, with Sarah Badrawy, representing the prosecution, explained the facts of the case to the court.

All of the offences – against three separate victims – were committed in August last year.

One ‘child’ with whom the defendant communicated with in a sexual manner was asked for a photograph of herself.

Dutton also told her she was ‘gorgeous’ and how he wished he was younger so he could ‘take her out’, while he also told her that he was ‘falling for her’.

Another was told by the defendant that she was gorgeous, and she too was requested to send a photograph of herself.

The third was also told by Dutton that she was gorgeous and was the subject of photo requests, with the pervert also discussing having sexual intercourse with her.

In all of the cases, defined by the charges he admitted, Dutton’s sexual communications were intentional and for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

In each of them, he also did not reasonably believe that the person with whom he was communicating was aged 16 or over.

With each of the ‘children’, there was also an attempt by Dutton to arrange a meet-up in order to engage in sexual activity.

The defendant, now of York Avenue in Blackpool, pleaded guilty to all six charges and was sentenced by judge Simon Berkson to three years in prison.

He must also abide by sex offender registration and notification requirements with the police indefinitely, as well as the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for the next 10 years.

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Last month, William Walker pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates between February 10 and 15, 2022.

The 60-year-old, originally from Killyleagh but now with an address in Blackpool, denied a second similar offence.

On Thursday (May 11), Walker was back at Downpatrick Crown Court where he had the second charge – which he initially denied – put to him again.

Walker was then charged with attempting to sexually communicate with a child on dates between February 10 and 23, 2022.

After the charge was put to him, Walker replied ‘guilty’.

Judge Geoffrey Miller KC noted that as Walker had now entered guilty pleas to both charges, a date for the plea hearing could be set.

A probation report will be compiled in England ahead of sentencing, which Judge Miller said would take place on June 22.

The former politician is already on the Sex Offenders Register due to his plea last month and he was released on continuing bail until June 22.

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A convicted paedophile who travelled more than 150 miles to meet a child for sex will now be spending his days behind bars after a specialist partnership operation.

Mark Stephens travelled to Wallsend, in North Tyneside, from his home in Blackpool to meet a 10-year-old girl and her mother, who he believed he had been chatting to online.

However, what he didn’t know, was that he had actually been speaking with a police officer as part of a wider investigation.

Stephens sent countless messages stating his vile intentions with the child and also offered £400 to spend the night with them and record their time together.

Officers from Northumbria Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) launched an investigation and worked with Lancashire Police worked and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NE ROCU) to target Stephens and bring him into custody.

On April 12 last year, the 67-year-old travelled to Silverlink retail park – but was met by police and arrested.

A search of his vehicle recovered quantities of Viagra and a gift for a child.

During the course of the investigation it also came to light that Stephens was being looked into by another force after unknowingly sending explicit messages to an officer, as part of another investigation, the day before travelling to North Shields.

He was subsequently charged with arranging the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to meet a girl under 16 with the intention of engaging in sexual activity, and three counts of making indecent images.

The following day, Stephens, of Shannon Street, Blackpool, appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to all charges.

Additional charges were later brought and Stephens was later convicted of attempting sexual communication with a child and attempted breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

On March 30 he was jailed for eight years at Newcastle Crown Court and given an additional six years on extended licence, a deprivation order was also made by the court for the car that he used to travel to Newcastle.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Rob Smoult from POLIT said: “This is a great result which reinforces our commitment to protecting children from predators like Stephens.

“He made his vile intentions very clear and the overwhelming evidence collated by the team ensured a swift charge and left him with no other option but to plead guilty at court.

“Stephens set out on a long journey across the country to meet a girl he knew was underage and thanks to a thorough operation by ourselves and our partners, we have placed a dangerous offender before the courts, and prevented him from harming any children.

“We will continue to work with our partners to tackle online child abuse and sexual exploitation and would urge anyone who has been a victim of this type of offending, or has concerns about someone’s behaviour, to come forward and talk to us.”

If you have any information or concerns that a child is at risk you can report online using the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on our website, or by calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

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A convicted sex offender went on a burgling spree across Lancashire's Fylde coast, stealing jewellery, electronics and a Mercedes.

Zachary Jackson, 27, took a woman's wedding jewellery and piled up items at another house, ready for a return trip, Preston Crown Court heard. He has now been jailed for three years and three months.

During the first break-in, in June 2022, the householders returned from holiday to find their home in Westbourne Road, Lancaster, had been ransacked.

£500 in cash, and around £7,000 of sentimental jewellery had been taken, Stephen Parker, prosecuting, told the court on Friday (December 23). The homeowner said as a result of the burglary she no longer felt safe in her home and was unable to sleep at night.

"This has caused significant loss t her and her family - not only monetary but sentimental value", Recorder Michelle Brown, sentencing, said.

In September 2022, Jackson, from Blackpool, struck again, targeting a home in Mains Lane, Poulton-le-Fylde. The householders returned to the bungalow at 10.30am on September 3 to discover the gate was open and their Mercedes was missing from the drive. They went inside and found the bedroom had been ransacked with draws pulled out and a wardrobe left open.

A laptop had been taken, along with cash and jewellery including watches and bracelets - valued at around £10,000. Jackson, of Bold Street, was later stopped in the Mercedes, with another person and was arrested.

On October 1, a woman who lived alone at a house in School Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, returned from a friend's house at 9am and discovered she had been burgled. Bookcases had been moved in the living room and the TV cabinet was open. The living room and bedroom were a mess, with items being rummaged through and a Dyson hairdryer had been stolen. An enamel Japanese box had been opened and the contents strewn across the floor, Mr Parker said.

The woman was upset but thought this was 'her time' but a few days later, Murphy returned. On October 5 the woman arrived home at 9am and found a blue Ikea bag had been filled with items, a Bose speaker had been taken and items had been piled up, as if the burglar planned to return for them.

"These incidents have spooked me and I now feel on edge entering my property", she said. A few days later, a man was asleep at his home in Lanefield Drive, Thornton-Cleveleys, and heard a noise. He went back to sleep but when he woke he discovered a vintage electric guitar and a number of other items had been stolen.

CCTV and mobile phone data enquiries led police to an address in Bond Street, where it appeared Jackson had been living. Jackson, who has a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of a sex attack in 2014, had told the police he was homeless but items such as his passport and other documents showed he had been living at the address.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of dwelling house burglary, taking a vehicle without consent and reach of a sexual harm prevention order. He wrote a letter to the court explaining that at the time of the burglaries he was homeless and in the grips of an addiction to class A drugs. He apologised to his victims and said he has worked to tackle his issues while on remand in prison.

Recorder Brown said: "This was a targeted spree of dwelling house burglaries. One was at night and another was a repeat victim."

She jailed Jackson for three years to run concurrently for each of the burglaries with a further two months concurrent for taking the vehicle without consent. In addition, Jackson will serve three months for breach of a sexual harm prevention order by failing to notify the police of his address.

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A man who was abused by a rapist in Rochdale when aged just six-years-old has helped us jail his abuser after bravely giving significant evidence over three decades on from the incident.

Ian Nixon now aged 57 was sentenced to over 13 years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to three offences including a rape from 1988.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Nixon abused the boy at a house in Rochdale when he was expected to look after him on three occasions between January 1988 and December 1989.

The victim contacted police to report the abuse in the summer of 2019 and was able to give us graphic detail of a number of incidents that he was subjected to by Nixon during the period of offending.

Detectives from our Rochdale districts Child Protection Investigation Unit soon interviewed Nixon who was now living in Blackpool where he claimed he didnt remember the victim and he couldnt recall the incidents that had been described by the victim; but didnt deny that they had occurred.

Nixon, currently of no fixed address, was later charged with buggery, indecent assault and gross indecency before pleading guilty in December last year

He has now been ordered to serve 13 years and four months in jail and has been made to sign the sex offenders register.

The victim now in his 30s has been offered continuous support from specialist officers and partner agencies throughout the case.

Detective Constable Dave Neil, of GMP Rochdales Child Protection Investigation Unit, said: Firstly, I have to pay tribute to the patience and stoicism of the survivor of this depraved abuse, as it is his bravery when coming forward and the subsequent detail of his evidence that has ensured Nixon will now rightly spend many years behind bars.

The campaign of sexual abuse that Nixon subjected his young and vulnerable victim to when he was supposed to be in his care was utterly appalling and something the boy has had to grow up dealing with mentally and emotionally all the way up to adulthood.

Its clear that no abuser can escape the consequences of their actions, no matter how long ago their offending was, and we will do our utmost to bring anyone responsible for such deplorable abuse to justice; while doing all we can with our partners to listen and support any victim of recent or non-recent sexual harm.

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A paedophile who repeatedly tried to rape a girl was arrested after she wrote "I want to die" on a school computer.

Gregory Witham molested his young victim on multiple occasions leaving her with "severe psychological harm".

Liverpool Crown Court today heard she started self-harming as a result of the abuse, which was spotted by teachers.

But the predator denied any wrongdoing and forced the child to endure a trial, when he blamed her for what happened.

The ex-Navy serviceman, 39, formerly of Walton, shook his head when he was today jailed for 16 years.

Judge David Swinnerton said Witham's attempts to blame his vulnerable victim showed "a complete lack of remorse".

He said: "Of course she is not to blame in the slightest. It's appalling that you seek to suggest that she was."

Witham was found guilty of two counts of attempted rape, which the court heard reflected "repeated attempts" to rape his victim.

He was convicted of eight counts sexual activity with a child, which included four counts involving repeatedly touching the girl's genitalia under her clothing, and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, which was an attempt to get her to perform a sex act on him.

Gareth Roberts, prosecuting, said the abuse came to light after an incident at the girl's school.

He said: "It was suggested she had written 'I want to die' on a school computer."

Mr Roberts told the jury teachers were concerned and spoke to the victim, who initially denied writing the words, but said she was unhappy and harming herself, and the reason was because she was being sexually abused by Witham.

The prosecutor today said: "The defendant asserted during the trial and has repeated in his pre-sentence report that she was sexualised and had essentially attempted to come on to him if I can use that phrase, which the Crown would say is a deliberate attempt to impugn her character."

Mr Roberts said there was also "a degree of degradation", because Witham would become angry with his victim and tell her she was "useless".

Six members of the girl's devastated family attended the sentencing hearing this morning.

The court heard a victim statement written by the girl's mum, who said her daughter had tried to write it herself, but became "very distressed and broke down in tears".

The mum said: "She said to me she thinks about what happened every single day."

She told the court she believed her daughter would benefit from counselling, but the girl didn't want it because she doesn't like to talk about the abuse, which brings it all back to her.

The mum said: "She is putting on a brave face, but I know as her mother deep down she is hurting."

Witham, now of Manor Road, Blackpool, who has no previous convictions, was supported by three people sitting in the public gallery.

Jimmy Vakil, defending, said: "I cannot mitigate on the facts and I would not seek to minimise the seriousness your honour of these offences."

He added: "It's always sad when someone of good character, indeed someone who has represented their country, falls in this way.

"On his behalf I ask for an element of mercy in the sentencing process. There is a genuine wish on his behalf to become a better person."

Mr Vakil said his client wanted to undertake any courses available in prison "to make himself that better person".

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A vicious thug who assaulted and burnt a woman before threatening to bomb her house and send people to hurt her family after she complained to police has been jailed.

Joshua Martin Brodie was reported to detectives following the 'serious' attacks in Blackpool.

Police said the 26-year-old offender started a 'campaign of intimidation' against the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to try and get her to withdraw the allegations against him.

Brodie, of Normos Avenue, threatened he would bomb her house and send people to hurt her and her family.

He pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to offences including assault.

Judge Jefferies QC sentenced Brodie to a total sentence of 12 years and classed him as a 'dangerous offender'.

This included eight years imprisonment and a further four years extended licence period.

Speaking after the hearing, DC Laura Plant, of Blackpool CID, said:

"Brodie is an extremely nasty individual who not only physically assaulted the victim in this case but then also subjected her to intimidation and abuse after she bravely came forward to report what he had done.

"He demonstrated controlling, possessive behaviour as well as committing horrendous physical and mental abuse against the victim. He made threats to seriously harm her, leaving the woman fearing for her life.

"I am glad that the Judge recognised the seriousness of Brodie’s offending in the sentence passed down and also classed him as a dangerous offender, meaning that he will continue to be monitored once he is eventually released from prison.

"The victim in this case has shown a harrowing amount of bravery throughout this process and I would like to praise her for that."

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A former youth club director who repeatedly raped a teenage girl during a "campaign of sexual abuse" has been jailed for 20 years.

Christopher Rixon, from Blackpool, was convicted of eight counts of rape and six counts of sexual assault.

Rixon, 42, denied the offences, claiming he began a relationship with the victim when she was 16 and it was consensual.

Lancashire Police said it was "lies" and he was a "dangerous predator".

'No remorse'

The offences took place at Monty's Youth Club in the town in 2010.

Rixon, of Holmfield Road, was also found guilty of two counts of inciting a girl aged between 13-15 to engage in sexual activity after a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Simon Morris, of Lancashire Police, said: "I am glad the jury saw through Christopher Rixon's lies, and saw him for the dangerous sexual predator he is.

"I can't overstate the impact that his actions had on the victim, and she must be commended for showing immense bravery in reporting Rixon to us.

"He has shown no remorse by denying the offences, forcing her to go through the ordeal of a trial."

He added: "I am pleased he is now behind bars where he belongs."

Rixon was cleared of two counts of rape of a girl over 16 and two counts of sexual touching of a child relating to a separate girl.