Latest Offenders Bristol

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A tearful mum told a court she wished the "monster" who subjected her young daughter to a hideous campaign of rape, which he filmed, would stay behind bars for life. The mum gave her emotional impact statement at the sentencing of Steve Sutton today, (March 23, 2023), which moved everyone including the judge.

Sutton, 60, an electrical engineer from Knowle, had been of previous good character but came to the attention of police for downloading images of child sexual abuse. He ultimately pleaded guilty to 30 offences including rape of a child. They included:

• Five counts of rape of a child
• Twelve counts of sexual assaulting a child under 13 by penetration
• Five counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• One of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
• Three of taking indecent photographs of a child
• Three of making indecent photographs of a child
• One count of possessing extreme pornographic images

The Recorder of Bristol His Honour Judge Peter Blair KC jailed him for life with a minimum 13 years. He told Sutton: "You were committing unspeakable crimes against her." The judge commended police for their investigation, especially DC Fiona Currey and PC Rosie Murrell.

Sutton was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop further offending. He was also told to register as a sex offender for life and was barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Ian Fenny, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court Sutton sexually abused the little girl, when she was aged five to six, for some eight months. He not only subjected her to severe sexual assaults, he also filmed hours of abuse in which he was violent and tied the child up. Police trawled through the heinous footage to compile a comprehensive catalogue of evidence against him.

The victim's mum sat behind a screen as she gave her impact statement, with Sutton using a hearing loop in the dock. She described him as a "monster who robbed her child of her innocence".

Fighting back emotion, she said: "When the officers told me, the words to me felt surreal. I was numb. Life will never be the same again and it feels overwhelming.

"My child will never be care-free and running wild again. I hope that with years of support, we may get better. I will do everything I can to make sure [we] are okay, but it should never have happened.

"He has destroyed my family. He has broken us all in different ways. He has changed her life, changed her future and given her trauma that will affect her for the rest of her life.

"He is a danger to any child and to society. He doesn't deserve to be free. But I want Sutton to know, he won't break us forever. We will get stronger; we will get better."

She added: "I wish I could have protected her from the monster who was abusing her."

Giles Nelson, defending, said his mitigation focused on Sutton's prompt guilty plea as opposed to taking the case to trial. He said: "It is a very disturbing case, there is no argument regarding the context of the sentencing guidelines."

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Lexi-Rose Crawford has been convicted of committing a rape with "her penis", the court's formal indictment said.

A predator who identifies as transgender has been found guilty of raping a friend with "her penis" only a few weeks after being freed from prison for child sex offences. Lexi-Rose Crawford, a biological male who now identifies as a woman, was previously given a four-year prison sentence for having sex with an underage girl after meeting the minor online. The 24-year-old, who started using feminine pronouns after being released from prison in January 2019, raped a vulnerable friend a few weeks later.

Crawford originally complained of having "blackouts" and claimed to have no memory of the sexual assaults at Bristol Crown Court on March 10.

In less than two hours of deliberation, the jury found Crawford guilty of rape and sexual assault despite the defendant claiming to have no knowledge of the attack. For legal reasons, Crawford's victim cannot be identified but is well known to be exceptionally defenceless.

The woman described how Crawford tried to get her to lay next to her before pinning her down and assaulting her.

The victim said in court: "[Crawford] wanted me to lie down next to [her] and then tried to start … cuddling me, which I don’t feel comfortable with anyway. And then she started removing my clothes, which I didn’t want."

The formal indictment used in court said that "her penis" was used during the rape.

Despite the victim's repeated protests, Crawford removed her clothing and raped her.

Asked why she didn’t fight back, she said: "What could I have done without using physical contact to stop [her]? And then that could have been me in the wrong by using physical contact to stop [her]."

In response to Crawford's claimed lapse of memory, Prosecutor David Scutt pointed out that there was no medical evidence to support this claim, and called it a "convenient excuse."

Mr Scutt added: "It appears you can remember the good stuff, but you cannot remember the bad stuff. Are you pretending that you can't remember?"

Crawford denied the allegation, saying: "No."

But the prosecutor pressed again, asking: "What I'm going to suggest is this – that you did those things and you know you did. Agree or disagree?” - to which, Crawford replied: “Disagree."

Crawford was released on conditional bail following the guilty verdict and will be sentenced on May 10. Throughout the four-day trial, Crawford was referred to with feminine pronouns and was addressed as "Miss" by lawyers and Judge Michael Longman.

Crawford was previously convicted of raping a teenage girl in 2017 after grooming her.

If Crawford is sentenced to prison, it is expected that the rapist will be placed in a men's prison due to recent prison policy reforms in the UK regarding the treatment of certain transgender convicts.

The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service announced new guidelines for housing male prisoners who claim to be women on February 27, with an updated framework saying: "Transgender women offenders no longer housed in women’s prisons if they have male genitalia or have committed sex crimes."

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A 45 year old former nursery worker who denied having any memory of being placed on the sex offenders register 20 years ago has been convicted of molesting a four year old Gloucester girl while baby-sitting her.

Gloucester Crown Court heard last week that the child's mother was shocked when her daughter told her how Jamie White had abused her - and then horrified to learn that he had been cautioned by police in the past for similar offending.

The Gloucester woman had trusted White, whom she knew, and was unaware he had been on the Sex Offender Register for five years for indecent assault of a nine year old girl in 2003.

White had also been accused of a similar offence in 1995 when he was working for a childrens nursery, the court was told.

White, now of Atlas Close, Speedwell, Bristol, denied sexual assault of the four year old girl when he was baby-sitting her and a sibling on Feb 20th 2020 in Gloucester.

But he was convicted last Thursday (Feb 23) and bailed to await sentence in April.

The jury of eleven - nine men and two women - saw the four year old girl describe in a video-recorded interview how White had licked her on the genitals while baby-sitting.

The jury heard that White and his partner had babysat the children several times.

Prosecutor Christopher Smyth said: “White arrived at the woman’s house by himself at 1.30pm on Feb 20th 2020 and she told him that she would be back at around 7pm. This was the first time he had babysat the children on his own.

“When the mother arrived home everything seemed normal and the children were playing happily together. White left the house at 8.25pm that evening and the mother took the children upstairs to bed.

“The mother asked her daughter if she had a good day and she replied 'Yes…and no.' Her mother queried this and the young girl said that Jamie had hit her in the face with a cloth.

“She quizzed her daughter, asking if this was while they were playing? She replied 'maybe'. The little girl then said ‘Jamie licked my vulva,’ a word she had been taught about the anatomy of her body.

“The mother was horrified by this and asked if she was telling the truth and she added that people could get into trouble for saying things like that. The girl said it was true.

"The mother then texted White saying that he’d left his scarf behind and added that her daughter had been telling her 'some pretty serious stuff.'

“He replied ‘What stuff?'in a bid to get more information. The mother did not respond.

The following morning White contacted the woman and said ‘I know I have done nothing.’ He added ‘If I am being accused of something, I have the right to know.’

The woman told White that he and his partner would not be babysitting the children again as their trust was gone

I’m not accusing you of anything, yet, but I want the full story,” she said.

When White was giving evidence, the judge, Recorder Anthony Hawks, asked him “If you hadn’t said anything inappropriate or done anything untoward, what do you think you were being accused of?”

White replied: “I don’t know, that’s why I kept asking. I didn’t think it was anything sexual.”

The jury heard that White told the mother he had been checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service and that he was clear.

The jury were told that because White had previously been placed on the sex offenders register for five years in 2003 that would have been flagged up but the mother would not have known this.

The mother contacted social services about her daughter's allegations and while she was on hold to them on the phone the four-year-old told her ‘Jamie told me not to tell anyone, but I'm telling you because I am a good girl’.

“Having reported the incident to the safeguarding team, the police become involved and the young girl was interviewed by trained offers the following day," said Mr Smyth.

While White was being cross examined by Mr Smyth during his evidence he denied that he had ever appeared at the court before.

He was repeatedly asked by the prosecutor if he did not remember accepting a police caution in January 2003 after admitting a charge of indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl.

The case had not gone to trial because the girl's father had been reluctant to put her through the ordeal of giving evidence, the prosecutor said.

Mr Smyth also pointed out to Smyth that on the same day he had accepted the caution he had been jailed for 18 months for attempting to obtain pecuniary advantage by deception by trying to get a job at a local children’s nursery.

“This would have been a significant day in your life,” Mr Smyth said.

The jury also heard about the suspicions that social services had while White was working for another nursery in Gloucester in 1995 and had allegedly molested a four-year-old girl.

However, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take the case to court because the girl was so young and it would be an ordeal for her to give evidence in court.

White told the police in his interview that he had played with the children and said that when she had run upstairs to the bedroom he had tickled the four-year-old and that he hadn’t licked her at all.

He was asked, ‘Are you attracted to children?’ White replied, ‘No’. ‘

Asked if fantasised over young girls he denied that he did and added ‘I’ve always got on with children. I’m not sexually interested in young girls, I am not interested in children in anyway.’

“What’s your sexual orientation?" he was asked. " A beautiful 25-year-old blonde haired girl,” he replied.

White told the jury he was annoyed when the Gloucester mother told him she did not want him to baby sit for her daughter any more and added: “I didn’t know what I was being accused of. I thought that was the end of it.

“The first thing I knew about the sexual allegations is when the police knocked my door.

“I didn’t say anything to the girl that she should not tell anybody about what happened because nothing happened. I didn’t lick her when she was naked or over or under her clothing, not even inadvertently.”

Pina Silvio, defending White, asked him about receiving a caution in 2003 for a sexual allegation on a nine-year-old girl.

“I was working at a snooker club in Gloucester and got to know a particular family with young children very well. I ending looking after them on several occasions. It was a baby-sitting situation at their home when the allegations happened. I denied the sexual allegations but I accepted the caution. I don’t even remember being in this court before,” he said.

The judge pointed out to White that he couldn’t have been given a caution, unless he had admitted the offence. White said he had done nothing wrong and claimed that he had been acquitted.

White continued to deny to the lawyers that he had been in Gloucester Crown Court before.

Ms Silvio told White: “This is a matter of record. You had to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years."

The jury took just one hour and 20 minutes to reach their guilty verdict. White will be sentenced on April 5 and he was released on unconditional bail.

Following his conviction White was placed on the sex offenders register and the length of his registration will be clarified when he is sentenced.

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A Totterdown pensioner convicted of historical rapes of a child is likely to die in jail. Brian David, 78, of Wells Road, described allegations that he sexually abused a girl as "a load of bloody nonsense", Bristol Crown Court heard.

But a jury convicted the former RAF man of a plethora of sexual assaults on the girl when she was aged eight to 17. David was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault, three counts of rape and two counts of buggery.

The Recorder Mr James Bromige, sitting via video link, jailed him for 20 years. He told David: "You are not in good health, you have a diminished life expectancy and the prospect is you will die in prison."

David was told to register his whereabouts to police indefinitely. He was handed an indefinite restraining order banning him from both direct and indirect contact with the complainant.

Speaking behind a screen, the complainant said the abuse left her with anxiety and depression for which she has had counselling and therapy. She said she had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

She told the court: "I smell his cigarette smoke every day. I don't feel like getting up, I don't eat properly, I don't sleep properly.

"He knows he is guilty. I want him to remember every day what he did to me. He ruined my life."

Nikke Coombe, prosecuting, said David forced the child to commit sex acts on him and he forced himself on her on multiple occasions. The court heard she was a vulnerable youngster who felt unable, at the time, to report him to her loved ones.

Virginia Cornwall, defending, urged the judge to impose a determinate sentence. She told the court: "There is no issue of dangerousness. The risk of further offending is minimal.

"Aged 78 he's unlikely to be released from this sentence. I ask for as short a sentence as meets your honour's public duty in the circumstances."

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When a 'predatory and manipulative' offender tried to arrange to sexually abuse a man's young daughter he was in for a surprise. The man was an undercover policeman.

Richard Campbell chatted to the officer online and tried to set up the abuse of the child. Bristol Crown Court heard Campbell sent the officer an indecent image of a four-year-old girl which he claimed to have abused in the past and described the effect it had on her.

Police who raided his home found he had a phone and iPad which he had not declared under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). And he was found with a small number of indecent images of children representing all three categories of concern

Campbell, 49, of Grace Drive in Kingswood, pleaded guilty to breaching a SHPO. He also admitted three charges of making an indecent image of a child and a single charge of distributing an indecent image of a child.

Judge Mark Horton jailed him for three years and four months, which included activation of a previously suspended sentence. The judge told Campbell: "As a result of your previous convictions and your offences now there can be no doubt that you are a predatory offender and one who has manipulated, lied and deceived."

Gregory Gordon, prosecuting, said after Campbell's online chats with an undercover policeman police made an unannounced visit to his home. Two undeclared devices were found under a duvet and indecent images of girls aged five to ten were found on them, as well as 117 'borderline' images including video.

Ieuan Callaghan, defending, said "loneliness and isolation" was the root cause of his client's offending. Mr Callaghan told the court: "He has began work in prison and there is evidence of insight."

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Steven Strange was banned from contact with youngsters aged under 16 by court order

A convicted child rapist who formed an acquaintance with a vulnerable 14-year-old girl has been jailed.

Steven Strange was banned from contact with children aged under-16 under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). But he met the girl at a Bristol park, gave her his mobile number and they went on several walks together, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Strange, 34, of Jacob's Wells Road in Bristol, pleaded guilty to two breaches of the SHPO. He also admitted failing to notify his whereabouts under sex offender notification.

Yesterday (May 24) the recorder Mr Richard Smith QC jailed him for 18 months. He told Strange: "You have a history of sex offending and non-compliance."

Sam Jones, prosecuting, said Strange approached the girl when she was sitting on a bench. After telling her he was 21 and called Steven he gave her his mobile number and, feeling uncomfortable, she went home but returned later.

The court heard they then walked together and agreed to meet the next day. Having met again they went for another walk and went to Strange's address - where the girl remained outside.

But, having argued with her mum, the girl returned to Strange's address. The court heard she walked around in the dark with him until she went home around 1am.

Mr Jones said the next day Strange, having got the girl's mobile number, rang her but her mum intercepted the call and refused him from seeing her. She then reported the incident to police, who ran a check on Strange and his mobile number and tracked him down.

Strange told police he didn't know the girl, but said he had given a girl a cigarette. Police found the youngster outside his address and, when interviewed, Strange said he thought she was aged over 16.

Catherine Spedding, defending, said her client had a troubled background and, after speaking to the girl, he felt there was an accord between them due to their experiences. Miss Spedding said: "If he wanted to commit sex offences there was opportunity when he could have done so. There is no suggestion of any sexual contact between them."

Miss Spedding added that, due to her client's "chaotic and disorganised lifestyle", he had failed to register his address to police as he was required to do following convictions for rape of a girl aged under 16 and two sexual assaults.

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A rapist who tried to impress a woman by claiming he rapped with Dappy of N-Dubz threatened to firebomb her house after sexually assaulting her.

Randall Reynolds, 27, knew his victim was aggressively drunk when he raped her in January.

Swindon Crown Court heard how Reynolds had assured the victims friends nothing would happen when they left her house for 40 minutes to go to the shops. Instead, he used that time to rape her.

Judge Jason Taylor QC assessed that the defendant posed a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public and that the public needs to be protected as he handed Reynolds a lengthy custodial sentence.

The defendant had initially reached out to the victim on social media, telling her he was famous and trading off the story that he had rapped with Dappy.

They agreed to meet in a pub in Swindon and the victim brought her friends with her on the date for added reassurance.

According to the prosecution, the victim drank pitchers of cocktails while the defendant was drinking very slowly because the hostel in Bristol he was staying in required him to be sober.

He was well aware of the state she was in, prosecutor Mr Welling added. A video was played to the court where the victim was propped up by her friends.

It must have been obvious to you that she was incapable of giving informed consent, Judge Taylor said.

Reynolds was arrested after he threatened to return to Swindon, telling the victim he would come to your yard and blow your house up which left her terrified. The pair had been taunting each other on social media after the incident.

At the police station it became obvious that Reynolds was telling conflicting lies, Judge Taylor said. At first, Reynolds denied doing anything sexual because it was obvious how drunk she was.

In the interview, he told police: I know what right and wrong is, she was falling everywhere and you know when a womans drunk, you dont take advantage.

However, the defendant changed his story when police requested a sample, admitting he had had sex with the victim but claimed she was a willing participant.

The defendants defence counsel Emma Handslip argued that Reynolds has a learning disability which affects his ability to read social cues.

While Judge Taylor conceded Reynolds learning disability may have played a part in his assessment of the night, he confirmed that the reduction in culpability could only be moderate.

When you were spoken to by police, you were fully aware of what you should and shouldnt do when a woman is drunk.

You prioritised your sexual gratification over her welfare.

You were indeed acutely aware of the licence and hostel conditions yet the fact you were unable and or unwilling to control yourself is something I simply cannot ignore.

Reynolds, of Ashley House Probation Hostel in Bristol, was sentenced to six years imprisonment.

He will then be on licence for two years after his release.

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"You are a liar. You are a rapist."

These were the words a judge spoke to a man who claimed he was the victim, after he submitted a Bristol woman to a terrifying sexual assault. Though he denies wrongdoing, Haithum Alsuliman was not believed and a jury convicted him.

The 35-year-old, of Nags Head Hill in St George, was found guilty of rape following the attack early last year. He was produced for sentence today at Bristol Crown Court. (May 16, 2022)

The recorder Mr Neil Millard jailed him for eight years. He told him: "It is an offence to suggest that you were the victim here...It is an offence for you to say she lied about what happened.

"Mr Alsuliman, listen very carefully to what I am about to say to you. You are a liar. You are a rapist."

Alsuliman was handed an indefinite restraining order banning all contact with the victim. He was ordered to register his whereabouts to police indefinitely and was barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Nikki Coombe, prosecuting, said the woman had been drinking with friends and was intoxicated when she caught the bus to her Bristol home. She became aware of Alsuliman near a crossing, the court heard.

Miss Coombe said: "She doesn't remember his exact first words to her but he said something that caused her to stop to speak with him. He said 'Do you want help home because you seem wobbly?' She said 'no'."

With that Alsuliman kissed her on the mouth and neck and, thinking he would leave her alone, she walked on. But as she continued Alsuliman followed her and directed her off the pavement and behind a wall, to which he pinned her, the court heard.

Miss Coombe described how Alsuliman then pulled down her lower clothing and raped her. A car then pulled up nearby, causing him to stop.

The victim said during the ordeal her mind and body were doing different things. She said her mind said she should do something to make the man stop, while her body simply froze in shock.

After the attack Alsuliman asked the woman if she wanted him to walk her home and she again told him "no", the court heard. She arrived "inconsolable" at home, police were called in, and she underwent forensic tests which linked Alsuliman to her.

The woman told police she recalled giving the attacker her phone number, to make him go away. It later transpired both her and Alsuliman's phone histories had been deleted - but forensic analysis of Alsuliman's device showed it had called the woman's device around the time of the attack.

When Alsuliman was arrested he denied wrongdoing. He was then picked out from an identity parade.

Emily Lauchlan, defending, said her client had suggested he was a virgin before the incident. She said her client came from Syria to the UK in 2016, and had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

Miss Lauchlan told the court: "Up to this point he had tried to be an upstanding member of the community. He could do in-depth work on a one-to-one basis; that will ensure victim empathy can be dealt with and to reduce the likelihood of reoffending further."

PC David Stevenson said: I would like pay tribute to victim in this case for the bravery she has shown.

Having experienced the trauma of the incident, Alsuliman then put her through the further ordeal of a trial even though the evidence clearly pointed to him being the offender.

She has shown great courage and bravery in standing up to him and supporting our investigation and I hope she is able to find some comfort in the knowledge that her attacker is now behind bars for some time.

Victims of rape or sexual assault, recent or non-recent, can self-refer to The Bridge, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre available 24/7 365 days a year. Visit their website at www.thebridgecanhelp.org.uk or call 0117 342 6999.

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Raymond Ellis, from Bristol, formerly of Sheffield, carried out a sophisticated and harrowing attack on a 17-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

Today, he was sentenced to five years in prison at Bristol Crown Court having been found guilty of Indecent Assault.

Bristol Crown Court heard today (May 13) how, in the assault close to midnight on March 15, 1987, the survivor was approaching her home address after a night out with friends when she became aware of someone behind her.

She began running but one of her shoes came off. She saw her pursuer pick it up and was struck on the head, grabbed and dragged along a nearby passage towards Earl Marshall School Fields, at the rear of Skinnerthorpe Road in Sheffield.

The attacker removed an item of her clothing which he used to tie her feet together and forced her to perform a sexual act. He then made her lay face down and fled. The victim was then able to flee to a nearby telephone box where she called police.

Despite an extensive investigation involving many forensic submissions, her attacker was never traced.

But due to advancements in forensic science, further forensic submissions were made which resulted in a match to Ellis. A mixed DNA profile was obtained from the outer sleeve of the womans leather jacket she was wearing at the time.

Ellis was arrested in August 2019. In interview, the 60-year-old claimed he had memory loss due to a brain injury sustained in 1997 when he was attacked with pick axe handles by poachers on a salmon farm in Scotland.

He made no comment to any questions including where he was at that time

South Yorkshire Polices Dave Stopford, head of the Major Incident Review Team, said: This was a horrific attack on a 17-year-old girl as she made her way home from a night out.

The victim has had to live with this for the past 33 years not knowing who her attacker was.

We thank the victim for her patience and resilience during this difficult investigation in which she had to re-live a traumatic incident. She has shown immense courage, patience and trust in us to do so.

The attack has significantly impacted on her life ever since. This conviction today has provided some closure to the victim, but continues to have serious consequences for her.

"Ellis was obviously surprised when he was arrested for this offence, having thought that he had evaded being caught. The reinvestigation using scientific techniques that were not available in 1987 should send out a message that anyone who has committed such offences is never safe from prosecution.

The review team at South Yorkshire Police prioritise undetected historic sexual offences and are currently reviewing hundreds of cases. Investigating Officer Rachel Morton has been tenacious in achieving this detection, which due to its historic nature has been complex. I would also like to thank the scientists involved, whose work is invaluable in these historic cases, and without them this perpetrator may never have been brought to justice for this crime.

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By day accountant Jagath Arachchige was charming and highly professional. But by night he was a sexual predator, driving around Bristol city centre in his blue Honda Accord targeting vulnerable lone woman leaving nightclubs who took him for a cabbie.

After picking up one woman he kidnapped her for five hours, which culminated in him sexually assaulting her. And just 15 hours later he kidnapped a second woman but failed to molest her.

The 44-year-old of Eighth Avenue in Filton, denied wrongdoing. But a jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted him of kidnap and sexual assault, as well as kidnap and kidnap with intent to commit a sex offence, in December 2017.

Judge Mark Horton handed him a 16-year extended sentence, comprising of 12 years' custody (two-thirds to serve) and four years' extended licence. He found Arachchige to be a dangerous offender, telling him: "It is clear that whilst you present to the world as an engaging, charming and able accountant with an apparent calm and quiet manner, this mask perfectly concealed the callous, and deliberate deception and manipulative skills of a predatory sexual offender."

Judge Horton barred Arachchige from working with children and vulnerable adults. He also ordered him to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

The judge, who commended the police investigation, added: "I also wish to comment that in this case both of the victims were in no way careless in their behaviour in the case. Both sought what they reasonably believed were a lawful taxi driver providing them with security to get themselves home. Their trust and the steps they had taken were deliberately exploited in a planned way by this defendant."

The court was told Arachchige turned to extra-marital websites after intimacy in his marriage declined. In November 2017 police found him in his car at renowned sex spot with an inebriated student. Officers removed her from his car and gave him strong advice about his actions, the court heard.

Some two weeks later Arachchige picked up an inebriated young woman who had left a Bristol nightclub and, instead of supposedly giving her a taxi ride home, kidnapped her for five hours - which included a trip to a sex spot and even booking a room at a motel. The court heard the episode culminated in Arachchige groping her bare chest and trying, but failing, to touch her intimately under her clothes.

When the woman claimed her mum was in the police, Arachchige took her home. But just 15 hours later Arachchige struck again, the court heard. Having picked up another woman who assumed he was a taxi driver he detained her in his car before she managed to get out of his car unmolested.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, read impact statements from both women in which they said they had struggled with anxiety after their ordeals and had trust issues as a result. One stated: "I feel it is going to stay with me for the rest of my life."

Robert Morgan-Jones, defending, said: "Intimate relations with his wife ceased. He was isolated and alone in the relationship, feeling very much rejected with his sexual and emotional needs not being dealt with."

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A SOMERSET man has been jailed for five years for raping a woman he met online.

Malcolm Compton, 60, from Keynsham, had earlier been found guilty of rape following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court on January 28.

The jury heard how Compton, of Carpenters Lane, initially met his victim on a dating website in September 2020.

They had been communicating online for about a week before agreeing to meet in person.

Comptons victim made it clear she was seeking companionship and that she just wanted to be friends.

But Compton ignored her wishes and tried to pressure her into sexual activity.

On Friday, September 11, Compton went on to rape her and his victim reported the offence to Wiltshire Police the following day.

Following the sentence, Detective Constable Jeremy Horner said: Compton completely disregarded the feelings of his victim and exercised controlling behaviour over her from the moment they met before going on to carry out this despicable crime.

I hope this sentence will bring some form of comfort to the survivor of Comptons abuse who showed real bravery in reporting this crime.

She displayed strength and dignity in the way she supported us in our investigation which eventually brought Compton to justice.

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A 47-year-old man has been jailed for 14 years after being convicted of rape and sexual assaults following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Mario DiMaggio, of Jacobs Wells Road, Bristol, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of rape and 12 counts of sexual assault, with all the offences committed against one woman in early 2019.

The trial judge William Hart called DiMaggio predatory in his behaviour, as he sentenced him to the prison term at a hearing on March 14, as well as to a life-time restraining order. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The offences were reported to the police in February 2019

Investigating officer DC Martin Rutterford said: Mario DiMaggio is a predatory sex offender and a danger to women.

After the jury saw the extremely harrowing evidence, they unanimously decided he was guilty of all the charges he faced trial for.

The victim in this case has shown remarkable bravery throughout the investigation and resulting court proceedings, and I hope this outcome will be of some comfort to her after the terrible ordeal shes been through.

I also hope this outcome shows other victims of rape and sexual offences that they will be listened to, believed and respected if they report offences to us, and we will carry out thorough investigations to bring dangerous offenders like DiMaggio to justice.

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A judge told a Speedwell man found guilty of sexually abusing two young girls that the "guilt is all yours".

Scott Hunt, 33, of Whitefield Avenue, abused the youngsters on multiple occasions, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Though he still denies wrongdoing a jury convicted him of three charges of causing or inciting a child aged under-13 to engage in sexual activity on one girl, and two charges of sexual assault of a child aged under-13 on another.

The Recorder Mr Neil Millard jailed him for eight years.

Both complainants read impact statements to the court outlining the guilt and shame they endured as a result of the abuse.

The judge told Hunt: "They should feel no guilt.

"They did nothing wrong.

"The guilt is all yours.

"There is absolutely no guilt on them.

"Their strength is in coming here and telling this court what you did to them.

"They are not little girls anymore, they are strong young women.

"The guilt is yours."

Hunt was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from contact or working with youngsters aged under 16.

He was told to register his whereabouts to police for life.

One complainant told how the abuse left her "confused and frightened".

She stated: "I was just a little girl.

"I didn't understand a lot of things that happened."

The complainant said Hunt manipulated her and told her not to tell anybody about the abuse.

She described how she had blanked a lot of happy childhood memories and became nervous around men.

The other complainant said she suffered feelings of "guilt, shame and disgust" about the abuse, which left her very angry and with trust issues.

Catherine Spedding, defending, said her client was left disfigured after suffering horrific burns aged 11 months.

She said he was picked on in his early life, became isolated and lonely, and a Probation Service report concluded there was a link between his accident and his offending behaviour.

The court heard Hunt had been primary carer for his mother, who suffers from vascular dementia.

Miss Spedding said: "He still does not accept the offences.

"He does appear to accept the effect it would have on the victims."

Investigating officer DC Michael Coleman said: These were awful offences committed against two defenceless young girls in the Bristol area several years ago.

"They were first reported to the police in 2017 resulting in a thorough investigation being carried out. T

"The defendant was charged in January 2021 and convicted of five offences following a recent trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Both victims have shown tremendous bravery, fortitude and resilience throughout the criminal investigation and resulting court proceedings.

I hope the custodial sentence given to Hunt will be able to help the victims find some form of closure.

"I also hope it will encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and report offences committed against them, in the knowledge they will be believed and listened to.

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A 'depraved' Emersons Green man drugged a woman so he and others could rape her.

Daniel Bishop obtained the GHB 'date rape' drug from a Dutch website, Bristol Crown Court was told.

After slipping it into her drink he forced himself on her while she was unconscious and broadcast the abuse via the internet.

And he also arranged for other men to similarly abuse her, the court heard.

Bishop, 43, pleaded guilty to three rapes, three attempted rapes, a sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.

Judge James Patrick, who categorised him as a dangerous offender, jailed him for 14 years and eight months with extended licence of eight years.

He told Bishop: "You fall to be sentenced for a set of depraved offences.

"What you did is, in my judgement, degrading and humiliating."

The judge ordered Bishop to register as a sex offender for life and barred him from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Giles Nelson, prosecuting, said Bishop drugged the complainant before arranging for a man to rape her.

Though he invited other men to do the same they declined, the court heard.

When he raped the unconscious woman twice himself he put the assault online, the court heard.

Mr Nelson said: "The defendant was frank about his feelings as a sexual predator.

"He stated he preyed on prostitutes and said he had a sex addiction for which he had sought help."

Charley Pattison, defending, said her client had been blighted by mental health issues and addiction to alcohol.

She said: "He is devastated by what he has done.

"He has now, for the first time, come to terms with childhood experiences of trauma and how it may well have made him the person he is today.

"He is beyond sorry for what he has done."

Detective Constable Cheryl Aucott, the investigating police officer in the case, said: Daniel Bishop has been convicted of a series of appalling offences following a sensitive and complex investigation.

The victim in this case has shown incredible bravery in supporting these court proceedings.

"We hope this conviction encourages other victims of sexual offences to have the confidence to report incidents to us, so offenders can be brought to justice.

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A barrister who sexually assaulted his colleague during a night out in Bristol has been disbarred.

Kevin Farquharson, 45, groped the womans breasts and then asked her to lie to prevent his fiancee finding out, the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service heard.

He repeatedly touched the woman's breasts and buttocks on the dance floor and at one point forcibly held her arms by her sides and told her to kiss him, it was told.

The victim, referred to as A, asked him what the f*** he was doing and said he refused to stop.

After he eventually stumbled back home at 4am, Farquharson was confronted by his furious partner, demanding to know what he had been up to.

The following evening, Farquharson sent the woman a text message saying: Would you help me by responding to my text tomorrow by simply stating, We lost sight of you at about 1:45. You left after you had a run in with one of the bouncers. I hope you are feeling OK.

The victim was only able to escape Farquharsons forceful advances when the staff at Kongs bar in Bristol city centre stepped in to help and had him removed from the venue on the night in September 2019.

In March 2021, Farquharson was found guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay the victim 1,800 and was put on the sexual offenders list for seven years.

Mark Ruffell, for the Bar Standards Board, said: This is a sad case from start to finish.

On the one hand, we have a young lady who was great friends with the respondent, no doubt saw him most days in a professional context, and it is fair to say they were friends.

For good reasons, as people do, they decided to go out, let their hair down on the evening and then sadly through drink the events took place.

Mr Ruffell added that at one point he went against her back at the bar, touching her vaginal area over her clothes to the point where she had to wriggle free.

One of the bartenders reportedly advised the victim to take shelter in the female toilets while security removed Farquharson.

He texted a second colleague later that weekend, asking the colleague to tell his fiancee that he was with him should she call.

The tribunal chair, Judge Witold Pawlak, found all the charges proved and ordered that Farquharson be disbarred, and pay 2,100 in costs.