Latest Offenders Brixham

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Derek Ross Hodder has been convicted of 33 offences

A martial arts instructor from Brixham has been found guilty of a 30-year campaign of sexual abuse against girls attending his club. Derek Hodder, known as Ross Hodder, raped and indecently assaulted nine girls aged between 10 and 17.

He groomed, psychological manipulated and abused a succession of young and vulnerable victims. He used his involvement with the martial arts club as a way to get close to the girls, often buying them gifts or cannabis and telling them it was their 'secret'.

Much of the offending started with him giving the girls massages. It progressed to intimate touching and sex at his house, in his Renault Laguna car or the back of his van. Hodder's victims, now adult women, described how he would make his behaviour seem 'normal' and they had been too afraid to stop him.

At the end of a seven-week trial at Exeter Crown Court, Hodder, aged 65, of Garlic Rea, Brixham, was convicted of 33 out of 37 offences of rape, indecent assault, sexual activity with a child and indecency with a child.

The jury took more than 12 hours considering verdicts. A second defendant, Leslie Coldrick, aged 68, of Paignton, was found not guilty of two offences of rape and one of indecency with a child and walked free from court.

Judge Timothy Rose told Hodder he would be going to prison when he returned to court for sentence in July. He adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and consideration of dangerousness. Hodder, who suffers from ill-health, was remanded in custody.

The defendant maintained his innocence throughout the trial saying his victims were fantasists who had made up the claims of underage sexual activity. He admitted having consensual sex with three of the girls when they were 16, 17 and 18.

The trial was told the abuse happened between 1986 and 2018 and the police investigation started in 2018 when a 17-year-old girl said Hodder had raped her.

A further eight women then came forward and made similar claims.

Many of his victims said they came into contact with Hodder through the martial arts club he ran. Some of the girls told how the initial contact was through massages or Shiatsu sessions which became sexual when he removed their clothing.

Judge Rose said the offending appeared to show a pattern of Hodder moving from one child to the next. They often went to his club to boost their confidence but instead were manipulated, groped and abused by the domineering Hodder.

One woman said he had given her cannabis and boasted about how good he was at massages. She had felt uncomfortable as his hands wandered but thought it must have been an 'adult thing'. The next massage session he placed candles and incense around the room and touched her breasts. His contact then progressed to sex but she had felt too panicked and confused to stop him.

Another witness said Hodder complemented her on how pretty she was when she was 13 and this became sexual when she was 14. She now realised she had been groomed but at the time Hodder had made it feel 'normal'. Another young girl who went to his martial arts club said Hodder had touched her breasts when she was 15 and told her she did not have to be ashamed of enjoying it.

Other alleged victims described Hodder as controlling and having 'a hold' over them. He would sulk if he did not get enough attention from them and prey on their vulnerabilities. "He had to have what he wanted," said one. Another said he would boast about how tough he was and how everyone was scared of him.

A previous trial in 2021 had to be abandoned after Hodder suffered heart problems part of the way through. His issues persisted during the latest trial and there were some delays while he received medical treatment at hospital.

Judge Rose thanked the jury for their patience and hard work in the long case. Hodder will be sentenced on July 22.

Judge Rose said: "There is no other possible outcome of me granting bail following these convictions. I don't have any intention of releasing you as I've got no confidence in how you'll react to your guilty verdicts."

Lisa Cassidy, district crown prosecutor, said after the case: I welcome the conviction of Derek Hodder who committed appalling offences against young victims.

His work as a martial arts coach gave him access to young children and he exploited this over many years. He showed a clear pattern of abuse, grooming young girls and encouraging them to distance themselves from the adults in their lives.

I would like to commend and thank the victims for their strength in coming forward to support this prosecution and in telling what happened to them.

The CPS worked closely alongside our partners in the police to build the strongest possible case against Hodder to ensure he was held responsible for these devastating crimes.

The CPS is committed to delivering justice for the victims of rape and sexual assault. We want every victim to have the confidence that their case will be fully investigated by the police and that, in every case where our legal tests are met, the Crown Prosecution Service will charge and prosecute

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A former engineer from Brixham has been jailed for the horrific sexual abuse of a child.

David McVicker, 60, subjected the girl to multiple assaults, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He denied six allegations against a child under 13, but was convicted by a jury on all counts earlier this month.

The paedophile returned to court on Friday [January 21] and was jailed for 10 years.

Judge Timothy Rose said: "You did it, you kept doing it and you abused the victim on repeated occasions."

The trial was told police became involved after the young victim told her mother what had happened.

In a victim statement, the mother said the child had been left with emotional trauma as a result.

Ms Heather Hope, mitigating, said McVicker had worked hard all his life and never expected to be going to prison at his age.

"It is his first time in custody and it has been difficult," she said about his time on remand.

Judge Rose ordered McVicker be put on the sex offenders register and be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

"You have committed serious offences of an extremely serious character," the judge told McVicker."The sentence has to reflect that."

McVicker must serve two thirds of his sentence before release.

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A teenager has been jailed for sexually abusing children at the nursery where he worked.

Jayden McCarthy, 18, will serve 11 years and six months with an extended licence of three years, a judge at Exeter Crown Court ruled.

McCarthy was found guilty of one charge of rape and 13 of sexual assault at the nursery in Torbay by a jury in May.

He was also found guilty of two counts of raping a boy in a separate incident in 2014.

An investigation was launched when a child at the nursery McCarthy worked at told her parents that he had sexually assaulted her.

At McCarthy's trial at Exeter Crown Court the jury were shown 13 CCTV clips taken in July 2019 of him touching eight children inappropriately.

He had been taken on as an apprentice in March 2019 following an interview process and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

The father of one of the victims told the court that his family had been through the "fires of hell" over the last two years, suffered from anxiety and depression and that McCarthy had "broken" them.

'Emotionally challenging'

Judge David Evans said McCarthy, who was 16 at the time of the offences, posed a high level of risk given he could "barely contain" his sexual impulses while working at the nursery.

"You were placed in a specific position of trust and you exploited that situation," he told him.

"It seems to me that sexual offending may be in your nature and a great deal of work may be needed to work it out," the judge added.

Det Ch Insp James Stock, from the Public Protection Unit at Devon and Cornwall Police, said it had been an "emotionally challenging and incredibly complex case".

An independent review into McCarthy's abuse, commissioned by Torbay's Safeguarding Partnership, is now due to be completed.