Latest Offenders Cambridge

Description

A man with more than 1,000 indecent images of children on his phone told a court an unnamed drug dealer had uploaded them.

Finlay Moorcroft, 23, of High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire, was arrested last year after the pictures were linked to his email address.

Det Sgt Julia Boon, of Cambridgeshire Police, described the material as "abhorrent examples of child abuse".

Moorcroft admitted six counts of making indecent images of children and was jailed for two years and two months at Peterborough Crown Court.

The hearing was told how when officers searched Moorcroft's home they seized two mobile phones.

One had 1,179 indecent images of children and one video.

More than 100 of the images and the video were classed as category A – the most severe.

The second phone was too damaged to retrieve any information.

Moorcroft claimed a drug dealer had taken his phone on several occasions and said the dealer must have uploaded the images.

He refused to name the person and further investigation found the phone had been near Moorcroft's home when some of the images were downloaded.

Moorcroft was arrested again after police received further information relating to another device which contained a further 50 indecent images of children.

He was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Det Sgt Julia Boon added: "Moorcroft is a persistent offender who clearly didn't change his behaviour after he was arrested on the first occasion.

"The images and video found on his devices were abhorrent examples of child abuse.

"I'm pleased he has now been brought to justice.

"Protecting children is one of our top priorities. We will continue to work tirelessly to do all we can to prosecute those who prey on them."

Description

A rapist who subjected his wife to decades of abuse before trying to murder her has been jailed for 27 years.

Trevor Smith, 61, of South Brink, Wisbech, habitually raped, beat and controlled the victim throughout their 40-year relationship.

Officers were called to their home in the early hours of 22 January last year.

They discovered the victim had up to 20 puncture wounds to her neck and arms after being stabbed by Smith in an unprovoked attack.

Smith had approached her from behind in the kitchen, grabbed her by her T-shirt and attacked her with a knife.

The victim had managed to block Smith trying to slash her throat and three family members, who had heard her screams, managed to pull him off.

As they pinned him to the ground waiting for police to arrive, Smith could be heard saying he was “trying to finish her off”.

While the victim was being treated for her injuries, she said Smith had been raping her, usually weekly, for years.

When their now adult children were young, he would order her into a caravan where he would sexually assault her.

He would say, “you know it won’t take long, just get it done then you can get back to them.”

Due to Smith’s controlling behaviour, the victim never sought medical help for her injuries and was sometimes in pain for weeks.

In a bid to stop the victim and their children leaving the home, he would bolt the door closed and if they went out, he followed them.

Smith controlled all the finances, barred the victim from owning her own phone and any money they had was spent on him, leaving the victim sometimes relying on food parcels.

Following a trial last September, Smith was found guilty of attempted murder, six counts of rape, attempted rape, three counts of assault by penetration, two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, assault by beating and two counts of child cruelty.

He appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on 12 June where he was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

DC Chris Herring, who investigated, said:

“Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the woman at the heart of this case who was subjected to the most appalling abuse for so many years, yet she has shown incredible strength in supporting the investigation all the way through.

“Smith arrogantly thought he would always get away with carrying out this cruel, monstrous behaviour for so long. I welcome this sentence, and I hope this case sends a clear message to those who commit violent and sexual offences - we will do all we can to bring them before the courts.

“It can be hard for victims to know what to do when incidents happen behind closed doors, but I must stress there is help and support available.

“I would encourage anyone who thinks they might’ve been a victim of a sexual offence to contact us on 101 or via web chat on the force website. We take all reports of sexual offences very seriously.

“We have a dedicated team of specially trained officers ready to investigate allegations promptly, fully and professionally, and a network of partnership agencies and support services to offer assistance and support.”

Description

A convicted paedophile has been jailed after a police check of his mobile phone revealed he had accessed indecent images of children.

Simon Wilders, 42, was visited at his home address on 1 December 2024 by specialist officers who manage sexual offenders.

Following two previous convictions for online offences involving children, Wilders was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) at Cambridge Crown Court in April 2021.

The SHPO stated he must not use any device capable of accessing the internet unless it had the capacity to retain and display the history of internet use.

During the visit, Wilders confessed to officers that he had wiped his mobile phone, resetting it to factory settings, and therefore deleted his internet search history, breaching the SHPO.

Police installed monitoring software on Wilders’ mobile phone following this visit, as he was perceived to be a high-risk offender.

A week later, the monitoring software notified officers that Wilder had viewed an indecent video of a child in the early hours of 7 December 2024.

The video Wilder viewed was deemed to be category A, the most serious classification of child indecent images or videos.

Further checks of Wilders’ phone showed that he had been using two aliases in his online activity, further breaching his Sexual Offences Notification requirements by not registering these as alias names with police.

Wilders, of Victoria Road, Cambridge, was arrested on 19 December 2024 and on Friday (11 April) at Huntingdon Law Courts, was jailed for one year and seven months after pleading guilty to making an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and a new SHPO was made for ten years, to monitor any future offending.

Description

A high-risk sex offender who groomed and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl has been jailed as part of a 17 year extended sentence.

Paul Bryant, 43, bought sex toys to abuse the youngster and encouraged her to go on the contraceptive pill as part of calculating and manipulative behaviour.

Kings Lynn Crown Court was told his behaviour was part of a plan to coerce the girl into sexual activity over a number of weeks.

Marc Brown, prosecuting, said it was clear and obvious grooming and that it had included additional degradation of the girl who he had nicknamed tiny p****.

There was a significant degree of pre-planning formulated at least six weeks before the offences that constituted a clear plan for sex, he added.

Bryant, who lived in south Norfolk at the time of the offences, had denied the charges but was found guilty of assault by penetration of a child under 13 and two counts of making indecent images of children following a trial.

The search history of his phone, seized when he was arrested in March 2024, showed he had trawled for films of young girls using terms including petite sweetie and child model parties.

In a statement read in court the south Norfolk girl said she suffered flashbacks and a sense of feeling sick and disgusted.

She said she had tried to distract herself while he was abusing her by imaging hard maths sums.

Her mother added that his actions had a significant impact and she had lost her childhood innocence.

Sentencing Bryant, from Haddenham, near Ely, to an extended sentence made up of 11 years in prison and a further six years on licence, Judge Andrew Shaw told him: There is no doubt in my mind this was calculating and manipulative.

I do not recognise any mitigating features. There is simply no remorse here.

Imposing a lifetime sexual harm prevention order, he said he continued to pose a high risk to children.

Investigating officer, DC Donna Read said: I would like to commend the bravery of our victim who came forward and enabled police to secure justice against Bryant.

I hope that this lengthy sentence provides some comfort to them and allows them to begin rebuilding their lives, with him behind bars for the foreseeable future.

Description

A sex offender has been hounded out of Stoke-on-Trent. Warren Potts has now started a new life in Cambridgeshire after leaving The Potteries.

It comes after the 52-year-old's past - when he was jailed for 15 years in 2011 for a string of serious sexual offences - became known in the Stoke-on-Trent community where he lived. It followed Potts failing to inform police that he had gone on holiday to Spain and not registering his new passport within three days of receiving it.

Now Potts - who is on the Sex Offenders' Register for life - has pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to comply with his notification requirements. He has been handed an 18-month community order with a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a £249 court bill.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard police were informed that Potts had travelled to Alicante in September.

Prosecutor Suzanne Swindail said: "The information was checked with passport officers and he was issued with a passport on July 18. On September 13 he travelled to Alicante from Birmingham. He had not registered his passport within three days of receiving it. He had not notified the police of travel. He must notify them at least seven days before leaving the country."

In his police interview Potts said failing to register the passport was a mistake. He had it for two months and forgot to register it.

Karen Wright, mitigating, said Potts and his partner went on holiday to celebrate his birthday. The couple hope to marry next month and Potts cares for his partner.

Miss Wright added: "On his return he was made aware he should have notified the police. He and his partner have moved to Cambridgeshire. When these issues came to light the neighbours got hold of it and they were put under horrendous scrutiny. They were harassed and had an awful lot of issues."

Description

A paedophile who walked into a Sawtry home and sexually assaulted a young girl has been jailed.

Christopher Woods, 39, was captured on CCTV trying door handles in the early hours of 23 April last year.

Woods, who was carrying a pint glass, managed to get into the back garden of the victim’s home before entering the property.

The victim had awoken and decided to go downstairs where Wood spoke to her and then assaulted her.

Video doorbell footage captured him entering the garden and leaving roughly 40 minutes later.

The following day the girl told her mother and she contacted police.

When officers attended, they found the pint glass in the garden. Forensic tests revealed Woods’ fingerprints, and he was arrested.

Woods, of Garner Court, Huntingdon, denied assaulting a girl under 13 by touching and breaching an existing Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was found guilty of both counts following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court last month.

Yesterday (11 December) at the same court he was jailed for four years and six months.

Description

A Cambridge man who sent a “13-year-old-girl” explicit photos and said he wanted to have sex with her has been jailed.

Natalya Draven, 50, was challenged by an online child activist group in St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, at about 8pm on 20 July, 2022.

The group had arranged to meet with Draven after engaging with him for several months on Facebook Messenger using the guise of a teenage girl.

Officers arrived after Draven called 999 and said the group had assaulted him.

Draven, who was using the name Fane Aro Cardei in chats with the “girl”, said he wished to be her boyfriend and wanted to have sex with her. He also sent explicit photos despite the decoy saying from the outset she was 13. He also described her as “stunningly beautiful”.

In 285 screenshots that showed contact between the pair between May and July, Draven spoke about meeting up and booking a hotel room for them both to spend time together so they could have sex.

Draven was also arrested for breaching his Sex Offenders Register notification requirements after not telling police within three days of registering the name Fane Aro Cardei.

After his arrest when his mobile phone and laptop were examined, an indecent video of a child was found on the phone.

Draven, of Mill Road, Cambridge, was jailed for two years and seven months on Friday (22 November) at Cambridge Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and failure to comply with Sex Offenders Register notification requirements. He was also found guilty of one count of making indecent images of children.

Det Con Andrew McKeane said: “Draven brazenly continued to talk to the decoy and sent explicit photos of himself, despite being told she was 13-years-old.

“We will do everything in our power to bring those who groom, or attempt to groom, children to court and I am pleased Draven has now faced justice.”

Description

A convicted paedophile has gone on the run and failed to turn up for his sentencing, police have said.

Hilmi Kisacik was convicted of sexual offences after speaking with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl on Facebook Messenger in April.

The person was in fact a decoy from an online child activist group, which arrived at his home in Fore Hill, Ely, to confront him later that month.

The 44-year-old was convicted and sentenced in his absence at Cambridge Crown Court and officers have issued a warrant for his arrest.

Kisacik pleaded not guilty to the charges in May, but he failed to turn up to a preliminary hearing in August.

He was due to stand trial on Thursday, but was convicted in his absence of two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to cause or incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.

He was given a custodial sentence of two years and eight months on Friday.

PC Shane O’Brien said: "Although Kisacik didn’t speak to a real 14-year-old girl, the intent to incite a child to engage in sexually activity was still there.

"Protecting children from paedophiles is a force priority and I would urge anyone who knows of this man's whereabouts to contact police."

Description

A former primary school teacher and scout leader has been jailed after having a sexual conversation with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.  

Samuel Robinson, 27, made contact with the person, who turned out to be a decoy from an online child activist group, through social media chat platforms between April 7 and April 11, 2023. 

The decoy repeatedly told Robinson they were 13 but he continued with the sexual conversation. 

Robinson was arrested after the activist group visited his home on the evening of April 11. 

His electronic devices were seized, and examination of his Snapchat account found he had also communicated with a 15-year-old girl between May 2021 and June 2022. 

The conversation was sexual, and Robinson offered to send inappropriate pictures of himself. 

Robinson, of Butt Lane, Milton, appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (October 2) and was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.  

He entered guilty pleas to engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity. 

DC Caroline Murphy from Cambridgeshire Police has clarified the offences had no connection with Robinson’s teaching or his role as a scout leader. 

She said: “Robinson was well aware of the obligation we all have to protecting young people so to contact what he believed were children in this way and engage them in grossly inappropriate conversation was appalling. 

“This case shows the seriousness with which we take protecting children from harm.” 

Description

Nigel Reeson, 58, began sexually assaulting the young girl in 1994, with the abuse taking place on regular occasions until the early 2000s.

Cambs police said Reeson sexually touched the girl on multiple occasions, including one instance when he got into a bath with her.

In 2010, Reeson sexually assaulted another girl at her home.

A force spokesperson explained: “Last year the victims reported what had happened and Reeson was arrested at his home in Abbots Drive, Crowland, near Peterborough.

“He admitted six counts of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 14, inciting a girl under 16 years of age to commit an act of gross indecency and assaulting a girl by touching.”

On Friday, July 26, at Cambridge Crown Court he was jailed for three years and eight months.

DC Anna-Mae Dawson commented: “Reeson subjected the first victim to a prolonged period of awful abuse, before assaulting another girl.

“I’d like to commend the victims for the strength they showed in reporting what had happened. Once again, this case shows that time is not a barrier to bringing perpetrators of abuse to justice. If you’ve been a victim of abuse, I’d encourage you to report what happened.”

Description

A paedophile who had a mobile phone containing 140 indecent images of children has begun a 16-month jail term.

Police said Lee Courtney, 33, of North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, had thought he could "hide" the phone from them.

Courtney was jailed by a judge at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday after admitting a number of offences, a court official said.

He will remain on the sex offenders register until January 2031, police say.

Cambridgeshire Police said Courtney had been given a suspended prison sentence in January 2021, and placed on the sex offenders register, after being convicted of "making indecent images" of children.

They said officers suspected Courtney had not notified them of two email accounts and was in breach of sex offender register notification requirements.

Officers had travelled to arrest him in on 18 March - and found the mobile.

'Lesson'

Courtney had been sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on 20 June after admitting breaching a sexual harm prevention order, failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements, and making indecent photographs of a child, the court officials said.

He would stay on the sex offenders register until January 2031 and be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until January 2036, the official added.

“Despite having a suspended sentence and being aware of his sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements, Courtney reoffended and tried to lie about a mobile phone he thought he could hide from us," said PC Natasha Alwin.

“He clearly has not learnt his lesson."

Description

A man has been jailed after he was convicted of a number of offences including sexual assault by strangulation and possession of indecent images.

Mark Wilson, aged 32, of Gaul Road, March, Cambridgeshire was jailed for three years following a hearing at Norwich Crown Court on Friday 10 May 2024.

He was also made subject to restraining orders against his two victims and issued with a sexual harm prevention order.

Wilson had previously admitted to two counts of sexual assault by strangulation, one count of sexual assault, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image, and three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

Between September 2016 and the end of 2017 in Thetford Wilson twice strangled a teenage girl, on one occasion to the point where she lost consciousness and kept passing out.

He also attempted to indecently touch another girl.

An investigation was launched and his devices, a mobile phone and a laptop, were seized.

Analysis revealed they contained category A, B, and C videos and still images which were indecent. 

In a statement read to the court one of Wilson’s victims described how she was still feeling the effects of the trauma she had experienced.

She detailed how she could not sleep, had become depressed, and continue to struggle with the emotional aftermath.

In her statement she described his “seemingly blasé attitude to when it came to committing sexual offences against young women”, adding: “The nightmare of what you did remains fresh in my mind.”

Description

A paedophile who groomed a teenage boy to take part in sexual acts with his own brother has been jailed.

Leon Richardson, of Mill Road, Cambridge, began speaking to the schoolboy through social media on 10 October.

The teenager replied to Richardson and the messages started off innocent, but after a few days became sexual.

Richardson, 22, sent sexually explicit images and videos of himself to the boy and asked him to do the same, to which the boy obliged.

He also persuaded the boy to take part in sexual acts with his own brother, who was younger than him. These acts were recorded and sent to Richardson.

Richardson went on to request to meet the teenager under the guise of teaching him to play the guitar.

The sexual messages continued for a few months, until 29 December, but were found after the boy’s parents checked his phone after he had become withdrawn and secretive with the device.

After realising the conversations had been discovered Richardson visited Parkside Police Station, in Cambridge, and admitted the offences.

In police interview Richardson again admitted the crimes and said he wanted help.

At Cambridge Crown Court on 29 January, Richardson admitted charges including:

• Engaging in sexual communication with a child
• Causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity
• Causing or inciting a boy under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity
• Causing a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity 

He was sentenced at the same court today (4 April) where he was handed five years and four months in prison, with an extra three years on licence

Richardson was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), to monitor future offending, which was ordered to run indefinitely. He must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A man who repeatedly exposed himself to girls in South Cambridgeshire has been jailed.

Patrick Connors, 22, approached five different girls aged between 13 and 17 June last year, in Sawston, Arbury and Great Shelford.

He drove next to them and asked for directions before indecently exposing himself.

Connors was arrested on 19 June and made no comment in interview but has since pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent exposure and one count of outraging public decency.

Yesterday (11 March) at Cambridge Crown Court, Connors, of Carshalton Road, Banstead, Surrey, was jailed for three and a half years.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Description

A paedophile who abused two young girls and paid almost 5,000 for adults to abuse other children around the world has been jailed.

Nathan Lovell, 33, has been locked up for 15 years at Cambridge Crown Court

When officers arrested him, indecent images of children were discovered on his phone, including 1226 category C images or videos, 18 category B images or videos and 14 category A the most severe.

Officers also discovered screen recordings where Lovell was taking part in online conversations directing and paying for children to be abused by other adults.

In one of the recordings Lovell could be seen on the front-facing camera. In another of the conversations, he promised a puppy as payment to an adult about to abuse a young girl.

Officers carried out further enquiries with social media companies, which revealed further instances of Lovell paying for child sex abuse online. In total, he spent about 4,800 in this way.

Lovell, of Opportune Road, Wisbech, was charged with 18 counts in total, including:

• Four counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13 by touching
• Three counts of making indecent images or videos of children
• 11 counts of arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13

He pleaded guilty to the three indecent image charges at his first court hearing but denied the others.

However, after an eight-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court in December, jurors found him guilty by unanimous verdict on all 15 other charges.

Lovell was sentenced at the same court on Monday (19 February) where he was handed a total of 15 years in prison, with an extended four years on licence.

Passing sentence, Judge Mark Bishop said Lovell posed a significant risk to children and there was an unpredictability to his future behaviour.

A restraining order prohibiting Lovell from contacting the two sexual assault victims was also put in place for 25 years, together with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for the same timeframe to monitor any future offending. He must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

DC Ollie Plant, from the forces Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), said: Our thoughts are with the two young girls targeted by Lovell in the most horrific of ways, and his other victims who were targeted online.

We are pleased he has now been brought to justice and hope the sentence gives his victims and their families some closure from this traumatic period in their lives.

What Lovell did in paying other adults to abuse children across the world will no doubt be shocking to many. A child is victimised when an indecent image is taken and every time it is viewed or shared.

Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.