Latest Offenders Cambridge

Description

A former teaching assistant has been jailed for the sexual assault of a child under 13 Essex Police officers from the child abuse investigation teams (CAIT) arrested 25-year-old Michael Pena-Briggs shortly after an offence was reported to the force in March 2019. Following a complex investigation he was charged in October 2019 with sexual assault of a child under 13. Pena-Briggs, of The Grove in Cambridge, faced his first trial for the offence at Chelmsford Crown Court in May 2021 but was met with a hung jury. The retrial began last month where he was found guilty. It took less than 2 hours for the jury to reach the verdict. At the same court on Monday he was jailed for four years. He will also be on the Sex Offenders Register for life. Investigating officer for the case, Detective Sergeant Stuart Pryke, said: Offences of this kind will always be shocking and disturbing, particularly when that person is in a position of trust. This will undoubtedly be difficult news for the local community but please be assured that our teams and partners have safeguarded and supported all those involved in the investigation. The victim and their family have shown incredible strength and courage throughout this lengthy and complex case. Everything we do and all the hard work is for them, to make sure that they get the justice they deserve." The victims family have said: This has been a long journey but the police and the CPS have been unrelenting in their pursuit of justice. We are especially grateful to DS Pryke of Essex Police for his commitment and dedication, and to CARA, the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse, for their ongoing support. We hope that by achieving this significant result, other victims and their families will have the confidence to come forward and work with the police so that more offenders can be apprehended and more children protected.

Description

A man snared by online paedophile hunters posing as 12 and 13 year old girls has been jailed.

Paul White, 55, had been having sexualised communication with what he believed were giris, aged 12 and 13, but in fact were members of a group known as Innocent Voices.

Norwich Crown Court heard White had been communicating with them after setting up fake profiles on social media.

Duncan O'Donnell, prosecuting, said that between October 2021 and March this year White had been engaged in "sexualised chat" with the pair, asking them if they had boyfriends and if their breasts had developed yet.

He requested they send pictures and asked whether they wanted to see him - although never met up with them.

But White was then contacted by an adult decoy who said she was an adult woman who he met with at a pub in Upwell on March 13 this year.

He was then confronted by paedophile hunters who had passed on details to the police.

White had been in possession of an internet-enabled mobile phone which was in breach of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) imposed on him after previously being convicted for sexual offences in 2017.

White, of Dovecote Road, Upwell, near Wisbech appeared at court on Thursday (June 9) to be sentenced after having previously admitted four offences, including two charges of sexual communications with what he believed was a girl under-16.

He also admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order imposed in 2017 by attempting to communicate with under-16s and possessing a mobile phone without informing police.

Jailing him for 40 months Judge Katharine Moore said the spell of offending was "deeply concerning".

Judge Moore said White was a "dangerous offender" who was assessed as being a "high risk of causing serious sexual harm" to children.

Andrew Oliver, mitigating, said White, who deserved credit for plea, lost his father, who he described as his best friend, about 12 months ago which hit him "very hard".

He said that White needed help to "rewire his brain".

White was ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for 10 years while the case was adjourned until July 7 when a new sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) will be made.

Description

A 41-year-old man described as a fantasist and a monster has been found guilty of the murder of the schoolboy Rikki Neave, who was found strangled in woods near Peterborough nearly 28 years ago.

James Watson, of no fixed abode, was convicted by a jurys majority verdict at the Old Bailey in London of the 1994 murder after a DNA breakthrough in 2016 revealed that, as a 13-year-old, he had been in physical contact with the six-year-old boy on the day of his disappearance.

Watson, who has a long list of previous convictions including sexual assault evaded detection for more than two decades, changing his account of his interactions with Neave as evidence piled up against him.

The conviction brings to a close a cold case mystery in which Rikkis own mother, Ruth Neave, was acquitted of his murder in 1996, removing suspicion that had haunted her since she pleaded guilty to a litany of shocking child cruelty offences against the boy, of which the jury in her murder trial were unaware.

Speaking after the verdict, Neave described Watson as a monster and criticised the original investigation, saying police and social services totally ruined mine and my daughters lives.

saying police and social services totally ruined mine and my daughters lives.

She said: The only thing now is to close this chapter in my life and open a new one. I wonder what Rikki would be like today. Married, children, who knows? But this monster has taken that all from me and my daughters.

Rikkis sister Rochelle Neave, 30, hailed the verdict as a victory for the family who had campaigned for justice. He thought hed got away with it for that many years and thought we were just going to go away and roll under the table. We werent.

She remembered her brother as a cheeky and loving boy who would look after his sisters. Sheradyn Neave, the youngest of the siblings, who was a baby when Rikki died, added: I think we were let down by the police at the time, we were let down by social services, we were let down by everyone who was in our lives who was meant to care.

The jury deliberated for 36 hours and 31 minutes to convict Watson by a majority of 10 to two after an 11-week trial.

The judge, Mrs Justice McGowan, said Watson would be sentenced as if he were a teenager. That means he will receive a life sentence but the starting point for the minimum term will be 12 years. The defendant was not in court on Thursday but watched verdict on a video link.

The prosecution said he lured Rikki to woods near his home in Peterborough on 28 November 1994 and strangled him from behind with a ligature or anorak collar to fulfil a morbid fantasy he had told his mother about three days before.

He stripped Rikki and posed his naked body in a star shape for sexual gratification, deliberately exhibiting him near a childrens woodland den, jurors were told. Rikki was reported missing that evening by his mother and found the next day.

Watson obsessed over newspaper coverage of the killing, photocopying front-page stories at school. The next month he was interviewed as a witness by police after a person reported seeing him with Rikki on the nearby Welland estate. His lies went unchallenged as police wrongly focused on a theory that Neave killed her son and used a buggy to dump his body.

The mother of four was cleared of murder in 1996 but jailed for seven years after admitting child cruelty. The case was unsolved for more than 20 years until Watsons DNA was identified on Rikkis clothes, which had been recovered from a wheelie bin.

In a police interview in 2016, Watson attempted to explain the DNA presence by claiming he picked Rikki up to look at diggers through a hole in a fence. The prosecutor, John Price QC, said that was his really big mistake as police were able to prove the fence was not there in 1994.

After the verdict, the former assistant chief constable Paul Fullwood, who led the cold case, called Watson a fantasist, a dangerous individual, and a compulsive liar. He said: All the way through this, its been a monumental series of challenges. But, as far as were concerned, weve got the right person responsible for the dreadful, dreadful murder of that little boy Rikki Neave.

Hopefully we can bring some justice for his family and also make sure that we put a dangerous individual in prison.

Sentencing will take place on 9 May at the same court.

Description

A man who raped and sexually assaulted a schoolgirl over a five-year period has been jailed for 14 years.

Elton Townend-Jones, 51, of Church Road, Walpole St. Peter, Wisbech, began the sexual abuse in Cambridge in 2015 and this continued until 2020.

The offences only came to light when a relative of the girl saw something suspicious and called police, with Townend-Jones then arrested in June 2020.

In police interview he denied the offences and claimed he didnt know why the girl would accuse him of rape or sexual assault.

In his second interview, he answered no comment to all questions.

Townend-Jones stood trial at Cambridge Crown Court in February where jurors found him guilty of 11 counts. These were:

- Three counts of rape

- Two counts of assaulting a child under the age of 13 on at least 10 occasions

- One count of assaulting a child under the age of 13 on at least five occasions

- One count of assault by penetration on at least five occasions

- Three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 on at least five occasions

- One count of sexual activity with a child on at least five occasions

He was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to monitor any future offending and a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim, both indefinitely, and must serve two thirds of his 14-year sentence before being considered for release.

DC Susan Brown, who investigated, said: Townend-Jones horrific sexual abuse of his victim went undetected for years and I am pleased he has finally been brought to justice.

Regardless of when it happened, we will always take reports of sexual offences, including child sex abuse, incredibly seriously.

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.

The defendants abuse has had a huge impact on his victim and I hope she can now find some closure from this traumatic period of her life.

Description

A sex offender who invited a woman and her young son to stay at his home has been sent to back prison.

Robert Mills, of Burberry Court, Littleport, was told he has "blatantly ignored" the conditions of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by inviting the woman and her child into his home - without them knowing about his previous convictions.

Mills was found to have 5,879 indecent images of children stored at his home in Bassingbourn in 2017.

He was jailed for three years, given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), and made to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

The 48-year-old was found to have breached the conditions of his SHPO and Sex Offenders Register obligations at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday, March 17, and has been sent back to prison.

Mills began messaging the woman in the summer of 2021.

In September, the woman started regularly staying at Mills' home in Littleport.

But Mills had failed to tell the police that a woman and child were staying at his home - a breach of the SHPO - and he had not disclosed his previous offences.

The woman contacted police on September 22, 2021 when she discovered Mills' previous convictions.

He admitted to breaching the SHPO and failing to comply with the Sex Offenders Register requirements in court.

Mills was jailed for a further two years and four months.

DC Andrew McKeane, of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, has said that Mills hoped to hide his breach of the SHPO from police.

DC McKeane said: "Mills was fully aware of the obligations of his SHPO and the notification requirements but chose to blatantly ignore them in the hope police would not find out.

"Thankfully the woman was able to confirm to police that the child had at no point been left alone in his company."

DC McKeane added that the case highlights the importance of Sarah's Law - police guidance introduced following the murder of Sarah Payne, aged 8, by a convicted sex offender in 2000.

It signposts people to the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme which lets members of the public ask the police whether someone who has contact with children poses any risk.

DC McKeane said: "If youre starting a new relationship and have children, please contact police and make a disclosure application to ensure the person isnt posing a risk."

Description

Timothy Morris raped a student in 2018 and was finally caught last year A Cambridge man has been jailed after he was found guilty of three counts of rape and another of sexual assault. Timothy Morris, 27, was found guilty of the crimes at Peterborough Crown Court on March 11. Morris was found to have attacked a student in his home in Coleridge Road in the early hours of January 5, 2018. Despite the woman repeatedly telling him no, he raped her in his bedroom. Although a full investigation was carried out, a suspect was not identified. However, three years later on February 23, 2021, Morris met a woman he had spoken to on a dating site. They went for a walk in Cambridge and he sexually assaulted her in Ditton Meadows. Cambridgeshire Police arrested him after the incident. When his DNA was taken it was found to be a match for the DNA recovered from the 2018 attack. Morris denied all the charges against him. However, he was found guilty of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration at Peterborough Crown Court. He was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison. He was also handed an indefinite restraining order against his victims and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. DC Chemu Evans said: I would like to commend the survivors in this case for supporting what has been a long and hard investigation. Morris was a predator who saw opportunities in vulnerable women. Despite being told no he continued and its a clear representation of his male sexual entitlement. Throughout the investigation or court case, he has shown little remorse for his actions or the disgusting crimes he has committed. The case shows the value of forensic evidence and the effectiveness of our Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Description

A paedophile burglar who admitted sending sexually explicit pictures to a 14-year-old girl and stealing thousands of pounds of items from hospital during the pandemic, has been jailed for more than nine years. Michael Bourn, 27, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, attempted burglary and theft of a motor vehicle. He also admitted two counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child, two counts of attempting to incite a girl aged 14 to engage in sexual activity and one count of robbery, relating to a handbag snatch on June 22 last year. Peterborough Crown Court heard Bourn sent explicit pictures and had a sexual conversation via social media with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Bourn was first spotted on CCTV at North Cambridgeshire Hospital in Wisbech on May 28 last year. A tradesman was doing some work on the roof when he returned to his van and noticed power tools worth about 900 were missing. The CCTV footage showed a clear image of the suspects face and officers were able to identify Bourn. Just a week later, Bourn returned to the hospital, and this time stole a purse, phone and car keys from a worker who had left them in an area not usually accessed by the public. After noticing her keys were missing, she went outside to check on her car and noticed it was gone. Once again, CCTV caught Bourn in the act. Bourn visited the hospital twice more in the days that followed, taking a dongle and some cash. On one occasion, a night shift worker tending to an elderly patient noticed Bourn removing the window to one of the offices in an attempt to get in. She disturbed him and he ran away but the window had been completely removed. On both occasions, CCTV was recovered. He was sentenced to a total of nine years and one month in prison at Peterborough Crown Court on March 9. PC Peter Waite, who investigated, said: Bourn brazenly and shamelessly targeted hospital workers and staff who were working tirelessly to care for sick people during the pandemic. He continued to go back again and again, stealing thousands of pounds worth of items. Together with the robbery and engaging in sexual communication with a child, Bourns actions were absolutely despicable and I am glad justice has been done. Bourn will spend a significant period behind bars to reflect on the hurt he has caused.

Description

A man has been jailed for 20 years for child sexual offences described as "wicked in the extreme".

In December Matthew Dobie was found guilty at trial of two counts of raping a child and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 18 February for the offences, which involved a single victim and were committed several years ago.

Judge Julian Lambert told Dobie: "You are truly a monster."

The crimes committed by Dobie, 47, were reported to Avon and Somerset Police in 2020.

He was a former resident of South Gloucestershire before he moved to Cambridge and his treatment of his victim was described as "despicable".

The judge told Dobie: "The extent of the damage which you did is utterly numbing.

"The damage done is irreparable. There is no question but that you knew what you were doing was wrong and wicked in the extreme.

"You chose your own corrupt sexual pleasures and thought nothing of the ruination of a young life.

"Few words can properly describe the depth of you degeneracy, few words can do you justice. You are truly a monster."

'Courage' of victim

Investigating officer Det Con Melanie Downton praised the "immense bravery" of Dobie's victim.

"The defendant accepted no responsibility for his deplorable actions and I believe this sentence reflects both the serious and impactful nature of the offending and the fact that the perpetrator did everything in his power to escape accountability for his crimes," she said.

Suzie Butler, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS South West, said: "The victim showed immense courage in speaking out against the perpetrator of these awful crimes and supporting the prosecution.

"I am very pleased that we were able to deliver justice for the victim in this case. The sentence handed down is wholly appropriate given the degree of harm that the defendant has caused.

"We want every victim of sexual assault to have the confidence to come forward to report abuse, in the knowledge that support is available and that the police and CPS are committed to securing justice."

Dobie was handed a 20-year sentence with a further four years to be served on licence. He will be required to serve a minimum of two-thirds of his custodial sentence.

He was placed on the sex offenders register and made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Police said anyone who had been a victim of sexual abuse could contact The Bridge sexual assault referral centre for support.

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A St Neots sex offender has been jailed after breaching the terms of his order.

Robert Swinden, 46, wiped his internet history, declined to share information about his devices, and hid two bank cards from police.

He was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in 2019 with conditions to monitor his behaviour for 10 years.

As part of routine checks, officers visited his home on March 2, 2020 and inspected his mobile phone and home computer, Cambridgeshire Constabulary said.

Checks revealed there was no internet history on the phone, which breached the terms of his SHPO.

When asked to hand over all other devices that belonged to him, he refused twice, which was another breach of his order, and was arrested.

A search was carried out at his home where two bank cards were found which Swinden failed to tell police about, and thus breached his sex offender register notification requirements.

Swinden, of Russell Court, St Neots, was charged with two counts of breaching a SHPO and failing to comply with the sex offenders register.

He later pleaded guilty to the charges and, in committing these offences, breached a suspended sentence previously given to him.

Description

A sex offender was jailed for 16 months after being found with 76 of the most serious child abuse images.

Matthew Dunn, 24, was caught when police were told he had uploaded images of children.

Additional images were also uploaded by a third party to a Dropbox account linking back to Dunn.

DC Paul Baysting said:

“Dunn clearly didn’t learn his lesson following an initial conviction and continued downloading and distributing this horrendous material.”

In November police raided his home in Swaynes Lane, Comberton.

Two phones were seized and found to contain 377 indecent or prohibited images and videos of children. Of these, 76 were classed as category A – the most severe.

Failing to give officers access to his Dropbox account represented a breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) handed to Dunn in December 2016 when he was convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children.

He admitted distributing an indecent photo of a child, three counts of making an indecent photo of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child and breaching his SHPO.

On September 7 at Cambridge Crown Court, he was jailed.

Description

A former winner of the BBC Young Composer of the Year has been convicted of taking images of women from social media and uploading them to pornographic websites.

Alex Woolf, 26, downloaded clothed images of 15 women and added them to Reddit, asking people to paste their faces onto porn actresses' bodies.

He then posted these pictures on adult sites.

Woolf has been given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

At Thames Magistrates' Court on Monday, Woolf, of Cox's End in Over, Cambridgeshire, admitted 15 charges of sending messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing nature over a public electronic communications network.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said none of the original images were pornographic or indecent and all of the women were acquaintances of Woolf.

Woolf won the prestigious BBC Young Composer of the Year title in 2012.

One of his victims learned of the posts in January when an anonymous email warned her that her picture was on Reddit, the CPS said.

She received another email in March stating her picture was on a pornographic website and that Woolf was behind it.

The victim found other pictures and recognised one of the other women, who helped her track down and notify the others.

'Morally repugnant'

Woolf was ordered to undertake a 40-day rehabilitation programme, to do 40 sessions with a sex offender programme and 180 hours of unpaid work.

He must pay each of his victims £100 in compensation, as well as £85 in court costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

Woolf was ordered to delete all of the victims' images from his devices and was given an indefinite restraining order prohibiting contact with the women.

Varinder Hayre, district crown prosecutor at the CPS, said: "Woolf's behaviour is severely depraved and reprehensible... and has had a drastic impact on his victims.

"We will always look to prosecute the sexual exploitation of victims and this prosecution is a clear message that this morally repugnant action will not be tolerated."

Description

A convicted paedophile has been sent back to jail after exposing himself to a woman.

Stuart Minns, 37, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order following a string of child sexual abuse convictions in 2009 and 2019.

They included possessing hundreds of indecent images of children.

At about 9am on December 2, 2020, Minns exposed himself to a woman who was sitting in a parked car in Wisbech while her partner dropped their child at a nearby infant school.

It was reported that Minns continued to stare at the victim while she took a photograph of him.

Police were alerted and Minns was arrested that afternoon in Leverington after officers identified him from the picture.

In interview, Minns claimed he could not remember exposing himself but he later pleaded guilty to exposure.

Minns, of Staithe Road, Wisbech, was sentenced to one year in prison, extended for a year on licence, at Peterborough Crown Court on February 19.

Det Con Greg Homer-Ward said: "Minns is a prolific sex offender with eight previous convictions against his name.

"During this incident he randomly targeted a lone woman and made her feel incredibly uncomfortable for his own satisfaction.

"His behaviour was disturbing and I am pleased he has been brought to justice.

"I hope the sentence reflects how seriously this type of criminality is taken in Cambridgeshire."

Description

A Cambridge University poetry professor who had more than 2,000 child abuse images - including one of a baby - has walked free from court.

Professor Simon Jarvis, 53, was found with the vile images on various computers and in online accounts when his city home and college room were raided by the National Crime Agency in September, but a judge said he posed a 'low risk' to children.

Of the almost 2,000 indecent images found, 45 were in the most serious Category A. 

The 53-year-old was found with the vile images on various computers and in online accounts
Yahoo chat logs containing 'extremely graphic' child abuse fantasies and software allowing access to the Dark Web were also found on some of the four computers seized, the court heard.

Other images shows 'pubescent and pre-pubescent' girls as young as 10 being sexually abused, and one of a baby.

He also posed pictures at the lower category C on a page on the Tumblr microblogging website under a pseudonym, the court heard. 

Dressed in a smart grey suit the Gorley Putt Professor of Poetry broke down in tears as he heard his crimes being recounted at Cambridge Crown Court.

Jarvis pleaded guilty to four charges of making and two of distributing indecent images of children, five charges of possessing prohibited images and one of possessing extreme pornography, at Friday's hearing.

Jarvis, 53, was found with the vile images on various computers and in online accounts when his city home and college room were raided

Sentencing him, Judge David Farrell QC said: 'You are an intelligent man, a professor of English literature at the University of Cambridge.

'As such, in my judgment, you must have know that by accessing and viewing indecent images of children you were indirectly encouraging the abuse of children.

'You were looking at these images for your own perverted sexual gratification.'

Description

Convicted child sex offender allegedly breaks SOPO and is bailed to live next to primary school.

A convicted child sex offender leers at a young girl after he was bailed to live next to a primary school.

Matthew Peacock has convictions for causing a child to be involved in sexual activity, and making indecent photos of a child.

As part of his sentence he was given a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO), which he was arrested on suspicion of breaching last month.

Police bailed him to a house overlooking the playground and fields of 302-pupil Melbourn primary in Cambridgeshire.

On Friday children were playing just ten metres from his garden fence.

A parent said: It beggars belief. Surely there are more sensible places to put people? Did no one look at a map?

This is nothing but gross incompetence and shows how bungling our police and courts are.

The former wildlife park worker pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of a child after contacting a girl on Facebook.

He also admitted causing or inciting a girl under 16 to be involved in sexual activity.

At Cambridge crown court he got a two-year community order and was put on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

He was also given the indefinite SOPO, which police are now investigating if he breached.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said the house was considered a suitable location after a risk assessment.

It added: Strict guidelines cover the management of registered sex offenders. We are confident they have been applied.

The school did not comment.

Description

Prosecutors in the case of a paedophile who used the internet to groom under-age girls for sex are considering an appeal to try and increase his three-year jail sentence.Michael Wheeler, 36, from Cambridge, pleaded guilty to 11 sex offences against young girls.

Detectives believe Wheeler deliberately exploited the current law on sentencing by waiting until the girls were 13 before having sex with them so he could avoid being jailed for life if caught.

But a Crown Prosecution Service spokesman has told the BBC they will be seeking advice from counsel before deciding whether to appeal because the sentence was too lenient.

Wheeler was told by Judge Philip Curl, passing sentence at Norwich Crown Court, he would be freed on licence after serving half his sentence providing he behaved well.

Detectives said he had been in custody since his arrest in October 2002 so would probably be released early next summer.

"He was prepared to play the long game, gain her trust and then abuse her" John Farmer Prosecution.

Wheeler, who will remain on the Sex Offenders' Register for life, abused two 13-year-old friends after making contact with them through an internet chat room.

The electronics engineer had contacted the first girl through the internet when she was 11, and then "groomed her" for two years, buying her presents and taking her to the cinema.

'Dark cloud'

John Farmer, prosecuting, told the court: "This case concerns a mature man who is a dangerous paedophile who initially made contact with a vulnerable girl through the internet chat rooms.

"He was prepared to play the long game, gain her trust and then abuse her.

"He gave the girl gifts and more cruelly, he spotted that she presented a loveless character and he exploited that to make her emotionally dependent upon him.

"You can go to jail for a much longer time if you burgle a house or take cars or if you are involved in drugs" Michele Elliot, Kidscape.

"He manipulated her to such a degree of dependence that she was prepared to lie to her parents."

The mother of one of the girls said the length of sentence was "disgusting" because her daughter would have to live with it for the "rest of her life" and the whole family was under a "dark cloud".

She said realising "what he'd done to her was wrong" had left a deep scar on the girl.

She said she could only imagine her daughter had been "brain-washed" by Wheeler.

Wheeler admitted five counts of having unlawful sex with the girls and six counts of indecently assaulting them.

Karim Khalil QC said, in mitigation, that Wheeler had believed the first girl to be 16 when he first made contact with her.

Mr Khalil said the girls had made a number of allegations, of which Wheeler had not been convicted and which he denied.

He added: "Mr Wheeler feels terrible, disgusted and ashamed. He accepts what he has done was wrong."

Judge Philip Curl made it clear the girls had been groomed and the offences were extremely serious.

Police believe Wheeler deliberately waited until the girls were 13.

Discrepancy highlighted

The maximum sentence for unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 is life.

The maximum sentence for sex with a girl over 13 is two years.

Judge Curl pointed out that senior judges had already highlighted this discrepancy - and the government is expected to make changes to the law later this year.

The charity Kidscape has been lobbying for the law to be changed.

Spokeswoman Michele Elliot said the sentence was ludicrous.

"You can go to jail for a much longer time if you burgle a house or take cars or if you are involved in drugs.

"Next to murder, this sort of crime is the worst that you can do."

'Sexual problems'

Detective Inspector Neil Smith, who led the investigation, told BBC News Wheeler posed a significant danger to young girls.

"He knew the audience he was going to target and if we hadn't arrested him he would be continuing to offend now.

"Wheeler preyed on their vulnerability. He would talk to them about their sexual problems, about problems they had with boyfriends and with their parents.

"He knew how vulnerable these girls would be."