Latest Offenders Cambridgeshire

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A man who distributed sexual images of children has been jailed for two years and four months.

Mark Barnes, 43, was found with various mobile phones when police visited his home in of Wallers Close, Great Chishill, near Royston, on January 11, 2024.  

This breached a court order from January 2014 when he was registered as a sex offender.

The phones and tablets revealed he had distributed 14 category A (the most severe), five category B and 25 category C, indecent photographs of children between July 2022 and March 2023.

He had also made more than 2,000 indecent photographs of children: 628 category A images, 496 category B and 1163 category C.

He claimed he was borrowing one phone from his neighbour, but police found another phone containing sexual images in a suitcase under a bed.

Barnes appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday (4 November) and admitted making and distributing indecent photographs of children, failing to comply with the Sex Offenders Register and breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

He was jailed and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), banning him from owning any device on which he can access the internet.

He was also barred from using any remote storage devices, including cloud storage and will have mandatory notification requirements indefinitely.

All the devices recovered by the police have been destroyed.

DC Andrew McKeane said:

“Barnes was fully aware his actions were in breach of his SHPO but he chose to ignore it.

“He showed a blatant disregard for the law and lied about owning the phones and tablets to protect himself.”

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A convicted rapist threatened to kill a man just hours after being released from prison.

Jason O’Dell, who had just served a nine-year sentence for rape, turned up at a family member’s home in Longstanton at about 5.30pm on 17 February this year.

After the victim showed him into the kitchen, O’Dell asked for money to help him “get back on his feet”.

The victim refused, citing abusive letters he had received from O’Dell while he was in prison.

This enraged O’Dell, who shouted, “you are disrespecting me, who do you think you are?”.

He then grabbed a six-inch knife from a block and pinned the victim against the worktop, threatening to “end him.”

The victim, fearing for his life, pleaded with O’Dell to put the knife down and offered to talk about money.

O’Dell refused and pressed the knife harder into the victim’s side, repeating his threats.

A struggle between the two ensued, during which the victim managed to wrestle the knife from O’Dell’s grip.

The victim managed to shout out to another household member to call the police and managed to get O’Dell out of this home.

O’Dell was arrested a few hours later in Cambridge and was recalled to prison.

He initially denied the charges but later pleaded guilty to threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a private place and making threats to kill.

O’Dell was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday (30 October) to three years and ten months in prison.

DC Samuel Andrews, who investigated, said:

“O’Dell’s actions caused considerable fear and distress for the victim, in his own home.

“O’Dell is clearly a dangerous individual who has a history of offending and I hope the fact he’s back behind bars provides reassurance to those affected by crimes.”

Description

A judge described a paedophile making sexual advances to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy as “gratuitous self-indulgence”. 

James Brooking, 30, was actually speaking to an undercover officer on the social media platform Fabguys on 3 July when he asked the decoy for their mobile phone number.

Once they had exchanged numbers, Brooking began asking the ‘boy’ for inappropriate photos of himself and turned the conversation sexual.

Brooking also said he wanted to see the ‘boy’ in his school uniform, to meet up and also sent inappropriate photos of himself. 

The contact between Brooking and the undercover officer ended on 10 July and Brooking was arrested on 14 July at an address with a child he had failed to tell police about. 

Brooking was convicted in 2014 of child sex offences and given specific requirements to alert police of new online usernames and to notify police if he was staying at an address for 12 hours or more where a child lived.

Brooking had failed to notify officers of any of this.  

On Friday (24 October), at Cambridge Crown Court, Brooking, of Upwood Road, Ramsey, was jailed for eight years having pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, arrange facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and four counts of failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements.

Judge Andrew Hurst described Brooking’s offending as “highly sexualised” and “gratuitous self-indulgence”.

He also said Brooking was “out of control” with his urges, had “learnt nothing” from his previous conviction and did not have “the courage or conviction to acknowledge” he had an interest in children.” 

PC Emily Heriot, who investigated, said:

"Brooking displayed a disguised compliance to his requirements but the truth has caught up with him. 

“We will do everything we can do to put those who intend to harm children in front of the courts so they can face justice.”

Description

A registered sex offender flouted a court order by having software on his phone which wiped his internet history.

Adrian Miles, 58, was visited by officers at his home in Cherry Court, Cambourne, on 1 February 2024.

The officers found he had installed a data cleaning app and deleted monitoring software on his phone.

He had also not informed officers about an Amazon cloud storage account.

All of this put Miles in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order handed down by Exeter Crown Court in May 2022 following a conviction for making indecent images of children. 

On Tuesday (2 September) at Huntingdon Law Courts, Miles was jailed for 20 months, having pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

DC Paul Evans, from the force’s management of sexual and violent offenders department, said:

“Miles was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which imposed clear restrictions designed to safeguard the public. His breaches demonstrated a disregard for the legal boundaries set by the court.

“The fact he’s been jailed reflects the gravity of the offences and the importance of upholding protective measures for the safety of others." 

Description

A sex offender breached a strict court order by speaking to three young girls - while performing an indecent act in his car.

Max Simpkins pulled up alongside them in his blue Mini Cooper and tried to engage the youngsters, aged eight and nine, in conversation. A court heard the incident in Paynes Lane, Feltwell, Norfolk, at about 5.20pm on October 23, was caught on CCTV.

The scared girls carried on walking home and told their parents, who contacted police.

The 29-year-old of Eastwood End, Wimblington, near March, pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) by having unsupervised contact with a child under 18.

He was jailed for two years and six months at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (July 4).

Children 'did all the right things'

DC Sonia Kauser said: "Thankfully the CCTV footage not only showed us what Simpkins was doing, it recorded his voice and the words he used when trying to engage the girls.

"The children did all the right things and continued walking together, ignoring him, and returning home, telling their parents immediately what had happened.

"Simpkins offended out of county assuming he wouldn’t be apprehended but it shows how committed we are in managing sex offenders regardless of where the offence took place. I am pleased that he is now behind bars."

Description

A sex offender was arrested by police after he attempted to meet and abuse a six-year-old girl.

Michael Clarey, 59, went online specifically to try to find a child to abuse on 6 February and used a false name to cover his tracks.

He admitted to being a paedophile who had previously abused children and began exchanging messages with someone who sent him a photo of a six-year-old girl, taken at random from a blog post.

Clarey believed he was talking to the girl’s parent – although police believe it was an online activist group.

He asked if he could sexually abuse the girl and said he would take her for a meal and shopping first in Cambridge or Norwich.

However, here the conversation ended, and it was not discovered until police officers paid Clarey an unannounced visit on 25 February.

Clarey was living under restrictions placed on him by a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) imposed by a court in 2021, but officers discovered he had flouted this by hiding devices, including one behind a TV. It was this device which contained the incriminating messages.

Clarey, of New Close Road, Little Thetford, near Ely, appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday, 27 June, and was jailed for five years and three months after admitting attempting to arrange / facilitate commission of a child sex offence.

He must serve a further five years extended sentence upon release under the management of the Probation Service. Any breaches could result in him being recalled to prison.

Clarey also admitted five counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo photographs of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child and 14 breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), for which he received no separate penalty.

DC Andrew McKeane said: “Clarey was never going to meet the girl whose photo was sent to him online but the intent to commit despicable sexual offences was clear.

“The girl in the photos, which were taken some years ago, had no link to anyone involved and is a victim in this case. We have spoken to her parents in Berkshire and they were understandably shocked and upset.

“Clarey has a complete disregard for the law and is a danger to children. He was aware what his SHPO restricted him from doing, but he chose to ignore it.”

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 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.

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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."

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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.

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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.”

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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.