Latest Offenders Cambridgeshire

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.