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A teenage sex offender has been jailed after he was found to have communicated with a child.

Ryan Walker, 18, was given a 14-month youth detention order at Carlisle Crown Court on Thursday.

The court heard Walker, who pleaded guilty to the offences, had engaged in sexual communication with a child and had caused a child to watch an indecent image.

He had also failed to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

Det Con Anna Ritson, from Cumbria Police, said Walker's phone was seized as part of the investigation and undeclared accounts found.

"Officers located a number of online usernames and a new passport which had not been notified to police by Walker, who was well aware of his notification requirements," she said.

“Also located were messages exchanged between Walker and a child.”

She added: "Our main priority is to protect vulnerable people from sexual harm and we work hard to monitor and manage people who are subject to such orders."

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A SHOCKED mother sat in a Carlisle court listening to a harrowing account of how her son had secretly viewed sickening child rape videos.

Former Broughton Moor man Ben Robinson-Brown viewed videos of children aged four, five and eight as they were raped and boasted to a contact of watching footage of a ten-year-old girl being gang-raped, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

As Judge Nicholas Barker passed sentence, he told the defendant his mother's face as she heard those distressing details showed her “disbelief and disgust”.

Robinson-Brown, formerly of Broughton Moor, Maryport, but now living at Wreay, near Carlisle, admitted five offences.

Three related to him downloading 29 indecent child images, 15 of them Category A, the most serious kind; one was possessing extreme pornography, and there was one count of distributing a Category C indecent child image.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.

He said police acting on intelligence raided the defendant’s home and seized three devices, a laptop, an iPhone and an iPad. The illegal images included three videos, one just under a minute long and two just over a minute.

They showed men raping girls aged four, five and eight. All three victims were clearly distressed, said Mr Burke.

Another video showed sex between people and dogs. Mr Burke then outlined the evidence of how the defendant chatted online with a person, posing initially as a 14-year-old girl and then later discussing gang raping an 11-year-old.

The defendant also sent the contact a sexual image of a 10-year-old girl. The prosecutor said: “He tells [the contact] that he’s in the business of renting out eight to 15-year-old females and he is looking to trade in indecent images.

“He tries and fails to boast that he’s seen a 10-year-old female being gang raped – something he’d seen in a video.”

Marion Weir, defending, said Robinson-Brown had done much “soul searching” since his offending came to light.

The barrister said: “He’s an intelligent young man who in many ways is more mature than his 23 years. These offences were 18 months ago, and he says the person who committed these offences is very different to the person who appears in court.”

The defendant’s background included the pandemic and the death of his great grandmother, a person he regarded as his best friend.

“There’s nothing which can excuse the offending,” said the barrister. “He is disgusted by his behaviour and disappointed in himself; and distraught at the impact that this has had on those he loves.”

Robinson-Brown’s prosecution had led to the loss of friendships and a career opportunity with the RAF, she said. He felt genuine remorse, said Miss Weir.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted that the defendant, in his pre-sentence report interview, suggested he did nothing more than take part in perverted role play.

But the evidence – including the distressing videos of young children being raped - demonstrated a “significant sexual interest in very young children,” observed the judge.

Judge Barker remarked on how he had watched the face of a woman sitting in the court’s public gallery, whom he believed to be the defendant’s mother, as Mr Burke outlined the facts of the case.

The judge said: “[Her face] depicted, in my view, two strong emotions: one was disgust and the other was disbelief: disgust at what was being described and disbelief that you had done this – and that is an entirely understandable response because the material were involved with is simply disgusting and depraved.”

The judge noted the defendant had a background included substance abuse, debts and bereavement but he said an appropriate jail term would involve a four-and-a-half-month spell in custody but no meaningful rehabilitation.

Instead, he imposed a three-year community order, with 10 rehabilitation activity days, and a sexual offender treatment programme.

The defendant must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and he will be on the Sex Offender Register for five years.

The judge told the defendant: “You must address your sexual tendencies which you displayed by downloading these perverted images and communicating in that depraved way.”

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A PERVERTED Carlisle man has been jailed and put on the Sex Offender Register after he chatted online with a "child" about sex.

Ben Howat, 40, pleaded guilty to three offences at the city’s crown court, where a prosecutor said the defendant was caught in an online police sting during which he believed he was chatting to a 12-year-old girl.

It was actually an under-cover police officer.

Howat, of Thirwall Gardens, Carlisle, admitted downloading child abuse images, and attempting to communicate sexually with a “child” and attempting to make the same child watch sexual activity.

The court heard that he committed the sexual communication offence between April 12 of this year and April 27. He tried to make the child watch online sexual activity on April 13.

The images offence related to 10 Category C child abuse images, which the defendant downloaded on dates in December 2021.

Howat was jailed for 19 months.

The judge also put the defendant on the Sex Offender Register for 10 years and made a sexual harm prevention order which will restrict the defendant’s online behaviour for the same period.

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A NORTH Cumbrian man in his late thirties attempted to meet a 14-year-old boy so he could pay him £100 for sex, a court heard.

But Christopher Tennant, 38, who had spent two days communicating sexually with the person involved, was unaware that he was being taken in by a police sting operation designed to catch online sex predators.

At the city’s crown court, Tennant, of Gosling Drive, Carlisle, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to sexually communicate with a child, and attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity.

Prosecutor Kim Whittlestone outlined the offending, committed in the city this year between October 17 and 19.

Tennant used social media to contact a person who clearly and repeatedly identified himself as being a 14-year-old boy.

During their online exchanges, conducted in part over the Grindr app, the 'boy' referred to having to wear his school uniform.

“It was repeatedly said during the conversations that the young man was 14,” said Miss Whittlestone. That continued to be Tennant’s belief up to the point when he travelled to a supermarket car park to meet the boy.

Miss Whittlestone went on to outline some of the conversations, though much of the detail is too offensive to repeat.

He sent the contact videos of two men having sex and told the 'boy' he was 21 before asking him for share pictures of himself.

In one message, he asked the boy: “What would you do for cash?”

There followed a series of messages about places they could possibly meet, including at a local Asda car park.

The “boy” at one point suggested meeting in a McDonald’s car park, while Tennant talked about possibly driving to the countryside. Tennant also suggested again that he could “pay you to try stuff.”

When he drove to the proposed meeting and realised he was being arrested, Tennant told the police officer: “I’m just so sorry. I know it was wrong. My head’s been messed up for years.”

The prosecutor added: “There was a significant degree of planning and a disparity in ages; he also brought with him £100 and there is clear evidence of grooming behaviour.”

Marion Weir, defending, said the defendant was a man of previous good character who had himself faced difficulties in his life. “He was trying to deal with it in an unhealthy way,” said the barriser.

Since his arrest, Tannant had worked with the Lucy Faithful Foundation to address his issues, though it would take years to work through the problems. “There is an expression of genuine remorse by Mr Tennant,” said Miss Weir.

There was nothing else incriminating found on his phone, she added.

Judge Michael Fanning said the defendant he had repeatedly engaged in “grooming” type behaviour, even offering to pay the “boy” £100 for sex.

“There is too much of this sort of offending and there are too many real victims,” said the judge.

He jailed Tennant for three years.

The defendant will be on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for a decade.

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A CARLISLE man who sexually abused a schoolgirl more than 40 years ago when he was a teenager has finally faced justice – after he returned to the UK from his home in Russia.

During the abuse, Andrew Blenkinsopp, now 58, bullied his victim and threatened her, enforcing her silence by telling her she would not be believed if she spoke of what happened.

But with the encouragement of a relative, she did report Blenkinsopp, leading  him being charged.

On the day he was due to stand trial, the defendant - arrested at the airport when he returned from his home in Russia to renew his visa - admitted nine sexual assaults on the victim, including two said to be tantamount to rapes.

After the case concluded, Cumbria Police said it showed that it was never too late for victims to speak out and report such crimes. Officers also praised the courage of the victim.

Prosecutor Tim Evans outlined how Blenkinsopp was able to physically dominate the girl, pinning her down as he carried out the abuse. At the time, he aged between 14 and 16, the court heard.

“He would also threaten her, stating that if she told anyone, no one would believe her,” said the barrister.

In a statement, the victim said: “When it finally stopped, I was at secondary school and I was a bit more aware of sex education and what was going on and I really knew that it wasn’t right and he shouldn’t be doing it to me.

“It was just verbal threats all the time.”

Blenkinsopp, who previously lived in Etterby in Carlisle, repeatedly told the teenager nobody will believe her if she reported the abuse, suggesting she would face negative consequences.

Mr Evans said: “She talks in her victim personal statement of the terrible effect the abuse had upon her.”

Defence barrister Daniel Bramhall told the court that Blenkinsopp had a difficult upbringing. Having lived in Russia with his wife since 2011, he had addressed his drinking habit but was currently in poor health.

When released from jail, he hopes to return to Russia. References provided for the defendant painted a “different” picture and Blenkinsopp, in stark contrast to the person he was 40 years ago, the court heard.

The defendant had also said that he wished he could turn back the clock.

Passing sentence as the victim and her family watched from the court’s public gallery, Judge Michael Fanning said that Blenkinsopp’s abuse took away the victim’s childhood and her teenage years.

His crimes had “substantially reduced the quality of her life.”

Supported by her husband and family, the woman had suffered “real psychological harm, which had persisted over years,” said the judge. This included suicidal thoughts, an overwhelming of her ability to work, and the need for medication and counselling.

What happened left her feeling “dirty”.

The judge said he regarded the victims as having been “vulnerable” and she had been subjected to “bullying and force” and threats – all aggravating factors.

But the judge explained that he was obliged by law to reduce the length of sentence to reflect that fact that Blenkinsopp was a youth when he offended.

He jailed Blenkinsopp for three years and seven months. He also placed him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. The judge declined to rule that Blenkinsopp is a dangerous offender.

He did however make an indefinite restraining order, banning the defendant from having any contact with his victim.

After passing that sentence, Judge Fanning turned to the victim in the pubic gallery and addressed her directly, describing the exercise as a “horrible mechanistic process” and complicated.

He said he needed to “get it right” so that a line could be drawn under what happened. “All I can hope is that things get better now that his abuse has been recognised.” The woman thanked the judge, who offered his best wishes to her and her family.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Gabrielle Nicholson, who oversaw the case, said: “I hope that this case sends a clear message to perpetrators that no matter how much time has passed, sexual abuse will not be tolerated by Cumbria Constabulary.

“We will do everything within our power to hold people who commit these crime accountable for their actions.

“No matter how much time has passed, support is available in Cumbria for victims of sexual offences.

“The Constabulary works closely with trusted partner agencies to provide the appropriate support which is tailored to an individual’s circumstances.

“I would encourage anyone who has been victim to a sexual offence to contact police.

“Taking that first step to telling somebody what has happened to you is often the most difficult.

“But please know that if you do, you will be provided with information which will enable you to make choices on how you wish to move forward.

“I would also like to pay tribute to the bravery and courage of the victim for coming forward and reporting this.”

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A REGISTERED sex offender is back behind bars for sending text messages to a 15-year-old girl and unlawful possession of an iPad Mini.

Darrel Stephen Carter, 31, was issued with a sexual risk order (SRO) in 2020 at the request of police seeking to curb potential offending against young females.

The indefinite SRO bans Carter from contacting any girls aged under 18; and places tough restrictions on his access to electronic devices.

Carter had been identified by police as posing a potential risk to vulnerable females.

But being subject to the order has not kept him out of trouble.

For previous breaches he has been made subject to a suspended prison sentence and he was later jailed for again failing to stick by the SRO terms.

It was following his release from custody on licence, halfway through a 23-month sentence, that he broke the law once more during the course of several weeks, Carlisle Crown Court heard, by contacting the teen.

“He was in contact with her on a number of occasions using different social network applications and online platforms, such as Facebook and Facebook Messenger,” said Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting.

“Mr Carter, it is suggested, was fully aware of her age, being 15, and also that she was unaware of his past, namely as a registered sex offender and being subject to the order.”

One message sent by Carter — who befriended the girl after sending a Facebook friend request and instigated contact with her — read: “Come on, you are 15.

“There is nothing inappropriate or sexually suggestive within the messages,” Mr Rogerson told the court.

It was when Carter was recalled to prison that a phone was seized and the messages came to light.

Carter also committed a second breach through his possession of an iPad Mini device — capable of accessing the internet — which was not declared to police as it should have been. This had been used to access Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok.

“He admitted keeping the device hidden and using it,” said the prosecutor. “He commented ‘I don’t know why I’ve done it’.”

Carter, of Oakleigh Way, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to two breaches.

Defence lawyer Andrew Evans highlighted the fact that Carter had made full admissions when quizzed by police.

Mr Evans said in an address to Judge Nicholas Barker: “In a letter to Your Honour he has stated he is motivated to seek change.”

The judge noted that only an immediate prison sentence should be imposed in the case. Mr Evans asked that detailed background reports prepared by a probation officer and psychiatrist should accompany Carter to prison in the hope that professional help could be offered.

“That is the only route to breaking the cycle,” said Mr Evans. “What he needs is assistance, wherever he is.”

Judge Barker jailed Carter for 20 months. “You would have known, particularly having been released from a 23-month sentence that those who supervised you would have been concerned by your contact with such a young female,” said the judge, “that it was in breach of your order and that it would — had it been discovered — led to your arrest and potential imprisonment.

“Therefore there is, in my judgement, by you, an interest in taking what can be described as deliberate risk taking behaviour.”

Judge Barker accepted struggles in Carter’s early life and a comment by him in relation to SRO compliance that “I don’t think it is clicking in my head”.

But he told the defendant: “If you are intent, as you suggest, on addressing your offending behaviour you will need to expand on the reasons why you commit these offences. Without that you will carry on doing them.

“If that is the case you will spend longer and longer in prison.”

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A 74-year-old man has been jailed for following a child into toilets and sexually assaulting him.

Michael Lamb, from Levens Drive in Carlisle, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court on Thursday 31 August.

Following the incident he was arrested and admitted the charge of sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The court heard that a 13-year-old boy had gone into the toilets in Market Hall, in Carlisle on 1 February 2023, where Michael Lamb followed him.

The boy went into a cubicle but Lamb followed him inside and put his hand over the childs mouth, telling him dont say anything or Ill hurt you. Michael Lamb put his foot against the cubicle door and sexually assaulted the boy.

At first he denied what had happened and claimed he was sexually assaulted by the child.

Lamb later admitted the offence at court.

Detective Constable Lee Clark said: This was a horrific attack on a young boy who was threatened and had no means of escaping the situation Lamb put him in.

Lamb initially refused to take any responsibility for his actions. However, the investigation showed unequivocally that Lamb had attacked the young boy, resulting in a guilty plea at court.

Support is available in Cumbria for victims of sexual offences. The constabulary works closely with trusted partner agencies to provide the appropriate support which is tailored to an individuals circumstances.

I would encourage anyone who has been victim to a sexual offence to contact police so that our officers can investigate. You will be supported throughout our investigation.

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A MAN committed lewd sex acts under his clothing in front of three distressed teenage school girls in Carlisle during a spate of perverted offending while on bail.

Samuel Ramos, 27, was first witnessed by a care worker in a city building on February 20 to be exposing himself through the window of a nearby upper-storey property.

“She was particularly concerned,” prosecutor Brendan Burke told Carlisle Crown Court, “that during the course of that he appeared to be fixing his attention looking up the street towards a primary school.”

 
It had been half-term that week, and no children were reported to be in the area.

But Ramos was caught as he committed further similar offending inside Carlisle’s Primark store on two different dates. On February 28 he was spotted by a shocked 15-year-old girl who was with a friend after both had been followed around by Ramos.

In an impact statement the girl said she was on the shopping trip to regain independence after suffering difficulties, but told how the incident in the shop had “really set her back”.

On March 2, Ramos was back in Primark and seen on CCTV engaging in similarly lewd conduct near obvious other shoppers by a security guard monitoring footage.

And a week later there was a further incident on a Carlisle street with Ramos carrying out a copycat crime in front of two 13-year-old girls walking to school. “They ran into the school in an immediately distressed state and crying, and reported the matter,” said Mr Burke.

Ramos had been arrested after the first incident, and committed the next three offences while on police bail. He admitted one charge of exposure and three of committing acts outraging public decency.

Anthony Parkinson, giving mitigation, said Ramos had served the equivalent of a six-month prison sentence on remand. He had completed a raft of courses in custody but none of these were aimed at reducing the risk of further sexual offending.

If sent to prison and released on post-sentence supervision, any work done with him would not come close to that being proposed by the probation service if he was allowed to return to the community.

Intense rehabilitation work would best serve Ramos and the public in general, suggested Mr Parkinson. He added: “It is clear he acts on impulse. It is clear he was unable to resist the impulse on these four occasions. This is a case that is crying out for rehabilitation-based work with him so that the next time these impulses arrive he has a better and lawful way of dealing with them.”

The judge, Recorder Mark Ainsworth, said he was presented with a “very difficult” decision. But in view of Ramos’s “very concerning” conduct he concluded that appropriate punishment could only be achieved with an immediate 18-month jail term.

Ramos, of London Road, Carlisle, was made subject to the sex offender notification requirements and strict terms of a prevention order, both for 10 years.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, PC Rebecca Lynch, of Cumbria police, said: “We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and work hard to do our best for all victims of such crimes.

 “I hope that this case encourages victims of such crimes to report incidents such as these to the police. Victims will receive support from sensitive professionals.”

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A MAN travelling on a bus from Carlisle city centre left fellow passengers shocked as they saw him expose his genitals and touch himself sexually.

Police identified the culprit after two women reported what they had seen and police examined the bus’s CCTV footage, which allowed them to identify the offender, 43-year-old Carlisle man Scott Barton.

At Carlisle Crown Court, he was sentenced after earlier pleading guilty to an allegation of outraging public decency.

The court heard that two young women boarded the bus in the city centre and, a few stops later, Barton arrived, taking the seat immediately behind them.

One of the women later reported that she noticed Barton touching himself in the groin area, at that stage on top of his clothing. She looked away, but when she glanced in his direction a short time later he was she realised he had removed his genitals from his shorts and appeared sexually aroused.

He was continuing to touch himself, the court heard.

Shocked by this, the two women immediately moved seats, doing their best to ignore him. As they left the bus a short time later, they alerted the bus driver to what they had seen before running home and calling the police.

Judith McCullough, for Barton, of McIlmoyle Way, Denton Holme, said he accepted that his behaviour that day was unacceptable but he denied that he was performing a sex act. His shame and regret for what happened were genuine.

The barrister said: “He has cut down his alcohol intake and no longer misuses drugs.”

At work, said Miss McCullough, Barton was a valued member of his team. The barrister added: “This offence was out of character, an isolated incident.”

Judge David Potter noted that Barton had been medicating his ADHD by regularly using alcohol but what he did on the bus had “clearly caused alarm and distress” to the two females who saw him.

He did what he did in broad daylight, on public transport. “Clearly, it outraged public decency; and it is therefore, in my judgement, serious enough to warrant a community penalty,” said the judge.

Judge Potter imposed a three-year community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity days, a 100-day tagged alcohol abstinence monitoring order, and a requirement to complete an accredited sex offender treatment programme.

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A man who worked with children while secretly distributing illegal images of children has been jailed for two years.

Oliver Owen had about 6,000 still and moving images of children, including 1,081 of the most serious type, on his phone, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The 25-year-old also advised others how to abuse children and described sick plans to open an orphanage to sell time with children to the highest bidder.

Owen, who worked as a child activity leader, admitted various offences.

When police went to his home in Carlisle in October 2020, Owen told them: "Yes, I think I have totally ruined my life and all I have worked for."

The images found on his mobile phone had been created during an 18-month period using three separate applications, prosecutor Tim Evans told the court.

Videos had been traded about which Owen had made a number of sick comments, Mr Evans said.

Mr Evans told the court Owen had also been engaged in group chat where child abuse was discussed and had "volunteered suggestions" about how this could be done; including a website targeting struggling mothers and "opening a orphanage where they could sell time with kids to the highest bidder".

Described as a man of previous good character, Owen admitted the distribution of illegal images, including category A, and making indecent photographs of children.

In mitigation, Judith McCullough said Owen, of Bowman Street, was "truly ashamed of himself and was "genuinely seeking to understand and deal with his issues".

She said: "The defendant says he didn't know how to escape and he was pleased, effectively, to be caught."

Judge Ian Unsworth QC said on Friday Owen's offending would be "truly shocking" to his family and friends.

He told Owen: "You descended into the very depths of depravity.

"This is a truly serious case of its type."

Owen must sign the sex offenders' register and comply with the strict terms of a prevention order for 10 years.

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Fifty-year-old Andrew Gordon Chapman was visited at his home by vigilantes who then called police, resulting in his initial arrest, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Chapman’s phone was seized and subjected to forensic analysis which revealed what a judge called “despicable and repulsive” WhatsApp chats. In these he discussed the serious sexual abuse of children and his boasts of what he had done to one of two young victims. One was aged just two or three when his crimes were committed.

A jury heard Chapman carried out sexual crimes against two girls and encouraged them not to tell.

He made repeated denials, pleaded not guilty to seven charges and went on trial at the crown court earlier this week.

But Chapman, an HGV driver whose address was given as Warwick Square, Carlisle, was convicted, unanimously, on all seven counts.

During his sentencing hearing this morning, moving impact statements were read which detailed the profound impact of Chapman’s crimes on the victims.

Judge Nicholas Barker said of the “heart-wrenching” statements, as he handed down a 19-year jail term: “You have ripped up their childhood. You have left a stain and a scar upon them that will be there for ever more.”

"You have not shown any remorse at all. Your only emotive reactions were your own sense of indignity at being door-stepped by the vigilante group and upon the verdicts of the jury being returned. I am satisfied you care only for yourself."

The judge also imposed an extended one-year licence period after concluding Chapman — a man without any other convictions — should be deemed an “offender of particular concern”. He must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence behind bars, and his release will only be considered if a parole board deem it is safe.

In addition, Chapman must sign the sex offenders’ register, and comply with the strict terms of a prevention order, both for an indefinite period.

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A young man who dreamed of becoming a police officer has been jailed for child sex offences - including a sickening attempt to "blackmail" a 12-year-old schoolgirl into sending him indecent images of herself.

Cameron Longstaff, 20, went online to target the two schoolgirls, telling one he would circulate an intimate image of her that he had acquired if she did not send him more explicit pictures.

The youngsters said the experience left her feeling vulnerable, scared, and angry.

The other girl was so afraid she stayed indoors with the curtains closed, and asked her parents to always lock the doors.

As he imposed a year-long jail term on the defendant, of Hurley Road, Little Corby, Judge James Adkin told him that despite positive character references, the "overwhelming" evidence of his guilt from the trial revealed a darker side Longstaff's character, including his interest in child pornography.

"There is a predatory aspect to this," said the judge. "You felt it necessary to humiliate a young girl because she would not comply with your demands."

Longstaff denied two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; three of downloading indecent child images; one of possessing such images; and two counts of distributing it.

A jury convicted him of all the offences.

The court heard how Longstaff had amassed a large collection of sickening child pornography images, both still images and videos.

Of these, 33 were classed as the most serious kind. The trial was told how Longstaff - 16 when he committed most of the offences - used a social media site under a false name, targeting the two 12-year-olds, urging them to share indecent images of themselves.

When one refused he threatened to distribute an intimate image of her that he had acquired, later sending it to a Russian website used by child porn perverts.

Victim impact statements revealed how the girls were affected. The first girl was left suffering from sleep problems, and her school-work suffered.

The second girl - in court with her mother for the hearing - said: "I was hiding in the house with all the curtains drawn because the [the defendant] said he would come to my house."

Her mother said: "My daughter was only 12 years old and she was very scared by what happened. ..We had been an open house until then, but after the incident, my daughter insisted on locking all the doors all the time.

"She still feels uncomfortable now being at home alone."

Kim Whittlestone, for Longstaff, said her mitigation was limited because the defendant continued to protest his innocence. Character references showed he was a hard-working young man, supported by his family.

"He worked at the family cafe but had aspirations to join the police force," said the barrister.

"He was undertaking a college course which would have enabled him to enter the police force once that was passed."

Miss Whittlestone said most of Longstaff's offending happened when he was 16 and that there was a suggestion he had not acted alone.

At the time, she said, he was struggling to fit in with his peer group. Longstaff wept as he was led away to start his sentence.

His name will be on the Sex Offender's Register for a decade, and he will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A Carlisle dad-of-three has been jailed for three years after admitting having sex with a teenage girl.

Jack Stanley Mitchell, 27, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court today after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child.

Judge Peter Davies heard Mitchell's criminal conduct occurred over a period of several months early last year.

But, while Mitchell had eventually admitted his wrongdoing when brought to court, he had "persistently failed" to admit the offences when questioned by police.

Sentencing him, Judge Davies told the married father-of-three: "There must be custody."

Mitchell, of Abbey Street, was ordered to sign the sex offender' register and will be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults - indefinitely in both cases.

Mitchell was also made subject to the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

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A former Cumbria Police worker has been jailed for possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

David Robinson, 46, used his computer to hunt out images and videos of child sex abuse, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

His conversations with other paedophiles were of the "most sickening nature", Judge Peter Hughes QC said.

Robinson, of Waldegrave Road, Carlisle, was jailed for six years after admitting 20 counts of possession and distribution of indecent images.

The court heard how Robinson had offered to buy a child online in order to abuse them as well as decorating a room in his house for a child before applying to become a foster carer for young boys.

The hearing was also told a number of the images were of children as young as five and were of the most serious "Category A" type.

Judge Hughes said: "Robinson had presented one face to the outside world, another deeply unattractive one online."

Robinson was employed as a front counter worker at Cumbria Police when he was arrested last October. He was immediately suspended and left the force in January.

Det Insp Doug Marshall said: "This prosecution reflects the serious nature of the images which Mr Robinson was viewing and distributing.

"Images of this nature have been created via the suffering and abuse of children and they are criminal offences."

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and given a sexual offences prevention order for life.