Latest Offenders Chester

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A 'hard-working' grandad of previous 'impeccable character' who said he downloaded sick images of children being sexually abused because he was 'curious' has avoided jail.

Alan Crabtree, 72, was found to have saved 85 indecent images of children onto his two mobile phones - 13 of these were classed as category A, the worst serverity.

The retired miner, who has lived in Salford all his life, said looking at the disturbing images became a 'compulsion'.

He said he initially used social media to find the pictures out of curiosity.

His family, who described him as a 'loving and supportive father', knew nothing of his shameful secret until cops came knocking at the door of the family home and seized his personal devices.

At Manchester Crown Court, Crabtree admitted three charges of making indecent photographs of children.

But he walked free with a 12-month community order after a judge said he was 'astonished' to see a man of his character commit this type of crime.

The offences - which took place between April 2015 and December 2017 - came to light when police received intelligence from the National Crime Agency.

Prosecutor Juliet Berry said: "After receiving the information, police attended at his address on 8 December 2017 and executed a warrant.

"They seized two laptops and two mobile phones - one Acer phone and one Samsung phone.

"He was interviewed and admitted that the images could be found on the phones."

Crabtree's lawyer, Suzanne Hargreaves, told the sentence hearing how her client was 'deeply ashamed' of what he had done.

She said he made full admissions to his family and has already taken steps towards rehabilitation.

"He was born and bred in Salford and is a hard-working man dedicated to his family", Ms Hargraves added.

"He worked in the mines. He then took up any work that was available and worked his whole life until retirement.

"He and his wife are now retired. He is a carer for her."

Crabtree avoided a custodial sentence with the judge saying his hitherto impeccable character meant he could be rehabilitated in the community.

Passing sentence, Recorder Geoffrey Lowe, said: "It's astonishing to see a man of your background in this situation.

"These are not victimless offences. The children whose photos are taken are abused.

"Some of these images reflect the most serious sexual abuse of these children.

"You regarded this as something that started out as a curiosity then became a compulsion.

"You have shown remorse and sought to seek assistance. This is a blemish on an otherwise exemplary record.

"If these matters are addressed there is no reason why you cannot go back to being the hard-working and respectful man you was."

Crabtree was handed a 12-month community order made up of 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He must sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which will limit his access to the internet.

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Stuart Keay jailed for string of sex offences against girls as young as six

Stuart Richard Keay, aged 48, of Baring Close, Itchen Abbas, was found guilty of 15 charges, which included counts of rape, indecent assault, inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and sexual activity with a child.

It follows a three week trial at Winchester Crown court.

Keay faced 16 charges against him relating to girls aged between six and 17-years-old who he abused in Winchester, Eastleigh and Denmead between 1992 and 2018.

Keay was brought to trial after three victims who had suffered years of abuse at his hands came forward to police last year. Judge Jane Miller QC sentence Keay to 24 years in prison.

Detective Constable Naomi Stocker, who led Operation Amberstone, she said: This was a huge investigation that took us back to 1992 when Keays offending began, right the way to 2018, when his offending finally ceased due the bravery of his victims to speak out.

This was a truly appalling case of abuse, which took place over many years. I am overwhelmed by the bravery of the victims in coming forward and reporting what had happened to them. I want to commend them and thank them for their help in convicting Keay, a very dangerous and manipulative man. No amount of jail time will make up for what has he has done, but I hope this serves to at least offer the victims some closure, and a chance to move on with their lives.

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A PERVERT jailed for preying on young boys while he was a teacher in the Kidderminster area has been sentenced for further offences.

Jonathan O'Brien, 61, spent more than a decade grooming young boys while he taught at Winterfold House School as well as schools in West Sussex and Oxfordshire during the 1980s and 1990s.

Twisted O'Brien was already serving time for sexual offences against young boys when he was convicted for the second time last month.

It took the victim more than 20 years to report the traumatic events which happened while he was a teenage student and O'Brien was a teacher at Seaford College, Petworth in West Sussex in 1992.

It was revealed just a handful of years earlier O'Brien indecently assaulted male students up to 170 miles away in Worcestershire and Oxfordshire.

In 2014, O'Brien was found guilty of sexually abusing pupils in his care during the 1980s - including five charges of gross indecency and 15 counts of indecent assault, all of which he had denied and he was cleared of two further indecent assaults.

Twelve of the offences were committed against seven boys at Winterfold House School - where he taught subjects including sports and photography - between 1980 and 1985 and the others were committed against three pupils at The Oratory School, near Reading, between 1985 and 1989.

Police Constable Yvonne Daddow said the former teacher pretended to have an interest in computers to groom the young boy, who kept the distressing experiences to himself.

She said: "This offending came to light when the victim contacted us for the first time in 2017.

"Having courageously come forward he supported our investigation and was ready to give evidence in court if necessary.

"It became clear that O'Brien had used an allegedly mutual interest in computers to in effect gradually 'groom' the boy into sexual activity, in O'Brien's study at the school and his home in Oxfordshire.

"The boy kept the distressing experiences to himself for more than 20 years until an chance family discussion to some media coverage on the general subject of sexual offending triggered him into coming forward.

"This case is another example of the way in which we will always take such reports seriously, no matter how long ago they relate to, and will seek to help achieve justice for victims wherever possible."

It was added that Seaford College has cooperated with the investigation by West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit and the indecent assaults are unconnected with current or recent management of the school and it's pupils.

O'Brien pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court on May 24.

The former teacher, from Bosham, West Sussex, denied two further counts of indecent assault on the same boy, which will lay on the court file.

He was handed two and-a-half years to run concurrently to a previous sentence relating to sexual assaults against boys in Kidderminster and Oxfordshire.

He was sentenced to 13 years at Chichester Crown Court in 2014 for the vile attacks which happened between 1980 and 1989.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and handed a Sexual Offence Prevention Order (SOPO) which severely restricts his contact with any children.

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Reportedly living in Blackpool

A pervert unwittingly sent footage of himself performing a sex act to an undercover police officer, wrongly thinking he was talking to a 13-year-old girl.

Jack Burton, 24, from Rochdale, chatted on Kik messenger and Skype asking the 'teenager' what she does at sleepovers and if she sleeps naked, a court heard.

He later sent a video of himself performing a sex act.

Burton believed he was in conversation with a young teenager, but it was in fact an undercover police officer.

Burton, of Hanover Street, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to look at images of sexual activity.

The prosecution argued that the case exhibited grooming behaviour. Burton's defence team said he has since been on a rehabilitation course and no longer uses Kik or Skype.

Manchester Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday how the defendant contacted the 'girl' in January last year and asked if she had 'ever been drunk, what she does at sleepovers and if she sleeps naked'.

This then spiralled and he sent a video of himself performing a sex act on February 2.

Burton's defence lawyer, Andrew Davidson, in mitigation argued that the defendant has no previous convictions. 

He said: "He has been on a rehabilitation course to analyse the issues which led to this event. He has completed that successfully. He hasn't accessed these messaging services subsequently."

Mr Davidson added: "It is important to emphasise that those (guideline) sentences are for an actual victim. There was no actual victim."

The probation team were granted a week's adjournment to prepare a full pre-sentence report. 

Burton, who was released on unconditional bail, will appear again before magistrates on Tuesday, February 19.

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A boastful sex offender who masturbated in front of a 12-year-old girl and filmed her as she wore a body stocking has been jailed today.

Carl Hodgson, 28, spent the night with the victim, whom he thought was 19, after they met on a dating app, but the pair did not have sex.

A court heard he shared indecent photos of her on social media and bragged to friends he "nailed" her.

In other sick messages, Hodgson also described the girl as "filth".

The former office worker was today sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, distributing an indecent photograph of a child and making indecent photographs of a child.

Sentencing the sex offender today, Judge David Stockdale QC, the Recorder of Manchester, told him: "(The victim) was by reason of her age highly vulnerable to exploitation and she was no doubt impressed by you.

"This is most serious offending as you now fully appreciate. The effects on a child of such a young age of offending of this sort are really well too known and well too documented. These effects, in many cases, last for the rest of the child's life.

"I take into account that while (the victim) was 12 years of age at the time of these offences you did not believe that to be the case. You thought, and on reasonable grounds, that she was over 16."

Manchester Crown Court heard the victim used a different name on her dating app profile and falsely stated she was 19.

Hodgson made one moving image of the girl and also captured three still images of her on his phone while at his flat in Castlefield, Manchester.

He also messaged a friend, saying "Mine was decent. Nailed that bird, unreal bod" and also described her as "filth".

But the prosecution offered no evidence of rape and Judge Stockdale ordered a formal not guilty verdict be returned.

No evidence was also offered against single counts of grooming and child abduction.

Alexander Leach, defending, said Hodgson's comments were "simply male bravado and bragging" and he had not had sexual intercourse with the girl.

"Effectively Carl Hodgson was not aware he was engaging in any sexual activity with a child. He did not intend to engage in sexual activity with a child and could not have appreciated the particular vulnerability of the child, nor the disparity in age to its criminal extent.

"He must have known she was significantly younger than him but he believed her to be older than 16 years old," he added.

"He is genuinely ashamed and remorseful for the circumstances he finds himself in but does not seek to minimise his behaviour.

"The defendant is regarded by those who know him as honest, trustworthy, industrious, loyal and charitable. Those who know him better say these proceedings have had a profound effect on him. He has lost his employment, his home and has suffered the inevitable stigma brought with offending of this sort."

The victim has been seen by a consultant psychologist and a social worker and was shown to be in a "withdrawn state" and unable or unwilling to communicate.

He added though there were no significant signs she had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, serious anxiety or depression but it was "inevitable she will suffer in the long term as a consequence of the offending".

Hodgson was also banned from contacting the victim and ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

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A predatory paedophiles sickening campaign of sexual abuse of a vulnerable child was revealed after the victims mother caught them in bed together.

Toby Lees, 29, of Garland Road, Colchester, admitted a string of sexual offences including rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault between 2011 and 2018.

At Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (May 25), Lees was sentenced during a hearing attended by the young boys family.

At around 9.30pm on March 11, the victims mother caught her son and the defendant in bed together.

Their lower halves were covered and she saw the defendant quickly move his hand, causing her to become suspicious.

After coming clean to his sickening crimes, Lees sent a text to his mother, despite initially denying everything.

The text read: Mum, I would never try and excuse what has happened.

I know it was wrong and accept the consequences of my actions.

I am not passing blame, I know I am an adult that should never have let it happen. When can I expect the police to turn up?

He was arrested by police and his phone was seized where it was discovered he searched various indecent terms online.

In his police interview on March 13, he made a 79-page confession of sexual abuse against the young victim spanning several years.

As the defendant told police about his gross catalogue of abuse, Lee claimed he did not know why he allowed it to continue and felt physically sick after it happened.

He said was it was a 50/50 relationship but told officers he was not putting the blame on his victim as he was a child.

Lees claimed there was never any force and that it was never devised or planned it but that it just happened.

In a police statement, the victims mother told officers her son was vulnerable, lacking in confidence and is overall an anxious boy.

She explained how he was not someone that trusts people easily and finds it hard to build relationships.

During his interview, the victim told police about the abuse starting when he was was prepubescent.

He could not remember how or why it started but was asked what kind of things would happen.

The victim went on to describe on one occasion that Lee attempted to penetrate his anus but it was too painful and they stopped.

Prosecuting lawyer Carolyn Gardiner told the court how the abuse completely changed the victim.

The victim is not the same.

He has been assessed for counselling and is on the waiting list but he has been told that it could be five months before he is seen.

Mitigating on the defendant's behalf, Nneka Akudolu said: He had a good sense and courage to admit to these very serious offences.

"These offences lead to a lengthy custodial sentence and he acknowledges and accepts that is what to follow.

Having read his pre-sentence report, there is a glimmer of hope for rehabilitation without the need for a dangerous determination.

He had not so much an interview as a 79-page confession, he had not held back at all when questioned by police.

The offences he has pleaded guilty to have been formed around his own confessions.

"Some in his position facing similar charges do not always do what is clearly right."

Ms Akudolu added that her client's own child would suffer as a result of her father being punished.

"He wants to make it clear he pleaded guilty because he is guilty and because he is sorry, not only sorry for what he has done to his victim but also the distress he has caused to the family," she continued.

There are no excuses for his behaviour, he is responsible for his action and he described getting caught as almost a relief as he had to confront the depraved truth of what he was doing.

It is a very sad day for everyone concerned, there is no one in the public gallery in support of him and he only has himself to blame.

Judge Turner turned to the defendant in the dock, who looked at the floor throughout the sentencing, calling his campaign of abuse a depraved course of conduct.

Sentencing Lees, the judge told him: You are 30 years of age, you are father of a four-year-old daughter, you perpetrated across seven years a series of gross sexual offences against a young boy.

You were discovered in fairly dramatic circumstances, you were caught red-handed.

You knew his age, you knew the danger, you knew the consequences and you still participated in disgraceful conduct.

"It was exploitative, it was opportunistic and deliberate.

It was a horrific course of conduct which has cast a shadow over much of his life.

You should have known better than to do what you did.

Lees was sentenced to 14 years in prison after admitting to a charge of rape, attempted rape, four counts of sexual assault and seven counts of causing or inciting sexual activity with a child.

A sexual harm prevention order was also put in place and Lees was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

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A man sleeping rough in the woods punched and kicked a woman before dragging her into his tent and raping her.

Homeless Daniel Woolf, 36, was described by police as a predatory offender after he was handed a 19-year jail sentence.

The woman was held in the tent by Woolf for hours.

A court heard Woolf, who has a previous conviction for sexual assault, approached the woman at 1am at Altrincham train station on October 15 last year.

He had been living in a tent in woods off South Downs Drive in Hale at the time.

Police said Woolf led the woman away from the station before dragging her into the tent.

Screaming, she tried to run away but he threw her into a bush before punching and kicking her until she went back inside the tent.

Woolf then pushed the terrified woman to the ground and raped her.

After an ordeal lasting hours, the woman, aged in her 30s, managed to escape to a nearby shop where the alarm was raised.

Police were called and Woolf was arrested.

At Minshull Street Crown Court he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

He was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment and assault and was locked up for 19 years.

Det Con Helen Bagnall praised the womans bravery and said Woolf preyed on the fact she didnt know the area.

She said: The woman was obviously terrified when Woolf dragged her into a tent and raped her. What she has been through is horrendous.

She was extremely brave managing to alert a shop worker and I want to thank them in turn for contacting us so we could apprehend Woolf.

He preyed on the fact the woman didnt really know the area and used that to his advantage to inflict his horrific assault where not only did he rape her, but he held her in a tent for hours.

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A HAMPSHIRE teenager has avoided prison after performing a sex act on himself in a video call with a 12-year-old girl.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Lewis Howcroft, 19, had been speaking with the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over video calling service Skype and had also been searching for illegal material online before being found out by police.

Howcroft, of Northington Down, near Alresford, claimed the victim had asked to see him performing the sex act over Skype, and had initially declined, however this had not been proven.

Howcroft was caught out when the victim’s parents found messages on their daughter’s phone, and then contacted police.

He pleaded guilty to causing a child to watch an image of a person engaging in sexual activity

Prosecuting, Colin Meeke said there was evidence of “highly sexualised” chat logs with the girl.

“What is abundantly clear is he knew how young she was, there is evidence of some grooming.

“He did not seek to deny the matters.”

Mr Meeke added: “It is clear the defendant, over a period of time, made a number of disturbing internet searches.”

Mitigating, Chloe Jay told the court that Howcroft “lacked the emotional maturity of an adult”.

The court also heard a psychological report has been produced on Howcroft’s “mental conditions”.

It said he had already suffered “grave” effects including losing his job, college place and being excluded from social groups, as well as him and his family being “harassed” by paedophile hunters.

Howcroft, who was 18 at the time of the incident in November 2016, was sentenced to a three-year community order, with a 60-day rehabilitation requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Pawson said: “You caused a child to watch a highly sexualised act.

“Whether she did or didn’t ask is neither here nor there, she was 12.

“I have seen and heard about the various searches you made on the internet, some of that is likely to have been down to the curiosity of a teenage person, but some of that goes beyond curiosity.”

Hawcroft was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

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A VILE paedophile who threatened a teenager into sending sexual videos of her and her brother has been jailed for 12 years.

Daniel Norton, 26, told the Hampshire girl that his father was a police officer and if she did not send pictures and videos of herself he would "take her away from her family".

Southampton Crown Court heard that he also made threats to distribute pictures and videos of the victim on the internet if she did not send more.

Eventually when the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she did not want to send them, the images were put on the internet and went viral.

It forced Hampshire Constabulary to issue a warning to parents, urging them to tell their children not to pass on the disturbing video.

Norton, of Cheadle, Stockport, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, with three years on extended licence.

Norton admitted three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity between October 1 and December 1, 2017.

He also pleaded guilty to making dozens of indecent moving images of children - across all three categories of severity - and possessing extreme pornographic images - which depicted children involved in sexual activity with animals.

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Connor Benjamin Allen-Howe targeted boys aged between 12 and 15.

A "devious and manipulative" paedophile from Colchester who used the internet to corrupt and abuse up to 20 children has been told his eight-year jail term was not a day too long.

Connor Benjamin Allen-Howe, 22, of Shakespeare Road, Colchester, was aged between 16 and 18 when he posed as a teenage girl online to persuade a host of boys, aged between 12 and 15, to perform sex acts on camera.

He also sometimes posed as a multi-millionaire offering "gifts" to witness sex acts performed by his under-age victims.

Sick Allen-Howe went even further, persuading some of his victims to become part of his "army of deviants" by sexually abusing their own younger siblings, and even pets, whilst he watched remotely.

They included causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography and making indecent photographs of children.

At London's Appeal Court today, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb heard Allen-Howe plead for a shorter sentence, claiming he was treated too harshly.

The judge, sitting with Lady Justice Hallett and Judge Martin Picton, said Allen-Howe had "catfished" his victims - posing as someone he was not online.

Lawyers for Allen-Howe argued that he had been given a sentence appropriate for an adult and his own tender years ought to have resulted in a shorter term.

But the appeal judge said that "catfishing has the potential to result in serious psychological harm to victims."

"Such behaviour has to be severely punished," she added.

"Twenty victims were abused by, or at the behest of, Allen-Howe," she went on, branding him "devious and manipulative."

"We cannot conclude that, with the breadth and length of the offending in this case, the sentence was wrong in principle.

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A "depraved sexual predator" who subjected a woman to a "terrifying rape" has been jailed, police said.

Samaun Shah, of Hornby Road, Stretford dragged her into a car park in Trafford at about 03:15 BST on 4 April and raped her, said Greater Manchester Police.

Det Con Paul Walls said Shah targeted his victim, who was in her 40s, after she asked him for a cigarette while walking to Tesco on Chester Road.

Shah, 44, was sentenced to eight years after his trial at Bolton Crown Court.

After giving her a cigarette, police said Shah insisted that she walk with him to Old Trafford Metrolink station.

He then dragged her into a deserted car park and assaulted her.

Shah denied any involvement when he was arrested, claiming he had been in bed at the time.

He carried on denying the offence even when he was shown CCTV footage of him and the woman walking together.

'Sexual predator'

Det Con Walls said a dangerous man had been taken off the streets.

He added: "Samaun Shah is a depraved sexual predator who preyed on a vulnerable woman who had merely asked him if she could have a cigarette.

"He took her to a spot where he thought nobody would see him and subjected her to a terrifying rape, the memory of which will stay with her for the rest of her life."

He said Shah's repeated denials, even when faced with CCTV evidence, highlighted "the arrogance of a man who thought he could get away with his despicable crime".

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A man who threatened, slapped and strangled a woman during a horrific sex attack has been jailed.

Nyasha Malvern Makunike, 26, of no fixed address, subjected his victim to the brutal attack in August 2016.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard his victim walked into a shop in Bury with her two young children in a distressed state.

She asked the shopkeeper to call police after she was violently raped by an attacker in the early hours of the previous day.

During a police interview the woman said she was strangled during the sickening attack.

Makunike also threatened the woman and slapped her.

He was found guilty of two counts of rape, actual bodily harm, sexual assault and nine other counts of assault and harassment.

Makunike will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Det Con Dave Looby, of GMP’s Bury borough, said: “Makunike subjected his victim to what can only be described as a brutal attack which left her terrified and fearing for her life.

“The courage that she has shown in coming forward and helping police take this dangerous man off the streets of Bury is nothing short of tremendous.

“I hope the sentence passed here today will bring her some comfort knowing that her attacker has been brought to justice.”

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A paedophile who got his schoolgirl victim pregnant has been jailed for eight years.

Police discovered the harrowing case while they were investigating Stephen John for child-abuse images offences.

The 29-year-old pervert first met his victim online when she was 12, and by the time she was 15 had persuaded her to meet him in Manchester .

He then abused her at his family home, causing her to become pregnant. Then, while she was pregnant, John boasted to her of having committed a sex crime against a very young child.

Sentencing at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Tony Cross QC said that in those conversations with the victim he had displayed his ‘true intent’.

The judge added of the victim: “That child suffered a miscarriage at a home, as a result of your unprotected sex.”

John, of Marshfield Street, Longsight , was jailed after admitting a string of sex crimes including distributing and making indecent images of children. He first came to the attention of police in August 2014, after sharing indecent videos of very young children with other perverts online.

Officers learnt that as well as posting the videos using Skype, John was discussing child abuse with other perpetrators. Questioned by police, John claimed he had left his laptop open at home and that others could have downloaded and distributed the images.

But, while he was on bail for those offences, John carried on downloading images of child abuse. In June last year, police found scores more images on another of his computers. And, while investigating those offences, police uncovered his offences against the schoolgirl.

Judge Cross told him: “The most serious images, some of which you distributed to other like-minded individuals, were of extremely young children, and in the estimation of the police some of these children were little more than babies.

“On June 19 you were arrested again, this time you were in possession of a different device, that demonstrates that you set out, deliberately set out, to accumulate images of the sort which were then found, at a time when were on trust, when you full well, despite your learning difficulties, that the possession of these images was considered to be a serious matter.

“Your offending does not end there, because police discovered by interrogating your computer that you had been in an unlawful liaison with a 15-year-old girl. You knew what her age was because the first tine you met her in a car park she was wearing her school uniform.”

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A married man who committed a sex attack on a five-year-girl in a toilet has been jailed for six years.

Stephen Manley, who denied the offence but was found guilty by a jury after a trial, will also be on licence for 12 months after his release from prison.

Manchesters Minshull Street Crown Court heard his young victim had been affected psychologically and doesnt now shut toilet doors.

Manley, 34, of Well Meadow, Hyde, was convicted of a single count of sex assault and was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period of time.

The attack took place in Dukinfield , Tameside .

Manley, who has no previous convictions, had been painting at a house when he carried out the attack.

Huw Edwards, prosecuting, said the girl was playing in the garden with another girl and went to the toilet.

Manley went into the toilet to ask if she needed help, Mr Edwards said.

Judge Jonathan Foster QC said he took advantage of her presence.

He added: There was no direct corroboration of her evidence but she made a complaint of sorts to her friend that something had happened and complained to her mother when she got home.

The court heard the girl gave accurate descriptions of Manleys tattoos and paint on his body. She gave evidence at the trial.

Paul McDonald, defending Manley, said: The defendant does not accept the circumstances of the offence. He is a man of good character.

He has been a happily married man for some years and he has retained the support of his family and friends. They do not recognise his behaviour, but he must accept the verdict of the jury. He knows and accepts that the court has a duty to perform.

Judge Foster QC added: She described distinctive features of the man who had done this. You had tattoos and had been painting.

At the end of the day the jury convicted you and that is what I have to follow. She was a very young child of five years of age and it has affected her psychologically.

Manley was also made the subject of a list of stringent conditions over future contact with children as part of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A DISGRACED Hampshire teacher has been jailed for three years after he sexually asaulted children and filmed up young girls' skirts in a school cupboard.

Benjamin Sarfas was sent to prison having pleaded guilty to 19 counts of sexual offences against children.

The 31 year old, of Springvale Road, Kings Worthy, was a newly qualified teacher at Kempshott Junior School in Basingstoke when he began abusing children in 2011, continuing until his arrest in March last year, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Dozens of family members of the nine victims, all girls aged between eight and 11, were in the public gallery as Sarfas was sent down.

Prosecutor Kerry Maylin told the court that the offences came to light when one victim was overheard telling a friend that Sarfas had indecently assaulted her and asked her to go in a cupboard and close her eyes.

Miss Maylin explained that Sarfas was warned by other teachers about being alone with girls.

She added: "His response to any such advice when they were trying to protect him was to say 'it's just because I'm a man.'"

A charge of voyeurism related to a file found on Sarfas' computer with videos showing one of his victims repeatedly taking her clothes off and putting them on again, while Sarfas asked her to practise changing.

The court heard that Sarfas was engaged and due to be married in April last year, but his fiancée called off the wedding when Sarfas was arrested in March.

Miss Maylin said his ex-fiancee, who was also a teacher, told police that Sarfas had admitted that he thought about young girls.

Impact statements were read out from the parents of the victims.

One mother said: "She's still frightened of seeing him. She doesn't like talking about what happened and does have nightmares. She doesn't want to get comfortable with teachers in case it happens again."

Another said: "It led to her feeling disgusted with herself."

Mitigating, Dee Connolly said: "His chances of a normal life and marriage are shattered and the future is rather bleak for him."

Miss Connolly said her client had been seeing a therapist and was sorry for the pain he had caused.

Sarfas was jailed for two years for seven counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 13, 12 months for 11 counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, to run consecutively, and four months in prison for one count of voyeurism, to run concurrently.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life, and banned from working with children.

Judge Keith Cutler said: "All these actions can be described as disgusting and appalling, the effects on these children has been significant, blighting what should have been a carefree youth."