Latest Offenders Chester

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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."

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Depraved Christopher Knight, 35, was part of vile grooming gang branded 'beyond human instinct and evil' who have been jailed for a total of 107 years

A gang of paedophiles who raped babies, toddlers and pre-school children and streamed the abuse over the internet to other sex abusers across the world have been branded 'beyond human instinct and evil' by a judge.

The men preyed on the families of youngsters to gain access to them and, in one case, groomed a mother and father before their baby was born.

Members travelled hundreds of miles to carry out sickening attacks together or used internet streaming to provide real-time encouragement and directions to those abusing victims.

The seven - aged between 31 and 51 and including three convicted sex offenders - were convicted of 29 child sex abuse offences, including conspiracy to rape and the multiple rape of a child aged under 13.

They are John Denham, 50, from Wiltshire, Matthew Stansfield, 35, from Hampshire, Adam Toms, 33, from Somerset, Christopher Knight, 35, from Manchester, Robin Hollyson, 31, from Bedfordshire, David Harsley, 51, from Yorkshire, and Matthew Lisk, 33, from Sussex.

Passing sentence at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Julian Lambert said: In the worst nightmare, from the very deepest recesses of the mind, at the darkest hour of the night, few can have imagined the terrifying depravity which you men admit.

What you contemplated and what you did involved the most horrific abuse of a baby and very young children.

Your thoughts and deeds are beyond human instinct and reason, and are evil beyond rational understanding.

You men indulged yourselves in some of the most depraved and grossly deviant behaviour imaginable. The depth to which you sank is astounding and highly shocking to all decent people.

What you did is contrary to all nature and humanity and you each appear to have a chilling tendency to centre the world on yourselves and your depraved desires without regard for the innocent and vulnerable.

Your conduct is of deep concern to the public and people are outraged at what you have done. What you did provokes tears in many and makes others feel physically sick.

Given the strength of public feeling I consider that retribution has a very large part to play in the sentencing exercise. This is no case for treatment and rehabilitation outside prison.

The judge continued: You each made choices. Those choices have proved catastrophic for you personally but that is of slight concern when compared with the devastating impact of your actions on the victims and their families.

The material you viewed and the urges you excited in each other were matters of choice for you. You sought out the darkest materials on the internet and met in cyberspace to discuss your perverted sexual desires.

You then planned the most shockingly sordid exploitation of the very young for sexual purposes. Targeting innocent children in that way is utterly abhorrent and is bound to receive condign punishment.

The degraded and deplorable state into which you have rendered yourselves is pitiful but there is no room for mercy here.

All sympathy and compassion must be extended to the victims of crime and their families, and not you.

Hollyson received a 24-year prison sentence plus an extension of eight years on licence while Toms was jailed for 12 years plus an extension of four years on licence.

Knight was jailed for 18 years plus an extension of six years on licence and Stansfield received a 10-year prison sentence plus an extension of four years on licence.

Denham was jailed for eight years plus an extension of four years on licence.

Lisk was jailed for four years plus an extension of three years on licence and Harsley was jailed for two years

They were all placed on the sex offenders register for life, except for Harsley whose length is still to be determined by the judge.

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The former TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been jailed for five years for indecently assaulting two schoolboys when he was a teacher.

Talbot, who was a regular on ITVs This Morning show, was described at his trial as a chancer who used his boundless energy and extrovert personality to gain the affection and trust of his victims.

The 65-year-old, who was cleared of assaulting three other boys, was sentenced by Judge Timothy Mort at Manchesters Minshull Street crown court. The judge told him: You deliberately and indecently assaulted the two of them for your own gratification.

Talbot, who was remanded in custody when he was convicted in February, showed no emotion as he was jailed. He appeared relaxed as he entered the dock and acknowledged people in the packed courtroom.

Suzanne Goddard QC, defending, said there was little that could be said in mitigation. She said Talbot had lost a stone in weight during his time in custody but was accustoming himself to life in jail.

Goddard said: He knows he must now receive a custodial sentence. He has come to terms with that.

The jury at last months trial heard that Talbot was obsessed with teenage boys throughout his teaching career and could not help himself around them when under the influence of drink.

Among the prosecution witnesses at the trial was the Stone Roses singer Ian Brown, who said Talbot gave masturbation practice as homework.

Prosecutors said Talbots modus operandi was to first establish his good guy credentials and then to break down the proper teacher-pupil boundaries, leaving his victims confused as he made his advances.

Talbot, of Bowdon, Greater Manchester, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault in relation to two complainants and cleared of eight counts of indecent assault in relation to three other complainants.

Four of the complainants were teenage pupils at Altrincham grammar school for boys, where Talbot taught biology, while the other attended a high school in Gateshead when the defendant was at teacher training college.

The science teacher denied anything sexual or even inappropriate occurred between himself and the Altrincham pupils, while he said sexual activity with the Gateshead complainant only happened when the boy had turned 16.

Both of Talbots victims were assaulted on school canal barge trips in the Cheshire area in the mid 1970s.

The first victim, who thought he was 14 at the time, said the teacher abused him after a mock naked orgy involving up to 10 boys and Talbot. Talbot told him to share a bed with him as there were not enough bunk beds to go round, and performed a sex act on him.

It emerged that he had reported the weatherman to police on four occasions dating back to 1992, but no action had been taken.

The second victim, who also thought he may have been aged 14 at the time, was abused on another barge trip in similar circumstances. He said boys would take turns to sleep in Talbots bed during the trip and when it was his turn the defendant started talking to me about sexual stuff before indecently assaulting him.

The complainant said when he was aged in his late 20s he had written toGranada Television to tell bosses Talbot had abused him.

The court heard that Talbots teaching career came to an abrupt end in May 1984 following an indecent proposal he made to two pupils at his home. He offered his bed for the night to the 15-year-old boys and said to them: Make sure you leave room for me in the middle.

Following the verdicts, it can be reported that a number of similar complaints against Talbot about offences said to have been committed in Scotland have been passed by police to the procurator fiscal.

Edinburgh-born Talbot moved at the age of seven to Sale, Greater Manchester, and later studied A-levels at Sale grammar school.

After a spell at teacher training college in the Newcastle area he joined Altrincham grammar school in 1974. He resigned in disgrace in 1984 and went into television a short time later, with one of his first jobs on a Saturday morning childrens show.

The investigation was triggered in December 2012 following publicity into a separate historic abuse inquiry at another Altrincham school, St Ambrose College, which led to a nine-year jail term for ex-teacher Alan Morris.

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A "prolific" sex offender who molested a Wirral schoolgirl on her way home received a nine-year sentence today.

A judge sentenced Andrew Bradshaw to seven years imprisonment with an extended licence of two years.

"Your record shows you are a prolific and determined sexual offender, in particular against girls of school age," said Judge Alan Conrad, QC.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that on November 14 last year 46-year-old Bradshaw parked up near a pathway in Bidston.

"You decided to take advantage of the fact it was the time of day that school girls would be on their way home.

"You parked up and lay in wait on a quiet residential road and there you saw your victim walking past.

"You got out of your car and followed her down the path and caught up with her and subjected her to a frightening and distressing sexual assault," said Judge Conrad.

After she began screaming and pushed him away, Bradshaw, a painter and decorator, ran to his distinctive black Peugeot 106 and drove back to a house in Chester, where he was working to help establish his alibi.

Bradshaw, of Hoole Way, Chester, denied sexual assault and breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, but was convicted by a jury.

The court heard he has convictions in 2002 and last year for indecent exposure and had been jailed for seven years in 2004 for indecently assaulting six women and girls.

He has also been convicted of possessing extreme porn.

Simon Killeen, defending, said that Bradshaw, who was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life, had dropped his daughter off and the offence had been opportunistic during a small window of opportunity.

Detective Constable Andy Cullen, said: "Bradshaw committed despicable offences against his young victim and thankfully she plucked up the courage to report her ordeal. Her bravery in coming forward means that Bradshaw has now been brought to justice.

"Bradshaw now has seven years in jail to reflect on the torment he put his victim through and the lasting impact it will have on her and her family for the rest of her their lives.

"Hopefully this sentencing will bring her and her family some closure now that justice has been done.

"This was a very thorough investigation by officers from the force. I would like to thank all of those involved in the investigative process who have worked so hard to bring this man to justice."

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A MARRIED teacher was found hiding in a drawer under a pupils bed by her mother, a court heard.

Andrew Welsh, a teacher at Canon Slade School, was discovered under the single divan bed when the mum came home early from a shopping trip.

The highly regarded father-of-one was yesterday given a 14-month suspended jail sentence after Bolton Crown Court heard that he had lost his career and good character following his two-month affair with the girl.

The court heard his doctor wife is standing by him and that he now works as a double glazing salesman.

Geoff Whelan, prosecuting, told how the teacher and the 16-year-old girl would meet at each others homes where they would kiss and cuddle. On two occasions, they had sex.

Welsh sent the girl numerous text messages telling her he loved her and mentioning the sexual contact between them.

Mr Whelan told how Welsh, who was not the girls form tutor, was providing unofficial pastoral care to her and that they would meet in his classroom.

She had sought his advice because she believed she suffered from depression but the relationship changed during one meeting.

Mr Whelan said: He told her he was having a bad day and asked her for a hug.

Within days Welsh suggested they spend a free afternoon together and they went back to his home where they kissed on the sofa in his young sons playroom.

The teacher, who was the assistant head of Year 10, met the girl at his house on three occasions and her home three further times.

Another time they engaged in sexual touching in his car parked in a Sainsburys car park.

But the court heard that one day the girls mother arrived home unexpectedly at 11.30am and was met by her daughter at the bottom of the stairs.

When the mother noticed that the girls hair was messed up, and lipstick she had applied two hours earlier was gone, her daughter explained she had been lying down because she had a headache.

After putting shopping away in the kitchen the mother went upstairs and pushed open the girls bedroom door to see her holding a mans jacket. A pair of mens boots were also on the floor.

The mother said: What are you doing? Whos here?

But as her daughter replied Andy the mother noticed movement coming from the compartment under her daughters single divan bed.

Mr Whelan told the court: The mother ordered the defendant to get out from under the bed and she recognised him immediately.

The mother contacted the school and police and he was arrested.

He told officers that he thought the relationship was not illegal because he believed she was no longer a pupil at the school.

Nicola Gatto, defending, said Welsh had been teaching for seven years and was a well-regarded member of staff.

She said: This was a man who clearly had a very bright future ahead of him.

Quite what possessed him to embark on this course of conduct is really unclear.

She added that it is not suggested the girl led Welsh on.

She said: She makes no bones about the fact that she found Andrew Welsh attractive and, unfortunately, he succumbed to temptation and has paid a high price for that.

It seems that he became utterly carried away with himself and didnt apply any real thought to what was going to happen to those around him.

Judge Elliot Knopf sentenced Welsh, of High Bank, Atherton, to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years and ordered him to do 200 hours unpaid work.

He said the relationship could have gone on longer if Welsh had not been caught.

He added: You should have exercised the judgement you clearly lacked when you decided to embark on this relationship.

Welsh, whose 36th birthday was today, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust at an earlier hearing.

He was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and ordered to pay 500 prosecution costs.

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A PAEDOPHILE who abused children over three decades has been jailed for eight years. Alan West, 55, showed no emotion as he was sent to prison at Manchester Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty to 17 sexual offences against children.

A PAEDOPHILE who abused children over three decades has been jailed for eight years.

Alan West, 55, showed no emotion as he was sent to prison at Manchester Crown Court.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 17 sexual offences against children.

His abuse began in 1974 and spanned more than 30 years. Two of his three victims, a boy and a girl, were eight and nine when West began sexually assaulting them. But now grown up, they felt compelled to speak out.

His third victim, a girl of eight, was abused in May 2007.

David Toal, prosecuting, said: "Some of the abuse occurred many years ago in the 1970s and 1980s when the defendant was in his 20s.

"However, he also admitted abuse that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and also an incident more recently in 2007 when he was a married man."

West, of Cheadle, Stockport, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of indecent assault, three counts of gross indecency with a child and one count of sexual assault on a child under 13.

The victims' families were in court as details of his horrific abuse were read out. In a victim impact statement, part of which was read out in court. One of the victims said West's abuse had `haunted' her.

Barry Grennan, defending, said West's wife had left him and he had twice tried to take his own life after the abuse came to light.

He said West did feel `responsible' for what he had done and did have `insight' into the effect he had on his victims.

West will have to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was also placed under a sexual offences prevention order, which stops him having unsupervised contact with children. West will be placed on licence when he is released from prison.

Judge Roger Thomas QC told West his offences had had a `devastating effect' on his victims' lives.

Det Con Claire Beach, who led the investigation, said: "West was in his 20s when his abuse started in the mid-70s, and he used the age-gap to take advantage of these defenceless children, robbing them of their innocence.

"However, the victims found the courage in adulthood to come forward and thanks to their bravery, his crimes have finally caught up with him and he is where he belongs - in jail.

"I hope the verdict demonstrates that if people are arrogant enough to think they can commit these horrific crimes and get away with it, they are wrong, and we will pursue people no matter how long in takes.

"I applaud the victims who came forward and would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to speak up."

Christopher Bradford, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Working closely together with police, the CPS Service has ensured that Alan West has faced justice for the inexcusable acts he has committed."

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A man who violently raped a Manchester student with an accomplice is starting a prison sentence. Ali Majid Kadir, aged 21 of Upper Chorlton Road, Whalley Range, was found guilty of three counts of rape and has been jailed for 12 years for each count. These sentences will run concurrently.

A man who violently raped a Manchester student with an accomplice is starting a prison sentence.

Ali Majid Kadir, aged 21 of Upper Chorlton Road, Whalley Range, was found guilty of three counts of rape and has been jailed for 12 years for each count. These sentences will run concurrently.

He has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

The victim, who was 20 at the time, had been at a friend's house in the Longsight area on Sunday 21 September 2008.

She left the house and began to walk home.

She spent around an hour walking around before she asked Kadir and another man for directions and they offered to help her find her way.

The three of them walked around for about another hour before they led her to Alexandra Park.

Kadir and the other man began drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis. The victim became uncomfortable and attempted to walk off. She was grabbed by one of the men, stripped naked and repeatedly raped.

After the men left the woman got dressed and made her way onto a nearby street where she hailed a taxi which dropped her off outside the Queen of Hearts pub on Wilmslow Road.

She was met by a friend who described the victim as being 'hysterical' and 'shaking vigorously'.

Police were called and an investigation was launched. DNA samples taken from the victim matched that of Kadir. He was subsequently arrested and charged.

Detective Constable Charlotte Nutter, of Longsight CID, said: "The victim was clearly lost and becoming upset when she came across Kadir and the other man.

"He used the situation to his advantage and subjected the woman to a completely vile attack.

"Understandably the victim is still haunted by what has happened but I hope today's sentence will help her move on in some small way.

"I am pleased Kadir will now spend many years behind bars where he belongs."

Police are still hunting Mamand Rasoulpour in connection with the attack.

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A HOMELESS man who fled from justice after having sex with a vulnerable drunken teenage schoolgirl has been locked up for four-and-half years. Laurence Joseph Stringer left his under-age victim so traumatised by her ordeal that she took an overdose of paracetamol the following day.

A HOMELESS man who fled from justice after having sex with a vulnerable drunken teenage schoolgirl has been locked up for four-and-half years.

Laurence Joseph Stringer left his under-age victim so traumatised by her ordeal that she took an overdose of paracetamol the following day.

But after being charged with having sexual activity with a child he was granted bail - and fled to the South Coast where he spent two months on the run.

The 50-year-old, who was tracked down in Surrey, was sentenced to four and half years at Manchester Crown Court after admitting what he had done.

The court heard that on August 15 last year Stringer lured the girl, who has learning difficulties, back to the tent where he lived near a canal towpath on the outskirts of Hyde.

Earlier that evening she had been boozing with friends in the town centre after an argument with her family.

Loitering

Stringer was loitering in the area and when he heard that she did not want to go home, and knowing she was drunk, he invited her to go back to the tent with him.

After fleeing from Stringer's clutches the girl slept rough outside a B&Q store.

After returning home and taking the pills she was rushed to hospital, where she told police what had happened to her.

A DNA match identified Stringer and the victim was later able to show the police his lair in the bushes.

Stringer, who has a previous conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse, was arrested on September 3 when his tent was searched.

There, officers found a scrapbook of pictures of young teenage girls around the age of 13 and 14 that had been torn from magazines.

Stringer's victim has been plagued by nightmares of her ordeal, the court heard.

Defending, Neil Usher said that although Stringer had a previous conviction for sleeping with an underage girl it was not 'something he regularly engages in'.

He added that Stringer maintained he had not raped the victim.

Sentencing, Judge Anthony Hammond told Stringer: "Force or otherwise, you had no business having intercourse with girl of that age and that's the moral situation.

"Had you been convicted of raping this girl you would be facing a dickens of a sentence. As it is it's a serious offence to have intercourse with a girl of this age. This was a girl with terrible problems in respect of personality and intellectual capacity and you took advantage of her."

Ordering Stringer to sign the sex offenders' register for life, Judge Hammond told him that when he was finally released from prison he would have said he still had to keep police informed of his movements even if though he went back to sleeping rough. was a rough sleeper.

He said: "If you live on a park bench you tell them you are living on a particular park bench and if you change it you tell them again. Otherwise, you will be in real hot water and you will be going down for a very long time."

Last month an MEN exclusive highlighted the problem of bail-jumpers. 1871 people - including at least one murderer and a number of sex offenders - are currently at large.

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A PAEDOPHILE who molested a little girl more than 20 years ago has finally been brought to justice. Convicted sex attacker Stephen Hunt, 44, indecently assaulted the youngster while he was babysitting her, a court heard. Hunt, of St Gabriel's Mews, Middleton Junction, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars at Bolton Crown Court last Thursday. He was banned from working with children for life.

A PAEDOPHILE who molested a little girl more than 20 years ago has finally been brought to justice.

Convicted sex attacker Stephen Hunt, 44, indecently assaulted the youngster while he was babysitting her, a court heard.

Hunt, of St Gabriel's Mews, Middleton Junction, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars at Bolton Crown Court last Thursday. He was banned from working with children for life.

Cries of 'scum' were heard from the public gallery as Hunt, an aircraft engineer, was led away to begin his jail term.

Judge William Morris, sentencing, said: "You have forced yourself upon this girl and subjected her to a terrible ordeal. You have abused the trust of this child's parents after they left her in your care.

"This girl has been deeply affected by this offence and it has led to significant psychological damage as a result.

"You have committed a very serious crime and this carries nothing less than a substantial custodial sentence."

The court was told that the attack took place in 1988 but the girl, now in her mid-20s, was too afraid to report it to police until last year. She cannot be named for legal reasons.

Iain Simkin, prosecuting, said: "This attack left the victim in some distress and has affected her confidence and ability to form close relationships with others ever since."

Hunt had pleaded guilty to indecent assault at a previous hearing. A pre-sentencing report presented to the court last week contained letters from the defendant's son and girlfriend, outlining his good character and caring nature.

During mitigation, Peter Cunliffe, defending, said: "While I do not want to gloss over the seriousness of this case, I would like to outline Mr Hunt's impeccable work record.

He has never been out of work and has provided good financial support to his family, especially his son, who has a young daughter.

"This is evident within the character letters submitted to the court on behalf of the defendant."

The court also heard that Hunt was convicted of indecently assaulting a woman in a taxi in 1996 and was sentenced to four months in jail.

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A LABOURER was jailed for a month and put on the sex offenders register for seven years after he slapped the bottom of an off-duty policewoman.

Anthony O'Neill, 22, was stunned when he was given the sentence. His relatives are furious and say the punishment is over-the-top for, what they say, was a silly joke. They say he has lost his job and been branded "a pervert".

O'Neill, pictured, ended up in trouble while he was drinking in a city centre street at 11am one day in November.

He told a court he thought it would be funny to smack the woman's behind when she bent down near him. Instead, the woman officer produced a police warrant card and arrested him.

O'Neill, of Goredale Avenue, Gorton, admitted sexual assault at Manchester Magistrates' Court. District Judge Paul Richardson told him: "What you did was insulting and demeaning - it was anything but funny."

Jailed

As well as being put on the register, he was jailed for a month but immediately released because he had already spent five weeks in custody.

After he was arrested, O'Neill admitted: "I have done it before. Some women like it, others don't." Outside court, O'Neill claimed he only admitted the sex assault charge because he wanted to be released after being held for 16 hours. He is considering an appeal.

He said: "I should have been sent away because it's taught me a lesson not to smack a woman's bum. But to be put on the sex offenders register is just daft."

'Drink'

O'Neill's mother, Karen, said: "I think it is terrible. People will see that and wonder what on earth has he done, and think it must be very serious. Rapists and serious sex abusers get put on for that long.

"He wouldn't harm anyone. Everyone can get a bit out of hand when they've had a drink."

The sex offenders register was set up in 1997 and holds details of about 29,000 people convicted, cautioned or released from prison for a sexual offence against children or adults.

Convicted sex offenders must register with the police within three days of their conviction or release from prison and failure to do so can result in prison. They must also inform police if they change their name or address.