Latest Offenders Chester

Description

A registered sex offender who had online chats with teenage boys, despite an order imposed against him, is now behind bars once again, after a diligent investigation by his Offender Manager.

Mark Lee (23/01/2003) of Greenbrow Road, has been sentenced to five years in prison with an extended licence period. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed off.

Lee’s victims disclosed to him that they were under 16, and he knowingly continued to target children in an online chatroom using a prohibited device.

Following his conviction for indecent image offences in 2023, where he received a suspended sentence, Lee was banned from having contact with anyone under the age of 18 and prohibited from possessing any images of anyone under the age of 18. He was also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to comply with. A case worker from our Sex Offender Management Unit conducted weekly checks on Lee from this point.

In 2022, Lee began contacting a 13-year-old boy. When using the chatroom app to speak to this boy, Lee coerced him into sending explicit pictures. He also paid a total of £1,200 to him, to try and encourage the boy into sending more explicit images. The boy tried to break things off with Lee, sensing that Lee was not 17 years old like he had originally told him. In attempts to continue speaking to the boy, Lee set up another social media account and pretended to be his own sister to communicate with the teenage boy saying to him that Lee was a good brother and good person and encouraged the boy to start speaking to him again.

At the same time, Lee was speaking to another teenage boy using the same chatroom. It was uncovered that Lee used age filters to target specifically 13-year-old teenage boys, and was pretending to be a teenager himself.

He was first arrested in November 2023 by DC Dan Foy, and placed on bail for further enquiries. However he kept up online contact and even went to meet one the boys in February 2024.

Once further intelligence came to light, we swiftly arrested him in April 2024, after his Offender Manager was made aware of a report he had made about being a victim of fraud. He reported that he’d never been paid for a laptop he sold on Ebay, but of course we knew that he should not have had that device in the first place.

On arrest, his mobile phone was inspected and found to contain images showing young teenage boys. From this, officers were able to find his victims through detective work to trace the school uniforms on a UK database along with some conducting some investigations on the phone data.

He was subsequently charged with multiple sexual offences, including engaging in sexual communication with a child, cause or incite a boy age 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, possession of indecent images of children and meeting a young boy following grooming, as well as repeated breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A POLICE worker and kids’ football coach was caught engaging in depraved sex chats with someone he believed to be a ’14-year-old girl’.

Gary Marsden actually communicated with and shared a sexualised photo with an undercover police officer.

The 50-year-old appeared before Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Monday, to face sentence after admitting a charge of attempted sexual communications with a child.

It was heard that, in his pre-sentence report, the dad-of-two claimed not to have a sexual interest in children except on the day of the chats.

However, this basis of plea was abandoned, allowing the case to proceed to sentence without the need for a trial of issue.

The charge arose out of internet chats that he took part in on February 8, 2023, explained Martyn Walsh, prosecuting.

Marsden communicated online with an undercover police officer who was posing as both a 22-year-old woman called Sophie and a 14-year-old girl named ‘Emz’.

The court heard how he sent a sexual image of himself in his boxer shorts and solicited a photo of the ‘girl’ in her nightie.

The officer played the roles of both Emz and Sophie during the course of the conversation, and the defendant, the Crown said, ‘believed and intended all that he wrote in those messages’.

At the time of the offending, the defendant was employed by Cheshire Police as a civilian supervisor in the motorway control unit, based off Robb Lane in Newton-le-Willows – a job he had been in since 2014.

He resigned from the force in May 2023 during an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The case against him was that he used a work computer to log into his Twitter account, and that he was in work when he was talking with the undercover officer.

The prosecution case was also that he took a photo of himself in his boxer shorts to send to the ‘child’ when he was in work.

Moreover, at the time of the offence he was the manager of a children's football team, and when he was arrested, he was living at the family home with his wife and two children.

During chats, after being told by the ‘girl’ that she was aged 14, Marsden asked to see her nightie and called her ‘cute’ after being sent a photo by the officer.

He also asked her to show him her legs, and after being sent another photo by the officer, he replied ‘hot hot hot’.

The defendant called the girl ‘babe’ and ‘very sweet’, discussed having an erection and commented “I don’t mind some risk.”

Marsden also made mention of the ‘girl’ visiting his office on work experience and ‘kissing her all over’, adding that he thought she was ‘so sexy’ and ‘perfect’, and that he ‘liked her a lot’.

Chats included references to her ‘perfect bum’ and that he was ‘excited’ by the photo of her in the nightie.

The chat with the undercover officer ended that same day, with Cheshire Police officers attending his home address the following day, February 9, and arresting him.

Items seized from the address included his mobile phone, on which authorities found the corresponding chats and photos.

When interviewed under caution on March 9 2023, Marsden admitted that the Twitter account was his profile, and that it was only used and accessed by him.

He admitted the communicating with the female profiles and sending all images within the communication, but he claimed he did not believe it was real or that he was communicating with a child.

In mitigation, it was heard from Steven Nikolich, defending, that his client, who has no previous convictions, should be given some credit for his guilty plea entered during a trial.

“Clearly, he is someone the Probation Service can work with,” Mr Nikolich said, with the court hearing that the date of sentence was a ‘seminal day’ as Marsden had admitted his sexual interest in children.

Commenting that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in his client’s case, Mr Nikolich asked the court to suspend the sentence of imprisonment.

Before sentencing, judge Anil Murray said: “Clearly, the threshold for custody has been crossed.

“The sentence is short enough to be considered for suspension, you are not thought to be a risk to the public, and you are a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

“On balance, I can just about suspend the sentence.”

Marsden, of Snowshill Drive in Wigan, was sentenced to nine months in prison, but this was suspended for the next two years.

During this time, he must also complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Moreover, the defendant was ordered to sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next 10 years.

Towards the cost of court proceedings, he was told he must pay £1,200, while an order was approved for the forfeiture and destruction of his mobile phone seized on his arrest.

Judge Murray added: “I reserve any breaches to myself, and if you reoffend or fail to carry out the work, we will meet again, I will remember you, and I am not likely to give you a second chance.”

Following the hearing, IOPC director of operations Steve Noonan said: “Marsden’s actions were abhorrent in sexually communicating with someone he believed to be a child.

“His actions amounted to predatory behaviour for his own sexual gratification.

“Marsden’s conviction sends a clear message for his appalling behaviour which significantly undermines the public confidence in policing.

“Our involvement ensured independent oversight of this sensitive investigation, and I am grateful to Cheshire Police’s counter corruption unit for its efforts in holding the former staff member accountable for his actions.”

The IOPC recommended Marsden had a case to answer for gross misconduct, and following a hearing in January this year, it was determined that his actions breached the police standards of professional behaviour.

This was relating to authority, respect, courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity at the level of gross misconduct.

It was ruled he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned, and he was placed on the barred list, meaning he cannot be employed in policing in the future.

Description

A convicted sex offender has had his jail term increased after another victim came forward. Damien Riley, of Ewood, Oldham, was convicted of 16 incidents of inappropriate sexual activity relating to four young boys in Oldham in the 1980s - when he was a teenager - by a jury in 2021.

The former carer was jailed for 10 years. Sentencing him at the time, Judge Angela Nield said: "The victims of your offending behaviour were four in number - they were children, children who all lived on the same estate in very different times to now, when it was commonplace for groups of children to play together on the street.

"When those children were believed, usually with good cause, to be safe by their parents, safety in numbers; sadly in this case that was far from the truth.

"Each of them was undoubtedly damaged by that behaviour and by their premature and inappropriate exposure to sexual experiences.

"All these young men were part and parcel of a group of children who should have been enjoying the delights of playing with their friends and the games that were enjoyed in the streets of Oldham, but there was a very much darker undercurrent on that street."

Following the sentencing in 2021, another victim who lived in the area at the same time, has come forward.

Amy Weir, prosecuting, said Riley, who was a teenager at the time, performed a sex act on the boy. Mitigating, Michael Johnson said his client was a child at the time, and the maximum sentence for such offences which were committed in the 1980s was 12 months imprisonment.

Jailing him for a further year, Judge Nield said: “In 2021 and following a trial in respect of four separate complainants who alleged similar types of behaviour. I sentenced you to 10 years imprisonment.

“This complainant did not come forward until much later and you chose to have a trial, which is your right. He had to give evidence about something which was very distressing to him.

“It was open to you to acknowledge your guilt and potentially to come clean and avoid the situation you have now found yourself in.”

Riley was sentenced to 12 months, to be served consecutively to his current sentence, for indecent assault on a child.

Description

Philip Hamer (13/08/1990) of Birchfield Drive, Worsley, was charged on 6 March 2024 with sexual offences against eight victims.

The charges relate to offences taking place between 2010 and 2023. 

Hamer had already admitted several offences but following a trial he has now been found guilty of a further 21 charges, including eight counts of rape; seven counts of sexual assault; six counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; and one count of sexual activity with a child.

Hamer was found guilty of 33 charges by a jury at a trial which concluded at Manchester Crown Court today (Friday 29 November 2024).

Detectives investigating Hamer found he used social media apps to target and make contact with his victims by manipulating and grooming them. Many of Hamer’s victims were teenagers at the time they were abused.

After one victim came forward, Hamer’s phone was seized which enabled police to trace further victims.

Hamer would send unsolicited pictures to his victims and also tracked their movements.

He incited his victims to send him hundreds of pictures and videos over a period of seven years. One victim was in fear that Hamer may disclose the pictures to others or come to their address.

Officers later found voyeuristic videos and pictures Hamer had taken of people in changing rooms who were not aware they were being filmed.

Hamer worked as an ice hockey player and had appeared on television shows as an extra. He sexually assaulted an actress while on set of one show.

Hamer will be sentenced on Thursday 30 January 2025. 

Description

On Monday 18 November 2024 at Minshull Street Crown Court, Thomas Noone 30/11/1990 of Stretford, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault by penetration against a minor and one count of sexual assault against an adult.

A brave victim of a child sex offender has helped get her rapist sent to prison after disclosing non-recent sexual abuse offences which happened when she was just 4-5- years of age.   

An in-depth investigation commenced in 2020, when the victim’s grandfather contacted colleagues in Lancashire about non-recent sexual abuse which took place at an address in Greater Manchester in 2010.  

Noone was previously convicted of a similar offence in 2016 when he was found guilty of a sexual assault of a female under 13 and received a three-year prison sentence, and was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. 

During the course of the investigation, another victim bravely came forward to disclose that she had also been sexually assaulted by Noone back in 2014. 

One of the two victims in this case had the confidence to come forward to police after she saw a press release that had been issued about Noone. The victim disclosed that Noone had sexually assaulted her when she was a very young age at an address in Greater Manchester. 

When interviewed by detectives, Noone denied sexually assaulting both victims. During trial, Noone pleaded not guilty but was subsequently found guilty by a jury.

Description

A former police officer who was sacked earlier this year for sexually assaulting a child on duty has now been jailed for nine years.

Dean Dempster (aged 35), from Manchester, has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life after previously admitting to sexually assaulting a child while on duty working as a response officer in Oldham.

He was convicted and sacked by the Chief Constable at an accelerated misconduct hearing earlier this year. He has since admitted six counts of making indecent images, and two counts of misconduct in public office.

On 29 December 2023 Dempster was one of three officers responding to a domestic incident involving an adult and children. It was while taking an account from a six-year-old girl, away from colleagues, that he sexually abused her when he should have been there to protect her.

After we investigated a complaint received later that evening, Dempster was immediately confronted by his supervisor when he returned to duty the next morning. 

He was arrested that day by officers in Oldham and relentlessly pursued by our Professional Standards Directorate to explore any further evidence of offending, in an investigation directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A review of Dempster’s devices revealed further serious offending to include making of indecent images of children, to which he pleaded guilty to six counts of including two counts of the most serious category A.

Our investigation also found images on his mobile phone taken from his body-worn video camera at the incident in December 2023 of a second clothed child, and of another clothed child at a separate incident dating back to 2022. The victims of both families have been made aware and kept updated throughout our investigation.

Dempster pleaded guilty to two counts of Misconduct in a Public Office for abusing the permission granted to him as a police officer and for using footage, captured for a policing purpose, to possess for his own perverse gratification.

We have reviewed thousands of Dempster’s previous deployments while at the force and did not find any further evidence of criminal behaviour. However, anyone who is affected by this case is encouraged to contact police and they will be listened to.

We sacked Dempster at the earliest legal opportunity in May 2024 and he has been barred from policing. He has been ordered to serve five years on license following his prison sentence.

Description

A man has been jailed after he used social media to prey on young girls for sex.

Thomas Hall, from Salford, exploited his victims 'purely to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires' and even offered some of them money to find him someone younger, police said. He was also found with dozens of indecent images and videos of children on his phone.

Officers first started probing the 34-year-old in November 2020 after a 12-year-old girl received 'sexual communications' from a man in east Cheshire on WhatsApp. Police linked the messages to Hall and his former home in Cheshire was raided.

He was arrested and police seized a number of mobiles and devices. Cheshire Police said officers found more than 30 incident pictures of children, as well as 30 indecent images.

Seven 'extreme pornographic' images and videos and a bestiality video were also uncovered. Investigations revealed that Hall had been communicating with his victims using fake identities including a woman called ‘Alex’ and a teenage boy called ‘Jack’.

Police said he would 'tell them fake stories' and manipulate them into sending him indecent images. Following an investigation, Hall was arrested and charged.

At Manchester Crown Court yesterday (October 24), Hall, of Rolling Street, Salford, was jailed for 11 years - plus three years on extended licence. He admitted four counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child and four counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

"He has shown no regard for his victims and no remorse"

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of a child and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Peter Taylor, who led the investigation, said: "Hall is a predator, he is manipulative, and used his age and experience to prey on young girls purely to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires.

"He has shown no regard for his victims and no remorse for his actions. His offending only came to an end when he was arrested by our officers.

"While none of the victims will ever be able to forget what happened to them, I hope that Hall’s conviction and the sentence handed to him will provide them with some closure." DC Taylor added: "Sexual abuse can happen anywhere at any time and the impact can be lifechanging.

"Therefore, its vital that parents and guardians engage with their children to warn them of the dangers of communicating with people via social media. It also important to check that they are using those applications safely and to keep an eye out for any warning signs of sexual exploitation.

"I hope that Hall’s convictions and sentencing encourages anyone who has been subjected to similar offending to report it to the police. They should feel confident that they will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers and other support agencies we work alongside.

"All victims will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, and any allegations will be taken extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and the needs of the victim as our main priority."

Hall was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A prolific sex offender who was found with indecent images of children on their device has been jailed.

Thomas Quinn, who now identifies as Chloee-May Danvers, appeared at Chester Crown Court today, Monday 21 October where they were sentenced to 40 months in prison.

The 25-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children, distributing indecent images of children, attempting sexual communication with a child, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), attempting to breach a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders register.

The case against Danvers began on Monday 15 July, when officers from the Sex Offenders Management Unit attended Danvers’ home address on Housman Close, Chester, as part of the routine checks made to monitor registered sex offenders.

During the visit, officers found two category A indecent images of children in a deleted folder stored on Danvers’ mobile phone.

Danvers also admitted to resetting their laptop which goes against the conditions of the SHPO.

They were arrested and subsequently charged with making indecent images of children and breaching their SHPO.

Danvers was released on conditional bail ahead of their court appearance, however just three weeks later, Cheshire Police received information that Danvers was continuing to offend.

On Monday 5 August, officers reattended Danvers’ address, and arrested them on suspicion of sexual communication with a child.

Officers also seized Danvers’ mobile phone that had messages which show Danvers attempting to sexually communicate with a 9-year-old girl.

Two unregistered social media accounts - unknown to police - were also found on Danvers’ phone, evidencing further breaches of their SHPO.

Danvers would exchange indecent images of children with other users via these unregistered social media accounts, some of which recovered were of category A and category B.

When interviewed, Danvers answered “no comment” to all questions, but was later charged with the offences.

Upon appearing at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 13 August, Danvers was left with no choice but to plead guilty.

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A predator who took advantage of a teenage boy's infatuation with him has been jailed.

Matthew Helliwell, 36, preyed upon the young boy and sexually abused him on three occasions, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Friday, October 4. His victim - now an adult - bravely faced him in court as he told him: "I have got closure from people listening to me."

Helliwell, of Chesterfield, was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child following a trial. It was said that he undertook a "meaningful" attempt on his own life in the court's cells following the jury's verdicts.

The victim took to the witness stand to read out his statement and said: "I reported this nearly four years ago. It had been delayed for some time. I have had to deal with this ever since it happened but it was amplified when my family found out. My mental health has been really suffering for two years...

"It all started when I was 13 to 14 years old. I was diagnosed with depression last year and have been given medication to help...I don't think anyone should have to go through this...There are moments where I forget about it and am my happy self again, then I have moments where I cry myself to sleep because I have to face him again.

"This experience has made me realise how strong I am. It made me feel I can take control of my life and move on. I got closure from people listening to me.

"The happy child I once was had to endure explicit sexual abuse and felt trapped because I had to keep it secret and I didn't realise what was happening. It has taken everything in my willpower to come to court today but I will no longer feel embarrassed because I was a child and he was a grown man."

Mitigating, Laura Marshall said Helliwell had no previous convictions on his record. She added there was a doctor's report given to the court. She told Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson KC: "There are no real concerns - you know hat happened in the cells when he was remanded but the doctor has no real concerns."

The barrister said the delay in proceedings was of no fault of Helliwell, who was first interviewed in 2020 but then not ordered to appear at the magistrates' court until September 2022. She said: "You will see he has been making very good progress while in custody, making the best use of his time there the best he can. He is anxious to know his fate but he is realistic."

The court heard Helliwell's partner killed themselves last year.

Jailing him for seven years Judge Richardson told him: "These were individual and single acts. He was an adolescent boy when these crimes occurred. At the time you were in your early 30s...It appears that he had an infatuation or certain feelings for you. As a consequence, you took advantage of that situation.

"His feelings were reciprocated and this involved the sexual abuse...I have read the psychiatric report against you and I find you made a very real suicide attempt at this court when you were convicted..."

The judge said there was an "element of grooming" and a "breach of trust" committed by Helliwell against his victim. He added: "Although your sexual misconduct was repeated, it was not repeated many times...This was not one of those cases where there is sexual abuse going on for months on end. There were three separate, individual occasions."

The judge made Helliwell the subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victim for 10 years, and notification requirements indefinitely.

Description

Alan Cunningham (08/01/1961) pleaded guilty in June 2023 to four counts of sexual activity with a girl under 13 and possessing indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.

Cunningham was also made to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely today (Friday 4 October 2024) at Liverpool Crown Court.

Cunningham was already serving a three year prison sentence for other child sex offences. He will now spend another 15 years in prison and a further four years on extended licence. 

In May 2019, Cunningham began sexually assaulting a nine-year-old child and forced her to send him indecent photographs of herself.

His behaviour continued until March 2023 when the mother of a the child noticed inappropriate text messages from Cunningham to her daughter.

Text messages were sent by Cunningham to the victim with comments such as “Where are my kisses at the end of messages” and “you could have took me to the bath too”.

Following examination, a number of category C images were found on the device seized from Cunningham, with him requesting that the victim send nude pictures in return for money.

His conviction follows an investigation led by the Wigan Complex Safeguarding Team and Detective Sergeant Vicki Flemming.

Description

A Chester sex offender has been jailed after trying to meet an underage girl for the purposes of sexual activity.

Ivan Jones, 35, of Osprey Court, previously pleaded guilty to all charges.

Appearing at Chester Crown Court on Monday, September 16, Jones was jailed for a total of four years.

The court heard that Jones, who already had a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed in January 2022 for previous offences, tried to get a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity in March this year.

Jones also tried to breach his SHPO by arranging to have unsupervised contact with an underage girl in Chester.

The defendant also attempted to send messages to an underage girl requesting images and videos of that girl's breasts, and sent an image of his private parts while trying to request images of another girl's breasts.

Judge Michael Leeming sentenced Jones to a total of four years and extended his SHPO so it was now indefinite.

Jones is now on the sex offenders register indefinitely and, as part of the SHPO, is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with any child under 16, and has restrictions imposed on his internet usage.

Description

A sex abuser who's campaign went on for more than half a century has finally faced justice.

Atherton man Peter James Wilson, 67, began his series of crimes in 1972 and would go on to abuse seven victims over the next 51 years.

Bolton Crown Court heard how his crimes had ranged from incident assault, rape and others.

Judge Abigail Hudson said: “The reality of your offending is that damage you have caused will go on forever.”

Starting in 1972 Wilson began a horrifying pattern of abusive behaviour towards young people that went on for decades.

He subjected multiple victims to deeply traumatising experiences, ranging from inappropriate advances to devastating acts of coercion and rape.

Wilson’s crimes continued over the years as he manipulated and took advantage of his victims, shattering their innocence and trust.

But 2023 marked a turning point, as Wilson was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault involving a child following an incredibly brave disclosure from one of his victims.

This led to a police search of his home where police found two mobile phone devices, a disc enclosed within an envelope, and a small camera containing an SD card and a hidden camera.

Analysis of the camera and mobile phones unearthed videos showing the exploitation of a female child.

These videos fell under the category of first-generation, type A indecent images of children, capturing deeply distressing and sadistic acts.

Upon gathering this information, people were interviewed, and evidence was taken.

This led to the discovery of further victims of Wilson's horrific abuse and Operation Bunker was initiated to manage all 28 counts of Wilsons abuse and his crimes.

Brought before the courts Wilson, of Bowling Green Row, Atherton, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 by touching.

He also admitted to sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 by penetration, and creating an indecent image of a child.

But after a trial he was also found guilty by a jury of 23 further sexual offences relating to child and adults including indecent assault and rape.

Judge Hudson commended the courage of Wilson’s victims and jailed him for 27 years with an extended licence period of five years.

He will also be on the sex offenders' register for life and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A man who 'clearly poses a danger to children' has been locked up after he tried to abduct a 14-year-old boy in Stockport.

Sheraz Bhatti was sitting in his orange and black Mini car on Jacksons Lane in the Hazel Grove area on March 20 last year when he spotted the boy walking home. He shouted him over to get his attention, a court heard.

Bhatti, 43, then asked him if he wanted to get in the car. He offered to take him home and told him he had drinks to give him. Thankfully the boy continued walking and told his parents what had happened when he got home. They contacted the police.

Officers later found that Bhatti had searched on the internet for a school on the street where he had parked up and spoken to the boy. They tracked down the distinctive Mini as belonging to him and found it parked outside his home in Wythenshawe the following day.

They seized two phones and found almost 300 indecent images of children on them, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Some were category A, the worst kind, with others category B and C.

Bhatti was also found to have four bank accounts which he had not informed police about - which was in breach of the sex offender indefinite notification requirements he was made subject to following a conviction for sexual offences in 2008. He initially denied attempting to abduct the boy, but accepted he was on the scene.

In December last year, he then pleaded guilty to attempting to abduct a child. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, two counts of possessing indecent photographs of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child. and failing to comply with notification requirements.

Today (August 16), at Minshull Street Crown Court, Bhatti, of Longhope Road, Wythenshawe, was jailed for four years and three months. Richard Holliday, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "This incident encapsulates every parent's worst nightmare. Sheraz Bhatti clearly poses a danger to children.

"I would like to thank the boy for his quick thinking in raising the alarm which has helped us bring him to justice and protect other children from any other potential abuse. The Crown Prosecution Service takes offending of this nature extremely seriously and will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice."

Description

A vile paedophile instructed women to sexually abuse their own children in ‘disturbing’ online chats. Persistent offender Kevin Watson has been locked up again for another series of disgusting crimes.

Police discovered the ‘extremely graphic’ chats on devices which he’d tried to hide when they checked up on him. After they made the grim discovery, Watson, 61, from Stretford, was hauled back before the courts and is now serving another jail sentence.

The sex offender realises he has ‘come to the end of the road’ and is ‘determined to make long lasting change’, according to his lawyer.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard Watson had previously been handed a sexual harm prevention order when he was locked up and in 2020. He thought he was chatting to who he believed to be a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, but in fact they were undercover police officers posing as children to snare paedophiles.

Last year, Watson was jailed for two years for breaching the order. Officers from GMP’s sex offender management unit attended his home and asked him to hand over electronic devices for inspection.

Watson handed over some of them, but after searching on his wireless router the officers realised there were a further two devices which he hadn’t disclosed. Two further devices were found hidden behind a gas meter and under some drawers in his bedroom.

By the time he was sentenced to two years, the devices had not been fully examined. But they eventually were and officers discovered further incriminating material.

“On these devices the police discovered text message threads between the defendant and four females,” prosecutor Joshua Bowker said. “All of the chat threads were extremely graphic and disturbing.

“They included the defendant instructing these women to commit sexual offences against their own children.” He added: “These four females are unknown, the police cannot identify who they are. They appear to be from other countries.”

Police checked up on Watson again in April this year, and he handed over a phone and laptop to officers. They discovered that he had been accessing ‘teen chat rooms’ on five separate dates, which he was banned from doing as part of the sexual harm prevention order.

Watson pleaded guilty to four counts of publishing obscene articles, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Defending, James Hudson said of the defendant: “He knows full well, if he continues on this path, sentences will just get longer and longer.”

Mr Hudson said Watson lives a ‘fairly lonely and solitary life’, and said his ‘daily consumption’ of alcohol affected his ‘judgement and control’. Watson is ‘determined to make long lasting change’ and ‘knows he can’t continue in this way’, Mr Hudson added.

Recorder Geoffrey Lowe sentenced Watson to a further two-and-a-half years in prison. “You are acquiring a very unenviable record for sexual offences,” the judge told him.

Description

Today, Friday 26 July, a man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after being found guilty of historical child sexual abuse in Liverpool.

Raymond Andrews, 57 years, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape and six counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.

His heinous offences was committed in Liverpool between 2014 and 2016.

Andrews, who is from Liverpool but has been living in Oldham, was also issued a restraining order, Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be required to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.