Latest Offenders Cumbria

Description

A VOLUNTARY online organisation who seek out sexual predators online have reacted to the sentencing of a paedophile who was jailed for committing online child sex offences.

Peter Davies was sentenced after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual communications with a child and attempting to cause / incite a child to engage in sexual activity between March 5 – 18 this year.

Preston Crown Court heard the 46-year-old, of NFA, believed he was sexually communicating with a 14-year-old girl, when he was instead talking to an adult decoy from ‘365 Hunters’.

It comes after Cumbria police secured his arrest on March 23 following a successful sting operation conducted by the voluntary group.  

In a 36-minute video shared to over 50,000 followers on Facebook, Davies told 365 Hunters he had been DBS checked having worked in schools fitting catering equipment.

The group also confronted Davies, who was wearing only a dressing gown and slippers outside his then home address in Dalton, about him asking the child for pictures of her in her school uniform.

Before his sentencing, magistrates were told Davies asked the child to engage in sexual activity of a non-penetrative nature and to provide sexual images of herself for his own sexual gratification over a period of two weeks.

Another court hearing was required on April 3 after Davies’ wife found he had children’s bras, underwear and a school uniform in his car.

On that occasion, Cumbria Constabulary lawyer Gemma Rogerson successfully applied for an interim sexual risk order to be put in place before his sentencing after she deemed Davies was at a ‘high risk’ of reoffending.

As a result, His Honour Judge Darren Preston jailed Davies for 28 months on July 4.

He was also made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A CONVICTED sex offender who was ‘unwilling to comply with court orders’ has been jailed for failing to disclose details of an unregistered bank account to police.

Neil Bamber, of Emmanuel Court in Barrow, was ordered by a court to alert police to any financial changes in his life within three days, Preston Crown Court was told.

The 67-year-old pensioner was made the subject of a 20-month suspended sentence order in February 2021 for attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child.

The court heard Bamber had also been placed on a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for 10 years, as well as being required to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders register as part of the sentence.

Prosecutor Keira Shaw said the defendant had only ever declared a Natwest bank account to police.

She said officers received information that the defendant had been using another bank card registered to a HSBC account.

As a result, Ms Shaw said officers attended the defendant’s address on April 11 this year to conduct a routine home compliance check.

She told the court the defendant was offered the opportunity to disclose the account before signing a document detailing that he understood the terms of his SHPO.

However, Bamber was then subsequently arrested for failing to notify police of a change in his circumstances, the court was told.

The court heard he told officers he did not want to disclose the information as he believed he would lose all of his pension and savings. He conceded that the account had been open for 40 years.

Ms Shaw said Bamber was sentenced to another 16-week suspended sentence order in June last year for ‘waving at a child’ whilst outside a school, which put him in breach of the original order.

Bamber was sentenced on June 12 after conceding he had failed to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

In mitigation, his barrister Tom Farr said: “He recognises this was a stupid decision not to declare his bank account. He was concerned for the security of his savings. He was paranoid about what might happen to his financial security and pension.

“He is the full time carer for his wife who suffers with dementia and Alzheimer’s. He receives payment from the government for this. There is no other care in place for his wife.

“It would be unjust to activate his suspended sentence in my respectful submission. He is at low risk of reconviction and does not commit persistent offences. I ask you to draw back from immediate custody today.”

However, Recorder Ayesha Siddiqi disagreed with the defence submissions and as a result jailed Bamber for 42 weeks.

Before passing sentence, Recorder Siddiqi said: “It was concerning behaviour.

“There was a long period of non-compliance here. You had been asked on four occasions to complete a form to disclose your bank details. You were then given the opportunity on the day you were arrested.

“There is no reason why declaring your account would have resulted in the loss of your savings.

“You were incapable or unwilling to comply with the requirements of the law.

“You have a history of poor compliance with court orders. Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by an immediate custodial sentence.”

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Dan Chadwick of Cumbria Constabulary said: “Neil Bamber has been non-compliant since his initial conviction for attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.

"This discovery of an undeclared bank account shows his continued level of non-compliance.

“I am pleased with the result, and I hope it sends the message out to the public that Cumbria Police proactively manage sex offenders.”

Description

A CUMBRIAN child sex offender who is classified as “very high risk” has been given tougher restrictions on his online activity.

A Cumbria Constabulary police officer told Carlisle Crown Court that 26-year-old Jonathon Fell had repeatedly lied and shown himself to be manipulative when confronted by attempts to manage the risk he poses in the community.

The defendant, who has lived in Carlisle and Workington, committed his last offences within days of being released from an earlier sentence.

In February 2021, he was jailed for 45 months for various online child sex offences, including causing a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity. On several occasions, he used a mobile phone to incite young children into sexual activity.

He had contacted them through various social media platforms.

The officer told Judge Nicholas Barker: “He’s assessed as very high, which means he’s deemed to be immediately at risk of reoffending.”

On the last occasion, [in 2021] within a week of leaving prison, Fell had bought a phone.

Having been released on January 28, he began offending “really, really quickly.”   The officer asked the court to impose three new conditions on Fell’s sexual harm prevention order:

*  A requirement that he must notify the police of any intention he has to buy or obtain a phone or digital devices in advance of acting on this intention.

*  A stipulation that his police offender manager can carry out unannounced spot checks on his devices on 12 occasions every year.

* And a requirement for Fell to submit to lie detector tests, with seven days notice.

Under his present sexual harm prevention order, Fell was allowed to acquire a phone or internet device provided he notified the police within three days of taking possession of it.

During his offending, said the officer, Fell managed to keep an internet device he had secret from the police and the Probation Service.

The officer said: “Mr Fell has on a number of occasions been manipulative and has lied to the police and other agencies. At present, unannounced checks were possibly only if the force had “reasonable grounds.”

The officer accepted the judge’s assessment that Fell’s word could not be trusted unless his claims are independently verified. “Polygraph testing is absolutely essential to be able to manage him,” added the officer.

Jeff Smith, for Fell, said there was no need for the new conditions. Judge Barker approved the first two strands of the application but rejected the request for compulsory polygraph testing.

The advanced notice of Fell acquiring a phone or other internet device would close the three day  “window of opportunity” the defendant would otherwise have.

Explaining the rejection of lie detector tests, the judge said: “He is not on licence, and it seems to me, looking at all the circumstances, that the police are in possession of sufficient supervisory powers to ensure compliance with this order.”

The judge added if the police find evidence of Fell "persistently lying and manipulating" then the force can reapply to have the polygraph testing imposed.

The defendant has previously lived at Wastwater Avenue, Workington, though more recently he has lived at Lowther Street, Carlisle. He has been told that he will be on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.

Description

A TRANSITIONING sex offender who posed as a teenage girl online and shared indecent child images told a court, ‘that wasn’t me’.

Emma Davies, 60, pretended to be a 14-year-old to talk to girls of a similar age and shared an explicit image of a young girl she had received, presenting it as herself.

The supermarket worker told Workington Magistrates’ Court she took responsibility for what happened but that person was ‘not who she is today’.

Outlining the case, prosecutor Pamela Fee said police attended Davies’ home address at Moor Place in Frizington on August 31 last year.

Officers had received information that Davies, who was then known as Nigel, had been accessing images of children online.

Police seized devices and a category C image was located on two devices. The image was of a 13-year-old girl and there were other images of the same child on the devices.

Davies was first interviewed by police on August 31. She said she had been diagnosed as a ‘possible transexual’ and thought she could be a girl.

The defendant said she had never asked for sexual images. She said she had pretended to be a 14-year-old girl online and had talked to girls of a similar age.

They talked about things such as music and depression, she said, and it ‘allowed her to be someone who is not me’.

Davies was interviewed again in December 2023 and was shown the image that had been found on her devices.

She said she could recall the image but didn’t know who it was. She said they had ‘got talking’ and the girl had sent a topless image without her asking.

Davies couldn’t remember which platform it had been sent on and said she believed the girl was 13 or 14. The defendant said she thought she would have been presenting  as a teenage girl when the image was sent to her.

She said the image wasn’t for her own sexual gratification but was for the ‘persona of who she wanted to be’.

Davies said she had then shared the image of the girl online, pretending it was herself. She said she was always in her ‘teen girl role’ when she shared the images. 

The defendant transitioned in February this year, the court heard.

Ms Fee said: “There’s clearly a need for a sexual harm prevention order. There is a risk of further sexual harm.

“She was presenting herself as a young girl to speak to other young girls of a similar age. She has used devices to speak to people before and then got rid of them.

“A small number of images were found. She sent those images on to other people, presenting them as herself. That person is a victim of sexual abuse online.”

Davies, who was not legally represented, told the court: “It’s quite a difficult period in my life. I have a little bit of concern about who I am today and what happened back then. That wasn’t me.

“I have moved on with who I am. I take responsibility for what was happening. I didn’t distribute images, as far as I can remember. For anything that happened, I am sorry.

“Over the last nine months, I have lost a lot. I made the decision to rebuild my life. I’m transitioning. I would like the opportunity to progress with that.

“I’m the happiest I have ever been in my life. When I speak to probation, it’s distressing for me to go back to a person that I am not. I don’t like that person.

“It was me but it’s not me now.”

Davies told magistrates she was not a threat to the public and no longer goes online.

She said: “I want to move away and start again because that’s not going to happen round here.

“The person I was, wasn’t a very nice person, I suppose. I find it very distressing and unsettling to bring this person back into my life.”

Davies, of Moor Place, Frizington, had admitted making two category C indecent images of a child and failing to surrender to court bail at an earlier hearing.

Passing sentence, magistrates imposed a five-year sexual harm prevention order and a 12-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Davies is required to present herself at the police station as a sex offender within three days.

She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Description

A sex offender’s repeated attempts to evade police scrutiny over his online activities have landed him behind bars, again.

Christopher Penrice, then known as Lloyd James Christopher Ditchburn, and living in Workington, in Cumbria, was jailed at Carlisle Crown Court in January 2022 for downloading indecent images of children and two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Those offences stemmed from his use of specialist software to put his phone into “incognito” mode, disabling police monitoring software and enabling him to download indecent images of children undetected.

The 26-year-old defendant, now living in Embleton Street, Seaham, under the name Penrice, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Thursday (May 16) where he admitted a further count of breaching the terms of his SHPO, as well as notification requirements as a sex offender, having indicated guilty pleas to two SHPO breaches at the magistrates' court, last month.

Charlie Thompson, prosecuting, told the crown court sentencing hearing there has been, “a pattern of like offending, in breach of court orders”.

The SHPO was updated at court in Carlisle when he was sentenced in January 2022 and was to run for ten years, superseding a previous order imposed in 2020.

Among the terms of the order, he was prohibited from using cloud storage without informing the police or accessing file-sharing and chatroom facilities unless he provided his user name or password.

But on a monitoring visit at his home in Seaham on April 17, an officer checked the defendant’s mobile phone and discovered he had accessed a social networking site application, which was downloaded on April 2, without him having notified police, while also failing to provide a user name or password, in breach of the order.

He was also using a file-sharing system which he had failed to disclose to police and was using alias names, including Seaham2023 and hannaharris82.

Mr Thompson said in a further breach it was found Penrice was using a drop box storage application, accessed during March this year.

When interviewed he gave “no comment” replies, , but he indicated likely guilty pleas when he appeared before magistrates the following day.

The court heard his previous convictions stem back to 2014, as a juvenile, when he admitted offences of making and distributing indecent images of children.

He was again convicted for downloading indecent child images plus outraging public decency, an offence of “up-skirting”, in 2020, before the 2022 prison sentence was imposed for more images offences and breaching his SHPO.

Mr Thompson said as part of his post-prison licence conditions following the 2022 conviction, Penrice was subject to the monitoring checks, which were due to expire this month.

He described his recent offending as, “a series of breaches which were persistent in nature.

“Considering his antecedent history and the nature of the offending his recent online offending and having unfettered access to file sharing media is a serious offence.

“Both are aggravated by numerous convictions for having indecent images of children and his past breaches.”

Calum McNicholas, in mitigation, said the defendant merited credit for his guilty pleas, at both the magistrates and crown courts for the offences, for which there was some “overlap”, as they all form part of the same offending.

Judge Jo Kidd told Penrice: “You are a relatively young man who has managed to accrue a pattern of offending all geared towards accessing sexual images of children on the internet.

“These go back to the juvenile court in 2014, when you would have been a very young man.

“You were subject then to an intensive surveillance order, but that doesn’t seem to have had any deterrent effect as several years later you were back at court for further indecent images offences and committing an act outraging public decency.

“You were given the opportunity of direct targeting work to address your behaviour and interests and you were made subject of notification and a SHPO, but, unfortunately, you were back at court for offences of distributing indecent images and breaching a SHPO, in January 2022, for which you received a 32-month sentence and were made subject of a ten-year SHPO.

“The commission of these offences came while you were subject to post-sentence licence conditions and you have come up with new ways of trying to evade the prohibitions placed on you.

“Despite the supervision on you, you continue to use aliases and continue your interest in indecent images of children, in what were persistent breaches of your SHPO.”

Imposing a 24-month prison sentence she also made Penrice subject of a new SHPO and notification requirement, both running for another ten years.

She also made a deprivation order of the phone seized and examined by police on the April 17 monitoring visit.

Judge Kidd reminded Penrice that committing further offences while on licence, following his release from his latest sentence would only land him behind bars for a further period of time.

Description

A MAN who made indecent images of a child has been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register.

Ryan Tinkler, 30, pleaded guilty to making 12 Category C indecent images of a child when he appeared before Workington Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Tinkler, of Valley View, Little Clifton, Workington, committed the offence between June 2022 and February 2023.

Magistrates ordered the defendant to complete a 30-day sexual offender programme and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed with a number of conditions which include making any device with access to the internet available to police upon request, not using any online service that conceals, falsifies, or disguises the IP address and not deleting any internet browsing history records.

Tinkler is required to register with the police as a sex offender for the next five years.

Description

AN EDEN Valley pub worker has been jailed after his perverted behaviour was exposed by paedophile hunters who posed as children online.

Over a ten-day period, 53-year-old Daniel Walker exchanged sickening sexual messages and images with two people whom he mistakenly believed were 14-year-old girls.

They were actually adults posing as children.

At Carlisle Crown court, the defendant, of Greystoke Park Road, Penrith, was sentenced after he admitted seven offences, though his claim from the dock to have no sexual interest in children flew in the face of the evidence, said the judge.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.

He said Walker sent Facebook friend requests to the two people who had created profiles that made it clear they were ‘14-year-old girls.’ Their conversations included references to parents and homework.

During his messages to the ‘girls,’ Walker, who claimed to be 22 years old, indulged in sexualised conversation and sent them a picture of his genitals as well as a video of a child performing a sex act.

He spoke also of being a chef and running a pub and restaurant, suggesting that one of the girls could visit it. With both decoys, he later moved to another social media app which uses more encryption, said Mr Burke.

The prosecutor then outlined how the defendant had shared child abuse images with online contacts. They included images of a ten-year-old being sexually abused.

The defendant admitted two counts of attempting to sexually communicate with a child, downloading hundreds of abuse images, including 462 Category B images, and more than 800 Category C.

He had 124 images classed as Category A, the most serious kind. Walker also admitted having extreme pornography, which featuring “extreme violence,” as well as distributing child abuse images.

Charles Brown, defending, said the distribution offence involved a “relatively small” number of images to a limited number of individuals. A single man, working in a pub, the defendant said his only real conversation was online.

The lawyer said: “He would maintain that he has no sexual interest in children but the Probation Service are obviously cynical about that.”

The defendant now regarded his online activities as a “stupid way” of addressing his issues.

Mr Brown added: “He is a solitary individual, whose life started to go downhill in 2006 when a child he and his wife had died after only a few hours.

“That caused him gradually to retire from the world.

"The internet and the communications it provided gave him conversations and social intercourse and that was as valuable to him as any sexual aspect.”

Judge Nicholas Barker dismissed Walker's claim to have no sexually interest in children, telling him: “The evidence would suggest significantly to the contrary.”

His communications had displayed “classic grooming” techniques. “I have no doubt that you knew exactly what you were doing,” said the judge. He then listed the hundreds of child abuse images collected by Walker.

“Overall, this is a significant body of offending,” concluded the judge.

He jailed Walker for 33 months and ruled that the defendant must be on the Sex Offender Register for life and subject also to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.

Two of the volunteers from the Protection of Kids group, which confronted Walker at his home after exposing his online activities, were in court to see him sentenced.

Description

A WEST Cumbrian man who worked in museum management has been jailed after he admitted sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

The child suffered nightmares and lost her innocence because of the abuse committed by 53-year-old Stephen Jones, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The defendant, who worked as a duty manager at Workington’s Helena Thompson Museum, admitted eight allegations, most relating to his sexual contact with the teenager.

One arose out of his creation of an indecent child image. Prosecutor Steven Swift outlined the facts.

He said that the first indication that the defendant had taken advantage of the girl came when the child’s mother noticed messages which Jones had sent to her daughter on her mobile.

They seemed inappropriate.

When the girl’s mother confronted her daughter, the teenager confirmed that Jones abused her sexually six times. She had recorded some of what happened between her and the defendant in her journal.

Part of the contact between the girl and Jones involved him sending her an indecent image of himself and asking for photos of her.

In some of her writings, the girl had spoken of Jones as being “creepy” and she also said that she had hated the sexual contact.

“The defendant is 53 and a man of previous good character,” said the prosecutor.

Brendan Burke, mitigating, said: “The only serious mitigation in this case is the defendant’s indication of guilty pleas.”

Judge Michael Fanning said that the offending happened over a relatively short period of time. “But she was a vulnerable girl and you knew that,” the judge told Jones, of Brierydale, Salterbeck, Workington.

The impact on the victim had been heart-breaking. She had now “retreated into herself” and suffers nightmares. The judge added: “Her childhood innocence has been stolen and there is no replacing it.”

He jailed the defendant for four years and eight months and put Jones on the Sex Offender Register for life.

He will be subjected to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order forbids him from having any contact with the victim.

Description

A REGISTERED sex offender has been brought back before a court after he failed to notify police he had been using an online dating app.

William Kirkbride, 59, is required to notify police of any names or aliases he uses within three days under the terms of a 10-year sex offender notification requirement.

He was jailed for 21 months in June 2022 for facilitating a child sex offence and was released on licence on August 10 last year.

Kirkbride had used the gay dating site, Grindr, between August 28 and September 11 and had not notified police, Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.

Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said the defendant was spoken to by the police officer who had examined his mobile phone.

He admitted using Grindr and accepted he hadn’t told his offender manager the username.

Ms Fee said it was a deliberate failure to comply with the requirement.

Kirkbride, of Queen Street, Whitehaven, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register.

John Cooper, defending, said: “On release, there is no restriction on him being allowed to use the app. He is allowed to use it but has to tell police all his details – his passwords and usernames.

“He has been in conversation with a probation officer and said he was using that app. There has been no attempt to hide it.

“There is monitoring software on his phone so it would have been discovered.”

The court heard a decision had been made not to recall Kirkbride to prison. He remains on licence until October 9 this year.

A probation officer said Kirkbride had been compliant and had engaged with several partnership agencies including a GP and mental health services. Citizens Advice were also involved to assist with the sale of Kirkbride’s property.

Magistrates imposed a nine-week curfew, to run daily from 6pm until 6am. Kirkbride was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE distributed explicit images of children being sexually abused to other online users, and engaged in illegal chat with what he thought was a teenage girl.

Simon Tiller, 57, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday (Monday) for what a judge described as a pattern of continued sexual offending which was wired into his DNA.

It was following chat between Tiller and an undercover police officer that he was unmasked as the person using a number of different online aliases. Discussions, through a messaging application, related to the sexual abuse of minors.

Michael Scholes, prosecuting, said of the communication method: This is a platform often favoured by those with an interest in the sexual abuse of children owing to the high level of anonymity it offers.

Tiller was arrested in May 2022, at a motorhome in which he was living within the grounds of a private north Cumbria property.

Several phones were recovered including a Samsung Galaxy in Tillers shorts that he had tried to hide. This was found to contain many hundreds of accessible indecent images of children including 317 stills and videos classed in category A, the most serious.

Over several months, Tiller was found to have discussed with others the sexual abuse of children and distributed indecent images.

The court heard Tiller had also covertly taken indecent photos of a child which he said he was prepared to pass on.

Tiller admitted nine charges involving the possession and distribution of indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornographic images and attempted sexual communication with a 14-year-old girl who was actually a police officer. He was convicted by a jury of one voyeurism offence.

Kim Whittlestone, mitigating, said Tiller had expressed remorse, despite conclusions to the contrary which had been drawn by a probation officer.

He will use his time in custody as well as he can, said Miss Whittlestone.

He is realistic that the court will keep him within a custodial environment for some time hence.

Tiller was jailed for a total of 39 months by Judge Michael Fanning, who concluded that he had sought to minimise his offending and shown a degree of self-pity.

You are a paedophile, said the judge. The (pre-sentence) report shows you are a risk to children. This offending was into your DNA, and until you accept and address that you remain a risk to children.

Tiller, latterly of Blackford, near Carlisle, must sign the sex offender register, and comply with the strict terms of a prevention order, for 10 years.

Description

A sex offender has been jailed after lying about an illegally-held phone to access indecent images of children.

North Cumbria-based Bruce Chandler, 57, was previously given a two-year suspended prison term in 2021, and was also required to curb his online use after making sexual advances online to whom he believed were young girls.

Earlier this year however, he was found to have viewed several indecent images.

The judge said Chandler had made "no attempt" to mend his ways.

Chandler of St Martin's Close, Brampton, was originally handed a suspended prison term by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court in 2021 after making sexual advances online.

He believed he was approaching young girls and requested topless photos and attempted to meet one female.

'Deceitful'

Earlier this year, police visited Chandler who told them he was not in possession of any prohibited devices capable of connecting to the internet.

During a further, unannounced home risk assessment visit a fortnight later however, Chandler was seen trying to hide a smartphone.

"I've had it for over a year," he confessed to police. "I know I shouldn't have it. I thought I could get away with it. I lied about it the last time you were here."

It emerged Chandler had used the phone from December 2022, 14 months into the two-year suspended prison sentence term, to access nine indecent images of children.

Chandler was also found to have accessed one extreme pornographic image featuring a dog and logged into Instagram using an undeclared online alias.

In addition, the court heard he had deleted almost 4,500 web browser searches.

On Monday, Chandler admitted seven offences including four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), possession of nine category C indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and breaching sex offender notification requirements.

Defence lawyer Andrew Gurney, mitigating, said: "He wishes to apologise to the court for what he has done."

But Judge Michael Fanning observed that Chandler had been guilty of "deceitful" and "dishonest" conduct.

The judge imposed a new SHPO which will run indefinitely.

Description

A registered sex offender who broke the terms of a court order and attempted to communicate sexually with what he thought was a child has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Iain Stavert, 60, was brought before a court following work by police after he communicated online with a law enforcement employee who he believed to be a child.

He admitted a range of charges, covering:

• Breaching and attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order.
• Failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.
• Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Stavert, of Low White Close, Barrow, appeared before Preston Crown Court for sentencing.

Detective Constable Ashlynne Elliott oversaw the case.

Speaking after the sentencing, she said: “We work hard to monitor and manage people who are subject to such orders.

“As in this case, we will find out if they breach the terms of these preventative orders and we will do all we can to ensure they are held accountable for their offending.”

Stavert was sentenced on Thursday.

Description

A SCHOOLGIRL subjected to grooming behaviour and unwanted sexual touching by a 55-year-old west Cumbrian man bravely told a court how the offending changed her life.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Paul Henderson listened in silence as the teenager described the devastating impact of his crime. 

At an earlier hearing before magistrates, the defendant, of Firth View Walk, Workington, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually touching the girl over her clothing.

Prosecutor Paul Brookwell outlined the facts.

On the day of the sexual assault, said the barrister, Henderson initially began “joking around” with the girl but the teenager later reported that his facial expression suddenly changed, and he began touching her sexually.

He suggested the girl she liked what he was doing - but the teenager ran away and immediately reported what happened to a friend.

A short time later, there was then a confrontation between people who were made aware of the offence and the defendant, with Henderson telling them: “I don’t know what came over me; I am so sorry.”

He then drove into the Lake District, feeling suicidal and guilty after admitting what he had done, said Mr Brookwell. Henderson’s family reported him missing.

Twelve hours later, when police found him, he told the officers: “I’ve done something I should not have done.”

At the police station, he made full admissions and accepted the teenager’s account of what he had done. Before touching the girl, the defendant told her that he wished he too was a teenager so he could spend a day with her.

Everybody in the court, including the girl's family, listened as the teenager stood in the witness stand and read her victim impact statement, outlining the impact of the offending. She wanted Henderson to hear her account as she faced him across the courtoom. 

“Since this incident,” she began, “I have been anxious about everything – even leaving the house." Whenever she sees a bald white man – a reference to the defendant – her stomach jumps and she begins to feel sick and shakes, she said.

She was unable to shut what happened from her mind. “I just don’t feel safe,” the teenager told the court, recalling how the memory of defendant’s face - which became "serious and creepy' as he committed the offence - kept replaying in her mind.

“It can happen any time but is normally worse at night,” she continued. “I feel scared and get a knot in my stomach."

Daniel Bramhall, defending, said the defendant had never before been before a court and he felt ashamed of his behaviour and disgusted with himself.

“This behaviour is completely out of character,” said the barrister.

“He simply does not have an explanation for what happened. He accepts it was a foolish and stupid mistake but can’t give any explanation for why the offence took place. He has suffered from issues with his mental health.

“He is supported by his family, who remain supportive of him with the full knowledge of what took place.”

Character references painted a different picture of Henderson to the man who committed the offence.

Though his family did not condone what Henderson had done, they spoke of his reliability and how he continues to be there for them.

Mr Bramhall added that the defendant had been assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending and he presented a realistic prospect for rehabilitation. “He is absolutely terrified of going to prison,” added the barrister.

Recorder Eric Lamb told the defendant: “You have been in court to hear the consequences of your selfish sexual act.” The victim was vulnerable and the impact on her was abundantly clear from the statement.

The judge accepted Henderson felt remorse but noted the "element of grooming" in his behaviour before he committed the sexual assault. Recorder Lamb imposed a six-month jail term, suspended 18 months, saying that rehabilitation work with the Probation Service would provide wider protection for society.

The defendant will be on the Sex Offender Register for seven years and subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.

Description

A SILLOTH man has been jailed after he admitted sexually assaulting a child.

Peter Wood, 53, of Green Row, Silloth, who declared himself "disgusted" with his own behaviour towards the child, was handed a two-year jail term at Carlisle Crown Court after he admitted his guilt.

He committed the offence in June, with Wood's defence barrister saying the underlying issue for him was alcohol.

Judge Richard Archer also put the defendant on the Sex Offender Register for a decade; and imposed a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. Temporary Detective Constable Georgia Skelton, Carlisle & Wigton CID, said: “We are pleased that we have been able to secure a conviction in this case.

“Peter Wood held no regard for the impact his actions would have on the victim in this case when he committed this offence.

“I would like to thank the victim for their bravery in reporting what happened to them and assisting our investigation.

“We are committed to bringing offenders to justice and will do all we can to ensure they are held to account.

“If you have been victim to a sexual offence, please do not suffer in silence. We work with trusted partner agencies who can provide appropriate support.”

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A PERVERTED west Cumbrian pensioner tried to meet up with a 14-year-old boy so he could sexually abuse him.

But unbeknown to 75-year-old Whitehaven man Geoffrey Restrick, the “child” was an under-cover police officer.

The pensioner admitted attempting to sexually communicate with a child and arranging to meet him so he could commit a child sex offence. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Kim Whittlestone outlined the facts of the defendant’s offending.  

The attempted sexual communication happened online over a ten-day period, between June 19 and 29, the court heard. It involved Restrick exchanging messages with a person who identified himself as a 14-year-old boy.

“There were numerous discussions about meeting up and about the sexual acts they would engage in,” said Miss Whittlestone. The communication initially happened on the Grindr social networking site.

Restrick was using the online name “Discreet Fun.”

But at the defendant’s suggestion, the conversations were quickly transferred to a private WhatsApp platform. The barrister said: “The conversation therefore continued about and there were discussions about sexual acts.”

Restrick also asked the “boy” for sexually explicit pictures.

Miss Whittlestone continued: “The defendant was repeatedly told during the conversations that the male was 14. He asked for a photograph of the young boy. A photograph was sent on one occasion.

 “The image indicated a 14-year-old boy and the defendant’s response was to say: ‘You are very attractive.’” Restrick then asked for photos of the boy in his school uniform. At one stage, the court heard, the pensioner arranged to meet the boy in a named local store, which Restrick attended.

But he kept his distance, watching to see if the boy turned up. “He repeatedly made requests to meet,” said Miss Whittlestone, adding that this was accompanied by conversation about the sexual things they would do.

Andrew Gurney, defending, told Judge Nicholas Barker: “This [defendant] is a man of previous good character and he wants the court to know that he is truly appalled by his actions and he is remorseful.”

Restrick,  of Calder Avenue, Whitehaven, was also concerned about the impact of what he had done on his family. Mr Gurney added: “He’s effectively lost everything due to his actions and he deserves what’s going to happen to him today.”

Judge Nicholas Barker told the pensioner: “You came into contact with what you genuinely believed was a 14-year-old male child.” 

The judge dismissed a claim that Restrick made with probation staff that he was not sexually interested in the child, saying that his sexual discussions and attempt to meet the “child” were not fanciful.

He had acted on his plan to meet the boy and his intention was to “engage in sexual activity”, said the judge.

Judge Barker said the defendant’s claim to not be attracted sexually to children roused suspicion in the probation officer’s mind and in his mind, given that Restrick had described the sexual acts he wanted to perform on the “boy.”

Accepting that the defendant was remorseful, and that had faced difficult challenges in his life, the judge jailed Restrick for 29 months. The pensioner will be on the Sex Offender Register for a decade.

He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. He is likely to be released on licence at the half way point in his sentence.