Latest Offenders Cumbria

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A FORMER CUMBRIAN MoD police officer who was secretly collecting and viewing child abuse images has been given a community order.

Andrew Stevenson, 24, who has now been sacked from his Ministry of Defence job in Barrow, was arrested after police raided his home in Ulverston in August last year, CarlisleCrown Court heard.

On his iPhone, police found a child abuse image of Category C - the least serious kind.

But a forensic examination of the defendant's three devices - the phone, an iPad and a desktop computer - led police to an online file storage account where Stevenson had amassed dozens more sickening images, including videos and images of Category A, the most serious kind.

The defendant earlier entered guilty pleas to the following three allegations:

* That on or before June 3, 2021, at Ulverston, he downloaded 94 Category A indecent photographs of children. Category A is the most serious category for this type of offence.

* That over the same period of time, also at Ulverston, he downloaded 37 Category B indecent images of children.

* And that over the same period, and also at Ulverston, he downloaded 34 Category C indecent photographs of children.

Kim Whittlestone, prosecuting, told the court: "He has a sexual attraction to children as young as seven."

Ellen Wright, defending, said Stevenson had been dismissed from his police officer role following a disciplinary hearing the day before he appeared in court for sentencing.

Stevenson did not want to make excuses, said Miss Wright. "He is thoroughly and utterly ashamed of himself," said the barrister. 

She went on to argue that the best way to prevent a repeat of the defendant's criminal behaviour was not to send him to prison but to send him for an intensive sex offender treatment programme in the community. 

Miss Wright spoke of Stevenson's mental health difficulties, including anxiety and depression. She pointed out also that since the prosecution was reported in the press the defendant had “gone into hiding.”

Miss Wright said: “He lives in a very small town and everybody in that town now knows about it and that has had a very isolating effect.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Anna Vigars KC told the defendant: “On August  17 last year, a warrant was executed at the house where you lived alone and three items were seized. A Category C image was found on your iPhone.

“It was replicated on your iCloud account and a significant number of [other] images were found.”

The judge noted that Stevenson’s collection of abuse images included “short films”, lasting several minute and depicting  ”extreme sexual  behaviour” which involved children, some of pre-pubescent age.

Recorder Vigars said the people should be able to invest trust in police officers and offending such as Stevenson’s broke down that trust.

The judge noted also the defendant’s previous good character, and how he provides care for his grandparents, taking them to medical appointments.

Recorder Vigars said that she could impose a short jail sentence but that option would include only limited opportuntiies for rehabilitation work, she said.

She therefore imposed a three-year community order which will include 200 hours of unpaid work as punishment and a “Moving Forward and Making Changes” programme, which will involve 300 hours of work to address his offending.

Stevenson, now living at West Park Crescent, Kilmaurs, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, will remain on the Sex Offender Register for five years and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.

This will include various restrictions, including preventing him from having unsupervised access to any child.

After the case, Katie Beattie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “As a serving police officer, Andrew Stevenson was expected to uphold the law and protect people.

“By downloading these images he was feeding directly into an industry which sexually exploits children. The CPS and the police will continue to work together to robustly prosecute anyone who commits such abhorrent offences, particularly those in positions of trust in our society.” 

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A COURT heard moving statements from two young men who were sexually abused as teenagers by a former Workington teacher.

Paul Stuart Adams, 74, who was once responsible for pastoral pupil care at the school where he worked, was widely known throughout west Cumbria for his knowledge of theatre, music and the arts.

But he abused the trust people had for him by sexually exploiting two teenage boys who turned to him for advice and guidance.

Adams, of Banklands, Workington, denied more than a dozen charges relating to two teenage boys. The jury convicted of nine counts, including indecent assaults and paying for the sexual services of a child.

During this trial, the jury heard that Adams regarded as a 'pillar' of his local community was so trusted that parents were happy for their children to go to him for advice on theatre and acting.

The prosecution had outlined how one victim visited Adams at his home, where the pensioner ran his own recording studio. Adams gave the teenager whiskey before asking him to strip naked.

He told the boy that this would be a good way to prepare for being on stage.

After the abuse began, the boy turned to using drugs and alcohol to blank out what had happened to him; and Adams then took further advantage of the teenager, offering him cash in return for sexual favours.

He paid the boy between 100 and 200 in exchange for being touched sexually or he got the teenager to strip naked, the court heard. Described by one of the victims as a 'master manipulator,' Adams was particularly interested in spanking, The victim told Carlisle Crown Court.

As Adams watched from his prison video booth, the now adult victim courageously stood in court and read aloud his account of how the sexual abuse had ruined his life, robbing him of precious years of childhood.

He said that he had turned to drink and drugs cocaine and Ecstasy to blank out the pain of what Adams had done to him. At its height, his addiction involved him using those drugs every day.

The man told the court: In 2021, I received a diagnosis of PTSD as a result of this crime. I was suffering with nightmares and flashbacks particularly if I saw someone who matched the height and build of Paul.

I would wake up numerous times in the night in cold sweats. I would get flashbacks of the recording studio and what Paul did to me.

"I ended up taking time off work as a result of this as I couldnt cope.

The trauma reached a crisis point which saw the man have to walk out of work half way through his shift, he said.

He was off work for two months.

Since then, he had been given professional help that has included medications and therapy. Although I am much better, he said, what happened never leaves me. It is always a niggle in the back of my mind.

There is always something that triggers a memory or a thought bringing it to the forefront. Its still something that enters my mind daily.

The man spoke also of having self-harmed and how his trauma had left him struggling to hold down relationships. His drugs use had been a coping mechanism, he said.

Recalling how the abuse changed his life, the man said: My friends and I were always out together; we would be at the skate park, camping, doing the things that teenagers do.

When this started happening with Paul, these things stopped and by the time I came out of the emotional stress of what was happening I was in my early 20s and feel like I had the better years of my childhood taken from me.

The court also heard from the second victim, who came forward after reading in the News & Star about how Adams had been charged with child sex offences. He spoke of the profound effect.

This included feelings of self-hatred and sadness.

Now a young man, he suffered panic attacks and depression and returning to west Cumbria triggered painful memories of the abuse.

Richard Dawson, for Adams, said the defendants parents had died in their mid 70s and he feared that the jail term he faced would effectively be a life sentence. His time on remand has been particularly difficult for him, said the barrister.

He added that the risk posed by Adams was 'negligible.'

Judge Richard Archer said the defendant abused young men who turned to him for support and, from the evidence of the trial, he was satisfied that he had also abused a third boy and acted inappropriately towards another.

Noting that Adams was assessed as representing a significant risk of harm, the judge said the defendant continued to deny wrongdoing. Until he accepted his guilt, that risk would remain high, said the judge.

He told the defendant: You were a pillar of the Workington community.

Involved with local theatres for many years, Adams had been considered a worldly man, with experience of life beyond west Cumbria and knowledge of the stage and the arts.

It was that reputation and experience that led to both your victims visiting you at your home," said the judge. Adams paid for sexual services from one boy at least six times and one of the victims was just 15 when Adams first abused him.

Adams was jailed for seven years.

He will remain on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order. This prevents him from having access to any child unless the parent or guardian is aware of his offending history and unless he has the express permission of Social Services.

Nor can he live in any household where there is also a child resident. Adams will be released on licence when he reaches the half-way point in his sentence.

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A MAN caught by a group of 'paedophile hunters' attempting to meet a teenage girl has had his sentencing put back.

Darren Rybak was stung by the group at Barrow's railway station after he exchanged messages with a 13-year-old girl who turned out to be a decoy.

A video of the sting was posted on social media by the group Elusive Child Protection Unit.

Rybak, 50, of Nelson Street in Barrow, admitted attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He was due to be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday but did not show up.

A warrant was issued but it later transpired he had told his solicitors he was unwell.

He is now due to be sentenced on Friday.

In the video Rybak is confronted by members of the group outside the railway station, who claim he has arrived there to meet a girl who has travelled more than two hours from Manchester.

Rybak tells the group he was going to take the 'girl' back to his home to 'watch movies'.

He also admits sending explicit images of himself to the decoy account.

Rybak also tells the group he would class himself as a 'paedophile'.

The dating site account he had communicated with was operated by a member of the group.

Until his sentence he is subject to interim notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act

Police in Cumbria have made it clear they do not condone the methods of 'paedophile hunter' groups.

Peter McCall, the county's police and crime commissioner, said: "It's a difficult area - what we don't want is people going around taking the law into their own hands.

"But there is no doubt information they have supplied has led to catching and prosecuting some offenders.

"The message is: if you do have information concerning these online predators feed it to the police and they can look into it."

A spokesman said: "Cumbria Constabulary will act appropriately on any information which is reported.

"However, the Constabularys position on so-called paedophile hunter groups reflects the position of the National Police Chiefs Council, in that we understand the desire to protect children but any member of the public who has information about child sexual abuse, online or otherwise, should contact police so it can be investigated and bring offenders to justice."

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A WORKINGTON paedophile who was jailed in 2020 was trawling the internet to ask schoolgirls for sex within weeks of his release from prison.

The latest offending of 23-year-old Joshua Sibbald was exposed thanks to the work of two volunteer paedophile hunter groups who deployed decoys posing as girls aged 13 and 14, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The defendant, of Salterbeck Drive, Workington, admitted eight counts of attempting to sexually communicate with a child and three of downloading child abuse images, including three classed as Category A, the most serious.

He also admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, outlined how in February, after his release from an earlier three year sentence, Sibbald began going online, using two websites to make contact with people he believed were young girls, aged 13 and 14.

The profiles he clicked on featured photos of girls who were clearly around that age but they were decoys, set up by the citizen-run groups called Team Shade and Book of Exposure. Describing one of those groups, Mr Rogerson said activist parents who are concerned about adults who sexually groom children online.

One activist, posing as a 14-yaer-old, later described being contacted by Sibbald on February 14. She clearly said that her age was 14, said Mr Rogerson, but Sibbald was not deterred.

The suggestion was immediately put by Mr Sibbald that they should meet up to have sexual intercourse and he was aroused by her.

She replied: Hey, Im 14; I cant do that. Sibbald had similar conversations with other decoys, despite them clearly stating their age as either 13 or 14.

The messages he sent to the girls ranged from discussing sexual matters to requesting that they send naked photos of themselves, said Mr Rogerson. He also also discussed having intercourse with them, added the prosecutor.

Sibbald has been assessed as posing a "high risk of serious harm" to children.

Recorder Tony Hawks said that it was a matter of considerable regret that Sibbald was not given help to address his sexual interest in children while he served the custodial part of his three year jail term.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said that a recent psychiatric and probation reports were helpful, and revealed that the defendant has a low IQ and that he was suffering from ADHD, unstable emotional personality disorder and a degree of autism.

When discussing the case with the barrister over a video link, he had become extremely distressed, said Miss Whittlestone. She said: He doesnt want to reoffend and wants to find out why he behaves in the way he does.

There appears to be some clarity about the issues which need to be addressed and hopefully lower the risk [of reoffending] if he gets the support he needs.

She added that it was extremely sad that the work he should have done while in prison, given the covid situation, was not done. Within a short time of his release, he was living a very isolated life and began drinking, she said.

The offences were committed while in drink, added Miss Whittlestone.

Recorder Tony Hawks told Sibbald: You are a young man with considerable difficulties; and it is unsatisfactory to say the least that during the time you spent in custody on that sentence it appears that there was no input whatsoever to address what is obviously a fundamental problem you have in relation to a prurient interest in under-age girls.

The judge noted Sibbalds severe educational problems and his various psychological challenges but added: You knew perfectly well that you have no business doing what you did.

The judge imposed two years custody and said that Sibbald, who was recalled to prison to complete his earlier three year sentence for eight child sex offences, will be on the Sex Offender register for a decade.

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A SIXTY-four-year-old Brampton man has been put on the Sex Offender Register after he admitted downloading child abuse images.

Police who seized devices owned by Bruce Beveridge discovered that they contained five indecent child images which were classed as Category A, the most serious kind, Carlisles Rickergate court heard.

The charge relates to images that included a video which lasted for seven minutes and 31 seconds, the contents of which prosecutor Peter Kelly said should not be aired in court.

Beveridge committed the offence over a period of almost six years, the court heard. The charge states that between December 6 of 2014 and March 25 of 2020, the defendant made or downloaded five indecent Category A images of children.

Mr Kelly said that the offences came to light after the police visited the defendant at his home on July 9, 2020. Given the nature of the images found on the devices, said Mr Kelly, the defendant should be sentenced by a judge at the crown court.

Lauren Heasley, defendant, said Beveridge was a man of previous good character and asked background reports. These will be prepared by the Probation Service.

The lawyer accepted that it would be more appropriate to have the case dealt with by the crown court.

Magistrates agreed.

They told the defendant that he must report to Carlisles Police HQ at Durranhill within three days and provide his personal details, as is required for those people who are on the Sex Offender Register.

The defendant will be sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court on July 11.

In the meantime, he was granted bail. The length of time his name will be on the Sex Offender Register will be determined by the ultimate length and nature of the sentence he is given.

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A SEX offender who now devotes his time to caring for animals had two secret iPhones in breach of a court order designed to curb his internet use.

Carlisle Crown Court heard that Allan Smith, 34, told police officers that the two phones they found at his home when they visited him on June 3 last year belonged to his brother. But the brother said the phones were not his.

Smith, of Stonegarth, Morton, pleaded guilty to three allegations of breaching a sexual harm prevention order that he was given July 2017. Two related to the phones he had and the third to his attempts to hinder the police investigation.

The order part of his sentence for inciting a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity was designed to ensure that the defendants use of the internet is controlled and monitored.

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said the two phones were found in the defendant's living room when police officers visited him at his home as part of their monitoring work. Both phones were protected with a numerical code.

The officer asked him for the codes and he refused the request and said the phones were not his but belonged to his brother, said the prosecutor.

The brother denied owning the phones.

There was also evidence that the phones had been used to access Facebook, something else that was prohibited under the terms of Smiths court order.

The court heard that a Probation Service background report had described the defendant as deceitful and manipulative. Yet a 37-page psychological report concluded that a jail sentence would have a devastating effect on Smith.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said: Over the last three years, hes been able to establish secure accommodation.

After being released from custody, Smith had lived in a bail hostel and then in bed and breakfast accommodation. For the first time, since losing his grandfather, with whom he had previously lived, he now had stable accommodation.

A former worker at a Penrith poultry factory, Smith now ran an allotment and spends most of his time there and he focused on caring for animals.

They included 25 pigeons and ducklings. Classed as vulnerable, and suffering from ADHD, he lives an isolated life, added the barrister.

Recorder Andrew Nuttall noted that there was no suggestion that the phones were used for any illegal purpose, such as looking for young girls. Jailing him would also cause significant harm to the animals he cared for, noted the judge.

Any risk he posed was minor, said the judge, concluding that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

The just said: A community order is the right sentence for you and society would benefit from you having 30 days of rehabilitation activity in the community. Recorder Nuttall imposed 200 hours of unpaid work as punishment as part of the 12-month order.

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A REGISTERED sex offender sidestepped a strict court order by having a host of electronic devices he had not declared to police, a court heard.

When interviewed by police, Steven Singleton, 63, spoke of being a hoarder who built computers and held the misguided belief that legal transparency would see his life destroyed.

Singleton had first been sentenced by magistrates in 2014 for 11 offences which related to indecent images of children and extreme pornography, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

His punishment included the imposition of a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) aimed at curbing online crimes. That placed a legal obligation on him to declare internet-capable devices, and make them available to police for installation of motoring software.

But Singleton was found to have flouted the order after police paid a routine visit to his Levens home on May 10 last year.

A host of devices including laptops, an iPhone, iPad, tablet and fire sticks were seized. He denied having them, but did have them, said prosecutor Brendan Burke.

Singleton, of The Green, admitted breaching the SOPO and was sentenced at the crown court by Judge David Swinnerton.

Richard Bennett, defending, said one device was fitted with the monitoring software but conceded the others did not.

I think the main point is there are no illegal or prohibited images on any of the devices which, of course, have been thoroughly examined by police, said Mr Bennett.

The fact there are no images is a clear indication that following the original conviction, the sanctions meted out to him in 2014 have been successful, in part."

Unemployed Singleton had since completed a sex offender treatment course and in 2017 was assessed by the probation service as posing low risk of reoffending.

He told police in interview he is a hoarder particularly with computer equipment which he likes to build, said Mr Bennett. His misguided thought was that police would take the devices from him and in effect destroy his hobby and, to use his words, his life.

All of the devices had been in his possession for a number of years. This is another lesson he must learn by way of a court sanction.

Judge Swinnerton suspended an eight-month jail term for two years and ordered Singleton to undergo further probation service rehabilitation. He will be deprived of the seized devices.

You must comply to the letter with the terms of the SOPO, Judge Swinnerton reminded Singleton.

Description

A FORMER councillor has been placed on the sex offenders register after changing his plea on the day he was due to stand trial for child sex offences.

William Kirkbride, 57, of Queen Street, Whitehaven, faced charges of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and engaging in sexual communication with a child.

In an agreed basis of plea with the prosecution, Kirkbride pleaded guilty to attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence on October 27 last year.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges at a pre-trial hearing held on February 8.

A trial was due to take place at Carlisle Crown today.

The case has now been adjourned until June 10, to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service.

Kirkbride, who was described as "a man of previous good character" has been bailed until his next court appearance.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth, warned Kirkbride that "all options were open" when passing sentence.

He told the defendant: "The fact I'm giving you bail shouldn't give you an indication of your sentence on June 10. That will be a matter for the judge to decide on the day. All options remain open."

In the meantime, Kirkbride must not have any unsupervised contact with children, must not use any internet sites to have contact with anyone under 18 and must reside at a named address.

Description

A KENDAL man has been put on the Sex Offender Register after he admitted three sex offences involving a child.

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Stephen Wetton, 62, of Garden Street, Kendal, entered guilty pleas to three allegations when he appeared before a judge at Carlisle Crown Court. Those offences were outlined in court as follows:

- That he attempted to cause or incite a child a girl aged 13 - to engage in sexual activity on April 27, 2020.

- That he attempted to cause or incite a child the same 13-year-old to engage in sexual activity on May 5, 2020.

- And that he attempted to sexually communicate with a 13-year-old between April 15, 2020 and May 20 of that year, doing so for his own sexual gratification and knowing or believing that the person was aged 13.

The defendants defence barrister told the court that Wetton was a man of previous good character and requested a pre-sentence report. The defendant is aware that the Sex Offender Register will bite as of today, said the barrister.

Judge Nicholas Barker told the defendant that the period for which the defendant will remain on the Sex Offender Register will be determined by the length and nature of sentence that he ultimately receives.

The judge set the sentencing date as May 26, granting the defendant bail until that day. In the meantime, a background report will be prepared.

Description

A 20-YEAR-OLD Carlisle man whose unhealthy sexual interest in children was exposed by a paedophile hunter group has admitted having a secret social media account for use with people aged under 16.

Daniel Pearson suffered public humiliation as more than 75,000 watched a video of him being confronted about his offending.

Aged 18 at the time, he had used a social media website to have sexualised conversations with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl, unaware that it was a volunteer decoy from a paedophile hunter group.

He had to leave his home after the moments when he was first confronted by the paedophile hunters on his own doorstep was live-streamed on the Internet.

Pearson was put back before Carlisle Crown Court this week to face a new allegation, that he flouted a sexual harm prevention order by failing to disclose a Snapchat account that he operated under a false name.

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said the defendant was convicted on August 2 last year of attempting to cause a child aged 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He was given a three-year community order.

This included a sexual harm prevention order, which involves the police strictly monitoring his use of any internet enabled devices and a ban on him having unsupervised contact with any child.

Within an hour of him entering his guilty plea, Pearson was quizzed by police about whether he had any other social media accounts. He was also asked whether he used any aliases in his online interactions.

He denied using any other social media accounts, said Mr Rogerson.

Yet five months later, said the prosecutor, the defendants offender manager arranged for Pearsons mobile phone to be analysed and it was confirmed that he had an undisclosed Snapchat account.

It was illegal from the moment his sexual harm prevention order was imposed. Mr Rogerson said: To summarise his interview, he admitted failing to comply with the notificiation [Sex Offender Register] requirements.

He told police he was afraid to disclose the Snapchat account. The false name he used, he said, was given to him by a landlord so he could be rehoused anonymously.

Mr Rogerson said that Pearson had used the Snapchat account to communicate with people aged under 16 but there was no evidence to show that this contact had been in any way sexual.

Mark Shepherd, defending, said the defendants engagement with his work designed to rehabilitate him had been nothing short of tremendous. He was also attending regular counselling. He comes to this court today knowing that he had made a massive error of judgement, said the lawyer.

Unusually, Pearson, who admitted breaching his court order, had not denied his sexual proclivity and wanted treatment to address this. His background included a childhood trauma, and experience of significant bullying.

That provided a reason why he sought out the company of younger children and social isolation had contributed to his offending. But the defendant was now about to take up a new job.

Recorder David Tempkin QC noted the defendants excellent progress with his existing three-year community order, which includes a sexual offender treatment programme.

He also recognised that Pearson was keen to do the right thing. The Recorder accepted that Pearson had faced difficulties in his community, having had to repeatedly move after publicity about his offending.

The Recorder imposed 16-weeks custody in a young offenders institution but he suspended the sentence for 18-months. At the original sentencing hearing, Mr Shepherd said Pearson struggled with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Description

A CONVICTED sex offender gained access to children by volunteering to play Santa at a Carlisle community church's Christmas party.

Darren McGuinness, 48, who has a previous conviction for downloading images depicting the sexual abuse of children, also helped to organise a family Halloween party at the church hall.

At Carlisles Rickergate Magistrates Court, McGuinness, of Fairfield Gardens, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to two allegations of breaching a sexual harm prevention order: one offence was committed on October 30 last year and the other on December 18 last year.

Prosecutor Malcolm Isherwood said the defendants offences were a breach of an order made in May of 2011 which was meant to prevent him from having unsupervised access to any child.

The sentence was part of his punishment for multiple offences of downloading child sex abuse images.

The wording of the first charge stated: On Saturday, December 18, at Carlisle in the county of Cumbria, without reasonable excuse, [the defendant] did something, namely dressed up as Santa and handed out gifts to children inside a makeshift grotto at the Church Christmas party.

At the time, said the charge, the defendant was aware this would bring him into contact with children that he was prohibited from doing this under the terms of the court order.

The second charge states that he breached his court order by helping to organise and by attending a family Halloween party on October 30.

As with the first charge, he was fully aware that children aged under 16 would be present at the party and that this was something he was prohibited from doing, the court heard.

Mr Isherwood told the court: In the view of the crown, the defendant deliberately placed himself in a situation whereby he was going to come into contact with children under the age specified in the [court] order.

He did so by attending a church and, while there, volunteering to work in the community kitchen without disclosing his conviction.

He then offered to organise a family Halloween party at the church in October last year and in December he helped to organise and run a family Christmas party.

"This included him playing the role of Santa in a grotto. Both of these activities would clearly bring him into contact with children.

Having heard those facts, District Judge John Temperley said that he believed the courts sentencing powers were not sufficient and therefore the sentencing hearing should be at Carlisle Crown Court.

You will get credit for your guilty pleas, the judge told McGuinness.

The judge adjourned that hearing until May 13, when the defendant will be dealt with by a circuit judge at Carlisle Crown Court. In the meantime, the defendant was granted bail.

Records show that the defendant has previously breached his sexual harm prevention order a number of times.

In 2016, the News & Star reported that the defendant flouted his sexual harm prevention order by accessing the internet through his mobile phone when it had no police monitoring software.

In 2020, the defendant was again before a court for breaching his order. He had been allowed to use a computer when he attended a unemployed persons support group in Carlisle city centre.

The order was part of a sentence imposed for 11 offences of possessing child abuse images. After his last conviction for breaching the order, his defence lawyer told the court: He used the computer for entirely innocent purposes.

The lawyer said the defendant, who was planning a caravan holiday in Blackpool for his birthday, had been unable to get work because as soon as he discloses his previous convictions" potential employers show that they are not willing to consider employing him.

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A convicted child rapist from Burneside engaged in explicit online chat with a 12-year-old girl and encouraged her to engage in sexual acts.

Connor Naylor, now 20, was initially sentenced in 2018 for raping a young girl while aged in his mid-teens.

He received a detention and training order as punishment and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

But over the course of four months, between March and July, 2020, Naylor struck up an online relationship with a girl he met on a gaming site.

"During the time period," prosecutor Kim Whittlestone told Carlisle Crown Court, "the defendant asked the victim for indecent photographs and also sent them in return."

She claimed to be 16, repeating this to Naylor despite the defendant having been contacted by her father and told she was only 12.

In July, 2020, the girls sister found evidence of the explicit chat

Police were contacted and, when Naylors phone was examined, still and moving images of the girl engaging in sexual activity were found on WhatsApp.

In interview, Naylor, of Hall Park, Burneside, agreed he was contacted by the girls father but said she claimed to be 16 when challenged.

Naylor admitted four offences: causing a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity; causing a child to watch a sexual act; and possession of indecent photographs of a child.

Eight images were classed in category A - the most serious - and 50 in category C.

Carlisle Crown Court heard Naylor was deemed to be "emotionally immature", suffered from Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), had been bullied at school and been unable to form age-appropriate relationships.

A probation officer concluded he was "remorseful and reflective", and had made no attempt to minimise his criminal conduct.

"Of course Mr Naylor needs to be punished," said Jacob Dyer, defending. "It is significant, perhaps, he did not have the input he needed at a much earlier time, following the commission of the (rape) offence."

Judge Simon Medland QC acknowledged Naylor's personal difficulties as he handed down a 32-month custodial sentence.

He imposed an extended three-year licence period, concluding that Naylor continued to pose a risk of serious harm to members of the public.

"You may not agree with what I have done," said Judge Medland, addressing Naylor's parents in the court public gallery. "I thought it was the right thing to do, and the necessary thing to do."

Naylor was made subject to the strict terms of a prevention order and must sign the sex offenders' register, both indefinitely.

Description

A CONVICTED online sex offender from Workington has been handed a suspended jail sentence for twice breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Stephen McCue, 63, who was originally prosecuted after he was the subject of an online a paedophile-hunters sting, admitted two counts of flouting an order designed to curb and monitor his online activities.

He committed both offences between July 6, 2020 and May 20 last year in Workington, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The first offence involved him possessing and using an 'internet-capable smartphone' which he did not disclose to Cumbria Constabulary as required under his sexual harm prevention order imposed in January, 2020.

The second offence consisted of him deleting his internet browsing history from that smartphone again something that was prohibited by his court order.

After hearing the details, Judge Nicholas Barker imposed a 14-month jail term but he suspended that term for two years. As punishment, McCue must observe a 7pm to 6am curfew for three months.

When originally prosecuted, McCue, of Salterbeck, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity over a number of days. He believed wrongly that he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl.

He engaged her in a series of explicitly sexual conversations and even suggested that she might like to show him round the city where she said she lived. He also encouraged the girl to perform sexual acts, and told her he was doing the same.

His defence barrister said McCue was not a sexual predator and had not set out to deliberately find a child online. "He was looking for females he found attractive," said Mr Burke, adding that McCue had issues with loneliness.

He was caught after an only sting by the Child Online Safety Team.

Commenting at the time of his sentencing, an NSPCC spokesman said: "McCues case shows just how easily predators can target young children through social media. McCues intention was the incitement of sexual behaviour for his own warped gratification.

"The case highlights just how dangerous the internet can be for young people.

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Kevin Askew admitted to sexually assaulting the 13-year-old girl

A man who sexually assaulted a child has been jailed.

Kevin Askew, who is also known as Sean, admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, with police stating that all the offences took place in Lancaster.

Askew, of Far Moss, Northside, Workington, has been jailed for six years, and has been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life. He has also been given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which "significantly limits his interaction with girls under the age of 16".

Askew initially denied any wrongdoing but pleaded guilty when presented with the weight of evidence compiled against him by detectives in West Child Protection Team.

A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: "We hope this case and its outcome will encourage other victims of sexual abuse no matter how historic to come forward.

You can do so knowing you will be listened to, believed and that Lancashire Police will do everything in our power to keep you safe and bring the perpetrator to justice.

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A WHITEHAVEN sex offender who has been banned from accessing any social media website secretly used a computer at the towns library to bypass the restriction.

At Carlisle Crown Court, a judge jailed 59-year-old Keith Skillen after hearing about how he persistently and deliberately breached a sexual harm prevention order imposed in 2018 for serious sexual offending.

The defendant, of Broom Bank, Whitehaven, admitted six separate breaches of the order.

Kim Whittlestone, prosecuting, said that Skillen was given the sexual harm prevention order in 2018 for offences of distributing indecent images of children. His previous 19 criminal convictions also included an offence in 2015 of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

The 2018 order included a prohibition on Skillen owning or having access to any device capable of accessing the internet. Nor is he allowed to ever access social media.

But in March last year police were notified that Skillen had been doing that. When interviewed about this in April, he made no comment. Police at that point again explained the terms of his order.

On September 16 last year, when police made an unannounced visit to Skillens home, the officers discovered that he had acquired two Amazon Fire Tablets constituting two further breaches of his order. The defendant again refused to comment in interview, though he was given police bail.

Miss Whittlestone said: It was on November 4 of this same year that the police received information from Whitehaven Library that they were concerned that this defendant had been accessing social media sites.

The resulting investigation confirmed Skillen had been using a library computer to look at Facebook and Instagram.

Sean Harkin, defending, said the breaches of the sexual harm prevention order represented a relatively low risk and all that an Amazon Fire Tablet allowed a person to do was watch TV.

There's no suggestion that he did anything untoward on social media," said Mr Harkin.

His phone was checked in April and again there was some interrogation of that and there was no suggestion of anything untoward there. The lawyer said Skillen had suffered neurological damage form a stroke.

This left him isolated and unable to have meaningful relationships and thus more likely to use the internet to find company.

Judge Nicholas Barker told Skillen that he rejected his claim to have not properly understood the conditions of his sexual harm prevention order. You could not have been under any misapprehension following your arrest on April 15, said the judge.

Skillen accessed social media sites between February 8 and April 14 and from that point on, after he was visited by the police, he must have been well aware that he was banned from such sites. Yet he went on to use a computer at Whitehaven library to continue accessing such sites, doing so on September 8, October 6 and October 29.

Judge Nicholas Barker accepted that Skillen was himself vulnerable and faced challenges after he suffered a stroke in 2006, but it was clear that the two-year jail term he was given in 2018 had not deterred him from continuing to commit offences.

Jailing Skillen for 16 months, the judge said: There is not what I consider to be a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Given the defendants previous offending record, and his claim to not understand the terms of his sexual harm prevention which suggested an unwillingness to work closely with his sexual offender supervisor, only an immediate jail term was appropriate, said the judge.

Skillen is already on the Sex Offender Register as a result of his previous offending, the court heard.