Latest Offenders Doncaster

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A foot fetishist and serial sex offender breached a court order just a month after being released from prison.

Luke Merry, 30, was jailed for 18 months in 2019 after Leeds Crown Court heard he how he had committed two charges of sexual assault on a child under 13 and one offence of voyeurism at a Vue cinema.

He had also previously been convicted of outraging public decency by sitting under a desk that was being used by a female and performing a sex act and performing a sex act while looking at images of women's feet.

On Tuesday, Sheffield Crown Court heard how Merry, of Lakeside Boulevard, Lakeside, Doncaster, was released from his last sentence in December last year and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which he breached in January. Prosecutor Richard Sheldon said it was then that he "disclosed he had a laptop and produced a phone and gaming computer.

"In February 2024, he failed to notify the police with a change of address and accepted a conditional caution and agreed to take a polygraph test. The police visited him to check the internet enabled devices and he handed over a number. He was asked about hard drives as the officers could see them in a drawer."

Officers, the court heard, recorded Merry having 17 internet enabled devices. Only three of those were registered. A phone was also found to have Snapchat on, with a username of lukemerry93 on the application. There was also 366 items - including emails - in a deleted folder on the phone. Merry was prohibited from deleting any internet history.

Cheryl Dudley, mitigating, told the court "a lot of information" had been handed to the court, including a psychiatric report and pre-sentence report. She said the probation service required Merry to have a formal assessment for autism and he had been recalled to prison and then remanded into custody since April this year.

Ms Dudley added: "There is room for rehabilitation and the opportunity for rehabilitation that could be grasped...There are factors that support the conclusion that he has autism." The court heard Merry had admitted failing to comply with notification requirements, breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and deleting internet history.

His Honour Judge Reeds KC jailed Merry for 14 months and told him: "You were not long out of prison when you breached your Sexual Harm Prevention Order and notification requirements.

"You were cautioned in February 2024 about being in breach of those requirements. That was a warning but you nevertheless continued to ignore the requirements of that order. You knew what you must not do. It was written down for you and you did it any way."

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A Doncaster man who bragged about how “easy” it was to groom children online has been jailed after a police swoop.

An investigation by South Yorkshire Police’s specialist Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT) has seen sick Mark Foster jailed for over seven years.

Foster, 44, of Osborne Road, was arrested after officers executed two warrants at his home address leading to the seizure of his devices.

These devices were then submitted for forensic analysis, leading to the discovery of hundreds of illegal images of children and messages showing him talking to underage children on the internet.

In one online exchange, Foster was caught talking about how he thought he had been able to keep his crimes a secret and spoke of how easy it was to groom children online.

Detective Constable Sam Brown, who was the officer in charge of this case, said: "Internet sex offenders like Foster largely operate in their shadows.

"They think they are untouchable but what they don't know is ISOT are working quietly in the background and under the radar to build cases against these criminals and bring them to justice.

"The officers who work within ISOT are highly skilled at their job and they are committed to protecting children from depraved online predators like Foster."

Foster pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including causing or inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, distributing an indecent photograph of a child and six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

He was jailed for four years and two months, with a three-year extended sentence due to the nature of the offence, at Sheffield Crown Court last Monday (15 July).

DC Brown said: "We are pleased an extended sentence has been served to Foster which reflects the severity of his offending and the efforts of ISOT to pull together the evidence needed which meant he had no choice but to plead guilty to his crimes.

"Foster's child victims have been offered support and safeguarding referrals and I want to thank them and their families for the support they have shown our investigation.

"We take all reports of sexual abuse towards children seriously and if you have been a victim or you know someone who has been a victim of, please come forward and report it to police.

"We are here to listen and we will always treat you with sensitivity and compassion."

Foster was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register.

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A serial sex offender who targeted girls as young as eight was forced to hear of the devastating impact of his heinous crimes as he was sent to begin an extensive prison sentence. 

Defendant Patrick Clogg did not say a word as he was made to listen to the statements made by the girls he abused, and then silenced, during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on June 26, 2024. 

Clogg, aged 50, formerly of Rotherham but latterly of Valley Drive, Branton, Doncaster, was convicted of 24 sex offences, including multiple counts of rape, at the conclusion of a trial.

One of the young girls abused by Clogg said he had ‘taken away’ her childhood, leaving her with severe psychological harm and feeling too afraid to be in the company of others; while the others he assaulted and raped described how they had turned to alcohol and self-harm and had been unable to sit crucial exams as a consequence of his offending. 

Sending Clogg to prison, Judge Rachael Harrison branded him ‘manipulative’ and said he had used a combination of ‘coercion’ and ‘threats’ to facilitate his sexual offences, and to force those he targeted to keep it a secret. 

The court heard how Clogg told the girls they ‘would not be believed’ if they reported him, and also threatened to both harm himself and to ‘chop’ one of the girl’s ‘fingers off’ in a bid to conceal his crimes.  

Judge Harrison noted that Clogg has refused to take responsibility for his crimes, demonstrated through the contents of his pre-sentence report, even after jurors returned guilty verdicts in all 24 charges he faced.

In addition to the nine counts of rape Clogg was found guilty of, jurors also convicted him of offences including multiple counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, sexual assault and causing or inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. 

Defending, James Baird prefaced his mitigation on Clogg’s behalf by telling the court that nothing he says is intended to ‘detract in any way from the effect those offences have had upon the complainants’. 

“There’s nothing that I could say that would,” continued Mr Baird. 

Mr Baird drew Judge Harrison’s attention to the fact that these 24 sex offences are the first crimes Clogg has been convicted of; but acknowledged that in ‘cases of this kind’ - where offending has been concealed over a period of years - it is not always to a defendant’s credit, but asked Judge Harrison to ‘bear it in mind’. 

He also said Clogg had not caused any ‘problems whatsoever’ since being remanded into the ‘prison environment’. 

Judge Harrison handed down a sentence of 28-and-a-half years - consisting of 26-and-a-half years custody and an additional two years on licence. 

She said she had considered passing a life sentence.

Judge Harrison said Clogg does meet the legal criteria for a dangerous offender, and has been assessed as posing a high risk to children - both male and female - when he is at liberty in the community. 

She concluded that the length of Clogg’s sentence, and the fact he will have to serve at least two-thirds of the custodial element behind bars, meant that she did not deem it necessary to pass an extended sentence, however. 

Judge Harrison also made Clogg the subject of restraining and sexual harm prevention orders, and told him he will also be required to register as a sex offender. 

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A man who forced two girls to perform and film sex acts, before threatening to share the images online, has been jailed for 18 years.

Christopher Osborne, 38, befriended one victim, who was 15 and lived in the US, then went on to send violent messages and forced her to send videos of herself to him.

She and another girl, also in the US, reported what had happened to their local police enabling Osborne, of Melville Avenue, Doncaster, to be arrested in 2016.

He had pleaded guilty to inciting children to commit sexual acts at an earlier hearing and was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

South Yorkshire Police said an international investigation enabled them to match his online IP address and chat group name.

Analysis of his and his victims chat logs showed Obsorne telling the girls he would post the images and videos online and would “ruin their lives” if they didn’t do as he said.

During his initial interview, Osborne admitted the offences claiming he did not believe the girls were the ages they said.

Originally, it was ruled he would be tried in the US, but in 2021 a hearing ruled that he would be charged in the UK.

Despite initially pleading guilty, he changed his plea in in October, however a special hearing in February ruled his original pleas would stand.

In addition to his jail term, he was also told he would remain on extended licence for a further five years.

He was also told he would be placed on the sex offender register for life.

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A delivery driver who repeatedly asked a customer for sex then tried to kiss her has been jailed.

Denis Bahrim asked to use the woman's toilet at her home in Doncaster before coming back downstairs and grabbing her shoulder when she rejected him.

She told him to leave but he refused and told her she was "beautiful", Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Bahrim, of Beckett Road, Wheatley, admitted sexual assault and was jailed on 15 May for two years and 10 months.

The woman reported the attack to police after the defendant left her home.

Officers were able to identify 26-year-old Bahrim through footage from the woman's doorbell and a subsequent search led to his arrest.

As well as a prison sentence, he was given an indefinite restraining order against the woman.

South Yorkshire Police investigations officer Jenny Dunkin said: "Bahrim took advantage of his victim's generosity.

"She let him into her home to use her toilet only for him to repay her kindness by sexually assaulting her."

She added: "I hope this court result brings some closure to the victim and allows her to move on from what must have been a very traumatic ordeal."

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A Doncaster man who raped a woman, before falsely imprisoning her and subjecting her to a campaign of violent abuse has been jailed for over nine years.

David Flatters, 22, waited for his victim to fall asleep before raping her, and later issued a series of chilling threats in a desperate bid to keep his violent behaviour a secret.

He told her he would "send people round to her family's house" and that he was going to "watch her take her last breath" after Flatters' brutal attacks left her with a catalogue of horrific injuries.

She suffered bruises, bleeding to the head, a black eye and cuts to her face - and on one occasion, Flatters lured his victim to the woods, beat her with sticks and stood on the back of her neck while she was face down in the dirt and unable to breathe.

Investigation Officer Rowan Bradbury, who works for Doncaster's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, said:

"Flatters' offending was savage, calculated and wicked as he subjected his victim to vile abuse both physically and mentally.

"She was understandably terrified of him and I want to praise her courage and fortitude in coming forward to tell us about the abuse she had endured at his hands.

"It can't have been easy for her and I can't imagine the terror she must have endured but it was her testimony that helped secure a lengthy custodial sentence for Flatters."

Flatters was arrested by officers and brought into custody before being charged with multiple offences.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, false imprisonment, strangulation, common assault, intimidation and escaping from lawful custody. 

Flatters was sentenced to a total of nine years and five months in jail during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court last Wednesday (1 May).

He must then spend an additional two years on licence, with Flatters also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for an indefinite period.

The terms of the SHPO mean that Flatters, of Cranbrook Road, Wheatley, must also inform the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) whenever he enters into a new relationship with another person.

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Stephen Morgan, of North Cliff Road, Doncaster was caught when a police operation was carried out, resulting in the suspect believing he was speaking to a 12-year-old and wanting to meet up with them.

In February 2024, the 38-year-old engaged in conversation online with a child profile. During their communications Morgan asked for photos and made explicit comments about engaging in sex acts.

Morgan attempted to arrange a meeting, offering to pick them up from school, he also suggested going swimming with him in a pond.

He was arrested from his vehicle on 29 February 2024 as he arrived at his home.

Morgan, a registered sex offender, was found guilty of one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to arrange or facilitate commission of sexual activity with child, at Sheffield Crown Court on 25 March 2024.

On Friday (5 April) he was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Please remember victims of sexual offences are granted anonymity for life. Identifying them is a criminal offence and police will take action.

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A Doncaster man who sexually assaulted a child while they were asleep and bragged about it in texts to another convicted paedophile has been jailed for over a decade.

Ryan Madine subjected his victim to multiple sexual attacks which he filmed and sent to James Mitchell, who has also been put behind bars after admitting child sexual offences. Mitchell encouraged Madine to commit the offences and both shared child abuse images with each other.

Madine was charged in April 2023 following a thorough 18-month investigation by officers from Doncaster's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) Team who worked closely with our Digital Forensics Unit and colleagues at Nottinghamshire Police.

The investigation revealed video messages of Madine including him sexually assaulting and performing oral sex on a vulnerable young child with officers also finding over 700 indecent images of children on a digital device.

Madine initially denied having any sexual interest in children but later pleaded guilty to an array of offences, including assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, sexually assaulting a child, voyeurism and sexual communication with a child. He also admitted five counts of making indecent photographs of a child and two counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child.

Madine, 24, who is from the Edlington area, and Mitchell, 31, who is from Retford in Nottinghamshire, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court earlier today (2 February), with both of them jailed for 11-and-a-half years. Both will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and there is a restraining order in place for life.

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A registered child sex offender has been put behind bars after breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Leslie Thornton, 30, formerly of the Balby area of Doncaster, was convicted of multiple child sexual offences and child abduction in 2015.

He was jailed for three years and made subject to a SHPO and notification requirements that ordered him to notify his personal details with the police every 12 months.

The terms of Thornton's SHPO prevented him from having contact with any children, but an investigation into his phone records found evidence of him making contact with a young girl - something he had failed to disclose to officers from Doncaster's Violent Sexual Offender Registrar (ViSOR) unit.

He later pleaded guilty to breaching his SHPO and two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.

Over the course of 2022, Thornton failed to comply with the notification requirements given upon his previous sentences.

Last Wednesday (24 January), Thornton was jailed for three years and seven months at Sheffield Crown Court.

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A paedophile has been jailed after pleading guilty to raping two schoolchildren over a number of years.

Demetrios Patsalides, 73, of Carr House Road, Doncaster, warned one of his victims to not tell her friends about what he had done.

He has now been locked up for 12 years after admitting several sexual offences against two young girls.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of raping a girl under 13, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, and four counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Patsalides was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Patsalides sexually assaulted his victims and performed sexual acts in front of them, before warning one of the girls to "not tell her friends at school" about the abuse she had suffered.

Patsalides was interviewed by officers on 13 March 2023, during which he admitted writing a note confessing to sexual activity with a child.

Asst Det Sgt Christopher Beaumont, who led the investigation, personally commended the two victims for their courage in coming forward.

He said: "It is difficult to put into the words the trauma and suffering they endured, and their bravery must be recognised in disclosing the sexual abuse that took place at such a young age.

"Patsalides is now behind bars and facing up to the consequences of his heinous actions, and I hope this is justice served for his two victims who can now move forward with their lives.

"I really hope this harrowing case shows that we will not stop to seek justice for all victims of sexual offences, regardless of when the abuse took"

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A Doncaster paedophile who sexually abused multiple children, including a vulnerable boy with significant learning difficulties, has been jailed for over 14 years.

Nicholas Powers, 56, of Belmont Avenue, pleaded guilty to numerous offences spanning 20 years, including four counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of indecent assault.

Powers was arrested in December 2021 after he picked up a teenage boy in his car and drove him to his home where he sexually assaulted him.

He made his victim, who he had met online, perform a sexual act on him and touch him inappropriately before driving him back home. Before he got out of the car, he warned the boy to stay quiet and said that if he told anyone he would “get done”.

His victim says he was left disgusted, ashamed and terrified by what had happened, and admitted he had experienced suicidal thoughts. That same evening, he told his mum who reported the incident to police after she found his phone in a bin.

Powers also admitted sexually abusing a teenage girl in September 2001 after plying her with alcohol. He gave her home brew wine before kissing her and sexually assaulting her.

His victim recalled how she also felt disgusted and Powers told her to not tell anyone. She began to self-harm after struggling to come to terms with the abuse she had been subjected to.

Investigating Officer Alexandra Storey said: “Powers knew his victims were underage but completely ignored this and subjected them to unimaginable abuse which saw them contemplate suicide and resort to self-harming.

“In another act of cruelty and dominance over them, he then threatened them to keep quiet about what had happened.”

Powers also agreed to meet an online decoy posing as a 15-year-old boy after sending explicit messages on a mobile phone app.

As well as pleading guilty to three counts of indecent assault and four counts of sexual activity with a child, Powers also admitted two counts of making indecent photographs of a child as well as offences of attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Powers was sentenced to 14 years and five months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday 31 August. He has also been put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and issued with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and a lifetime restraining order.

IO Storey said: “This has been a lengthy investigation involving two young victims who endured unthinkable abuse and were left with significant mental health problems.

“I want to commend their bravery in coming forward and helping us put Powers behind bars. He is now facing the consequences of his actions and justice has now been served.

“I hope this sentence brings his victims closure as they begin to move forward with their lives.

“We will not tolerate crimes of this nature and our teams are working hard to identify those taking advantage of young people online. We want people to know that we are here, and we are always ready to listen.

“If you want to report someone or have concerns that someone is being exploited for sexual gain online, then please contact us immediately.”

Please remember that victims of sexual offences are granted lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act. It is against the law to identify a victim of a sexual offence, or to post any information that could lead to the identification of a victim of a sexual offence.

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A 51-year-old man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being caught sending sexually explicit messages to a teenager.

Paul Singleton was arrested on 25 July this year, after officers working in our specialist Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT) received reports that he was sending messages of a sexual nature to a child on social media.

He started to speak to the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, online and quickly, the messages became sexually explicit.

Detective Constable Michelle Jameson, who led the investigation into Singleton, said: “Despite establishing early on in his communication that his victim was 13-years-old, Singleton continued to engage in highly inappropriate and sexualised conversation, including sending explicit images to the victim.”

Singleton, formerly Bessacarr, Doncaster, was charged and pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to cause/incite a girl to engage in sexual activity. On Thursday 24 August, at Sheffield Crown Court, he was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Detective Inspector Lee Wilson, who leads the ISOT said: “Within a month, this dangerous and predatory offender was identified, arrested, charged and convicted, which I hope demonstrates to the public of South Yorkshire how robust our response to this crime is, and how seriously we take reports of this type of offending.

“We know that there are others out there engaging in similar horrific crimes, targeting vulnerable children and young people, and our work will not stop to identify those individuals and bring them before the courts.”

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A 72-year-old man has been jailed after being found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a child.

Michael Peter Wilson, from the Kirk Sandall area of Doncaster, attacked the girl on a number of occasions while she was under the age of 13.

She eventually reported the abuse to police.

Wilson was convicted of rape, sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was sentenced to 21 years in prison following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Det Con Rachael Ellis, South Yorkshire Police, praised the victim's "courage".

She said: "She has been so incredibly brave over the course of our investigation, sharing with us and the court the shocking and horrific details of Wilsons abuse.

"She recalled how he would groom her with treats in a bid to further his manipulation and control over her, a young child, as well as telling her how to behave in order to keep his sick crimes hidden from others.

"Wilson has shown absolutely no remorse for the harm he has caused, refusing to acknowledge his exploitative sexual offending. While I am pleased he has received a significant custodial sentence for his crimes and will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, it does not diminish the damage he caused to an innocent child.

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A paedophile who sent his victims Valentine's Day cards and chocolates has been jailed for 10 years.

Peter Horsfield, 82, of Meadow Rise, Barnby Dun, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of seven counts of sexual assault against children under 13 between 2004 and 2021.

His offending came to light when one of his victims confided in her mother.

After sentencing on Friday, Det Sgt Lucy Garside praised the victims' "exceptional courage and strength".

Ms Garside said Horsfield had "sought opportunities" to get the children alone before "taking advantage of their innocence".

"He subjected his victims to awful sexual abuse, which has had a devastating impact on their lives and wellbeing," she added.

In addition to imprisonment, Horsfield was placed on the sex offenders' register for life and will be made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order on his release.

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A CONVICTED sex offender was jailed for 18 months for breaching multiple sexual harm prevention orders and possessing extreme pornographic images of sex with animals.

In Bradford Crown Court, Philip Robst, 40, of HMP and YOI Moorland, Bawtry Road, Lindholme, Doncaster, was sent to prison for 18 months after pleading guilty to five offences, including possessing extreme pornographic images depicting sex with animals, an offence committed in Bradford on September 24, 2021.

On May 19, 2021, he was charged with breaching sexual harm prevention orders including subscribing to Snapchat which includes file-based storage, refusing to allow access to inspect any device or electronic data and deleting history from hardware or a device.

On May 19, 2021, he was also charged with failing to comply with requirements in relation to the sex offender's register.

Prosecutor David Ward said Robst was previously convicted of offences of sexual activity with a child.

Mr Ward said: "This is clearly a deliberate breach and it's all aggravated by his previous conviction."

Robst's defence solicitor said: "Mr Robst found himself isolated because of Covid and found solace in pornography."

But he added that the defendant had admitted his "stupidity" and "accepted his behaviour at the earliest opportunity".

In sentencing Robst to 18 months, Recorder Alex Menary, said: "The police found eight extreme images of sex with animals, seven still and one moving, on your device and there were many other images deleted."