Latest Offenders Durham

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A man who grabbed two women's bottoms - one in Asda - has been ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.

Kouros Hassanzadeh told a woman that he 'really wanted to have sex with her' during the first assault in the Thornaby supermarket.

Two days later, the 28-year-old then grabbed a runner's bum in an alleyway.

He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in Asda on Allensway on May 2.

As reported, the woman was browsing in one of the aisles when she noticed a man “looking at her”.

After moving to another aisle she saw him again.

Hassanzadeh then “grabbed her bottom with some grip”, the court heard, before grabbing it a second time. He then followed her and touched her bottom again.

The victim reported the incident to a shop assistant who alerted the supermarket’s security guard and Hassanzadeh was led out of the store.

The second sexual assault happened on May 4.

The victim was jogging on Allensway before turning right down a cut.

Halfway down the path her bottom was “grabbed” and Hassanzadeh stepped in front of her telling her, “With an a*** that looks that nice you have to grab it”.

He added: “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want one kiss and I’ll leave you alone.”

Hassanzadeh had no previous convictions and has mental health issues.

The 28-year-old, of Lancaster Way, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to the two sex assaults.

He was given an 18-month community order with an accredited Horizon programme.

This is an intervention delivered to men who have a sexual conviction and are considered to be at a medium, high or very high risk of re-offending.

He must carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and was ordered to pay costs and charges of £180.

He will also be on the sex offenders' register for the next five years.

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A PAEDOPHILE operating online has been jailed after being caught by an undercover police officer working for Darlington Police.

Daniel Bateman unwittingly struck up a conversation with the undercover officer, who was posing as another online paedophile on the social messaging app, KIK.

Bateman then sent the decoy an indecent image of a child, before suggesting the pair meet up to have sex with children.

The 30-year-old of Birch Road, Darlington, was arrested and charged with distributing an indecent image and arranging or facilitating a child sex offence.

He admitted distributing an indecent image but denied the second charge.

A jury sitting at Teesside Crown Court, however, found Bateman guilty and he was jailed for three years last Monday (January 24).

He was also made subject to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

Detective Constable Pat Finn, of Durham Constabulary, led the investigation. He said: Bateman is a dangerous and deceitful individual, who sought to realise his own depraved fantasies by seeking to meet up with other like-minded paedophiles to sexually abuse children.

He has shown no remorse throughout the trial, and he is now behind bars where he belongs, and is no longer in a position where he continues to pose a serious sexual risk to children.

Anyone who is suffering sexual abuse, please know that you are not alone and there are people who can help you.

Please, come forward and speak to us no matter who the perpetrator is, or when the abuse took place, our specially trained officers are here to help you and ensure you get the justice you deserve.

Either call us on 101 or dial 999 if you are in immediate danger.

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A PERVERTED pensioner, who sexually abused girls over three decades, is starting a 21-year prison sentence, and will not be released until he is into his 80s.

Brian ONeil, 66, who often filmed his activities, was branded a danger to underage girls and was made subject of an extended determinate sentence at Durham Crown Court.

It means he must serve at least 14 years in prison before being eligible for parole, but he may have to spend the entire 21 years behind bars.

On release he will also be subject to five-years extended licence supervision and will remain on the sex offenders register, indefinitely.

He was sentenced at the court yesterday, when the hearing heard of the traumatic effect his offending has had on his victims, in one case self-harming and making a number of suicide attempts.

ONeil, formerly of Wharton Street, Coundon, admitted rape, plus 20 other mainly sexual offences, and voyeurism, at hearings in November and December, last year.

But he denied ten further counts, of which he was convicted following unanimous jury verdicts after a three-day trial in late April.

Passing sentence, Judge Ray Singh told ONeil, who appeared via video link from Durham Prison: There can be no criticism and no doubt you are a dangerous offender.

There is a significant risk to members of the public of the commission of further specified offences.

In your pre-sentence report you did accept the majority of your offending.

Your offending pattern, transcended over three decades, reflects a long-standing sexual interest in young children that needs to be addressed in future.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Donna Hicks, of Durham Police, who led the investigation, said: ONeil carried out these horrendous crimes for more than three decades and had a massive detrimental impact on his victims, who have suffered significantly.

Putting his own sexual gratification first, he has destroyed the lives of not just his victims but also their families and continued to show a total lack of remorse throughout the investigation and trial.

All the victims have shown enormous courage in coming forward and I hope this sentence means they can finally gain some closure and start to rebuild their lives.

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A MAN has been jailed for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child after being snared online by an undercover police officer.

Jordan James Caygill, of Newton Aycliffe, used a social media app to ask who he thought was a 14-year-old girl to meet up for sex.

After police officers turned up at his home in Merlin Court and arrested the 28-year-old they found hard drives and laptops containing violent sexual abuse videos involving "very young children."

Durham Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Caygill, who previously worked as a bartender in a sports club in Darlington, had a large collection of "utterly repellent" material that he had collected over a number of years.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said the defendant had more than 18 hours of extreme pornography on his computer involving very young children who were in "visible distress."

He engaged in "highly sexualised" conversation with the undercover officer posing as a teenager, offering to "take her virginity" and asking for sexual photos of her.

He also sent videos of himself masturbating to the officer as well as photos of his genitals.

Caygill, who called himself "BigJ" and "Darloj92" on the app, pleaded guilty to nine charges in total, including three counts of making indecent images of children and one of distributing indecent images of children.

He also admitted possessing extreme pornographic images, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Ian West, for Caygill, said his client was of previous good character and that the harm caused was 'minimal' as the defendant wasn't communicating with a child, but an undercover police officer.

HH Judge James Adkin told Caygill: "The investigation into your activity began by virtue of an interaction between yourself and an undercover officer purporting to be a 14-year-old child.

"Images were sent by yourself and you thought you were communicating with a 14-year-old girl. You requested pictures and offered to take her virginity. More specifically, the attempt to engage a child in sexual activity was incitement to engage in sexual intercourse.

"They [the images] are utterly repellent. The timescale is significant, from March 2016 to December 2019. It appears to me that this is a carefully curated collection of violent sexual abuse images.

"The attempts form part of a pattern of interactions with fictional children indicating the defendant had no compunction about engaging in highly sexualised behaviour with teenage girls."

Caygill was jailed for 34 months in total and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He must also sign the sexual offenders register for life and he is forbidden from ever working with children.

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A WEDDING photographer has been jailed for four years for raping a young boy in the early 2000s.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was raped and sexually assaulted on two separate occasion when he was either aged between ten and 11 by Christopher Todd.

This morning, the 31-year-old heard the devastating impact his actions had on the life of his victim.

In a powerful personal statement, the man said his relationship with his parents and friends had been significantly impacted as a result of the sexual abuse he suffered at his hands.

He said: I would like to talk about the years of emotional abuse this man has caused me, the years of shame and guilt that I have struggled to endure.

The countless times I have asked myself why didnt you stop that happening and why did you let that happen the nightmares I have suffered replaying the events in my mind over and over, fantasising about doing something different about the attacks.

Todd, of Grangeside, Darlington, continues to deny any responsibility for his actions, the court heard from his counsel Christine Egerton.

During the week-long trial at Teesside Crown Court, the jury heard how the young boy was attacked while he was playing on a PlayStation in the Darlington home of the defendant, who was a teenager at the time.

The court heard how a shock meeting between the pair in Darlington's B&M in April 2019 brought back horrendous memories for the victim and he attacked Todd in the car park.

Judge James Brown said: I find that he still lives with the impact of your behaviour all those years ago and I find the impact to be profound.

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A SHOCKED mother discovered her 12-year-old daughter had exchanged sexualised messages and swapped indecent images with an older teenage boy, a court heard.

Durham Crown Court was told she became concerned at her daughters secretive behaviour, being unwilling to allow her to scrutinise her phone early last year.

When she finally insisted on checking its contents, she came across an unrecognised phone number and was told it was a mutual friend.

It emerged her daughter had been exchanging messages via a chat room and text with a male, Shaun Williams, then aged 17, in which he inquired about intimate matters and asking her to send him sexual photographs, as well as mentioning that they should meet.

Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said the girls mother immediately stopped her daughter communicating with Williams and inquired as to the nature of the photographs.

The girl said he sent her pictures of his naked genitals and asked her to reciprocate.

It was reported to police, who arrested Williams and seized his phone for analysis.

Miss Waugh said the flavour of the messages became apparent, with Williams referring to the girl as, Babes, asking her about performing sexual acts.

The exchanged pictures included one sent by the girl of herself in her underwear.

Williams, now 18, of Westbourne Street, Stockton, admitted causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The case was adjourned for preparation of a psychiatric report on the defendant.

Chris Baker, mitigating, said the author was unable to confirm if Williams was on the autistic spectrum, but pointed to, other personality issues, as well as an adjustment disorder.

But Mr Baker said he had jeopardised his future by his behaviour, having already affected his education.

Judge Ray Singh said, in essence there was a form of grooming of a 12-year-old girl, which only ended when her mother discovered the nature of the messages.

The judge said although Williams has some mental health issues, in my view these do not provide meaningful mitigation.

He imposed a two-year sentence in a young offenders institution and ordered that Williams should be subject to restrictions under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, as well as registration as a sex offender, both for ten years.

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A judge ruled that Stephen Midgley, 27, is a 'dangerous offender' and gave him an extended 10 year sentence

A "dangerous" paedophile was caught with hundreds of child abuse images - some showing 'distressed' tots as young as two.

A judge ruled that repeat offender Stephen Midgley, 27, poses a high risk of re-offending, with a "fixation on pre-pubescent girls", and gave him an extended 10 year prison sentence.

Teesside Crown Court heard the collection of images showed sexual abuse of kids, some mere toddlers, with many of the horrific details too graphic to publish.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield said two mobile phones belonging to the defendant had been found to contain child abuse images, including two-and-a-half hours of video in the most serious category.

It was also discovered he was using an email address to send "depraved" images to another pervert.

Images on the second seized mobile phone included pictures of boys and girls being abused, ranging from ages two to 11.

Midgley appeared to be sentenced for 12 offences in total - three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, one of failing to comply with a notification requirement, two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and three of possessing indecent photographs.

He pleaded guilty to the offences.

Midgley was previously locked up for three years and four months in 2015 after being caught downloading and sending pictures and videos of child abuse for the second time in 18 months.

Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said a psychological report had found his client had an IQ of just 71, "had it been one less he would have been somebody who came within a category of learning disabled", he said.

He said: "This defendant's main mitigation is his guilty plea in respect of each count."

He added: "Having been caught he has assisted.

"On each occasion he has told police there are images on the phone.

"He hasn't sought to hide anything, beside hiding the initial phones."

He asked the court not to class him as a dangerous offender and say this is the "last chance saloon".

But pointing to the psychological report and Midgley's previous offences, judge Stephen Ashurst said he was a "dangerous offender" and would be getting an extended prison term.

He said: "The images are of a particularly depraved nature.

"They include the rape and abuse of very young children indeed by adult offenders."

Midgley, of Leybourn Terrace, Stockton, was ordered to serve six years in custody, plus fours years on licence for distributing indecent images.

He was also given a two year concurrent sentence for the other offences.

A new SHPO was made indefinitely.

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A 69-year-old man who forced his hand down a teenager's trousers and forced her to perform a sex act on him has been jailed, more than a decade after the attack.

Henry Spark was on his way to work as a delivery driver in April 2008 when he spotted a lone female walking in the dark at around 3am.

He pulled over to offer her a lift and within minutes of her entering the car was grabbing her hand and pulling it towards his groin.

After driving for a few minutes Spark pulled over and forced the then 17-year-old to perform a sex act on him.

The teenager reported the incident to police the following day but DNA taken from the victim's clothes did not match any on record.

However when Spark was convicted of another sex offence in 2018, his DNA matched this historic unsolved case.

After initially denying ever having a girl in his car, he accepted that he did pick the teenager up but argued that she consented to the sexual activity.

He was convicted of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, assault by penetration and sexual assault at Durham Crown Court after a two-day trial.

In a statement read out to the court the victim said: "I want to articulate as best as I can how I have felt over the last ten years. Since it happened I know I am not the same person.

"I had a naive and childish belief in people. I thought trustworthy people were outwardly visible, I was not sceptical of everybody as I am now.

"I feel emotionally down, and want to stop thinking about how genuinely terrified I was for my life. I want to go to sleep without reliving that night.

"I have done my very best to spend time alone in public so I can prove to myself that being outside the house is not scary enough to warrant palm sweats and heart palpitations. I have to tell myself that eventually I will get used to being outside how I used to be but I have had no improvements.

"I hope one day I can look back at what happened and not feel so raw about it and move on with my day to day life."

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said Spark was convicted for possessing and making indecent images of children in January last year when he was given an eight month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He also has a historic conviction of exposing himself in 1973.

HHJ Jonathan Carroll said: "I am satisfied that by the time she [the victim] got into the car you were determined to have a sexual encounter with or without her consent."

Spark, of Victor Street, Chester-Le-Street, was jailed for three years for all counts.

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John Edward Kilgannon, 66, sat behind his victims and reached through the gap between the bus seats in front of him to "stroke" the girls on their sides for periods lasting up to 20 minutes.

A court heard the perv committed the three offences between October and November last year on the Arriva bus service from Middlesbrough to Peterlee, County Durham.

One 17-year-old victim complained to police and CCTV evidence led to Kilgannon's arrest at his home in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.

But on Friday the warped sex fiend dodged jail at Teeside Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

Paul Harrison, chairman of the bench, said he took such matters "very seriously" but gave Kilgannon a two-year community order and ordered him to pay each victim 200 in compensation.

Paul Power, prosecuting, said the pensioner had been drinking on each occasion and admitted he stroked the girls "for his sexual pleasure".

One of the teenagers said the vile assault had a "huge impact from a confidence point of view in terms of public transport".

She added in her victim impact statement she "felt uncomfortable" when men looked at her.

The second victim said she missed a number of days of college and was "nervous around older men" following the attack.

Liz McGowan, defending, said her client had been a man of previous good character,

She added: He tells me that drink is something that has lessoned his inhibitions while on the bus.

Hes not saying its solely the drinks fault. Hes saying he did this for his own sexual pleasure.

He is remorseful he says that. He has not repeated his behaviour.

For some unknown reason he was bailed by police from November 26 until March 7 almost four months hes had this on his mind for all that time.

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A brute who terrorised, molested and strangled a woman until she saw "my life flashing before me" has started a mammoth prison sentence.

The survivor of violent stalker and sex attacker Brian Fenny feared she would die at his hands.

Today she sent a stirring message to women as she saw him brought to justice for his horrific crimes.

In a moving statement, she said: "The women of Stockton are now safe.

"It might help other women realise that they can do something about their situations.

"There's help out there for them."

The woman said she had been physically, mentally and sexually abused and faced a terrifying "life or death" situation.

"On the night when he crept through my window as I slept and strangled me, I felt like it would be my last day," she added.

"When he decided to remove his belt and put it around my neck I actually saw my life flashing before me.

"How I managed to get to the window and scream for help I will never know."

Fenny, 51, went to her home shouting and screaming, ripped off her clothing and sexually assaulted her, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Jo Kidd said he was still in her home sitting calmly when police turned up.

The woman was distraught and hysterical with reddening to her throat and a bite mark to her arm.

She told officers he had strangled her and bit her when she tried to defend herself.

The arrogant attacker said as he was arrested: "Don't worry. It'll be nfa'd (no further action)."

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not make a formal statement so the case did not proceed at that time.

But Fenny's vile bullying did not end there.

He persistently texted her with abusive and threatening messages and obsessively stalked her via Facebook.

In just 10 days he made 485 searches trying to find information about her and her friends.

Undeterred by being spoken to by police, he followed her calling her names.

He invaded her home and attacked her again after spouting drunken, aggressive verbal abuse at her in a pub.

She awoke to find him on top of her strangling her as she passed in and out of consciousness.

At one point she came around and found his belt around her neck. He told her she would die.

She managed to free herself and called 999. Bizarrely, he waited for police again, calm and composed while she was hysterical.

Fenny, of Dovecot Street, central Stockton, admitted sexual assault, assault causing actual bodily harm, aggravated burglary, stalking and making a threat to kill.

He had a previous conviction for harassment.

Judge Sean Morris ruled Fenny was a dangerous offender and gave him a 20-year extended sentence.

The sentence consists of a 16-year jail term plus four years' extended licence.

He was given a restraining order and will be on the sex offenders' register, both indefinitely.

Detective Constable Shaun Watson, the investigating officer, said today: I am pleased with the sentence handed to Brian Fenny which reflects the severity of the crimes that he has committed.

The victim has shown great courage by coming forward to police as she has suffered a terrible ordeal.

"Throughout the complex investigation and the trial, the victim has maintained strength throughout and I would like to commend her for her bravery.

I hope the sentence handed to Fenny will bring some comfort to the victim as she attempts to move forward with her life.

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A CONVICTED sex offender who lost everything when his partner discovered his past is now behind bars after an anonymous phone call to the NSPCC revealed a second victim.

James Harcourt was given a community rehabilitation order in 2003 for having sex with an underage girl when he was 19.

Later, he started a relationship with a different underage girl although no complaint was ever made to the police.

But in the summer of 2016, a call was made to the childrens charity expressing concerns about what had happened years earlier, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Harcourt, now 35, was said to have been violent and controlling when he was with the girl, who then learned about his earlier conviction.

The pair stopped seeing one another when Harcourt got jealous about the teenager being close to somebody else.

He moved on and started dating a woman in her 40s, prosecutor Richard Bennett told the court.

But when she found out about his past with the teenager, she ended their relationship.

Dan Cordey, mitigating, told the court: His new partner was horrified by what she had been told.

Because he has been unable to provide a supervisor for the contact, he has not seen his children since then, since 2016.

He has lost contact with his children. He has lost his relationship and his home, and although he has managed to keep working for some time, since last December when he went on the sick, he has now lost his job.

Against that background, when he came to this court, what Mr Harcourt did was to fully accept what had gone on. He didnt seek to make excuses or prevaricate about his plea.

For a man who has effectively lost everything, he could have been tempted to take a chance. He didnt do that. He was honest to the court.

James Harcourt now recognises what he did was absolutely wrong. The probation report states he had a romantic view of the relationship.

At the time, he was growing up, he recognises now he had problems.

He would wish me to stress, as a mature adult, he has lived a blameless life in the sense that he settled down, had relationships with adult women, one of whom has born him children, and for 13 years, he worked, worked hard, and provided for his family.

Harcourt, of Chandos Street, Darlington, admitted seven charges of sexual activity with a child, and was jailed for ten-and-a-half years.

Judge Sean Morris told him: You were delaying your guilty plea for quite some time, and not accepting your guilt from the start just caused more heartache to your victim.

The result of your actions means you have not seen your sons for a considerable amount of time. It is not just your life you have wrecked, it is those children.

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Hewad Shivzad - who falsely claimed to be 19 - forced himself on the very young girl, described by a judge as a blameless, innocent child

A vile sexual abuser who raped and molested a very young girl has been caged for 15 years.

Hewad Shivzad isolated the primary school-age girl and lured her away to subject her to a sexual attack lasting 30 to 40 minutes.

He ignored her pleas for him to stop, sexually assaulted her and forced himself on her, Teesside Crown Court heard.

A judge said the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was a blameless, charming, innocent and "innately kind" girl.

Prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi said: "The child is particularly vulnerable."

She read out a moving statement from the girl's mother, who said: "I'm worried that this will have ruined her life."

The mum said the rape massively affected her daughter, leading to anger, violent behaviour and harming herself.

"We are really struggling as a family," she added.

"She talks about what happened all the time. I think that she's depressed. I really need some help for her."

'I feel that this has ruined our lives'

She added: "I'm also suffering depression. I feel distraught about what has happened to (my daughter) and our family.

"I feel that this has ruined our lives. We need help and justice.

"I want to move somewhere else but I can't do this."

Shivzad - who claimed to be 19, to the disbelief of his sentencing judge - denied the rape and sexual assault from August last year.

'She was particularly vulnerable'

He was convicted by a jury after a trial this week, and appeared for sentence via video link to Durham Prison.

Victoria Lamballe, defending, said: "There is really nothing that I can say on this defendant's behalf.

"There are no mitigating features that I can draw to your Honour's attention."

Judge Howard Crowson told Shivzad, of Suffolk Street, Oxbridge , Stockton : "She was particularly vulnerable to your attack being so very young.

"Despite her asking you to stop, you continued your effort to have full sexual intercourse with her.

"Mercifully she was not left with lasting physical injuries.

Charming, innocent and blameless

"She was left scared and confused by an act which she did not understand, and it continues to affect her.

"She is a charming, innocent little girl."

He said Shivzad showed no concern for the girl: "You cared nothing for the possible effect on her future.

"One day she will be old enough to realise the nature of the acts you committed upon her.

"We should all hope she will find comfort in the knowledge that her parents and everyone who heard her know she was telling the truth and was blameless."

Claim to be 19 rejected by judge

He jailed Shivzad for 15 years, plus a year's additional supervision.

The Parole Board will decide whether it is safe to release him after he has served half of his sentence.

Turning to the issue of Shivzad's age, the judge said: "He claims to be 19. I don't believe him.

"If he were 19 he should be in a young offenders' institution. My view is he should be in prison.

"He's obviously older than 21. But the Prison Service will have to judge where to keep him."

He told Shivzad: "You maintain that you are a 19-year-old man. I've seen no documents to support that claim and to my eyes you appear substantially older.

"It's my view that your claim to be so young is a lie told when you entered the UK in March 2017 to claim asylum."

'Preyed on a young girl'

Shivzad was given a sexual harm prevention order banning unsupervised contact with under-16s and a restraining order banning contact with the victim or two other named people, or speaking of them on social media - both indefinitely.

He will be on the sex offenders' register for life, and could face deportation to Afghanistan.

Inspector Mark Haworth from Cleveland Police said: Firstly I would like to thank the victim and her family for their courage in coming forward to police and their bravery throughout these court proceedings.

"Shivzad preyed on a young girl and he was tirelessly hunted down so that he could be brought to justice for his despicable actions.

This case is another example of great work by Cleveland Police child abuse investigation unit, whereby the team were able to track down Shivzad despite his attempts to avoid police and put him before the courts, where he has been handed a lengthy jail sentence and he will now have to live with the consequences of his actions.

"Other vulnerable victims will now be protected from him for a considerable length of time.

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A NAKED student who indecently exposed himself to dozens of women for sexual thrills has heard how his perverted behaviour was “creepy” and “disturbing”.

Ali Hassan, 18, was caught by police after finding a till receipt and an empty packet of Haribo sweets he had discarded along a secluded riverside path he frequented to startle his victims.

The teenager, of Musgrave Gardens, Durham, would wear just his running shoes to run alongside women jogging next to the River Wear after spying on them from bushes.

Between April and June last year, Hassan exposed himself to a number of women of various ages who were running near the Durham Rowing Club and Maiden Castle sports complex.

Hassan was arrested after police officers used the empty sweet packet and till receipt to pinpoint the shop and date they were purchased, ultimately leading them to identify the pervert via CCTV.

He pleaded guilty to six counts of exposure before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe yesterday.

Emma Shea, prosecuting, read several victim impact statements to the court, with many witnesses echoing how they found Hassan’s behaviour “shocking” and “concerning”.

One statement read: “I was quite shocked especially since media reports came out that this is not a one-off incident – it makes it more creepy.” 

Another reported: “I’ve not returned to the area to run as a result of this incident. I’ve never seen anything like what I saw that day. I’m scared to be in that area and when I walked nearby recently, I felt on edge. It’s disturbing.”

The court heard that Hassan’s family were also shocked by his behaviour, but remain supportive.

Stephen Andrews, mitigating, said: “There are elements of naivety and immaturity in so far as his sexual relationships and relationships with women are concerned.

“He does come across as a very young 18-year-old. He no previous convictions, not so much as a caution, so this is very much out of character.”

Mr Andrews added that there was no suggestion that Hassan performed sex acts in front of the joggers he targeted and would not make comments or threaten them. 

The full-time student was given a 24-month community order and will remain on the sex offenders’ register for five years. He has also been banned from being within five metres of the edge of the River Wear in Durham and must wear at least one item of clothing over his underwear in public.

He must pay £85 court costs and £85 victim surcharge.

Speaking the Northern Echo after the sentence had been passed Hassan said: "I would like to apologise for my foolish behaviour.

"I am guilty of this and take full responsibility. It was nothing but stupid and immature.

"I really regret what I’ve done and that’s not an excuse all.

"It was a mistake and I really just want to get on with my life after I serve my punishment

"I’m getting the help I need." 

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A MAN who preyed on two girls and manipulated them for sex has been jailed for eight years.

Leroy Wesley Allen admitted nine charges of sexual activity with a child on the second day of his trial at Durham Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard how the 22-year-old put pressure on the girls for sex.

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, told the court how he plied one of the girls with alcohol before taking her virginity.

The girl asked him to stop and said she did not want to have sex with him anymore but Allen did not take the rejection well and “coerced” her into having sex with him on several more occasions.

The court heard how he would often take her mobile phone from her and started controlling her before the girl broke down and told a friend about what had been going on.

However, Allen pleaded with her to keep it a secret which she did.

That was until 2017 when she heard Allen, of Rutherford Court, Willington, had been imprisoned for grooming young girls.

Another girl also came forward to say she had been manipulated by Allen and police were shown text messages where Allen complained that the girl’s sex drive was “miniscule”.

In their victim personal statements, one of the girls said her life was a “nightmare” which led to suicidal thoughts and her being diagnosed with depression.

The second girl also said she had had to have therapy for depression and had not done as well in her exams because of the stress caused.

Allen had been jailed for a year in December 2016 for trying to incite an underage child to engage in sexual activity and trying to facilitate a child sex act.

He posed as the boss of the Durham nightclub Jimmy Allens and askied underage girls to send him pictures of themselves in their underwear or bikinis for potential hostess roles.

Dan Cordy, mitigating, said his client's time in prison had given him time to mature.

He said a psychological report revealed a “troubled young man” who was living his “fantasy life”.

Mr Cordy said the former Nissan production line operative wanted to apologise to both the girls and his family.

Recorder Euan Duff sentenced Allen, who cried throughout, to a total of eight years in prison and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice.

He also said Allen would be on the Sex Offenders register for the rest of his life.

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A TEENAGER was jailed for four and a half years after admitting a string of sex offences - including raping a 12-year-old girl.

Bradley Hall, 18, from Darlington, was 16 when he asked the girl to his house before having sex with her.

He also had a six-week sexual relationship with a "vulnerable" underage girl when he was 17, which led to her later attempting suicide.

And he had more than 60 indecent images of a 17-year-old girl - itself an offence - on his phone when it was seized, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Sarah Mallett, prosecuting, said the 12-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had gone to her GP with her mother for emergency contraception and the GP had raised concerns with the police.

Hall had contacted the girl on social media, where she was listed as being 16 but she told him that she was just 12 years old.

Ms Mallett said: "She sent him pictures and they agreed to meet."

After they had sex he asked her to leave because his mother was returning home and she did not see him again. The victim felt he had taken advantage of her because he had told her he loved her.

He then started messaging a 13-year-old - and sent her explicit photos and videos of himself, the court heard, while she sent pictures of herself topless, through social media.

She told him she was 13, but he replied: "Age doesn't matter when you love someone."

The vulnerable 15-year-old victim he had a sexual relationship with had suffered from psychotic episodes, the court was told.

Ms Mallett said: "If she expressed reluctance (to have sex) he would say she was boring."

Richard Bennett, mitigating, said the 12-year-old victim was "a particularly vulnerable child".

But he said: "The defendant took issue that he deliberately targeted her because he didn't know of her background.

"He has pleaded guilty to rape which for any man is a huge thing to do.

"It is going to have a huge impact on the rest of his life. This is a statutory rape charge - this isn't a man who has forced himself on (the 12-year-old girl).

"He realised pretty quickly what he had done was very serious."

Hall has already served nine months on remand in Holme House Prison.

Judge Colin Burn said: "We have seen 14 offences taking place over a fairly narrow period of time when you were 16 going on 17.

"Two of the three girls were certainly extremely vulnerable. The reality is that both of them have suffered significantly. Any pre-existing problems have been made worse as a result of your quest for sexual gratification."

He jailed Hall for four years and six months, ordered his phone to be forfeited and served him with a restraining order and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.