Latest Offenders Durham

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AN immature young farmer is starting a six-year prison sentence following his conviction for the rape and sexual assault of a woman.

Durham Crown Court was told that Karl Richard Gibson, then 19, committed the acts, despite the victims protests.

The court heard that Gibson protested his innocence on his arrest, last year, and throughout his trial, in late October.

Despite still maintaining he has been subject to a miscarriage of justice, the custodial term of five years was imposed for rape, with an added 12-months for one of two sexual assaults for which Gibson was also convicted, when he appeared back at the court, via video link from nearby Durham Prison, at todays (Wednesday December 23) sentencing hearing.

David Brooke, prosecuting, read from the victims impact statement in which she said she was left feeling, worthless, and for some time since the incidents she has suffered anxiety attacks and had flashbacks to what took place.

Mr Brooke said the woman has since self-harmed and sought psychiatric treatment.

But Paul Reid, for Gibson, said the defendant and his family, utterly reject her comments in the statement.

Mr Reid claimed that to lay the blame for her psychiatric difficulties, at the defendants door, was, completely unjustified.

He was 19 at the time, and is now 20.

Were he a couple of years younger, it would be dealt with under far different sentencing guidelines.

Although hes now 20, hes only a boy, and spends his time farming up on the fells with his cows.

This is one of the most tragic cases I have been involved with, in quarter of a century doing sex cases.

Following his conviction his family were in hysterics and couldnt understand what was happening when he was taken to the cells in shackles, being searched, documented and taken off to Durham Prison.

Mr Reid urged Recorder Tim Roberts to pass the least sentence possible, according to the guidelines.

But, Recorder Roberts said: These offences were, indeed, borne out of immaturity, lack of thought, and inability to think things through in a considered manner.

He made Gibson the subject of a ten-year restraining order, forbidding him trying to contact the woman.

Gibson, of Marshes Gill Farm, Harwood-in-Teesdale, County Durham, will also be subject to registration as a sex offender indefinitely.

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A MAN who raped a girl with learning difficulties on at least three occasions has been jailed for 18 years.

But as Stephen Mark Rudkin, who, himself, also has mild learning difficulties, is considered to pose a significant risk of committing further similar offences in future, he was also made subject of an extended eight-year licence period.

The effect of the extended sentence means that 25-year-old Rudkin will not be released until the Parole Board consider it safe to do so, only after he has served two-thirds of the 18 years, and he will be subject to licence conditions until the end of the entire 26-year period.

Judge Christopher Prince said it means the public will be protected under the terms of the licence, until Rudkin is aged 51, therefore negating the need for the imposition of a sexual harm prevention order.

He will also be subject to registration as a sex offender for life.

Rudkin, of Ryton Crescent, Seaham, who has a previous caution for consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl, was convicted of two counts of rape after a trial in September.

He denied the charges, but, guilty verdicts were returned by the jury on the fourth day of the trial.

One of the offences was a sample count and the other a specimen charge covering at least two occasions, but Matthew Bean, prosecuting, said it was unclear exactly how many times it took place.

The sentencing hearing was adjourned to enable both psychiatric and probation reports to be drawn up for the court.

Christine Egerton, mitigating, said, although the defendant continued to deny the rape allegations, he has, at least, now conceded that some form of sexual activity took place and is prepared to undergo treatment while behind bars to address his, “inappropriate, dis-inhibiting sexual behaviour”.

Due to the age and vulnerability of the victim, the case was the first in the country to be subject to the remote link facilities in place in Durham.

It meant from the time the complaint was made to police, in May, until the outcome of the trial, the victim did not have to set foot in a police station, hospital or court.

She was taken to the “remote” suite to give her initial recorded interview with police, which was played to the jury at her trial.

The accompanied victim returned there during the trial for cross-examination, but only after the judge and barristers in the case had visited her to help put her at ease.

Miss Egerton, as defence barrister, was only permitted to ask a limited number of questions which were agreed with assistance of a child psychiatrist beforehand.

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A MAN who carried out a sustained sexual assault on a heavily pregnant woman was today (Monday September 28) jailed for nine years.

Calvin John Chapman was made aware, during the ordeal, that his victim was in pain, but he continued with the attack, even seeking to blame the helpless woman.

Durham Crown Court heard that the victim was fearful of reporting the incident, and it was only the following day, when she told a friend, that she was urged to inform the police.

Chapman was subsequently arrested on suspicion of committing a series of sexual offences, all said to have been committed during the course of the incident.

He denied all the allegations and underwent a trial, at the court, in June.

Following the week-long hearing a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape, but cleared him of three other sexual offences, all stemming from the same incident.

Twenty-five-year-old Chapman, of Kirkfield Gardens, in Catchgate, near Stanley, was also convicted of dangerous driving, arising from an earlier incident in nearby Dipton.

The court was told that it was his first offence of a sexual nature, but he has a previous conviction for an incident of violence on a woman.

Recorder Jamie Hill, who presided over the trial, adjourned sentence to allow reports to be drawn up on Chapman by the Probation Service and a psychiatrist.

Having read those reports, he told todays sentencing hearing that the author of the probation report classed the defendant as a medium risk of committing further sexual harm, while the psychiatrist who examined Chapman, believed he just fell short of being suitable to qualify in the dangerousness category of offenders.

A victim statement read to the court by the victim, from behind a screen in the witness box, outlined the psychological harm she has suffered as a result of the attack, despite having tried to, put on a brave face, in the light of the incident.

Joe Hedworth, mitigating for Hill, questioned the extent of the psychological harm, and also the suggestion it was a prolonged incident, citing the jurys not guilty verdicts on three of the charges.

Passing sentence, Recorder Hill said in his mind it was a sustained attack.

Chapman was made subject of both registration as a sexual offender and a restraining order, forbidding him trying to make future contact with the victim, both indefinitely.

Following the hearing, the officer in the case, Detective Constable Kirsty Malone said: I would like to commend the victim for having the strength and courage to provide evidence."

*Help and support is available through www.sorrysnotenough.co.uk, or by contacting the confidential Harbour service, on (03000) 202525.

Alternatively, victims who feel unable to contact police, can still seek help by contacting The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre, on 0191-301 8554, which provides a comprehensive service to residents of County Durham and Darlington who have been raped or sexually assaulted.

Their services are available to both sexes.

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A MUM has told of the horrifying moment she learned that her son had been targeted by a paedophile.

Ian Gregory was last week jailed for more than two years after admitting a string of sex charges against a young boy.

The mother of his victim said she felt sick when her son told her about the abuse.

The mum said: My son told me: Hes been doing things to me. I just felt sick when he told me.

Gregory, of Fellside Terrace, Stanley, near Gateshead, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child, two of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one of causing a child to watch sexual images, and 14 counts of possession of prohibited images.

The abuse of the child, who was described as vulnerable in court, happened while Gregory was living in Basingstoke.

At Winchester Crown Court, Adrienne Knight, defending, said the 46-year-old had begun accessing indecent images of children online after he left the army five years ago, following an exemplary 12-year career.

She added the defendant had discovered he had an attraction to young boys after looking at images on the internet.

Mr Gregory says: I dont like myself for the way I feel. I didnt ask to be born like this, she said.

Its criminal and its awful but he cant help the way he was born. He wants to come out of this a better man.

Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, said the offences have had a devastating effect on the victim and his mother, who have since had to move away from the area.

Speaking about the young victim, he said: He has difficulty sleeping and has been having nightmares, screaming out.

Mr Shaw said Gregory had not admitted to the sexual assault before the police found a video on his phone.

Sentencing Gregory to 25 months in prison, Judge Guy Boney said: You are a man of good character who had an exemplary army record for 12 years and you stand there at the moment covered, rightly, in shame for the offences you committed.

As well as jailing Gregory, the judge imposed a sexual offences prevention order and ordered that Gregory should be put on the sex offenders register for seven years.

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A SEX offender committed flagrant breaches of a restrictive order by having frequent contact with girls aged under 16.

Alan Dobson, 39, was jailed for 16 months after Durham Crown Court heard that he completely ignored the Sexual Offences Prevention Order within four months of it being imposed.

Dobson has previous convictions for having sex with girls under 16 when he worked in a kebab shop in 1997, and for sexual activity with a girl under 16, for which he received a suspended prison sentence, in 2005.

Adrian Dent, prosecuting, said due to concerns over his behaviour, the order was sought by police and imposed by North Durham magistrates, in April.

It forbade him from having unsupervised contact with any child under 16.

But the court heard that while working as a pizza delivery driver he took girls for a ride in his car when making deliveries, in August.

Mr Dent said he bought the girls alcoholic drinks, took them to a McDonalds takeway and to secluded woods and made suggestive comments to them.

He also allowed one of them to take to the wheel of his car on a delivery run, and, when he became aware police were looking into his activities, he told the girls to cover up for him.

Dobson, of Melville Street, Chester-le-Street, admitted eight counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and one of sexual assault.

Lorraine Mustard, mitigating, told the court: The breaches are, perhaps, not the most serious, but hes aware that taking these girls in his car when he was delivering pizzas is worrying.

Miss Mustard added that the shop owner was aware of Dobsons previous convictions when he employed him.

Jailing him, Judge Esmond Faulks told Dobson: You took these girls in your car, bought them alcohol, made suggestive remarks and, clearly, this was grooming them, in the hope of sexual activity.

You completely ignored the order. These were flagrant breaches.

The order was renewed indefinitely, while Dobson was disqualified from working with children and must register as a sex offender for the next ten years.

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Recently jailed again for breaking parole.

A TEENAGE rapist who abused a younger boy has been brought to justice as an adult, years after his crimes.

But Carl Gilchrist escaped harsher punishment at Teesside Crown Court because of his youth at the time.

He was a teenager when he raped and abused a boy several years younger.

Now 24, he was sentenced for his sex offending yesterday.

Gilchrist, of Walton Court, Stockton, denied all charges, putting the victim through a trial last month.

A jury unanimously found him guilty of five charges - two of rape, three of indecency with a child - his first convictions.

The court heard how he repeatedly raped and forced the boy to carry out sexual acts over a lengthy period of time.

The judge, Recorder Ben Nolan QC, told Gilchrist if he had been an adult when he committed the crimes, his prison term would reach double figures.

As it is, I have to sentence you as though you were still a boy, he said. For that reason, I very considerably discount the sentence that would be imposed upon an older offender.

He added: The victim was a very young boy when these acts were done to him. These acts had very profound effects on him.

There was some evidence of intimidation on your part in the way in which you committed these crimes.

Prosecutor Paul Cleasby said Gilchrist had no previous convictions though he had a caution for assault by way of kissing.

Gilchrist had references from relatives and family friends.

Adrian Dent, defending, said at the time Gilchrist was a confused, immature person, struggling with his own sexuality.

He said: His youth at that time probably took a significant part in his offending. What he did was a significant part of his growing up process which must have been very difficult for him. He added: Theres never been any suggestion of further offending.

He said there were no overt threats or intimidation, just reported black looks.

Gilchrist was still coming to terms with the jurys decisions, against which he will not appeal, and the daunting prospect of a prison sentence.

The judge jailed Gilchrist for five and a half years, gave him an indefinite sexual offences prevention and banned him from working with children. He will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Fran Donovan, from Cleveland Police, said after the case: I am very pleased with the sentence.

Both the victim and his family have shown great courage and strength during the trial which must have been extremely traumatic for them and I would like to commend them for this.

I hope todays sentencing will go at least some way to helping the victim feel justice has been done.

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CHILD abuser Gary Haggas starts an 18-year prison term today - still denying the terrible crimes which wrecked his two daughters’ childhoods.

The 67-year-old former ice cream man shows no remorse for the litany of sexual abuse he inflicted on his two daughters decades ago.

He begins his long sentence as his victims bravely waive their right to anonymity and launch a campaign to encourage other abuse victims to speak out.

Judge Peter Armstrong told Haggas yesterday: “You’ve devastated their lives and robbed them effectively of a happy childhood.

“And you’ve now got to pay the price for that behaviour.”

Teesside Crown Court heard how he subjected the girls to systematic abuse for years in the 1970s and 1980s, sexually assaulting and raping them.

He molested them in the family homes in Hemlington and Middlesbrough, his car, one of the ice cream vans he operated in the town and their mum’s shop on Parliament Road.

Judge Armstrong said it was “a catalogue of the most appalling offences” against Janet Haggas and Jean Cookson.

The most serious crime was raping the two girls in each other’s presence - an offence which earned him an 18-year jail sentence on its own.

The judge read moving statements about the impact on the girls, now women in their forties, who had to relive their ordeals in the witness box.

He said: “These offences involved a gross abuse of a position of trust as a father. You should have been protecting these girls, not abusing them.

“They were carried out over a long period of time. They were particularly young and vulnerable when it all started.

“The offences were repeated over and over again.

“You continue to deny these offences and so you’ve shown absolutely no remorse whatsoever for what you’ve done.

“You offered sweets to the girls, told them they were your good girls, a form of bribery in my view, typical of paedophile-type behaviour.

“Your daughters have had to live with these offences and knowledge of them for very many, many years.”

Haggas’ had a previous conviction and nine-month prison sentence from 1996 for gross indecency with a boy.

The judge said this indicated “a distorted and perverted interest in sexual offending against children”.

He said it had to be a long sentence to punish him for the “dreadful” offences and show others that such behaviour “simply cannot be tolerated”.

Haggas, of Whingroves, Thornaby, denied all 25 charges against him and took the case to a long trial earlier this year.

The jury unanimously convicted Haggas of seven charges of rape, seven of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child, and cleared him of two rape charges.

He was accused of indecently assaulting another complainant but he was acquitted on all eight of these charges.

Jurors heard the shocking details of the sexual attacks, which started when each of the girls was about seven and carried on into their teens. The trial was told that Haggas was “a controlling and manipulative abuser”.

In both cases, the abuse started as Haggas touched the girls as they sat on his knee, then escalated to worse assaults and repeated rapes.

He abused Janet regularly for about 10 years, raping her on the day of the Queen’s Jubilee in 1977 when she was just 11.

He raped Jean while she was off sick from school and once kept her home to rape her while the rest of the family were in Albert Park.

He said to her she should “do as she was told”, ignoring her protests and saying no, and once gave her a £5 note to try to ensure her silence.

The allegations emerged decades later as a detective was told of the abuse and formal complaints were made.

Haggas denied the offences in police interviews and claimed the women were lying after getting their heads together.

Defence QC Jamie Hill asked the judge for mercy yesterday.

He told the court: “Mr Haggas has consistently denied these offences and of course continues so to do.”

He said the crimes stopped 28 years ago and Haggas’ risk of re-offending had diminished.

The judge did not reduce the sentence because of Haggas’ “infirmity”.

Standing with a walking stick in the dock, Haggas was said to have high blood pressure, hip problems, awaited surgery and took disability benefits.

The judge said reports indicated Haggas, who did voluntary vehicle and maintenance work for his church, posed a risk to children in the future.

He was given a sexual offences prevention order banning him from unsupervised contact with under-18s.

He will be banned from working with children and will be on the sex offenders’ register - all indefinitely.

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A MAN who raped and sexually abused three young girls was yesterday jailed for 15 years.

Mark Patrick Henderson, 49, gave the girls alcohol and used an element of coercion while carrying out the offences.

But Durham Crown Court heard that after the allegations came to light, in December 2009, Henderson continually refused to accept his guilt and only began to make admissions on the day of his scheduled trial, last month.

Julie Clemitson, prosecuting, said each of his victims had to brace themselves to come to court to give evidence, while one witness was even flown from the US for the trial.

But over the course of two days, Henderson finally came clean and admitted a total of 11 charges, including three of rape, indecency with a child and indecent assault.

He was remanded in custody pending preparation of reports by the Probation Service.

Henderson, of Bishopton Lane, Stockton, who was previously from north-west Durham, was brought back to court for sentence, yesterday.

Aspects of the victim impact statements were outlined to the hearing, reflecting the long-lasting effect his abuse has had on his victims.

Robert Mochrie, for Henderson, who is of previous good character, told the court: “He’s a man of few words and often struggles to get his message across.

“There’s very little a person in his position can do to say how sorry they are. Perhaps the most they can do is to admit the offences and he did that, albeit at the foot of the door.

“He made blanket denials to police in interview and he’s been at pains to find courage to admit to his wife what he did.

“As long as he could, perhaps rather foolishly, he deluded his partner into what he maintained was the truth.”

Imposing the sentence, Judge Christopher Prince said it would have been 17 years if Henderson had not made his eventual admissions.

Henderson will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.

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A man police said was the "librarian" of a global internet child abuse ring has been jailed indefinitely.

Philip Anthony Thompson, of Stockton-on-Tees, will serve at least three years and nine months, but a Teesside judge warned it could be much longer.

Thompson, 27, admitted 27 charges, including causing children aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The website he was involved with used "borderline-legal" images to bring together "like-minded" people.

Police have so far pinpointed 360 suspects.

Handing down sentence at Teesside Crown Court, Judge Michael Taylor said Thompson posed a "very significant risk" to the public and therefore he would be imposing an indeterminate prison sentence for public protection.

He told him: "You have shown that you are a very dangerous individual indeed. I consider that you pose a very significant risk to the public and you are a dangerous offender."

"He [Thompson] was... the librarian/warehouseman for a myriad of images that were distributed to like-minded individuals both in this country and elsewhere" Det Chief Supt Mark Braithwaite, Cleveland Police.

Thompson, who lives with his mother in Gooseport Road, has also been placed on the sex offenders' register for life and banned from the internet and any contact with children.About 241,000 child abuse images - which were still and moving images of varying degrees of extremity - were discovered in his possession.

Police said more than 130 suspects had been uncovered in the UK and more than 50 arrests have been made.

As a result, 15 children in the UK have been removed from situations where they were being abused or were accessible to an offender.

Police revealed the network was first infiltrated by Metropolitan Police officers, working undercover, in May 2007

It became the largest investigation of its kind in the UK, also involving Cleveland Police and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

Users of the forum would post borderline-legal images of children and pass comments on them.

Police said "indicative images" rather than explicit child sex abuse images were posted online in an attempt to keep the site "below the radar" and prevent it being shut down.

According to CEOP, which co-ordinates covert investigations into internet child sexual abuse, users would make contact this way then meet other like-minded individuals and exchange images in "different online environments".

Its chief executive Jim Gamble said: "This website - whilst appearing to operate on the margins of legality - was clearly a front for the sinister, sexual abuse of children and an image trading ground for paedophiles."

Det Chief Supt Mark Braithwaite, from Cleveland Police, said Thompson had been "a critical piece of this network".

"He was the librarian/warehouseman for a myriad of images that were distributed to like-minded individuals both in this country and elsewhere."