Search results for Eastbourne

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A 44-year-old man from Eastbourne has been jailed following his conviction for rape and sexual offences involving a teenage girl.

Jamie Vile was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Monday (18 May) after being convicted of six offences relating to the rape of, and sexual activity with, a female child.

He was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment and made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The offences were committed between 2023 and 2025 when the victim was aged between 13 and 15 years old.

The offending first came to light in August 2025 and Vile was arrested on 10 August, 2025. He was charged on 12 August, 2025, and appeared before Brighton Magistrates’ Court the same day where he was remanded in custody.

Vile denied the offences, and the case proceeded to trial at Lewes Crown Court on 4 February, 2026. Following a trial lasting almost four weeks before HHJ Van Der Zwart, the jury returned guilty verdicts on six of the 11 charges on 24 February, 2026. These included three counts of sexual activity with a child, one alternative count of sexual activity with a child, one count of causing / inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of rape.

He was found not guilty of three counts of rape, one alternative count of sexual activity with a child, and one offence of sexual activity with a child relating to a second victim.

Vile appeared before the court on Monday, 18 May to be sentenced.

The officer leading the investigation, Detective Constable Tania Snashall from the Sussex Police Iris Team said:

“It is down to the bravery of the victim in this case speaking out that the offending of this man came to light.

“The fact he chose to deny the offences throughout the investigation and subjected the victim, as well as witnesses, to giving evidence in court speaks volumes of his inability to accept responsibility for what he had done.

“No sentence can ever reflect the seriousness of the offending where the defendant took advantage of the young female who trusted and looked up to him.

“I hope the victim and her family can now begin the process of rebuilding their lives and moving forward from this.”

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An Eastbourne man convicted of 11 counts of child sexual abuse has been jailed.

John Simpson, 52, of Sheffield Park Way in Eastbourne, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, 13 November, where he was jailed for a total of nine years and six months.

In 2011, Simpson groomed and repeatedly sexually abused a 13-year-old girl, convincing her they were in a ‘normal relationship’.

The abuse continued for a number of months, before the victim was able to cut contact with Simpson.

The victim reported Simpson’s offending to police as an adult in 2021 and was supported by specialist officers while an investigation was carried out.

Simpson was subsequently arrested and charged with 13 counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing/inciting a child to commit sexual activity.

At Lewes Crown Court on 3 September, 2025, he was found guilty of nine counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was found not guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child.

Simpson was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison, will be a registered sex offender for life and was given an indefinite restraining order against the victim.

Detective Inspector Harry Doyle said:

“John Simpson took advantage of the young victim, abusing her trust for his own sexual gratification.

“She has had to live with the impact of his crimes into adulthood, but has shown incredible courage by reporting his offending to the police.

“Thanks to her determination, Simpson has now faced justice for his crimes and will spend a significant period behind bars.

“This should send a clear message to victims and perpetrators that no matter how long ago an offence took place, we will take all reports seriously, we will investigate and we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”

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A man has been sentenced for the rape and sexual abuse of a girl in Sussex.

Keith Williams, 60, carried out the abuse on the girl over a number of years.

The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been supported by specially trained officers.

The incidents were reported to Sussex Police in May 2020 after the victim confided in a family member, who raised the alarm.

Officers then arrested Williams.

Detective Sergeant Nick Green praised the victim for her courage to come forward.

At Hove Crown Court on Friday, September 20, Williams was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison.

The court was told how the girl made a report in May 2020, reporting rape and sexual abuse.

Williams, of Tintern Close, Eastbourne, was found guilty after trial of four counts of rape of a girl under the age of 13.

He was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by penetration, one count of sexual assault by touching, and one count of child cruelty.

The five day trial at Lewes Crown Court concluded on Friday, August 2.

DS Green from the Eastbourne Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: “Williams carried out heinous crimes that breached the trust of his victim.

“She showed tremendous bravery and courage to report her experience to police.

“We take all reports of rape and sexual assault seriously, and encourage victims to report their experience to police.

“We were determined to get justice for the victim and for other victims, to ensure that dangerous offenders are taken off our streets.”

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A man from Sussex who was the assistant moderator of a site dedicated to child sexual abuse on the dark web has been jailed for five years and four months.

Martin Yates, 48, from Eastbourne, was a staff member of a site called The Annex. He was identified by the National Crime Agency as part of an investigation targeting those who ran it.

The Annex, which is no longer active, had around 90,000 global members who used it to share and discuss some of the most extreme kinds of abuse material, involving hurtcore and the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers.

Yates held the rank of assistant moderator between January and September 2020, sitting just below head moderator Nathan Bake who was jailed for 16 years last week.

The Annex was run by an American man, who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in January. Kabir Garg, a psychiatrist from London, was further down the chain and sentenced to six years in prison last summer.

Like Bake, Yates played a key role in ensuring the site continued to run smoothly. He was responsible for enforcing the rules by promoting or dropping other users, provided access to private and exclusive sections of the site and advised on security measures. He also passed on training to others about the role that he himself had received.

However, Yates was less careful around his own personal security. His username on the site was yates704 and in chat logs recovered by the NCA, he also told other users first name, his age and that he lived in Eastbourne.

yates704 was also found on HACKFORUMS.NET, a clear website forum dedicated to discussion relating to hacker culture and cyber security.

Investigators found 6,000 private messages between yates704 and other users of The Annex. The conversations varied from fantasy roleplay involving the sexual abuse of children, as well as more official conversations around the moderation of the site, advice on how to post indecent images of children and techniques to evade law enforcement.

NCA officers identified Yates using these details and the email addresses associated to him and he was arrested at his home in Eastbourne in July 2022.

When interviewed, Yates made full admissions to being the controller of his moderator account, that he was a staff member on The Annex and that he had shared child abuse material as part of his role.

He was charged and pleaded guilty to six counts at Hastings Magistrates Court in November last year, including one of arranging or facilitating the sexual abuse of children, four of making and distributing indecent images of children, and one of possession of prohibited images of children.

Yates was sentenced today at Lewes Crown Court to five years and four months imprisonment, placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and give a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Jen Cruickshank, Senior Investigating Officer from the National Crime Agency, said: The Annex simply wouldnt have been able to run without people like Martin Yates. He played a pivotal role in maintaining its upkeep and ensuring users from across the globe could continue accessing its horrific content, without coming to the attention of law enforcement.

Sites such as these directly and openly encourage users to commit sexual offences against children, and those who run or access them assume they are protected by anonymity.

However, the NCA has the determination and technical capability to target those who pose a sexual risk to children and use the dark web to try and hide themselves.

We continue to work closely with international partners to ensure offenders like Yates are identified and brought to justice.

The NCA worked with a number of international partners to target this group of moderators.

Record details

A former Church of England priest has been found guilty of torturing and sexually abusing two schoolboys in the 1980s and 90s.

Jonathan Graves, 60, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, restrained the children, who were aged between 12 and 14, using belts and straps, and then beat them.

At the time, he was the vicar at St Luke's Church in Stone Cross.

He was convicted at Hove Crown Court of 12 offences between 1987 and 1992 and will be sentenced on Monday.

Graves, of Jervis Avenue, was cleared of five similar charges, including one offence of indecent assault on a 50-year-old woman in 2002, following a nine-day trial.

The court heard how he groomed the boys, plied them with alcohol and tricked them into playing sadistic forfeit games.

Graves was first arrested by police in 2005 following a single complaint.

He was temporarily suspended from working in Sussex churches three years later.

Det Insp Jon Gross, of the Sussex Police Public Protection Command, said the past had "caught up" with Graves.

"The evidence in this case has revealed how he used his position to select his victims and befriend them before callously abusing them for his own sexual gratification.

"His crimes have had a lasting impact upon those he abused.

"The hurt caused by the sexual abuse itself has undoubtedly been compounded by the psychological scars of the abuser being a trusted and influential figure in each of the victims' lives."

Record details

A teacher has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

Nicholas Esteve was a teacher at East Sussex County Council-run Hailsham Community College when he assaulted the girl, who was not a pupil at the school.

The 36-year-old, of Rotunda Road, Eastbourne, was caught after the mother of his victim contacted police because she was concerned about Esteves behaviour.

He was questioned by specialist child protection officers before being charged with sexual assault and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Esteve appeared at Lewes Crown Court where he was convicted of both charges and jailed.

The crimes happened in Eastbourne in April last year.

Esteve was also ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years on his release and was served with an indefinite Sex Offender Prevention Order (SOPO).

Ban from working with children

The court order bans him from contacting the victim or any person under 16 without the agreement of a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult, who has been informed of his offending history, except for inadvertent unavoidable passing contact in public.

Esteve is also banned from trying to work with any organisation that might have under 16s involved.

Detective Constable Amy Green said:

We always encourage parents, and children, to come to us with concerns about inappropriate behaviour, and we are glad that this mother did so.

Her daughter also showed great courage in facing up to the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said Esteve was suspended when the victim contacted police and was sacked after an investigation.

He said:

As soon as these allegations came to light both the college and the county council acted swiftly.

It should be made clear that the charges he faced were not in any way connected with his work at Hailsham Community College or any pupils from the college.