Latest Offenders Enfield

Description

A former school caretaker who targeted seven children in a 20-year campaign of sexual abuse has been jailed for life and warned he may never be set free again.

John Lyon, 50, sat hunched over on a videolink to the Old Bailey on Friday as he was sentenced for the rape and abuse of a girl which started when she was just 11-years-old.

It was the third time Lyon had been hauled before a court to be sentenced, and comes 10 years after he was first sent to prison.

Imposing a life sentence with a 15-year minimum term, Judge Brian Cummings KC said Lyon’s offending “amounts to a campaign on your behalf of extremely serious child sexual offending, committed over a period of nearly 20 years.

It involves seven young children”, he said, adding: “The question of whether you may be released is a question to be decided by the parole board, and there’s absolutely no guarantee you will ever be released from prison.”

Lyon previously worked as a caretaker for twelve years at St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School in Churchbury Lane, Enfield.

The Old Bailey heard Lyon was first jailed in 2013 over the sexual abuse of children aged six and seven, where he “used his position as a caretaker” to commit offences.

He was handed a 12-year prison sentence, and in 2021 he was back before the courts for the sexual abuse of four more children, including one aged just four-years-old.

He was then sentenced to an 11-year prison term, and his seventh victim then came forward to police to reveal abuse she suffered in the early 2000s.

Prosecutor Tim Starkey said the girl was 11-years-old when the abuse started, and by the time she was 13 Lyon had started raping her.

She said she lost count of the number of times she was raped”, he said.

Lyon first groped the girl during the pretext of a game of hide and seek, and she recalled to police how he had once taken her to a cabin in a forest for sex.

“She described being scared and said the defendant knew she was scared”, said Mr Starkey.

She described the cabin as “horrible, muddy, damp, and dirty”.

The victim sat in court for the sentencing hearing, and said in an impact statement: “He groomed me to be able to exploit me for his own selfish, repulsive urges.”

The court heard a report in 2021 found Lyon – after more than seven years in prison – continued to pose a risk of sexual offending.

“He can’t acknowledge any sexual attraction to female children and blamed substance misuse”, it said.

Lyon pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and seven counts of indecent assault.

Detective Constable Andri Andreou of the North Area Command Unit who led the investigation said: “There is no doubt John Lyon is a dangerous sexual predator who will always pose a significant risk to children. The safest option for all is that he spends years of his life in prison.

“The trauma he has caused this victim is so significant that some 20 years on she is still dealing with the aftermath of his actions and the damage he has caused.

Description

A transgender man who tricked three women into sexual relationships by using a prosthetic penis has been convicted of assault by penetration.

Tarjit Singh, who was born a female named Hannah Walters but now identifies as a man, had abusive relationships with each of his three victims between June 2010 and March 2016.

During the course of the relationships, the 32-year-old would wear clothes during sex and use a prosthetic penis in the dark.

When the victims began to ask questions, Singh became abusive and manipulative and told one of them there was more to a relationship than sex and that she should learn to talk about her feelings more.

Singh was convicted of three counts of assault by penetration, six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one count of making a threat to kill following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Describing the sexual contact, one victim said: "He looked like a guy, he acted like a guy."

The victim only discovered Singh had female genitalia after finding his strap-on prosthetic penis some months into their relationship.

She told police officers that she felt so stupid that she had fallen for such lies.

Singh told another victim that he had been born male, had a sex change to become female, and now wanted to be male again.

The third victim met Singh after receiving a message from the dating website Plenty of Fish in 2014. Soon into their relationship, Singh told her that he would be having a sex change to become female.

The victim met with Singh after what she believed was the sex change operation, and noticed that he now had breasts but no scarring.

How the suspect was caught

Singh was caught out after this relationship became abusive, and the victim made a complaint to police. The investigation then linked back to two earlier victims.

During the trial, the prosecution was able to present mobile phone evidence that showed a history of websites visited by Singh, which included FreeToMProsthetics.com - a company making ultra-realistic prosthetic penises.

Melissa Garner, from the CPS, said: "These victims have been deceived, betrayed and lied to in the most disturbing and traumatic of ways. One of the victims was just 16 years old when she met the defendant.

"Tarjit Singh, who was born as Hannah Walters, presented himself as a man, wore men's clothing and used a man's name. He tricked three innocent women into believing he was male and when questioned, he violently attacked them and intimidated them into continuing relationships.

"Singh has never admitted his crimes and has continued to claim that these victims were aware of his gender.

"The victims in this case have shown immense courage in coming to court and giving evidence.

"Sexual offences can be some of the most complex cases that we prosecute. I hope these convictions go some way in providing the victims with closure. The CPS is committed to bringing sexual offenders to justice."

Singh will be sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 27 July.

Description

A deceitful woman who dressed as a boy to groom and sexually abuse teenage girls from around the country has been jailed for 8 years.

Gemma Watts, aged 21 years, met the four girls online and began grooming them through social messaging apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. The youngest was aged 13.

Winchester Crown Court heard that Watts, who was 19 at the time, pretended to be a boy named ‘Jake Waton’, telling one victim that she was 17 and another that she was 15.

She maintained this fictional persona – described by one of the victim’s mothers as ‘the ultimate betrayal’ – when meeting the girls in person, and even changed her appearance to look like a boy so her mask of deceit would not slip.

Watts, of Pembroke Avenue, Enfield, pleaded guilty to seven sexual offences at an earlier Winchester Crown Court hearing on 28 November 2019.

The offences were:

• Assault by penetration (Section 2 of the Sexual Offence Act 2003) – victim 1

• Sexual Assault, (Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) – victim 1

• Meeting a child following sexual grooming (Section 15 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) – victim 1

• Sexual Assault, (Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 – victim 2

• Meeting a child following sexual grooming (Section 15 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) – victim 2

• Meeting a child following sexual grooming (Section 15 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) – victim 3

• Sexual Assault, (Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) – victim 4

Judge Susan Evans QC sentenced her today (Friday 10 January) to a total of eight years, and imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

PC Nicola Benson, from Hampshire Constabulary’s Missing and Exploited Team, said: “The level of manipulation and deceit used by Watts to snare her victims in this case was truly shocking.

“Children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation online with increased use of social media apps, and there is a real risk that any contact with a stranger online can lead to a child meeting an offender in person.

“This case demonstrates the stark reality of that, and it is astonishing the lengths that Watts went to, to ensure she could abuse these girls.

“I am pleased that Watts has now received a custodial sentence, and I would like to commend the bravery of the girls and their families who found the courage to come forward and make this happen. I want them to know that they are not in any way to blame for this, and hope they can now move on from this ordeal.

“I would also like to thank officers from West Midlands Police, Devon & Cornwall Police, Surrey Police and the Metropolitan Police for their involvement in this complex and lengthy investigation.”

The court heard that one of the victims, from Hampshire, first came across the defendant on a YouTube comment before engaging in contact with her on Snapchat.

The pair met in November 2017, and Watts even met the victim’s parents, staying on the sofa at their house.

Prosecutor Barnaby Shaw said that sexual assaults occurred at the house every night and every morning, and Watts was challenged by the victim over her gender.

He said: “[The victim] challenged Jake over gender, a challenge that had been made before.

“Members of the family remarked that there were particular things said and done that caused them initial concern, but it was apparent by the evidence given by both parents that Gemma Watts was adept at manipulating people and continuing the subterfuge that she did.”

Hampshire Constabulary became aware of ‘Jake’ following reports made by the victim’s doctor that she had been sexually assaulted by a teenage boy.

Further enquiries led police to uncover Watts’ true identity.

The court heard that police were made aware of other girls, from Surrey, Devon and the West Midlands that had also been contacted by ‘Jake’ online, and were sexually assaulted when they met the defendant in person.

One girl said she was ‘shocked and disgusted’ when she learned who ‘Jake’ was.

When questioned by police, Watts made initial denials, but at a later point said she did not know why she targeted any girls and saw it ‘as a game’.

n November 2018, officers from the Met obtained an interim Sexual Risk Order from Stratford Magistrates’ Court which allowed Watts to be closely monitored by officers to prevent her from re-offending until charges were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Hampshire. A final Sexual Risk Order was obtained on 2 May 2019 and Watts was charged on 12 September 2019.

Detective Constable Phillipa Kenwright, who was the Metropolitan Police’s Safeguarding Lead, said: “In this particular case, Watts targeted her young victims on social media platforms and duped them into believing they were entering into a relationship with someone whom they could trust. She then went on to form physical relationships in which she spun a web of lies and deceit, giving her the opportunity to commit sexual offences.

“Her arrest, and now lengthy prison sentence has prevented her from targeting further victims, but I hope that it also gives reassurance to other victims of sexual exploitation that offenders will be brought to justice and would encourage them to come forward and speak to us.

“I am delighted with the sentence that the Judge has passed today and hope it acts as a warning to others intent on exploiting and manipulating children online, that they will be dealt with robustly.”

Following sentencing, PC Maria Carrick, Hampshire Constabulary’s Education and Youth Engagement Coordinator, said:

“Young people are vulnerable to exploitation online, and in serious and worrying cases, adults pose as young people to groom and exploit them into engaging in sexual activity online, or trick them into meeting with the intention of physically causing sexual harm.

“This is what makes prevention so important and why we continue to actively work with young people, schools, parents and youth partners in a joined up approach to educate whole communities about the risks children face online, and the impact this can have on them and their families.