Latest Offenders Gloucester

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Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, a man has been sentenced to prison for a series of sex offences in Banbury.

Robert Coleman, aged 42, of Swan Road, Gloucester, was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison following a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday 28 March.

Coleman has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life, the sexual harm prevention order for life and given restraining order for life on each of the victims.

Coleman pleaded guilty to one count each of assault of a female aged 13 and over by penetration with part of body/thing, take an indecent photograph/pseudo photograph of a child and distribute an indecent photograph/pseudo photograph of a child. Coleman also pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault in the same hearing.

In May 2021, Coleman used a social media account to upload indecent images of a child. Further intelligence obtained by the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, tracked these images to an address in Banbury, and officers executed a warrant and arrested Coleman on suspicion of voyeurism.

During police interviews, Coleman denied taking indecent images of a child, but admitted to uploading these images and videos to the social media platform.

After seizing Coleman’s mobile phone, officers discovered 279 indecent images and videos of children and women on his device. During police interviews, Coleman answered with ‘no comment’ to all questions.

Coleman was arrested on 8 July 2021 and charged on 8 November 2024.

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Andrew Shore (05/09/1987) of Croome Gardens, Bourton On The Water, Gloucestershire, was sentenced to seven years and three months at Manchester Crown Square Court today (Wednesday 26 March 2025).

On Thursday 27 February 2025, Shore was found guilty by a unanimous verdict of raping a female aged under 13 and indecent assault at the same court.

The offences took place in Rochdale in the early 2000s when the victim was only 11 years old and Shore was in a position of trust. Shore was 16 years old at the time of his offending.

He was also given a restraining order against the victim and lifelong sex offender requirements.

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An "opportunistic sexual predator" has been jailed for four years after sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a woman.

Mohammed Sanana denied approaching two women in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before sexually assaulting and attempting to rape one of them on the steps near the library on Clarence Street.

The victim repeatedly told Sanana "no", told him to go away and pushed him, when the incident occurred on a night out in March at about 20:30 GMT.

Sanana, formerly of Ambrose Street in Cheltenham, was convicted by a jury following a week-long trial at Gloucester Crown Court.

During the trial, the 22-year-old claimed he knew the victim and said his actions were consensual.

However, the jury unanimously found him guilty on 11 November.

As well as the prison sentence, Sanana will be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

He was sentenced on 6 December.

'Unforgivable attack'

In a statement provided by the woman, she said the court process was "very daunting", despite having support from a Sexual Violence Advisor.

"This entire court process did not need to happen and could have all been avoided if he had just admitted to what he had done instead of fabricating a whole story about meeting me before.

"I hope that he is able to learn from this process and will think twice about his actions in the future.

"I hope that him being convicted of this offence will help to prevent something like this from ever happening again to someone else in order to protect other people in the future," she said.

Det Ch Insp Dave Shore-Nye, of Gloucestershire Police, said:

"Sanana is an opportunistic sexual predator who is now rightly behind bars.

"He subjected a woman to a terrifying and unforgivable attack which has impacted her life significantly, and I hope his prosecution and conviction will bring her some sense of justice."

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A “lonely” young man working in the North East, well away from home, sought companionship via a social media dating and friends site for adults, a court heard.

But when Jarrod Hofmann’s post on Wink was responded to by someone claiming to be a 14-year-old girl, he made the misguided error of continuing the conversation, soon moving on to sexual matters.

Durham Crown Court was told Hofmann was unaware, however, that the person purporting to be 14-year-old “Mollie” was, in fact, a decoy profile put up by the paedophile-hunting Child Online Safety Team (COST).

Elisha Marsay, prosecuting, told the court that Hoffman, aged 21 at the time, soon suggested switching the conversation onto WhatsApp.

Over the course of the following 18 days, in March last year, he repeatedly tried to persuade ‘Mollie’ to send him intimate images of herself and told her he would instruct her how to perform a sex act upon herself.

Miss Marsay said the defendant also discussed meeting ‘Mollie’, making travel arrangements so she could spend a night with him.

Members of COST confronted Hoffman at his home, at the time, in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, on March 26, 2023, and police were summoned to the address to arrest the defendant, who was found sitting on the stairs while the paedophile hunters waited at the door.

Following his arrest, Hofmann made no comment in police interviews in March and August last year.

But, by the time the case came before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe, on September 3 this year, the 23-year-old defendant, now living back with his family in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to all four charges put to him.

He admitted attempting to incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to possess an indecent image of a child, attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming.

The offences were all classed as “attempts” as no actual child was involved, unknown to Hofmann.

Stephen Ferns, in mitigation, said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, was, at the time of the offences, working for National Express based in the North East and felt, “lonely and isolated”.

Mr Ferns said Hofmann was not “actively seeking” a relationship with an underage girl, and accessed an adult site, "seeking a relationship with an adult".

He said the opportunity of it being a child then, “presented itself”.

“He fully accepts knowing the age and continuing the conversation on WhatsApp.

“He was isolated and lonely and had recently moved to a new area and had not had a relationship for four years.

“He had not set out looking for a relationship with a child, but he fully accepts he pursued it when it was presented to him.

“He told the Probation Service he has no sexual interest in children, but it was the case that he became interested in this female when the situation presented itself and he did then have a sexual interest in this child.

“What he told the probation report author was said out of fear, shame and confusion.”

Mr Ferns said the defendant now accepts he needs to address his unhealthy interest.

The lawyer said, following his arrest, Hofmann lost his employment with National Express and moved back to his family home in Gloucestershire.

He has since found new employment, working initially in the haulage industry as a driver.

Mr Ferns said if the defendant was given the opportunity of a non-custodial sentence, he could work with the Probation Service to continue his rehabilitation.

Judge Nathan Adams said, having, “carefully considered” the sentence he should pass, that he was just persuaded to step back from passing an immediate prison sentence.

The judge said, however, that imposing restrictions on the defendant to prevent a repeat of his behaviour were, “entirely necessary” in this case.

Imposing a three-year community order, as a direct alternative to prison, Judge Adams said the defendant must complete 150-hours’ unpaid work, and attend 40 rehabilitation activity days, plus 40 sessions of an accredited programme, both overseen by the Probation Service.

He was also made subject of both a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, including a prohibition on any unsupervised contact with children aged under 18, and the requirement to register as a sex offender, each to run for the next ten years.

Judge Adams told Hoffman he was “making it plain” he must comply with the orders in full and commit no further offences, or risk receiving a first term of imprisonment.

Description

A man from Stroud has been jailed after pleading guilty to four charges relating to online sexual offences against children.

Taran Jay Woodward, aged 24, appeared at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 3 December) and was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

He had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, intentionally causing a female under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The charges relate to offences committed against two girls on the social media app Snapchat and online game Roblox in May 2022.

Woodward had been arrested and charged as part of an investigation by Gloucestershire Constabulary's Child Exploitation Team.

His offending was identified after the parents of the children he targeted discovered the offences and reported what happened to their local police forces. 

Intelligence checks were made and Woodward was identified and arrested. He answered no comment in interview.

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A Gloucester man has been jailed after pleading guilty to making thousands of indecent images of children.

Philip Wood, aged 71 and of Westgate Street, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court last Wednesday (23 October).

He had been charged with eight counts of making indecent images of children and nine counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Wood is a registered sexual offender and was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court in 2020 in relation to a number of sexual offences. He was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order at the time, which expires on 1 December 2027.

As part of the order, Wood was not allowed to own any electronic devices, such as mobile phones or laptops, without declaring them to the police and offering them to police for inspection.

He received unannounced home visits from Gloucestershire Constabulary's Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) team.

Officers visited Wood on a number of occasions between August 2023 and May 2024. During each visit, they found that Wood had electronic devices that he had not declared or made available for inspection, these contained indecent images of children. He was also using a pseudonym for online accounts, which he was banned from having under the order.

After suspicions were raised on the first visit around the breaches, Wood’s devices were seized and examined. He was arrested in November and bailed while a case was built against him, before being rearrested and remanded in May this year.

Across the various devices, officers found in excess of 134,172 indecent images of children as well as more than 150 hours of video footage.

Wood pleaded guilty to the offences at a hearing on 7 August. In mitigation, he told the court that he had a thrill of the forbidden and that he had attended previous rehabilitation courses which had not had the desired effect.

He was sentenced to three years in prison for each of the nine breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

In addition, he received three years for making Category A indecent images of children, two years for making Category B images and 12 months for making Category C images.

All sentences are to run concurrently. He was also put on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

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A taxi driver from Gloucester has avoid jailed for sexually assaulting woman while he was at work. The 49-year-old was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault at Gloucester Crown Court on July 30.

Taranjit Singh, known as Tony, has been banned from driving a taxi for ten years following the sentencing. The court heard that the victim used Singh's taxi service several times before the attack and he had given her his personal mobile number.

In November 2021, despite being off duty, Singh agreed to pick up the woman from Gloucester and take her to Tewkesbury, breaching his licence conditions. The woman, in her 20s, fell asleep during the journey. Singh then drove to an industrial estate, and the victim awoke to find Singh digitally penetrating her vagina and touching her breast.

She asked Singh to stop and tried to push his arm away, but he continued to sexually assault her, telling her that she was enjoying it.

The court was shown footage that the victim had secretly recorded on her mobile during previous rides in Singh's taxi. In one clip, Singh is heard propositioning the woman for sexual favours, to which she firmly declines.

Singh, from Estcourt Close in Gloucester, denied sexually assaulting the woman and claimed he may have accidentally touched the woman's breast while assisting with her seatbelt. He further claimed the woman guided his hand into her trousers.

On October 18, Singh received a 24-month suspended sentence at Gloucester Crown Court. Additionally, he must register as a sex offender for ten years and is banned from working as a taxi driver or in any paid driving capacity involving passengers for the same duration due to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The judge ordered Singh to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, participate in a rehabilitation programme for up to 30 days, and pay £4,380 towards prosecution costs.

Post-sentencing, the victim said: "While this incident only lasted a short time that night, it has had a major long-term effect on me mentally.

"I would urge anyone who has been through similar to contact the police. I felt heard, seen and believed, and I had great support throughout the process. I'm so glad I reported to hopefully help stop the same happening to others."

Detective Constable Annabel Brittain has praised a victim's courage after reporting a distressing incident, saying: "The victim is to be commended for reporting this distressing incident as, by having the strength to support the investigation, she has helped keep others safe while achieving justice for herself.

"As she read out her victim impact statement to the court, it was clear how much she has been affected by what happened, and I am extremely glad she says she has felt well supported by police throughout.

"I hope this conviction is reassurance to others that when such concerning incidents are reported, we will be as thorough and relentless as possible in securing all available evidence to bring offenders to justice."

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A 50 year old Winchcombe man who took a woman's mobile phone from her and refused to give it back until she gave him oral sex was jailed for eight and a half years today (May 21).

Neil Roberts, of Godwin Road, Winchcombe, denied raping the woman and assaulting her causing actual bodily harm but a jury found him guilty at the end of his trial earlier this year.

Today he was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court by Recorder Jaron Crooknorth who told him he still showed no sign of remorse for his abuse of the woman.

Before passing sentence of eight and a half years jail for the rape and two years nine months concurrently for the assault, the Recorder heard a victim impact statement from the woman, who said Roberts had treated her 'like a piece of meat' on that night.

She stated "I was humiliated. I felt worthless. He made me blame myself. He left me feeling like it was all my fault.

"Now, after two years of fighting for him to be held accountable, I can admit to myself that I have been raped and that it isn't my fault. Only now do I feel I can truly start to live my life again and enjoy it.

"I am glad he has finally been held accountable for who he truly is and I hope that one day he will be able to admit it to himself.  When the jury found him guilty I was overcome with emotion."

During the trial at Cirencester Courthouse in March the court heard that on Oct 10th 2021 the woman agreed to spend the evening with Roberts drinking and listening to music at his home.

Roberts began questioning her about whether she was seeing any other men and he demanded to see her phone

She refused but he took the phone from her and would not give it back, accusing her of having an 'affair'.

The woman told jurors he could not initially look at the phone because it was locked and needed facial recognition or her PIN number. He kept waving it at her face in an effort to open it but she continually moved her head to prevent him.

However, eventually she gave up and gave him the unlock code. He then looked through the phone. After about an hour she asked to have it back but he did not hand it over and was mocking her, calling her a slut and a cheat.

She pushed Roberts and slapped him in the face in her efforts to retrieve the phone and he then punched her in the face.

Roberts told her that if she wanted her phone back she would have to give him oral sex. 

She told him 'I don't want to do this, just give me the phone back.'

But Roberts insisted he would not return it till she gave him oral sex so she did.

"He then gave me the phone back.  I got off the bed and sat on the floor with my belongings," the woman told the jury.

"He then said that he thought we were just doing role play and that he thought I was enjoying it. "

Roberts, in evidence, said that after drinking San Miguel beer with the woman for 4-5 hours that night they went into his bedroom at about 1am and she instigated the oral sex as a 'form of apology' for an argument they'd had earlier.

There had been no violence from him and he had not demanded to see her phone at any stage, he said.

He alleged afterwards she became very angry and pulled on his penis, causing a bruise.

"I told her to get off and she started to punch me in the head.  She hit me 10-20 times," he alleged.

Roberts was unanimously convicted of both charges and has been in custody on remand since then. Today he appeared via video link from Bristol Prison for his sentencing.

His solicitor, Sarah Jenkins, told the court he had no past history of sexual offending and his only conviction had been for an offence of violence in 2006. This had been his first experience of prison, she said.

It would not be just him who paid the price of his offending because his father, who is in poor health, and his young daughter in Thailand, who also has an illness, would suffer without his care and financial support, she said.

"The child will not be able to come to the UK while he is in custody," she said. "His incarceration will have a very significant impact on both of these individuals."

At the time of Roberts' offences against the woman he had a drink problem and that had got worse due to the stress of awaiting trial - but he had now undergone detox in prison and had signed up for education courses in languages and cycle maintenance in jail, she said.

She also referred the court to character references provided to the court by friends and colleagues of Roberts.

"They show a side of his character which was not shown during the evidence of the victim.  He has provided emotional support and friendship to these individuals in difficult times and circumstances and it is something they value him for."

Passing sentence Recorder Crooknorth told Roberts "You showed no remorse - not even for the injuries she had sustained.  She had a bruised and swollen face, bruising across her chest, scratching and bruising on her arms.  She felt humiliated, overpowered and abused by someone she thought she could trust.

"At this late stage you still show no remorse. "

He said he found that Roberts represents a danger to the public. He told Roberts he will have to serve two-thirds of his eight-and-a-half year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

The judge also reminded Roberts that he will be on the sex offender register indefinitely and will have to keep police informed of any changes of his address or his name.

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A man has been jailed after being caught with almost 400 illegal images of children on a mobile phone.

Carl Webb, formerly of Gloucester Road in Cheltenham, admitted making 240 Category C indecent images of children, 144 prohibited images, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He also admitted failing to report to a police station and being in breach of a suspended prison sentence.

The 37-year-old was jailed for three years and three months on 14 March.

Webb, who has a history of child sex offences dating back more than two decades, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court.

He was convicted of indecently assaulting a child in 2002 and was jailed for sexual activity with a child in 2009.

Prosecutor Alec Small said that on 28 September 2022 police visited Webb at his home to check he was complying with his sexual harm prevention order.

He volunteered that he had a borrowed phone that he had not previously declared.

The phone was seized by officers and was found to contain indecent images of children.

Mr Small added that Webb had failed to attend a police station to sign the sex offender register on 1 March 2023.

Webb is currently serving a three-year jail term imposed on him in October 2023 after he breached a community order he had received at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Catherine Spedding, said Webb is "keen to look at the root cause of his offending" by taking part in a sex offender programme.

She added: "Once he is sentenced, he hopes to be moved to a prison where he can undertake that positive and useful course. "He is looking forward to that because he wants to cease this sort of offending." Webb was also given a new sexual harm prevention order.

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A man has been sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment after sending graphic sexual images and attempting to meet what he thought to be a teenage girl.

Nathan Graham, 29, of Matson Avenue, Gloucester, appeared at Swindon Crown Court today (22/02) after pleading guilty to:

• Attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child
• Attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity
• Arranging/facilitating the commission of penetrative sexual activity with a child
• Possession of bladed articles in a public place.

The offences took place on December 5 and 6 last year, when Graham engaged with what he thought to be a 13-year-old girl via a social media platform.

The communication was graphic and sexual, with Graham sending graphic images of himself for the girl to view.

He lied about his age, pretending to be 18, and sent maps marking out the bus stops and routes for the child as part of his planning and preparation.

Graham was detained on December 7 in Bloomsbury Park, Freshbrook, Swindon, as he was walking to meet the girl at a bus stop on Gainsborough Way.

He was arrested and subsequently charged for the offences and remanded into custody.

Today, he was jailed for the offences. He will also be on the sex offenders register indefinitely and the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

The sentence follows a joint investigation between Wiltshire Police and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).

Det Con Sarah Greenman of the Child Internet Exploitation Team (CIET) said: There can be no place for Grahams abhorrent behaviour in Wiltshire, let alone society.

Graham was fully aware that he was talking to a girl purported to be just 13, and yet he sent her incredibly graphic images and videos of himself, before attempting to meet her for his own sexual gratification.

CIET exists within Wiltshire Police to safeguard children, and we will continue to work alongside the SWROCU, where we are totally committed to ensuring dangerous individuals such as Graham are identified and brought to justice in order to protect the public.

DI David Wells from SWROCUs Online Investigations Team, said: Graham is a harmful sexual predator that has rightly today been handed a significant jail sentence for his crimes.

We are committed to supporting UK police forces in protecting children from harm, reducing risk in our communities and ensuring dangerous individuals like Graham are identified and brought to justice.

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A scrap metal dealer from Wales who sexually abused a teenage girl in Rustington has been jailed.

Mark Rumbol, 58, of Hewelsfield in Wales, sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 15 repeatedly between 2020 and 2021.

The abuse was reported to police in March, 2021 and Rumbol was arrested while his victim was supported by specialist officers.

He was subsequently charged with rape, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity (no penetration).

At Lewes Crown Court on 18 December, he was found guilty of all charges except rape, of which he was found not guilty.

At the same court on Friday, 26 January, Rumbol was jailed for 11 years, ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life, and given a restraining order and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order significantly reducing his ability to offend.

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A man from Churchdown has been jailed after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman and secretly filming two others.

Alex Russ, aged 34 and of Craven Drive, was sentenced to six years and five months in prison when he appeared at Gloucester Crown Court last week.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault against one woman and two counts of voyeurism against two further women.

The court heard that, the day before the first incident, Russ had used his tablet device to search for sleep disorders involving sexual behaviour.

In 2015, while staying at the home of a woman, she had started to go sleep when Russ pulled her pyjama bottoms down and sexually assaulted her. She was able to stop him and challenge his behaviour.

On another two occasions Russ got into bed with her while she again tried to sleep and he sexually assaulted her.

Russ also admitted secretly filming women without their knowledge or consent. One incident saw him set up a camera phone in a washbag and leave it in a bathroom, where he was able to film a woman before and after she showered. 

The other incident involved a camera hidden in an alarm clock which he set up in a room being used by a different woman.

Although he initially denied the offences, Russ pleaded guilty at the first day of trial in October 2023.

As well as being jailed, Russ has been put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and restraining orders have been put in place to protect the women.

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A 29-YEAR-OLD man who was exposed by a paedophile hunter group was later caught in a police sting attempting to chat to an underage girl, a court heard.

Matthew Appleton, of Hildyard Close, Hardwicke, was confronted by members of activist group the Guardian Angels when he lived in Leeds.

They caught him sending sexual videos to a decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl in October 2018.

Appleton was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years at Leeds Crown Court and ordered to complete a sex offender programme.

But within weeks of the suspended sentence order expiring Appleton was caught in a police sting which involved an officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl called Millie, Gloucester Crown Court was told on Thursday, December 14.

Prosecutor Alun Williams said Appleton was still on the sex offender register when, on February 1 this year, he contacted 'Millie' on social media and used 'highly sexualised' language.

Police visited Appleton's home on February 9 and found 91 indecent images and videos of children in all three categories on his phone, said Mr Williams.

An examination of the device confirmed he had contacted the decoy officer and used a cloud-based storage site used by sex offenders, the court heard.

In police interview Appleton claimed he did not know how the images got onto his phone.

Steven Young, defending, said: "He completed the sex offender programme that was aimed at preventing him from re-offending in the future. Obviously this was unsuccessful as he reoffended.

“He states that he doesn’t know why he was doing it and has difficulty accepting the position he is in."

Appleton pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child on February 1, 2023 for the purpose of sexual gratification. He also admitted possessing nine indecent images of children in category A, four images and four videos in category B and 72 images and two videos in category C on February 9, 2023.

He must complete 40 programme days, 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £340 costs and a mandatory surcharge and attend a monthly judicial review.

A sexual harm prevention order was imposed until March 18, 2030.

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AN ‘odious’ paedophile has been jailed for 19 years after sexually abusing a female child.

Paul Burton ‘put insidious pressure’ on a young girl to engage in sexual activity with him for five years before subjecting her to manipulative behaviour for a further five years.

The 45-year-old was found guilty on Monday (December 11), after a five-week trial at Oxford Crown Court, of eight counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of sexual assault and one count of controlling and coercive behaviour.

Occurring in an Oxfordshire village, Burton subjected his victim to years of abuse by filming the sexual assault, forcing her to take contraception, sending her 490 messages a day, showing up at her place of work, and more.

She suffered from several pregnancy scares across the nine years of abuse.

During the trial, Burton claimed it was the victim who had ‘seduced’ and ‘blackmailed’ him but the jury dismissed his account.

Sentencing him, Judge Maria Lamb dubbed Burton’s behaviour as ‘odious’.

She said: “She became your trophy. You began to abuse her, committing the most serious of sexual crimes.

“Whether you consider the abuse grooming or controlling her, perhaps it does not matter, as the two, in my view, are two sides of the same coin. 

“She felt suffocated and referred to herself as your robot. Your behaviour was self-centred and egotistical.”

In a victim impact statement read out in court by prosecutor Fern Russell, the woman said she now suffers from anxiety, depression, and possibly PTSD.

She said: “I think about this from the moment I wake up until it’s my last thought before I fall asleep.

“I find it hard to trust others or let anyone in. I’ve find it incredibly difficult emotionally. I struggle to talk about my emotions and it takes a while to open up.”

The woman added that she has struggled to return to work and has suffered a financial impact, as well as psychological, as a result of the offences.

Defending Burton, of Rookery Road, Innsworth, Gloucester, barrister Nadia Chbat pointed out that the defendant has no previous convictions of a similar nature and had behaved ‘excellently’ throughout court proceedings.

However, Judge Lamb noted he was ‘gesticulating’ in the dock during sentencing and as he was taken down to the cells, he shouted: “You’ve got it wrong, I never touched her.”

He will serve an estimated 13 years in prison before being released on licence.

Description

A 50-year-old man has been jailed for three years after attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl he had been grooming online.

Christopher Hill, of The Tythings, Newent, pleaded guilty to three child sex offences at Gloucester Crown Court.

He was exposed by an online paedophile hunter group who used a decoy persona to trap him.

The judge said his messages to the girl were "highly sexual and graphic" in nature.

The court heard on Wednesday how Hill had used social media to arrange to meet up with a 14-year-old girl called Sophie, who was in fact a decoy created by a member of the Leeds-based Predator Exposure group.

"Very quickly the conversation moved to WhatsApp, which is encrypted, and Hill requested that the girl send him a picture of herself," said prosecutor Lucie Stoker.

"He also asked for snaps of her not wearing any clothes and some sexy photographs.

"He revealed he was falling in love with her. He repeatedly requested that she reciprocates that love, but she doesn't," continued Ms Stoker.

Arrangements were made for 'Sophie' to travel alone from Leeds to Gloucester by train.

Hill told her he would take her to a nearby hotel and sent her a copy of the receipt.

"The girl was told that she could look forward to a lot of sex in all of its forms," said Ms Stoker.

"He was predatory in his behaviour throughout," she added.

'Bitterly regrets'

The judge, James Watson KC, told Hill: "Not only had you encouraged and groomed and planned this meeting for penetrative sex, you had offered her incentives by how you would treat her and the presents and money you would give her after you had met her.

"I've no doubt that had this been a real 14-year-old, you would have carried out what you proposed."

Catherine Spedding, defending, said Hill had suffered from loneliness after his marriage dissolved and "bitterly regrets" his actions.

"Hill met 'Sophie' on a normal social media site, he was not surfing the internet for this type of material and opportunities," argued Ms Spedding.

Hill pleaded guilty to attempting to have sexual communication with a child for the purpose of sexual gratification.

He also pleaded guilty to attempting to facilitate a child sex offence by engaging in sexual activity with 14-year-old girl that involved penetration; and attempt to meet a child following sexual grooming.

The judge sentenced Hill to three years and 11 months in prison and subjected him to the term of a 20-year sexual harm prevention order, which limits his use of the internet.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for life.

The judge also barred Hill from working with children and vulnerable adults in the future.