Latest Offenders Hull

Description

A shameless sexual predator took advantage of a woman who had joked to him about her lack of romantic luck – and brazenly told her: “I can help you out with that.”

Opportunist sex offender Brian Walters quickly saw his chance and raped the woman before cynically telling her afterwards that they could “try again” the next day, Hull Crown Court heard.

Walters, 67, who has lived in Valentine Close and Anlaby Park Road South, Hull, denied rape and two offences of indecent assault but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

David Hall, prosecuting, said that the woman and Walters had both been drinking at the time of the rape incident on September 8, 2018.

She later said: “I had a lot to drink. I was out of it. I was drinking cans of Fosters lager. We went through nearly 30 cans between us. I could hardly stand up.”

She was sitting down when Walters told her: “I have not sh****d a woman in ages.” The woman joked: “I haven’t either” and Walters replied: “I can help you out with that.”

The next thing that she remembered was Walters having sex with her. “I can’t remember how I came to be naked but I was fully naked,” she said. She could not remember much about what happened. “I was that drunk,” she said.

Walters told her: “Come tomorrow and we will try again.” She later said: “I did not want sex with [him].” The woman later reported what had happened to a support officer. She was “visibly upset” at the time. The police were alerted in September 2021.

The court heard that Walters had been jailed in 1979 for burglary. During his defence evidence, Hull-born Walters denied any sexual activity with the woman.

“That’s wrong,” he claimed. “I never did. I’m quite sure.” When asked if he had raped the woman, he said: “There is no truth in it. No, I never.”

He was asked: “Are you lying?” but he replied: “No.” He was asked why the woman would say such things and he replied: “I haven’t a clue.”

He admitted that he had been drinking at the time, but added: “I had some beer. Fosters. I don’t count them. I just drink them.” He claimed that it was not 30 cans between them, however.

Walters was asked: “Was there a decision between you and her about sex?” He replied: “No. She wanted me to do it. I said: ‘No’. I just left her to her own devices.”

Walters, who was on bail during the trial, had been remanded in custody after being convicted of the offences.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that Walters had found custody difficult. "He is struggling to cope," said Miss Baines. "There is no suggestion that there has been wider offending here."

Judge Mark Bury told Walters: "She woke to find you on top of her, having sex with her. She told you 'No'. That didn't stop you. She couldn't push you off.

"You had your full weight on her. She was drunk. You had plied her with drink to the point where she was incapable of looking after herself. She felt disgusted and ashamed. Your denials to the jury were strident."

Walters was jailed for 10 years and must register as a sex offender for life.

Description

Paul Lamb was serving a prison sentence for historic sexual abuse and rape (Image: Humberside Police).

A former Metropolitan Police officer who was convicted of historic sexual offences has died in prison. 

Paul Lamb, 74, was jailed for 17-and-a-half years in May 2021 after being found guilty of 19 sexual offences which took place during the 1970s in London and in the 1980s in Yorkshire. 

The ex-policeman was diagnosed with breast cancer months after his arrival at HMP Hull and he then died just a year into his sentence, a prison report has revealed. 

Lamb’s crimes include the rape of a girl under 16 in Islington in the 1970s, when he worked for the Met. 

He then moved to East Yorkshire where he ran a children’s home for three years during which he carried out two more rapes and many more indecent assaults. 

A report into the care Lamb received in prison prior to his death revealed that his partner believed that a mastectomy had prevented the spread of the cancer. 

However, Lamb then stopped taking medication prescribed to him due to his concern about possible side effects. 

 
His cancer soon returned and he died on May 27, 2022, hours after being told that he had less than 48 hours to live. 

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A violent thug has been put behind bars for three years, after almost costing a young woman her life.

Tommy Ward, aged 23, of Hull Road in Hedon, was sentenced following a serious and near fatal attack in July 2022. Ward tried to suffocate his victim and caused her significant facial injuries, in what police described as a 'brutal attack which almost cost her life'.

Afterwards, he fled the area and destroyed his mobile phones prior to his arrest, in an attempt to get rid of the evidence. However, there was other significant evidence that was presented to him when he was arrested, which led to him being charged and remanded.

At an earlier court appearance in March, Ward pleaded guilty to Breach of Notification (Sexual Offences Act 2003), criminal damage, assault by beating, non-fatal suffocation, theft, sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress and witness intimidation.

Speaking after sentencing, the Officer in the Case (OIC), Detective Constable Daniel Radford said: "Ward was placed on the sex offender’s register and was required to be registered for two years after he was cautioned for possession of an indecent image of a child in October 2021. He blatantly disregarded his requirements and breached his conditions under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as a convicted sex offender, to have no contact with children.

"His victim had no knowledge of his previous background and had young children that could potentially have been put at risk. He also deceived those around him and those charged with his monitoring.

"His truly appalling attack on a vulnerable young woman was shocking, she was extremely lucky to have escaped with her life."

The detective also praised the young woman for her courage and gave a reassuring message to others going through domestic abuse. He continued: "I want to thank the victim for her support of the police action and in coming forward despite the intimidation.

"Her bravery and support may have saved future victims from the abuse, safeguarded children, and potentially saved someone’s life if Tommy Ward was allowed to continue his dangerous behaviour.

"We know it can be very difficult to disclose domestic abuse, and then have the strength to be involved in an investigation that, as in this case, can sometimes be lengthy. I would encourage anyone who is being abused or know someone who is, to call the police.

"We will listen, we do care, and there are support services available in many different forms and types that can help victims of abuse. If you are not in a safe position to call us, then please tell a trusted person or when able, to disclose to a professional person.

"Taking the first step to stop the abuse is brave and we can and will support you throughout any investigation. You are not alone."

Description

A serial sex offender who repeatedly targeted a young girl for a series of "grotesque" rapes and other sexual abuse has been jailed for 22 years.

The victim had been left suffering nightmares, sleepless nights and great stress as a result of the ordeal that she had been through, Hull Crown Court heard. Grzegorz Krosman, 41, of 10th Avenue, north Hull, denied six offences of raping a child under 13 and two offences of sexually assaulting a child under 13 but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

Charlotte Baines, prosecuting, said that the gravity of the offences escalated significantly. The girl said in a statement that she had been left worried and upset by what happened to her.

She had not been able to sleep very well and had been anxious about the outcome of the case. "I feel that my life has been turned upside down," she said. "I am no longer the person I used to be." She felt "drained" thinking about what Krosman had done to her and "anxiety took over".

She felt that her childhood had been taken away from her and she had found the police investigation very stressful. She had found it very difficult to talk about what Krosman did.

"It's caused a lot of changes in my life," said the girl. "I just wanted him to tell the truth and give me some closure. It has left me feeling insecure and lacking body confidence.

"I feel sad that he put me and my family through the court process. I look forward to the day that I can have some sort of normality in my life.

"I have been having trouble sleeping and having nightmares because of the abuse that I have suffered. There have been nights when I have stayed awake instead of sleeping.

"I have been worrying about what the outcome of the trial would be." She was "very relieved" when she was told that Krosman had been convicted and she felt safer now.

"I have to live with what he has done to me for the rest of my life," she said.

Krosman, who is Polish, had convictions for nine previous offences between 2014 and 2021 but none for sexual offences. Paul Genney, mitigating, said that Krosman still maintained his position despite being convicted by the jury and claimed that the offences did not happen.

Krosman had lost everything, including his job as a factory worker and his reputation, because of the convictions. He would now lose a substantial amount of his liberty and, because he could not speak English and had no friends who could visit him in prison, he would find his time in custody "particularly arduous".

It would not be until he had served at least two thirds of his sentence that he could be considered for release.

Judge Mark Bury condemned the offences as "grotesque". Krosman will be on extended licence of one year after his release from prison. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Judge Bury said of the victim: "I hope she feels some comfort from the sentence."

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Police have paid tribute to the "brave" victims of a notorious sex offender who subjected them to "completely abhorrent" abuse.

John Murden, 66, "preyed on the vulnerabilities" of two children to satisfy his own sexual deviancies, officers said.

Murden, of Hedon Road, Hull, was already serving a 14-year sentence received in 2016, after he pleaded guilty to sexual offences against another two children. On that occasion, a Hull judge described him as a depraved man who "sought to sexually corrupt" young girls.

Now, Murden has been jailed for a further 12 years after pleading guilty to two counts of rape of a child, two counts of indecency with a child and eleven counts of sexual offences against a child. Doncaster Crown Court heard he would also have to spend eight years on licence when released from prison.

Detective Inspector Adamson, of Humberside Police's Protecting Vulnerable People unit said: “Murden took advantage and preyed on two children’s vulnerabilities to satisfy his own sexual deviancies, without them realising at the time that what he was subjecting them to was completely abhorrent.

“I know how difficult it can be to take that first step to come forward, and I would like to commend those affected, and their families, for their bravery. Whilst the outcome at court doesn’t take away the pain they have suffered, I hope that a sense of justice is being felt to know Murden has been locked up for the rest of his life.

“We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and want to reassure anyone who may have experienced anything like this – at any point in their lives – that when you’re ready to come forward and talk, you will be listened to and supported.”

Murden's latest sentence will be served concurrently with his jail term imposed in 2016. Seven years ago, he pleaded guilty to four indecent assaults, two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, sexual activity with a child, and three other sex offences against a child. His offending dated back several decades.

One victim had been left so traumatised that she attempted suicide, Hull Crown Court heard in March 2016. When Murden was arrested and interviewed by police, he told officers: “Alcohol makes you do daft things doesn’t it, when you’re drunk.”

Sentencing him on that occasion, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC (now KC) told him: “John Murden, you are a depraved man and your culpability for the crimes you have committed is very high. You sought to sexually corrupt each of these women when they were young girls.”

Humberside Police say anyone who has been the victim of rape, sexual assault, or any sexual offence, or who knows someone who has, can report offences directly through the non-emergency number 101, or by calling 999 if in immediate danger.

Description

Police caught a convicted sex offender naked on his bed while he was busy exchanging sexual messages with an undercover police officer who was pretending to be a 12-year-old boy.

Ian McIntyre "couldn't help" himself and brazenly made contact with the decoy boy even though he was already under investigation for doing exactly the same thing very recently.

He failed to learn his lesson from his arrest and was already on the sex offenders' register after an earlier conviction in 2017, Hull Crown Court heard.

McIntyre, 56, formerly of Anlaby, admitted five offences involving attempting to cause a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. A jury had been sworn in for a trial but no evidence had been heard before he changed his pleas on the second day.

Paul Genney, prosecuting, said that McIntyre thought that he was talking online to two 12-year-old boys but they did not exist and really he was exchanging messages with decoys set up by undercover police.

McIntyre contacted the first fake boy on gay dating app Grindr and on Snapchat and told him that he was aged 36. He encouraged the fake boy to commit a sex act and sent him intimate pictures and video of himself.

McIntyre told the boy that he loved him and wanted to kiss him all over and to be sexually intimate with him. He incited him to sexual activity and suggested meeting up at swimming baths in Albert Avenue, Hull, where they would share the same cubicle, although no formal arrangement was made.

He was arrested in December 2019 but claimed that he had been "framed" by a man that he named.

McIntyre was released pending further investigations but did the same again between May and June 2020 with another decoy boy that he thought was 12. They met on Grindr and McIntyre again pretended that he was aged 36.

He encouraged the fake boy to engage in sexual activity and sent him pictures and videos. When police arrested McIntyre in August 2020, he was lying naked on a bed upstairs at his Anlaby home, using his phone to communicate with the non-existent boy, who was really an undercover police officer.

He denied everything and again claimed that he had been "set up and framed" by the same man. Police contacted the man, who had, in reality, not seen him for years

McIntyre had a previous conviction in March 2017 for making one indecent picture of a boy but he had been cleared at a trial of sexually assaulting another boy. He was on the sex offenders' register at the time of the latest offences.

Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said that McIntyre finally admitted the most recent offences when a further piece of evidence emerged after the trial started.

"No harm resulted," said Mr Robinson. "No harm was ever going to result because these were two undercover police officers. There was discussion about meeting but there were no concrete plans ever to do that.

"There was talk of the swimming baths and meeting there but no concrete suggestion of it and no specific time, date or place. The previous conviction aggravates the situation but it was a more minor offence in the spectrum of sexual offending."

McIntyre had worked since the age of 16, including for a long time as an HGV driver. He had previously been married for about 20 years and had two adult sons. He later had other relationships but "sought solace in contacting people on the internet" after that.

"He became obsessed with that," said Mr Robinson. The vast majority of it was with people of the correct age. He "behaved very badly" by contacting the fake 12-year-old boys.

Judge Mark Bury said of the first decoy boy: "He was an undercover police officer employed to catch out people such as you, who have a clear sexual interest in underage children." McIntyre was arrested after the first incident.

"You did exactly the same again," said Judge Bury. "You weren't to know that the person at the other end of the communication was a police officer.

"You were released under investigation and you couldn't help yourself and you did exactly what you had done before you were arrested."

McIntyre, who has recently had a care/of address at a lodges park in Brandesburton, near Beverley, was jailed for eight years. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Description

A convicted sex offender who had repeatedly been deported kept defiantly returning to this country and changed his name in a crafty bid to fool the border authorities.

The Lithuanian criminal was so determined to return that he hatched a "well planned" scheme to trick his way into the UK but it backfired badly when investigations were made, Hull Crown Court heard. Konstantinas Siniakovas, 36, of Perry Street, Hull, admitted entering the UK at Leeds Bradford airport on February 24 in breach of a deportation order and avoiding enforcement action by deception between June 25 last year and February 27.

Michael Forrest, prosecuting, said that Siniakovas, a Lithuanian national, was first given a deportation order from this country in April 2019 because of his foreign convictions. He was deported in May 2019 but was arrested by British police in May 2020.

Siniakovas was again deported in October 2020 after serving a prison sentence for a sexual offence, dishonesty and driving offences. The deportation order was still in force but, in July last year, he gave a false first name but the same surname when stopped by police for a driving matter.

He gave a date of birth and an address in College Grove, Hull, and the matter was referred to the Home Office criminal and financial team for further investigation. It was discovered that, on June 8 last year, he had entered the country under the other name. He had made an application on June 25 under the European settlement scheme using the false name.

He gave further details under that name and submitted a Lithuanian identity card as supposed proof of identity as well as bills, including one from Eon for electricity, and a completed questionnaire asking whether he had any criminal convictions or was known by any other name.

"The defendant responded 'No' to all these questions," said Mr Forrest. After checks with the Lithuanian embassy, Siniakovas was found to have changed his name on December 16, 2020. On February 27 this year, officers identified the driver of the car as Siniakovas.

"This was following checks with the Border Force agency and the defendant was arrested," said Mr Forrest. Siniakovas had convictions for 32 previous offences, including sexual assault in October 2020 in this country.

Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said: "The defendant accepts that he was aware of the order but instructs me that he misunderstood the deportation rules. He fully accepts his offending.

"He wants to express his remorse for his offending. The reason he keeps returning to the United Kingdom is to support his family, who are in Lithuania. He has a son ... he accepts that this is no excuse for his offending.

"The defendant asks that the court passes the shortest sentence possible. He welcomes deportation and wishes to return to Lithuania as soon as possible."

Judge Sophie McKone told Siniakovas: "You were first deported from this country in 2019 but returned in 2020. When you returned in 2020, you committed a sexual offence and you were again deported, having served a prison sentence, but you again came back into this country when you knew full well that you should not.

"This was well planned by you because, in order to do so, you changed your name and then provided documents in that name. There is no proper excuse for you to keep returning to this country when you know you should not."

Siniakovas was jailed for 20 months. Judge McKone told him: "You will serve half the sentence and then you will be deported."

Description

An ex-boxer who a judge says was "preoccupied with teenage girls" was caught with more than 26,300 indecent images of children.

Joe Wilson, 33, of St George's Road, off Hessle Road, west Hull, admitted three offences of possessing indecent images of children between April 2016 and January 2021. The images were part of a "disgusting" trade which led to sexual abuse against children, Hull Crown Court heard.

Stuart Bell, prosecuting, said Wilson had been arrested in his home in February 2021 after his activity online caught the attention of the National Crime Agency. Two phones were seized from him, reports Hull Live.

There were 20 images and nine videos in the most serious Category A, 120 still images and eight videos in Category B and 26,171 still images and 11 videos in Category C. They were in a "zipped" folder, a way of storing large numbers of images but taking up little space on the phone.

Wilson claimed that he had downloaded and viewed only 529 of these images. He had saved and accessed links to websites known for having indecent images of children.

There were 114 pages of internet history linked to the websites, with search terms including "little girls". There were also searches for "Lolita" and under-18 dating apps.

Chat logs showed he had communicated with girls aged from over 16 to under 18. Wilson had sent intimate pictures of himself and had received naked pictures back from one girl. There were no charges regarding this aspect, however.

Nigel Clive, mitigating, said Wilson had no previous convictions and he had finally pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial. "There is perhaps little to mitigate offences such as these," said Mr Clive.

Most of the images were in the least serious category and were in the "zipped" folder and were not accessed. Wilson, a groundsman, accessed images when he was in a "downward spiral" and he turned to pornography instead of drink or drugs. He was remorseful and had been assessed as being a low risk.

Judge Mark Bury said: "He is sexually preoccupied and likes girls under 18." Judge Bury told Wilson: "You have a sexual interest in teenage girls between 16 and 19. You were essentially looking for females who were under 18 but not necessarily under 16."

The vast majority of the images found were of girls aged under 16 but very few were under the age of 10. "You had a high sex drive and you were sexually preoccupied," said Judge Bury.

"Offences like this are always serious. There are victims. Children under the age of 18 need protection." Each image that was viewed meant that there were victims of abuse and people made money out of the "disgusting" market. "You need to leave alone teenagers who are not 18," said Judge Bury.

Wilson was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 20 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. The two phones will be forfeited.

Description

A baby-faced teenager who targeted and groomed four young girls after chatting to them on social media has been locked up for four years and 10 months.

Manipulative and controlling Kai Hutchinson took advantage of the girls and left them suffering serious psychological problems because of his sexual behaviour towards them, Hull Crown Court heard. Hutchinson, 18, of Pembroke Grove, off Preston Road, east Hull, admitted five offences of sexual activity with a child and three of sexual communication with a child.

David Godfrey, prosecuting, said that Hutchinson chatted with four young girls through Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. He had contact with the first girl, aged 14 at the time, on Snapchat for about a month before they met in person.

"He was aware that she was 14 at the time," said Mr Godfrey. They had sex at least 10 times and the sexual activity continued. "She felt a degree of pressure to do so," said Mr Godfrey.

The girl described Hutchinson as "a bit controlling" but the relationship eventually came to an end. He sent intimate images of himself to her and asked her for explicit pictures. "She sent pictures," said Mr Godfrey.

The second girl, aged 12 at the time, was contacted by Hutchinson on Instagram. "The contact became more explicit," said Mr Godfrey.

Hutchinson sent her intimate pictures of himself and "bombarded" her with messages. He pressured her for explicit pictures but she did not send him any. "Eventually, she told her mum," said Mr Godfrey.

Hutchinson had contact with the third girl on Facebook and she told him that she was 13. "They met up on a number of occasions," said Mr Godfrey. They had sex on at least 10 occasions but the girl described the relationship as "toxic".

He had manipulated her into sexual activity. "She wasn't wanting to upset him," said Mr Godfrey.

The fourth girl, now 15, had contact via Snapchat. Hutchinson was aware that she was 14 at the time. He sent intimate images of himself to her.

"He persisted," said Mr Godfrey. "She did not send any images."

The first girl said in a statement that the incidents affected her new relationship with her next boyfriend. She did not want to get out of bed and cried all the time. The second girl said that the incidents changed her mentally. "I feel empty and feel low and anxious," she said. "I have been struggling to concentrate at school."

The third girl said: "My life has never been the same since this happened. I have lost my appetite. My mind is constantly thinking about what happened. I feel anxious going out in public." The fourth girl had not given a victim statement.

Dale Brook, mitigating, said that Hutchinson had no previous convictions. "He has never previously been in any trouble at all," said Mr Brook. Hutchinson had been remanded in custody in an adult prison for a few months.

"They are very serious offences," said Mr Brook. The sexual offences were "wholly inappropriate and illegal" even if the ongoing "toxic" relationships were consensual. Hutchinson was immature and he had been assessed as being a low risk of reoffending.

"There was a degree of manipulation," said Mr Brook. "These were not threats in the usual sense."

As well as being sent to a young offenders' institution for four years and 10 months, Hutchinson was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender indefinitely.

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'Sex-obsessed' Daniel Rutter, 34, has previously been jailed for attacks on women.

A violent Hull man strangled and suffocated a sex worker in a "degrading and dehumanising" attack in Leeds.

Daniel Rutter, 34, of HMP Leeds, but formerly of Plane Street, Hull, went to the victim's house after only two weeks of knowing her, and went into a rage when she "accidentally knocked over his crack pipe". The aggressive bully then relentlessly attacked her, leaving her with two black eyes, cuts to her neck and swelling to her lips, jaw and ear.

The prolific offender has a long history of attacking women, and Hull Crown Court heard last year that "sex-obsessed" Rutter exposed himself to a policewoman while being transported in a police van. He made disgusting comments to her, offering sex, while he committed a sex act, and then defecated and urinated in the van.

On Thursday, Leeds Crown Court heard that Rutter continuously punched the woman at her home in Burnsall Gardens, Leeds. She was then able to escape his abuse and lose him before returning to her flat.

Leeds Live reports thatProsecutor Jade Bucklow said she later let him back in, "fearful" of what he would do if she did not. Ms Bucklow said: "He went in and was standing in front of the door and punched her.

"He straddled her and put his hands around her neck and she struggled to breathe. She kicked him in the genitals and it worked and she began to scream. He [Rutter] put a woolly hat over his hand and over her mouth and punched her to her body."

Police received a call that people were "screaming" at the address, and officers found Rutter and the woman there. In a basis of plea, Rutter argued that he did not put a hat over his hand to suffocate the woman, but did it with the intention of stopping it from bleeding, after the woman bit him.

However, he did accept he put his hand over her mouth. The Hull offender also claimed the woman already had injuries prior to him going over there.

The victim was treated at Leeds General Infirmary after the attack, and suffered two black eyes, cuts to her neck, swelling to her lips, the left-hand side of her jaw and ear.

Rutter was sentenced for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation and intentional suffocation. He was also sentenced for failing to comply with notification requirements after he failed to tell police he no longer had a home.

In a police interview on December 19, Rutter provided a pre-prepared statement in which he said he had gone to the woman's house to drink, listen to music and watch television. Ms Bucklow said: "He said they had consensual sex during which she fell and hit her face on the table and chair.

"The interviewing officer remarked he took issue with her being a prostitute."

The court heard Rutter had 39 previous convictions for 94 offences including 16 offences against a person. In November 2021, Rutter was sentenced for slapping and spitting on his ex-partner, just days after he was released from prison.

After police arrived to arrest him for the attack, he then aggressively spat at officers. His previous stint in prison was for assaulting the same woman.

Mitigating, Michael Walsh, said he had been diagnosed with a condition - which was later said to be the life-shortening Huntington's Disease. Mr Walsh said: "He is realistic about the type of sentence that will be imposed today.

"The probation service have expressed the view that they don't think they could work with him because of his issues that mean he isn't amenable to them and because he is likely to spend time in custody but they will work with him in custody. He is a man with complex issues that arise from his mental health."

Mr Walsh said Rutter was using drugs and to some lesser extent, drink, to self-medicate and "that perfect storm led to anxiety and the commission of these offences". The barrister added: "He has said to me he wants to be in a position where in the future if he gets involved in stressful situations he acts better than he has before.

"When he is released he wants to seek assistance in regards to his mental health."

His Honour Judge Robin Mairs told the court that in the pre-sentence report, Rutter stated the woman wanted to be strangled and he "made references" to her role as a sex worker. The judge said the author of the report wrote: "As though that provided explanation for the offences."

He said: "Your attitude to the complainant (who) you beat and strangled over hours is degrading and dehumanising. Because she is a sex worker you deem her to be worthy of the violence you used upon her. Your conduct and attitude towards her is despicable."

The judge jailed Rutter for two years and seven months. Rutter will have to serve up to half of his sentence in custody before being released on licence.

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THE MoD has been blasted after a predatory instructor was jailed for a campaign of sexual assault and harassment.

Army Corporal Simon Bartram, 32, targeted teenage girl recruits, some as young as 16.

He sexually assaulted one on a training exercise and routinely walked in on them when they emerged naked from the showers.

The married father of one told a teen: Id have a threesome with you and your mother, praised anothers nice bum and t*ts and pestered one to show him a tattoo on her bottom.

He was detained for 20 months but Emma Norton, of the Centre for Military Justice, urged the Ministry of Defence to do more to protect recruits.

She said: Time after time, we see it taking the smallest steps it thinks it can get away with at the expense of fundamental reforms.

Bartram, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was accused of targeting six girls over nine months between 2020 and 2021 at a military college in the north of England.

All were left profoundly distressed, the military court at Catterick, North Yorks, heard.

One suffered from PTSD and another left the Army.

Bartram, of Hull, denied 22 charges, but was found guilty of nine and sent to the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester.

He was also stripped of his rank and dismissed from the Army.

An Army spokesman said: The Army has zero tolerance when it comes to sexual harassment and personnel convicted of a sexual offence will be dismissed.

Description

A pizza delivery driver plied three teenage girls with alcohol and drugs before sexually assaulting and raping one of them in his car. Wahid Bik, who drove around Solihull and Shirley, groomed his victims who were left with emotional scars.

The-43-year-old committed the offences over a month-long period between December 2021 and January last year. He spotted his first victim, a 13-year-old girl, in November 2021 as she was walking home alone. In passing sentence Judge Andrew Smith KC said: "You pulled up in your car and engaged her in conversation and I am sure that you offered her both alcohol and cannabis during that first meeting."

He said it was the beginning of gaining her trust. He said: "You chose girls who were at a vulnerable stage in their teenage lives."

Bik also got the phone numbers of the girls and started to message them. He added: "You sought to make yourself an essential component of their lives by offering them vapes, alcohol and cannabis."

Bik would also pay them compliments telling one she looked like a "supermodel" and another that she was a "pretty lady." The judge said: "You groomed the girls who you ultimately committed serious sexual offences against."

In December the defendant offered to meet and collect two 14-year-old girls. He plied them both with alcohol until they were both severely affected and took them to a secluded location where he climbed into the back seat and carried out a sex attack on one of them.

Just over a week later Bik took two other girls aged 14 and 13 to a secluded location and, after also plying them with drink, began by touching one of them on the leg during the journey. He then kissed her before going on to carry out a more serious sexual attack on both of them, twice raping the other girl.

At one point one of the victims tried to use her phone to get help but Bik took it from her. Eventually one of them did manage to message a friend which lead to the defendant later being arrested with both girls still in his vehicle.

Bik of Walsgrave Drive, Solihull, who had previously been found guilty, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court of two charges of rape, two of attempted rape, three of sexual assault and two other serious sexual offences, was jailed for 22 years.

Judge Smith said what Bik had done had had a "profound" effect on the victims and their families and added: "It has made them feel unsafe and left them with emotional scars that will be difficult, at the very least, to heal."

He told Bik: "You have shown absolutely no remorse for your criminal acts.

"Your offending was both sustained and involved significant planning. You took the risk of committing the offences on the night of January 30 and 31 having committed serious offences just a few weeks earlier.

"This demonstrates a pattern of behaviour." He said it was only as a result of chance that he was stopped.

Antonie Muller, prosecuting, said: "He used alcohol and other intoxicants. It is an aggravating feature that there were other people in the car and he himself was intoxicated."

Abigail Nixon, defending, said: "He is effectively of good character who came to this country and became educated and got a university degree and had good employment."

Description

Paedophile hunters teamed up to catch a pervert with an "unhealthy" sexual interest in children after they tricked him into thinking that he was meeting up with a 14-year-old girl at Hull railway station.

Andrew Nudd began chatting with her on Facebook before sending an intimate picture of himself in an attempt to groom her for sexual activity - but the girl was really a decoy and did not even exist, Hull Crown Court heard.

Nudd, 55, of May Street, Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child that he believed was 14, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Stephen Robinson, prosecuting, said that a woman who was part of an online child protection group set up a profile on Facebook of a fake 14-year-old girl to see if anyone would start a conversation with her.

Nudd sent a message on November 1, 2021 but the non-existent girl sent a message back that made it clear that she was supposedly at school and in a lesson. There were further messages about how they could communicate.

Nudd told her that she was pretty and that they could be friends or more. The conversations became sexualised and he asked the decoy girl for a picture and talked about sexual parts of her body. He asked her if she was turned on.

He sent an intimate picture of himself and spoke about his use of cannabis and said that he was "stoned" while doing so. Text messages were exchanged.

He suggested that they could "get stoned" together and that he would be honoured to be her first boyfriend and that he would be gentle with her.

A meeting was arranged between them at Hull railway station after she had supposedly arrived on a train from Manchester. But the woman behind the fake profile approached a member of another paedophile hunters group for help in apprehending him. Nudd was identified and detained nearby, with others live streaming the confrontation to Facebook.

Screenshots of messages that he sent were handed over to the police, who arrested him. He claimed during interview that he never believed that the fake girl was aged 14 because "everyone lied on the internet".

They had chatted on Facebook for two weeks and it became sexual. The court heard that Nudd had previous convictions, including for affray in September 2021.

Nudd was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, a sex offenders' treatment programme, 20 days' rehabilitation and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Recorder Anthony Hawks told Nudd: "You must have had an unhealthy, perverted sexual interest in pre-pubescent girls. Anybody who hears the facts in this case would be disgusted by your behaviour. You had better start accepting responsibility. The purpose of this probation order is to try to stop you doing this again."

Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Nudd appreciated how close he had come to being jailed that day.

Description

A 'sleazy' Solihull man who sexually assaulted a teenager on a train has been jailed. Ben Pountney, 30, targeted the 17-year-old victim on a quiet train.

Pountney, of Swallows Meadow, Solihull, boarded a quiet train from Stratford-Upon-Avon and sat opposite the victim, Warwick Crown Court heard. He proceeded to persistently ask the teen about her shoes and went on to sexually assault her, before leaving the train.

Labelled "vile" by investigating officers, Pountney pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at a trial on December 5 2022. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison at trial on Thursday, January 26.

Officers say Pountney was identified and arrested following help from the public and a media appeal.

The court heard how on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, the 17-year-old victim was travelling on a quiet train from Stratford-upon-Avon when a man boarded a few stops later and sat opposite her. She noticed the man looking at her and after a short while, he began speaking to her. He persistently asked about the shoes she was wearing and her shoe size.

He stated that he wanted to buy a similar pair for his niece while getting closer to the girl and leaning in towards her. He then sexually assaulted her and got off the train.

Following a number of enquiries and a media appeal to the public, Pountney was later identified and arrested. Investigating officers at the British Transport Police said actions like Pountney's will not be tolerated on the transport network.

'Vile' offender

Investigating officer Police sergeant Daniel Hart said: “Pountney is a vile offender who targeted a lone teenager and subjected her to a distressing sexual assault.

"His sleazy behaviour is a prime example of the harassment and intimidation of women and girls which we are dedicated to tackling on the network. It simply won’t be tolerated, and we will bring offenders to justice.

"If you are a victim of, or a witness to, a sexual offence on the railway - I urge you to report it to BTP by texting 61016 or via the Railway Guardian app. We will always take you seriously."

Pountney was sentenced to 20 months in prison, handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years at his sentencing last month.

Description

A retired bus driver convicted of sexually abusing four teenage boys over a period of nearly 30 years, including arranging for them to have sex with his wife while he watched, faces a long prison sentence.

John Foster, 78, asked some of the young boys to have sex with his wife on numerous occasions while he encouraged them to do so and eagerly looked on. He was lying next to them in the same bed at the time.

Foster got to know the boys while he was working as a bus driver. He repeatedly abused them in his car, including on football or train spotting trips, and while one of them was on holiday in London and the Isle of Wight with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Foster, of Main Street, Wawne, near Beverley, denied 28 sex offences, involving four boys, but he was convicted by a jury of 27 of them after a trial. The charges included indecent assault, indecency with a child, rape and attempted rape, between July 1973 and February 2002. He was cleared of one charge of indecent assault on the direction of the judge.

Tom Storey, prosecuting, said that the offences happened over a period of nearly 30 years. They took place after Foster got to know them and befriended them while he was working as a bus driver in East Yorkshire. He had previously lived in the Burton Agnes and Harpham areas, near Driffield.

The boys were usually aged 12 or 13 when Foster began talking to them and befriending them before taking them out in his car for trips. He had also given them free bus trips. The abuse began by touching the boys and then progressing to sexual activity.

Some of the boys were taken to watch football matches, including in Manchester and Hull, or to watch trains, something that Foster had an interest in, during trips to Crewe and London. The abuse took place during the journeys or while they were staying overnight away from home. Some of the incidents took place at Foster's home.

He allowed some of the boys to steer the car, either from the passenger seat or while sitting on his lap. "He would buy them cigarettes or give them money to do so," said Mr Storey. Foster would also, in some cases, buy them alcohol.

Foster, in one case, bought the gas aerosol Damp Start, usually used to help start a car engine, for a boy to inhale to "produce a high like glue sniffing". These were all used as rewards or payments in return for the sexual abuse that Foster was "inflicting on these boys", said Mr Storey.

It no doubt "increased their dependency" on Foster and the likelihood that they would spend time with him. "By virtue of their age, these boys were all vulnerable at the time they were abused," said Mr Storey.

As a bus driver, Foster was in a position of trust in relation to the boys. "At the time, they were, in law, incapable of consenting to what took place," said Mr Storey. "In short, they could not do so."

Foster was married at the time to Dorothy Ann Foster, known as Ann, and it was claimed that he persuaded two of the boys to have sex with her. This was allegedly while he, his wife and one of the boys were in bed together and he watched. He tried to persuade the other boys to do the same with her but either they or she declined to do so, claimed Mr Storey.

Foster took one boy to London for his 16th birthday and abused him, said Mr Storey. The boy said that he had suffered "three years of hell" because of sexual abuse. "He described John Foster as having destroyed him," said Mr Storey. "Eventually, he ended up cracking up and then going to the police." The incidents in relation to this boy were "harrowing" because they were "horrible" and had left physical scars.

Foster did not claim that there was any consent from the boys for sexual activity. "He says that the entire thing has been fabricated and this sexual activity never took place with anybody," said Mr Storey.

The matters came to light in 2019 when police went to speak to one of the boys on a completely separate, unrelated allegation and he told them that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was aged 13.

Checks of records from 2015 revealed that a health worker had contacted police to report that one of her clients had allegedly been abused by Foster. That boy was contacted and he and his brother made allegations. Police also found that, in 2010, a fourth boy had reported to the police that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was 13 but the police "inexplicably" did nothing about this.

Mr Storey told the jury that Foster had been convicted of similar offences before and after the period of the current charges. Foster had been convicted in 1961 of two offences of indecently assaulting a boy under 16, with seven offences of gross indecency taken into consideration.

In 2007, Foster was convicted of three offences of sexual activity with a boy under 16. The significance of these convictions was that they showed that Foster had a "propensity or tendency" to commit precisely this sort of offence against young teenage boys, said Mr Storey.

Foster was arrested in February 2020 and police found, at his home, an envelope with old photo booth pictures showing him as a much younger man with the two brothers. He denied all the sexual offences during police interviews or that his wife had been involved. He confirmed that he had been a bus driver between 1962 and 2006, had two children and that he used to be known as "Big John". He claimed that, if he took the boys out for free bus trips or car outings, it was because they were "all lonely lads" and he was doing them a favour by taking them out for the day.

He denied buying solvents for one of the boys to sniff and denied using sex toys. "He denied ever having a liking for young boys," said Mr Storey.

Foster had been on bail during the trial but he was remanded in custody after the jury verdicts to await sentence.