Latest Offenders Hull

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A former West Midlands Police constable and ex-serviceman who downloaded sickening child pornography films has escaped going to jail.

Father-of-two James Duffield, who told police he had been sexually assaulted as a child, was found to have pictures of children as young as four on his laptop.

Duffield, 34, from Solihull, had previously admitted three charges of making indecent images.

He was handed a 12-month suspended sentence.

Philip Brunt, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said Duffield downloaded 106 movies of categories A, B and C.

“The police received information that an IP address had been downloading indecent images,” he said.

“As a result, a warrant was issued to attend and search that address on August 23 last year.

“They attended in the early hours of the morning, knocked on the door and went inside.

“They recovered a large number of internet-enabled devices.

“In particular they were interested in two laptop computers.

“It was on the laptop computers that the indecent images were found.

“There is also evidence on the computers of various search terms such as ‘Paedo Mum’.”

Mr Brunt said the images had been accessed between December and April 2015.

When quizzed, Duffield – who quit as a policeman before he was sentenced – initially said he had downloaded films and other items but never knowingly indecent images.

But he later made a full confession.

Mr Brunt said: “He commented in that interview that he himself had been abused as a child and that led, in some part, to his accessing the images.

“He did make revelations that were investigated by the local police force but that investigation led nowhere.”

Mr Brunt said the ages of the children who were abused ranged from four to ten and the longest movie was 17 minutes.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Drew QC said: “You had a career in the services and also in the police force and, at the time of the commission, of these offences you were a serving police officer.

“You are one of the least people one would expect to be before the court for offences of this sort.

“The real gravamen of these offences is not your conduct but the impact on those who appear in those images.”

But the judge accepted the future risk he posed was relatively low.

Adrian Keeling QC, defending, said: “Duffield was abused when he was younger.

“He made no complaint at the time and therefore received no help or assistance.

“The first time he came cross any of these images was on file sharing software and it chimed with what happened to him.

“He has already suffered quite a heavy degree of punishment.

“First he had lost his good name and secondly he has lost his job.

“He resigned immediately.

“That has caused financial strains and pressures upon his family which hurt him deeply.”

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A sex beast who repeatedly raped a woman as his girlfriend slept in the next room has been jailed for 12 years.

Twisted Darren Nesbitt, 44, of Dorridge , invited the victim to stay at the Solihull house he shared with his partner after a leak left her without running water.

But police said the heavy drinker plied her with booze and groped her as they smoked cigarettes in the garage.

He then forced himself on the 49-year-old victim in a spare bedroom as his partner slept.

Nesbitt was arrested when she confided in a colleague and then told police about the attack, which happened on August 22, 2014.

He claimed the allegation was false but detectives traced another woman who said Nesbitt sexually assaulted her at his home in the same year.

He was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court after being found unanimously guilty by a jury of three counts of rape and one of attempted rape.

Nesbitt must also sign the sex offender register for life.

Investigating officer, Det Con Jon Barker, of West Midlands Polices public protection unit, said: Nesbitt invited the woman into his home and offered her his hospitality by cooking and plying her with alcohol.

Then he attacked the woman while his partner retired to bed.

Its a shocking breach of trust and left the victim hugely distressed and struggling to come to terms with what happened.

She did the right thing in disclosing the offences to us.

The victim was a very credible witness at court and conducted herself impeccably.

Nesbitt, on the other hand, kept changing his story and this clearly struck the jury.

This case should act as reassurance to anyone who has been raped or sexually assaulted that we take all reports seriously and allegations will be thoroughly investigated.

Mr Barker said Nesbitts victim was supported by specialist officers and RSVP in Birmingham a charity that offers support and help to sexual violence survivors.

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A Preston man who is a convicted sex offender is being sought by police.

Lancashire Police have released an appeal to find Biaron Cross, 25, for breaching his notification requirements and failing to notify police of his current address.

Cross has also breached the terms of his electronic tag.

He was understood to be living at an address in Preston but could be in the Blackburn area.

In 2010 he was sentenced to 32 months in prison after he was convicted of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

In September this year he was arrested and charged for breaching his notification requirements.

He is 6’3″, with dark shaven hair and is usually clean shaven with a stud in his left ear.

Detective Chief Inspector Claire McEnery, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Public Protection Unit, said: “We take any breach of notification requirements very seriously and I would urge anyone with information on where he might be to contact us.

“I would also urge Cross himself, if he sees this appeal, to hand himself in to the police rather than evading the police and making the situation worse for himself.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 where details can be passed to the DASO (Dangerous and Sexual Offenders’) Unit.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

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A SENIOR Midland councillor who kissed a girl of 16 as they danced at a birthday party has been forced to sign the sex offenders’ register.

The sexual assault, in a “moment of utter madness” by former Solihull Council deputy leader Ian Hillas, had ruined his life and reputation, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Hillas, who represents Castle Bromwich ward, was given a 12-month conditional discharge by Judge Michael Challinor following the assault in Cradley Heath. The Judge told Hillas, who had been suspended from the Conservative group after his arrest, that he had been “branded as a sex offender”.

Sarah Buckingham, defending, said: “He has suffered public humiliation and he has been socially and professionally excluded.”

She told the court that politics had been Hillas’s life and he had been devoted to serving the needs of the community.

She said: “There was no planning or sinister intent behind the offence.

“In a moment of utter madness he kissed her on the cheek and on the neck.

“Almost immediately he was embarrassed and appalled by what he had done and he pulled away.”

Hillas, 43, of Oakwood Croft, Solihull, admitted sexual assault.

He was also ordered to pay the girl £500 with £2,151 costs and told to register as a sex offender for a year.

The Judge said Hillas was not a public danger and did not ban him from working with children.