Latest Offenders Kent

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A former foster carer from Ramsgate who sexually abused and raped five children over an 11 year period has been jailed for 22-and-a-half years. Gary Teague, 58, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court yesterday (18 December). Teague had been charged with a total of 14 offences which spanned 11 years. They included six counts of rape, three counts of gross indecency, two counts of indecent assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, one sexual assault and one count of administering a substance to stupefy/overpower to allow sexual activity. Guilty He denied all 14 charges, but a jury found him guilty of all but the charge of administering a substance to stupefy/overpower to allow sexual activity. This will lie on file. Sentencing him, Judge Heather Norton told Teague he must serve two-thirds of his sentence and on release would be on licence for four-and-a-half years.He was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order not to contact his victims either directly or indirectly, also to run indefinitely. Callous Investigating officer Detective Constable Jenny Brightman said: These offences all occurred while Gary Teague was alone with the children. He callously told his victims that they wouldnt be believed and that they would be in trouble if they told anyone what had happened. Throughout this investigation he denied any wrong-doing, claiming the children had made up the allegations, even though their stories were consistent. Tremendous courage Detective Constable Brightman paid tribute to Teagues victims: They will undoubtedly carry the emotional scars of his abuse for the rest of their lives, yet they showed tremendous courage in giving evidence against him. Kent Police takes all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously, no matter how long ago they took place. We have teams of specialist officers who work tirelessly to ensure that offenders do not evade justice. I hope other victims of this type of abuse will have the confidence to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with the utmost care and understanding. I also hope that this substantial sentence shows offenders just how seriously the courts take sexual offences against children. Previous Teague was previously found guilty of offences against two children and sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court in September 2016. He had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of making an indecent photo of a child. He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of abusing a position of trust by causing or inciting a child to engage in a sexual activity and two counts of recording another person doing a private act for his own sexual gratification. He was convicted of all six offences following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court in June 2016 and jailed for two years and three months.

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Timothy Smith was carrying a dark secret a sickening lust for children so strong it took him to the other side of the world By day this familiar face in the community stood guard at one of Tunbridge Wells busiest supermarkets. By night he spent time in cemeteries as the self-styled leader of a ghost hunting group. But Timothy Smith was carrying an even darker secret a sickening lust for children so strong it took him to the other side of the world. It was, he chillingly told police during an interview, his thing. In November 2017, the 42-year-old pervert from Burslem Road on the Sherwood estate, admitted to 16 child sex offences. He was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court one month later for 14 years with a minimum term of 10 He admitted them all - telling police he was a paedophile. The charges against him included the possession of 37,000 images of child abuse and almost two-and-a-half days worth of video footage. He also admitted sexually assaulting a child under the age of five while in the Philippines in 2015. Former colleagues at Tesco on Grosvenor Road where Smith worked as a security guard had little time for the man they called The Fat Nonce With The Mail Order Bride. One said he was very touchy-feely and made her skin crawl although she wasnt aware of any complaints of impropriety being made to Tesco management. Another said: He'd always talk to small children in pushchairs and pick up kids who were crying. He was very hands on. And one Tesco shopper expressed her horror at learning the truth about a man who had picked up and cuddled her children on a number of occasions. 'I don't believe in hell' Outside work Smith ran Tunbridge Wells-based ghost-hunting group Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation Team - or Spit for short. During an interview in 2014 he told Kent Live's sister newspaper the Kent and Sussex Courier: I dont believe in heaven and hell, but I do think we all have electromagnetic energy flowing through us which stays in the atmosphere after we die - call it the spirit if you like - which some people can tune into more easily than others. But you have to make up your own mind, not take anyones elses word for it. Thats why I started SPIT, to satisfy my own curiosity and offer free help to anyone else seeking the answer to strange happenings. Smith claims to have seen ghosts on several occasions and offered free paranormal investigations to anyone issuing frequent social media posts offering his services. The group distanced itself from its former leader. A statement posted on its Facebook page said: We are sorry to do this but we feel in the paranormal that you should know about what we seen in the paper about Tim "We are in shock and sick what he has done so it up to you if you want to take yourself of (sic) his group. Detective Constable Mark Bennett of Kent Polices Paedophile Online investigation Team said: The conviction of Timothy Smith is another important step towards making Kent a safer place. The offences Smith committed are a stark reminder that behind every image is a real tale of abuse and suffering. I am glad he has at least owned up to his crimes and will now face the consequences for his deplorable actions. He was put on the sex offenders' register for life.

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A pervert who was arrested after he was caught out in a sting by an anti-paedophile group has been jailed for four years.

The encounter outside Maidstone East station was live-streamed on Facebook on January 14 this year.

Members of vigilante group The Hunted One confronted 43-year-old Mark Stopher, from Sittingbourne, in Station Road.

He had been in contact with a person he believed to be a young girl and arranged to meet for sex.

The hour-long incident ended when police officers arrived. Stopher, now of Victoria Road, Chatham, was then arrested.

He admitted arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday by Judge Adele Williams.

His name will appear on the sex offenders’ register and a sexual harm prevention order was made, both indefinitely.

He will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Previously police have warned people not to take the law into their own hands to try in such sting traps.

DI Robert Chitham, of the paedophile online investigation team at Kent Police, said: “I would discourage people from taking the law into their own hands to avoid them being put in any possible danger.

“Revealing the identity of suspected paedophiles, often on the basis of little information, could lead to suspects being threatened.

“This can divert significant police resources into protecting suspects, which would be better invested in investigating and, where there is evidence, prosecuting them.”

DI Chitham added: “I would like to reassure the public that we proactively target this type of offence and work hard to gather evidence in a lawful manner and that will stand up in court.

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A teenager will spend Christmas in custody after being locked up for groping two girls on separate occasions.

William Dowsett had denied two offences of sexual assault but was convicted by a jury.

Judge Jeremy Carey told the 19-year-old that if he had been sentencing him purely in his interests he would have let him walk free.

“I have no doubt you are now leading a law-abiding and responsible life,” he said.

“You are having a relationship with someone who trusts you.

“You have good prospects work-wise and a supporting family.”

But the judge said it was only one side of the picture.

The other side was he had to be punished to reinforce the message that those who committed sexual offences would go to prison.

Prosecutor Allister Walker said Dowsett picked up one of the girls from Strood station after she and her friend had problems catching a train.

They went to Rochester High Street, where there was a festival, and he grabbed her bottom.

Later, he told her he needed “a sex marathon”.

Judge Carey said branded the offences “predatory sexual behaviour” against the will of both victims.

Sentencing Dowsett, of Hinde Close, Sittingbourne, to 18 months’ youth custody, he added: “This was serious sexual offences and you must now take the consequences.”

Dowsett’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

He will be barred from working with children under 16 or vulnerable adults.

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Socially isolated Oliver Horwood of Sinclair Way, Darenth, jailed after threatening young girls in perverted chats.

A socially isolated teenager persuaded young girls to send him indecent images of themselves and threatened to post them on the internet, a court heard.

Overweight Oliver Horwood used a false identity while having perverted online chats with 10 victims, aged between 13 and 15.

Then aged 17, he talked about threesomes and encouraged the girls to take intimate photos. He asked one to send him an image of her performing a sex act.

Maidstone Crown Court was told Horwood, now 20, of Sinclair Way, Darenth, threatened to expose two of the girls on the web if they did not do as he asked.

He admitted two offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three of inciting child prostitution or pornography between February and May 2014.

He also admitted making indecent images of children between July 2012 and September 2014. Police found 19 still photographs and two movie clips on his computer after his arrest last year.

Andrew Hope, defending, said none of the images were ever published or distributed and five of the 10 girls refused his demands.

Horwood, who had since lost six stone, had stopped the chats before his arrest.

He went from being an overweight, socially-isolated young boy to someone who had started to turn his life around, said Mr Hope.

He clearly needs to be punished for what are deeply unpleasant offences, but in many senses his life has moved on quite dramatically since then.

He has matured as an individual and is now leading a very productive life.

Sentencing Horwood to 16 months youth custody, Judge Charles Macdonald QC said: The offences arose out of a particular period in your life when you had a poor self image and poor family support, he said.

Things have changed impressively. But Im dealing with an anxious case - a youth of 17 engaging in extremely unpleasant activity using a false identity to trick girls.

The law is there to protect people from this behaviour and it must be discouraged and deterred.

Horwood's and his name will appear on the sex offenders register a sexual harm prevention order was made, both for 10 years.

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A 20-year-old rapist has been convicted of sexually abusing two girls, starting when he was just 10.

David Murphy was "aggressive and violent" when assaulting one of the victims.

He eventually raped her, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Danny Moore said Murphy, of Le Temple Road, Paddock Wood, would take every opportunity to sexually assault the girls and rape one of them.

His actions demonstrated that he had issues concerning his sexual behaviour.

Murphy threatened one of the girls that if she told anybody about the abuse, the same would happen to one of her relatives.

"He was violent on occasion, unpredictable and seemingly a powerful influence on her," said Mr Moore.

"She was a child and didn't know what to do. She didnt know what to say or how to react" - Prosecutor Danny Moore

Murphy would force her to perform a sex act on him and was "really violent and aggressive".

He would pinch her, leaving marks.

"She was a child and didnt know what to do," said Mr Moore.

"She didnt know what to say or how to react."

After raping her, he made more threats about what would happen if she reported it.

He would strike her chest and bite her lips.

Feeling trapped and isolated, it led to the girl self-harming and even considering suicide.

The girl tried to stop Murphy raping her by saying she was too young for sex, but he still continued.

"She said she would never forget what happened because she was in so much pain and in such a dark place," said Mr Moore.

Murphy also touched the other girl inappropriately.

It was systematic and happened many times.

One of the girls revealed the abuse after a sex education class at school which covered rape.

"It resonated with her," said Mr Moore.

Murphy was convicted of four charges of rape, five of sexual assault and two of assault by penetration.

He was acquitted of one charge of rape and one of sexual assault. He denied all of those charges but admitted one charge of rape and one of sexual assault.

Murphy was granted bail until sentence on August 22.

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Briton, 30, will serve at least 25 years after admitting 71 offences against children aged between six months and 12 years One of Britains worst predatory paedophiles, who targeted, groomed and abused up to 200 Malaysian babies and children and shared images of his horrific crimes on the dark web, has been handed 22 life sentences. Richard Huckle, 30, a photographer from Ashford in Kent, who posed as an English teacher and philanthropist in poor Christian communities in Kuala Lumpur, admitted an unprecedented 71 offences, including rapes, against young children aged between six months and 12 years between 2006 and 2014. Some of the 23 children identified in the charges were abused for years, including one from the age of three until 10. The number of his victims was believed to be much higher investigators found a ledger and scorecard on his computer in which he awarded himself marks for different kinds of abuse of 191 girls and boys. Judge Peter Rook QC on Monday ordered Huckle to serve a minimum term of 25 years to reflect the public abhorrence for a campaign of rape that spanned nine years. He told him it was very rare indeed that a judge had to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale. Rook told Huckle: Your offending behaviour became entrenched in your everyday life. Your life revolved around your sexual activities with young children. Your distorted beliefs in respect of children are deep-seated. Your self-delusion knows no bounds. Based on Huckles chilling experiences and observations he once boasted it was easier to abuse children from poor communities than middle-class western children the 30-year-old had drafted a truly evil manual for other paedophiles that promoted child sexual abuse tourism, the judge said. He had even sought to profit from his crimes by attempting to sell footage to other abusers, he added. It appears that your conduct was escalating, Rook said. It is also clear that, had you not been arrested, you planned to continue the same lifestyle using the expertise that you were keen to show off to and share with other abusers so as to continue your sexual exploitation of the children of such communities. Images and videos of Huckles rapes and assaults on very young children were shared with paedophiles around the world via the dark web. Rook told him: Relentlessly, you preyed upon the very young pre-pubescent vulnerable children from a minority ethnic community into which you ingratiated yourself. This was a prolonged campaign of rape of the children from a small community. While presenting himself to his victims families as a respectable English teacher and philanthropist who could help them, Huckle was systematically abusing the children you claimed to care about. This was one of the most aggravating features of the case, the judge said. Huckle, wearing a grey sweatshirt, his long, unkempt black hair scraped back in a ponytail, stood impassive with his palms clasped together, as if in prayer, as he was sentenced. As he was taken down to the cells, a member of the public shouted from the gallery: A thousand deaths is too good for you, I know one of those families. Rook said Huckle had almost certainly blighted the lives of his victims and caused them severe psychological harm. A letter which Huckle submitted to the court on Monday, which contained apologies to his victims families and the Malaysian government, was an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, Rook said. However, in light of Huckles refusal to hand over encrypted passwords to hidden files on his computer, the judge added: In my view, you may well harbour feelings of regret but there is no feeling of genuine remorse in this case. Huckle first visited Malaysia on a teaching gap year when he was 19, and went on to groom more children after posing as a Christian English teacher and philanthropist. Five of the children were living in a childrens home and on one occasion he took a girl out to celebrate her fifth birthday and molested her at his house in Kuala Lumpur. His arrest came after Austrialian investigators tracking the activities of a now convicted paedophile who ran a child abuse site on the dark web noticed Huckle was a prolific user of the website. The National Crime Agency, which was criticised by Malaysian authorities for failing to alert them early enough of Huckles crimes, admitted it was first told about his offending in August 2014 but did not have enough evidence to present to Malaysian police for another three months. Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Andrew Brennan, the NCAs deputy director, said it was first contacted by Australian authorities in August 2014. But he said the NCA had to then identify where and who Huckle was before providing the Malaysian police with all of the intelligence in November 2014. They didnt have sufficient evidence to arrest him, we made a decision we would arrest him in December 2014, said Brennan. Im very confident we worked very, very closely with the Malaysian authorities and an NGO based in Malaysia. He also insisted there was absolutely no evidence or intelligence of Huckle offending in the UK. The NCA arrested Huckle as he arrived at Gatwick airport on a trip home to spend Christmas with his parents in December 2014. Officers seized Huckles encrypted laptop and managed to uncover more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos, although there were other files they were unable to retrieve. When Huckle confessed his crimes to his parents, after his arrest, they begged police to take him away and made statements supporting his prosecution. Ahead of his sentencing, Huckle claimed to a psychiatrist that he wanted to put his madness behind him and settle down with a woman from south India. But the court was shown a posting from 2013 in which he outlined his plan to marry one of his victims in order to help him abuse more children. The judge concluded that Huckle posed a substantial risk for an indefinite period. James Traynor, from the NCAs child exploitation and online protection command, said: Richard Huckle spent several years integrating himself into the community in which he lived, making himself a trusted figure. But he abused that trust in the worst possible way. He deliberately travelled to a part of the world where he thought he could abuse vulnerable children without being caught. Traynor said the NCA had tracked down Huckle and used legislation that allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed overseas. He said: Borders are no barrier we are determined that those who go abroad to abuse children will be held to account. Anthony Hill, the international justice and organised crime prosecutor at the CPS, said: It is hard to put into words the sheer depravity of this case. For almost nine years, Richard Huckle subjected at least 23 children, some of them very young, to the most horrifying abuse imaginable. He deliberately targeted and groomed vulnerable communities abroad to gain their trust. Borders are not a barrier to justice and the CPS worked with the NCA to painstakingly review all of the evidence from the internet, his computers and cameras. The strength of our evidence led to him pleading guilty to 71 charges. Huckles crimes were so serious that prosecutors planned three separate Old Bailey trials as they felt one jury could not cope with viewing all the videos and photographs of abuse. In January, Huckle pleaded not guilty to all 91 charges, but ahead of his trial in April, he gradually admitted 71 of the offences over the course of five more hearings. He has already spent 488 days in jail, so faces more than 23 years in prison before a parole board can consider his release. The NSPCC said Huckle was a frighteningly depraved paedophile who had bragged about raping babies and delighted in abusing infants who trusted him and who had left a trail of devastation. In a statement, the NSPCC added: It is horrifying that Huckle was able to profit from this appalling abuse by using the web to sell images and even films to other paedophiles; emphasising the importance, yet again, of the need for a cohesive, global effort from both the authorities and internet services providers to combat this vile trade.

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A registered sex offender and former Met Police officer from Greenhithe, who is a danger to children, has been jailed for more than four years after admitting to grooming and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Gary Cawthorne promised the vulnerable young Londoner an admin job in a fictional property business and took the opportunity to assault his victim during their so-called business meetings. As soon as they were alone he offered her 300 to get into her knickers, the Daily Star reports. On another occasion he groped her breast at a car wash in Ebbsfleet. The 53-year-old used the alias of Lee Mason and his crimes only came to light with the schoolgirls suspicious friend contacted Cawthorne, who used to live in Plumstead, to inquire about a job. The sex pest asked for several photos and the girl sent a head shot but declined requests to send further images of her body. The teenager told her parents about the messages and they contacted her school. Both girls were spoken to by officers from the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command on Tuesday, March 1. Cawthorne was soon identified of the sender of the messages, and arrested the next day. He was charged on March 5. The paedophile pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 16, one count of sexual grooming, and breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at Southwark Crown Court on May 3. He was jailed for four years and five months at the same court yesterday (May 31). Southwark heard that Cawthorne was already a registered sex offender having been convicted of assaulting a 16-year-old girl on October 24, 2012. Three years ago, Judge Loraine-Smith expressed fury that Cawthorne had escaped with a caution for molesting a 20-year-old cleaner in his home, whilst on bail for attacking the young victim. Cawthorne told the teenager he worked for top agencies including Select Model Management and ordered her to strip so he could measure her before cupping her breasts, Southwark heard. He advertised himself on Gumtree and Judge Loraine-Smith described Kent Polices decision to caution Cawthorne as extraordinary, Mail Online reported at the time. Detective Constable Tony Foran from the Met's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said: Cawthorne is a known sex offender and is a danger to children - he has now been jailed for his offences. He pursued the 14-year-old girl by phone and in person. Then he sexually assaulted her. The victim's friend became suspicious of his contact and thanks to her brave actions she was able to flag up his activities to her parents who then alerted the authorities. The paedophile got two years in jail for sexual grooming, a further two years for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and five months for two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 16 to run consecutively.

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A manipulative teacher branded arrogant by a judge has been jailed for abusing young girls.

Predatory Robert Appleby, who taught at Herne Bay High School, committed sex offences against two teenagers.

The 42-year-old, who had been investigated three times and suspended once, has now been sentenced to seven years and nine months behind bars.

Appleby, of Stablegate Mews, Canterbury, groomed one victim and persuaded another to lie to police about sex images he encouraged her to send.

Jailing him, Judge James OMahony said: You are a highly intelligent , talented artist, who is charismatic.

You are also arrogant.

A jury at Canterbury Crown Court heard how an anonymous letter to the head of the school led to Appleby being arrested.

He denied a relationship with the author of the letter but the investigation revealed he had a relationship with another girl, naked pictures of whom were found on his computer.

Appleby had denied sexually abusing a second girl but the jury rejected his accounts and found him guilty.

He had earlier admitted sex offences involving a second victim.

During the trial, prosecutor John OHiggins told how Appleby was a charming, manipulative predatory abuser who had targeted one of his victims.

But it was revealed how he had been investigated three times and suspended on one occasion but no charges were brought.

Mr OHiggins added that Appleby had even been caught by a caretaker with a young girl and reported to the authorities.

The judge told Appleby that his actions had had a devastating effect on his victims both of whom had contemplated suicide.

He told the ex-teacher: You have by your own actions destroyed your career and your vocation.

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Aaron Langley, Imperial Road, Gillingham jailed after downloading thousands of indecent images of children

A pervert who downloaded thousands of images of children as young as two has been jailed.

Aaron Langley stockpiled more than 18,500 pictures and movie clips showing young children - one as young as two or three - in depraved acts with adults.

The 32-year-old, of Imperial Road, Gillingham, was jailed him for 16 months.

Prosecutor Ian Foinette said Langley, who was convicted of indecent assault as a juvenile, was arrested at his home on January 9 last year.

The images found covered all levels of seriousness.

“Not all could be looked at by police because of the sheer volume,” said Mr Foinette. “The charges relate to examples. He indicated he had a sexual interest in boys aged 10 to 17.

“He indicated he had been viewing them for some time. He kept them stored. He said his preference was for boys and was interested in what was being done to them.”

James Ross, defending, said Langley, who admitted 15 charges of possessing indecent images of children, only came into physical contact with a child when convicted of indecently assaulting a boy in 2001.

“He downloaded such large amounts of the images he couldn’t conceivably get around to looking at them all,” said Mr Ross. “He looked at them as and when.” Mr Ross submitted Langley needed sex offender treatment and counselling with psychiatric intervention.

“He comes from a supportive family,” said Mr Ross. “His mother is absolutely shocked by this. He does seek help and treatment. He would follow any course and change his personality.”

Judge Charles Macdonald QC told Langley: “This is quite a bad case. There are many aggravating features. You shared the images with others with a like interest.”

Langley’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and he will be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

DC Jo-anne Gordon, investigating officer for the case, said: "This case serves as a reminder that Kent Police fully investigates all reports of people using the internet to view and distribute indecent images of children.

"In this case Langley accumulated a huge amount of indecent images and videos which showed children being subjected to horrific abuse.

"I hope he spends his time in prison reflecting upon the impact the material he was viewing has on the victims who will have to deal with the psychological affects of this for the rest of their lives."

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A former teacher who engaged in sexual touching with an infatuated teenager has been jailed for eight months. Stephen Burrows, 66, was told by a judge he should have seen the warning signs and "stopped dead" what was happening. Maidstone Crown Court heard that Burrows, who taught English at Tonbridge Grammar School, suffered from impotency and that the attention from the girl made him feel more of a man. The grandfather-of-two, of Greggs Wood Road, Tunbridge Wells, admitted sexual activity with a child and making indecent photographs. The images were all of the girl and ones she had sent to him via WhatsApp and email. One showed her naked from the rear, two were of her topless and another two showed her in her underwear. When Burrows was arrested in September 2013, his wife, Joyce, told police that the teenager was fixated with her husband and had once claimed she was the predator and he was the prey. However, passing sentence, Judge Michael Carroll said he had no difficulty in identifying Burrows as being the one to blame for what happened. "You knew that she was infatuated with you and you had the power to stop it...You chose not to do that and, as often is the case, it developed and in the end even you knew it was wrong." The judge added his behaviour was aggravated by having the indecent photographs, as well as internet searches found by police which used sexual terms that showed "an unhealthy interest" in people akin to the relationship they shared. The court heard the offences came to light in September 2013. The girl initially denied that anything improper had occurred and claimed rumours were being spread. However, she later told police that Burrows had touched her intimately. Prosecutor Steven Attridge said the girl also revealed that she had instigated the contact between them and on one occasion told friends she was going to "go for it". "She said she hugged Burrows, kissed him on the lips and that it became more sexual. She put her head on his shoulder, she hugged him and he put his arm around her and was stroking her back. "She said she put her arms around him...Things then escalated quite quickly and the stroking became sexual." They later arranged to meet for coffee on three occasions. Mr Attridge said they also expressed their love for each other in text messages and that Skype communications indicated that other sexual acts had taken place, although the prosecution could not go behind the victim's statement. "He is extremely sorry for what he has done," added Miss Harris. "He realises he has let everybody down" - Caroline Harris, defending" Caroline Harris, defending, urged the court to show leniency by suspending any sentence due to Burrows' ill health and that of his wife. However, when she said Burrows accepted his behaviour had been "very stupid", Judge Carroll replied: "No, it was criminal." The court heard that Burrows suffers from impotency as a result of type 2 diabetes and since the offences had lost 5st, does not have a stomach and finds it difficult to eat. "He is extremely sorry for what he has done," added Miss Harris. "He realises he has let everybody down." Upon his release, Burrows will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years and will have to sign on the sex offenders' register.

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A man who regularly abused a girl into her adulthood has been jailed for four years.

Dean Tarrant, 47, was a child himself when the offences began but he continued to abuse her throughout the 1980s, a court heard.

The offences happened when Tarrant was living in Northview Road, Swanley, and then Hawley Road, Dartford, between 1980 and 1989.

Tarrant, now of Brentwood in Essex, was found guilty of two counts of gross indecency and sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.

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A 42-year-old man has been jailed after pretending to be a teenager on Facebook to groom a child. Douglas Warren, 42, of Edenbridge in Kent, exchanged explicit images and videos with his victim and even planned to meet her at a hotel. The booking was cancelled when he found out Kent Police knew about what he was doing online. The court heard how Warren claimed to be aged 19 when he first sent his victim a friend request on Facebook in February 2015. After the request was accepted he sent her explicit images of himself and encouraged her to do the same in return. He also suggested that they could one day move in together and possibly get married. Officers seized Warrens mobile telephone, laptop computer and other devices following his arrest on March 27. They found more than 4,000 child abuse images and 31 extreme pornographic images. He clearly poses a risk to children, who should be able to use social networking websites without being targeted by people like Warren who exploit them for their own sexual gratification. Det Con Gordon Lindsay Warren was jailed for 21 months at Maidstone Crown Court admitting four counts relating to child sex offences and eight counts relating to the possession and/or making of pornographic images including child abuse images. In addition to a custodial sentence of 21 months, Warren must also sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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Matthew Lovage began shaking and breathing heavily, unbuttoned his shirt and clutched his chest as he was told he was guilty.

The 27-year-old, of Sir Bernard Paget Avenue, Repton Park, was allowed half an hour to recover before learning he faced a lengthy term behind bars.

Lovage was found guilty by the jury at Canterbury Crown Court of the rape of a young child and sexual activity with the same victim.

He was arrested after allegations were reported by an Ashford children’s nursery – but he denied the of­fences.

The victim gave evidence at the three-day trial via CCTV from a special room in the crown court.

The sentencing hearing was adjourned for five weeks while reports are prepared which will consider what danger Lovage poses to children in the future.

His lawyer, Kieran Moroney, made no application for bail and Judge Heather Norton ordered Lovage to sign the sex of­fender register.

Mr Moroney said Lovage had an undiagnosed medical problem and was undergoing medical tests.

Judge Norton told Lovage: “You should prepare yourself for a custodial sentence – and one of some considerable length.”

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A Thanet man has been given a 12-year extended sentence for a string of child sex offences going back many years.

Mark Lloyd, 47, of Westgate on Sea, sat passively in the dock as one of his victims watched from the public gallery at Canterbury Crown Court just a few feet away.

Lloyd, of Victoria Road, Westgate On Sea had been found guilty of nine child sex offences after a trial at Canterbury Crown Court last month.

The court also heard that when police raided his home they discovered he was growing 72 cannabis plants in three rooms.

The pervert pleaded guilty to cultivating the drug but denied the sex offences.

He was given a 12-year extended sentence made up of a nine-year jail term and an extra three years on licence.

Judge Heather Norton told him he wont be eligible for parole until 2021 and will have to serve up to six years on licence when released.

The judge told him that he posed a significant risk of committing future sex offences against children and the public needed protecting.

Judge Norton said his victims are suffering and will continue to suffer from some years to come.

She added: You have shown no pity or remorse, no insight whatsoever for your offences.

The offences relate to three young victims and took place more than 10 years ago.

Lloyd declined to comment when officers interviewed him about the abuse which took place after he had been drinking and also failed to take to the stand in court at his trial.

The court heard how, following the report of the assaults to Kent Police, officers searched Lloyds home in September 2014 and found 72 cannabis plants growing in the spare room, bedroom and loft.

Also seized from his house were two books on horticulture and how to grow cannabis, two sets of scales, a safe, numerous clear plastic bags, latex gloves and various fertilisers.

"You have shown no pity or remorse, no insight whatsoever for your offences" - Judge Heather Norton

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Paul Deslandes of Kent Police said: "I would like to commend the victims in this case for their bravery in coming forward to disclose their abuse, in what has been a very emotional time for them all.

"Lloyds abuse has not only affected the victims but also their families and I hope that all those involved can finally begin to move on with their lives, knowing that Lloyd will be behind bars for the foreseeable future."

Lloyd was told he will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order to stop him being alone or working with children.

After Lloyd left to start his sentence, Judge Norton praised the victim for her courage and thanked her for attending the sentencing.