Latest Offenders Kettering

Description

A registered sex offender who pretended to be a teenage girl to trick a boy into sharing sexually explicit messages has been given an extended sentence of nine years.

In spring 2021, the victim began chatting to someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl via Snapchat, messaging and chatting via online gaming for weeks before the pair arranged to meet in Cheshire.

When the girl didn’t show up, the boy got a phone call from a man claiming to be her older brother Josh, raising the suspicions of a family member who had gone with the boy.

On the boy’s phone they then found sexually explicit messages and images from the girl, as well as conversations with Josh, and the matter was reported to police.

All the messages were traced to Joshua Neves, a 26-year-old registered sex offender living near Kettering, and Northamptonshire Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Unit (OCAIU) took over the investigation.

Officers went on to confirm that not only had Neves been breaking the terms of a previously-imposed Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by using Snapchat accounts, but he had also been grooming the boy into sharing sexual messages, images and videos.

Neves went on to be charged with causing or inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration, engaging in sexual communication with a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, three counts of making indecent images and videos of a child (one count each of Category A, B and C), and breaching the SHPO.

On April 8, 2024, Neves, of Dawkins Court, Broughton, appeared before Northampton Crown Court where he admitted all the offences, and on Monday, August 5, he returned to the same court for sentence.

Neves was given an extended sentence – used for criminals convicted of specific offences who are deemed to be dangerous – made up of four years’ imprisonment with an extension of five years on licence. He was also ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.

Speaking afterwards, investigating officer PC Charlotte Carden of the OCAIU said: “The bravery of the survivor in supporting our investigation is remarkable, and I am so pleased that we now have a robust custodial sentence which reflects the harm Joshua Neves caused.

“He went to great lengths to groom this boy in order to sexually abuse him, convincing him that he was in a relationship with a girl his own age to coerce him into sharing photos and videos he would otherwise never have sent.

“Neves was an adult who took sexual advantage of a child, abusing his trust and exploiting him emotionally for his own sexual gratification.

“The fact the offending was carried out online does not lessen the harm and distress he caused and I hope this outcome helps the victim survivor to continue to recover and move forward positively.

“This case also demonstrates the need for parents and guardians to have open and ongoing conversations with their children about who they are talking to online – without this family’s vigilance Neves would no doubt have continued his abuse.

“Northamptonshire Police takes all forms of sexual abuse very seriously and we will do all we can to secure justice for survivors.”

Description

A convicted sex offender claimed he had numbers for celebrities in his phone and so refused to hand it over to officers, police said.

Northamptonshire Police conducted an unannounced raid at Aaron Bell's home in Rockingham Road, Kettering, on 3 April.

The force said he repeatedly lied to officers.

The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order at Northampton Crown Court last month and was jailed for one year and four months.

“As part of Bell’s sexual harm prevention order, he was required to notify us of everyone he planned to associate with and provide us with their details, to allow suitable safeguarding checks to take place," said PC Mark Edkins.

“But, after claiming to be friends with a number of celebrities, he was continuously evasive in handing over any details, and repeatedly lied to officers."

Police said they also discovered a hidden unregistered mobile phone in his possession.

Description

A pervert driving instructor sexually assaulted a pupil and filmed students while they were taking lessons in his car.

Adam Bagshaw, who ran A to B Driving School in Kettering, told one student she should start an Only Fans account and that she should sell her used underwear online.

Moving statements from his two victims read in court said that they had been left traumatised by what had happened to them.

He appeared before Northampton Crown Court on Thursday (February 22), watched by more than a dozen friends and family of the victims, where he was told by a judge that he would be going ‘immediately’ to jail.

The 56-year-old had pleaded guilty to voyeurism, harassment and sexual assault at a previous hearing.

The court heard that Bagshaw, formerly of Milldale Road, Kettering, had previously been a mechanics lecturer at Tresham College and also styled himself as a freelance photographer.

But he was unmasked as a pervert after police received a call from one of his students outlining disgusting sexual comments he had made to her during and after her lessons.

When he was arrested police seized his mobile phone and found videos on it which he had covertly filmed during lessons. He had filmed the legs of young students who were wearing skirts and turned his camera on their behinds as they got out of the car at the end of the lesson.

Officers managed to track down one of his victims who had no idea that he had been filming her.

The public gallery was cleared as four clips found on his phone were shown to the court.

In her police interview one victim described Bagshaw as ‘a bit weird’ and told police that he had suggested she got an Only Fans account. He told her that she would make ‘good money’ if she sold her used underwear online.

He then told her he’d invented a new device to stop bra straps from falling down and felt her back and neck as he described to her how it would work. He had also tried to engage her in a discussion about a video of an underage woman unknown to the victim.

In her victim impact statement read by prosecutor Sally Hobson, the woman said: “It makes me sick. It’s disgusting what he’s done.

“It feels like a pit in my stomach. It’s so creepy. I’m now scared to have more driving lessons with another male instructor.”

Another victim told the court in a statement that when she had first started lessons with Bagshaw he had said to her ‘What’s said in this car stays in this car’.

“I started to dread it,” she said.

“My parents had paid for my lessons and I didn’t want to disappoint them.

“He made comments about my age and what I was wearing.”

Bagshaw had also asked her about sex toys and about her love life and had made comments about her tummy, leaving her paranoid about her weight.

The woman said that she had failed her test twice as she was so worried about what was going on. When she found a new instructor she had to start from scratch.

She said that even now she would rather take the train on long journeys than get in a car and drive.

The woman had managed to get some therapy to help her deal with what had happened to her but she could not go through with it because the therapist was bald and had glasses, like Bagshaw.

She added: “I’m so worried when there’s silence because I think about what he’s done to me.

“No matter what sentence he’s given, no matter how s**t his life becomes, it won’t compare to the impact on me.

“I want him to know he’s a piece of s**t and I hope he’s miserable for the rest of his life.”

In a letter to the court, Bagshaw said he wanted to ‘sincerely apologise’ for his actions and that he had sought counselling to try to tackle his own behaviour.

He also said that he had changed his job and was now an HGV driver trainer.

Mitigating, Siobhan Cawkwell, said: “This is a result of his own stupidity.

“He’s split up with his wife and he’s lost friends. He’s only got himself to blame.

“Most of the people in his life have turned their backs on him.”

She said that Bagshaw had moved away and was now living in temporary accommodation.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking KC said to Bagshaw, who wore a blue suit and stared straight ahead during the entire hearing: “You were teaching them in circumstances where they should have learned an important life skill without any concern about your behaviour.

“[One of the victims] had to identify herself from a video she had no idea had been taken. It’s caused her very substantial distress.”

Sentencing him to eight months in prison, of which he will serve half before release, Judge Lucking added that she could not suspend his sentence. She said: “Driving instructors are in a position of trust.

“The public must know that driving instructors who commit sexual offences will go immediately to prison and that’s what will happen today.”

Bagshaw will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and will be supervised by the probation service for one year after his release from HMP Peterborough.

Description

A 58-year-old man has been sent back to prison after three more women who were sexually assaulted by him came forward.

Keith Coomber, previously of Kettering, was sent to prison in February 2021 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a person suffering from a mental disorder impeding choice.

The offences related to incidents in 2019 where Coomber sexually assaulted a vulnerable woman and he was jailed for three years as a result.

Northamptonshire Police’s Corporate Communications Team issued a press release to highlight Coomber’s conviction and sentencing, and this article ended up being read by three other women who had been sexually assaulted by him in the past.

Bravely, they contacted police with their experiences and a second investigation was launched leading to Coomber being charged with further offences.

Due to the dates these offences took place, he was charged with 19 counts of indecent assault, a number of which related to digital penetration.

At an earlier hearing at Northampton Crown Court in September, Coomber pleaded guilty to 12 of these counts, returning to the same court today (December 15) where he sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.

During the hearing, the court learned how two of the girls had been sexually abused by Coomber on multiple occasions, with one of them being a vulnerable teenager in foster care at the time.

At sentencing today, their powerful victim impact statements were read out to the court and detailed how Coomber’s abuse has affected them.

“He was subtle - inappropriately and cleverly subtle,” one of them wrote. “Just enough to not be right but not quite enough to settle the doubt in myself. It was little and often, for years. I used to wash and wash and wash and yet still feel dirty.” 

“I felt worthless, unloved, unwanted, isolated, lonely, angry, scared, helpless and hopeless,” wrote the other. “No amount of punishment will change the damage you have done. Your sentence will never come close to the sentence I have endured.”

The third woman was in her 20s when she visited Coomber’s house as part of her job and he took the opportunity to sexually assault her - pushing her against a wall and kissing her before she managed to escape.

Lead Investigator - Detective Sergeant Robert Johnson, said: “The courage displayed by these women has been extraordinary. They have called upon strength they should never have had to find, and I hope that they recognise just how incredible they have been in reporting this abuse to us and supporting an investigation which has resulted in their abuser being sent to prison.

“As one of them eloquently said - no sentence will make up for the abuse Keith Coomber has inflicted, however I hope the conclusion of this case has allowed them to have truly felt listened to and provided them with some semblance of closure as a result.

“Keith Coomber is a dangerous sexual predator. His methods of abuse were subtle, calculating and manipulative, and I am so pleased that he has been put back in prison.

“Tackling violence against women and girls is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and we will continue working hard to put people like Coomber behind bars.”

At the end of their victim impact statements, one of the women wrote: “You broke me at 18. Your actions very nearly killed me. I will not allow you to break me again. I am a victim, I will always have been a victim, but I am more so a fighter.”

And the other ended – “Please know that I survived and I made it. Please know that I will never fail. Yes I was a victim, but above all I am a survivor.”

Description

A 37-year-old man has pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child after an incident in Irthlingborough.

On May 27 this year, Karl Wayne Tulloch, of Russell Street, Kettering, sent sexual messages to a 13-year-old via Snapchat.

Tulloch appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday (July 25) to plead guilty to the offence and was remanded into custody ahead of a sentencing hearing at the same court on September 18.

Lead Investigator – Detective Sergeant Colin Gibb said: “I’d like to commend this young girl and her family for their support during our investigation. It was very brave of her to report this offence to us and I am glad that Tulloch has pleaded guilty.

“I’d also like to thank the witnesses we spoke to as part of the investigation as well. Their evidence and support of the case was crucial in securing an early guilty plea.”

Description

A group of eagle-eyed street pastors have been praised after they tracked a convicted Kettering sex offender who was following a lone woman.

James Sills was spotted on CCTV tailing the female and keeping pace with her in the early hours of the morning, something he was banned from doing by a court order.

But volunteers from Kettering Street Pastors, who were patrolling the area, kept tabs on his actions so he knew he was being watched and he turned around.

On Friday (June 23) the 36-year-old was locked up and police said the volunteers’ work may have prevented a sexual assault from taking place.

Northampton Crown Court heard Sills, of London Road, was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order in 2016 and banned from following women. He has convictions for 17 offences, including stalking and sexual assault.

Prosecutor Quiana Fitzpatrick said that in April he was seen sat on a town centre bench at 2am, pretending to be on a phone.

Sills then saw a lone woman and walked behind her before following her.

Ms Fitzpatrick said: "He is described as clearly checking her out. She walked across the road and down the street.

"At this point he moved to the opposite side of the road, keeping pace with her.”

By now he had been identified by CCTV operators and those from the PT Alpha first aid team. Street pastor volunteers followed to make sure the woman was okay, while making sure they didn’t risk a confrontation.

The court heard Sills then turned around but was later spotted by police following two young females by walking ‘very fast’ behind them.

He was arrested and admitted two charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Mitigating, Emma Fielding said Sills had written a letter to Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane while at HMP Peterborough on remand, detailing his reflections on his offending.

She said he would lose his flat if he spent six months in custody and wants to initially carry out voluntary work at a food bank when he is released from prison.

She said: "He wants to work and get back into paid employment.”

Sills was handed a suspended sentence in 2022 for another court order breach and it had to be activated it unless it would be unjust to do so.

But Judge Crane said: "I find nothing unjust in this case.”

Sills was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison and will serve half in custody before being released on licence.

Detective Sergeant Oliver McNally from Northamptonshire Police said: “The street pastors' work and eagle-eyed observations were excellent and they have most likely prevented a very serious sexual assault taking place on a female that night.

"It's brilliant work and without the team's support we could not have achieved what we did in this case.”

A Kettering Street Pastors spokesman added: “Our aim is to help ensure that everyone has a great night out and gets safely home, and we’re pleased our volunteers could help in this case.

“We’re delighted to be part of a great collective team alongside police, CCTV, PT Alpha first aiders and venue door staff – all working together to keep our community safe.”

Description

A paedophile who abused a girl after grooming her with sweets has failed in a bid to have his prison spell reduced.

Shop worker Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, of Pipers Hill Road in Kettering, had sex with the schoolgirl and took an indecent picture of her after gradually building her trust.

In November at Northampton Crown Court he was jailed for 11 years with a further two years on licence, a sentence which he appealed against.

But on Tuesday (June 20) judges dismissed the bid and said 46-year-old Santhakumar had exploited his victim.

London’s Royal Courts of Justice heard the girl was taken advantage of when she was vulnerable.

Santhakumar gave his victim extra change and free treats before engaging in sexual activity with her. The court heard he told her he had ‘done it with a teenager before’.

Paul Webb, representing Santhakumar, said he had contributed in ‘many positive ways’ to the local community and that the circumstances which led to his offending were unlikely to happen again.

He said: "There is not a significant risk of the commission of further offences, simply because of the rarity of these circumstances that led him to make the advances he did to this poor young girl.”

The court heard that a pre-sentence assessment said Santhakumar had a low risk of reoffending but that the report’s author said she did not agree with it. Mr Webb said she should not have dismissed the assessment.

He also said that the decision to impose an extended sentence and find Santhakumar to be a ‘dangerous’ offender was inappropriate, adding that the starting point taken by the sentencing judge, using sentencing guidelines, was too high.

Mr Webb said: “These offences were isolated and opportunistic.”

When the victim reported the offences to Northamptonshire Police Santhakumar initially denied the allegations. He was later charged with sexual activity with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images of children, pleading guilty to some offences before his trial and being convicted of all remaining charges by a jury.

Appeal judges Lord Justice Males, Mr Justice Wall and Her Honour Judge Rosa Dean said they agreed with the sentencing judge’s assessment.

Lord Justice Males said: "In our judgement the sentence was not arguably manifestly excessive and the application is refused.”

Speaking after last year’s sentencing hearing lead investigator Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, commended the victim for her courage and said her support was vital to their investigation.

He said: “This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence. Santhakumar gradually built trust with this girl through offering her free items and money off her purchases. It then escalated into this abuse.

“I welcome the sentence handed out to him as it means there is one less sexual predator on our streets and one less person able to harm children. I hope this result shows the seriousness with which Northamptonshire Police takes these offences and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to work hard to bring people like Santhakumar to justice.”

Description

A Kettering paedophile who used hidden cameras to covertly film children has been put behind bars.

Antony Easton, 41, was arrested after a police investigation into child abuse images which had been uploaded to the internet in late 2019.

Officers traced these images to his home and after his arrest they went on to discover that Easton had also, in the past, used cameras to secretly film children.

Easton, formerly of Northumberland Close, was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent photographs of children and three offences of voyeurism. He entered guilty pleas at Northampton Crown Court in December 2022 and earlier this month he was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison.

Detective Constable Caroline Knight, of Northamptonshire Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Unit, described Easton as a ‘dangerous sexual predator’.

She added: “After we were made aware of an upload of illegal images, we made checks that identified the IP address involved, which led to the arrest of Antony Easton.

“When we examined his electronic devices, it became clear he had also been involved in making what are known as first-generation images, which he had obtained by using hidden devices.”

Easton was placed on the sex offender register for eight years and was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

He was also ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge and a destruction order was made for three electronic devices seized by police during the investigation.

Description

A Kettering paedophile who subjected a young girl to sickening sexual assaults has been jailed for almost 10 years.

Raymond Wykes carried out what was described as a campaign of abuse against his victim until she courageously revealed what had happened.

Yesterday a judge said she would be scarred for life by the actions of 46-year-old Wykes, who had claimed he was not sexually attracted to children.

Northampton Crown Court heard the delivery driver, of Headlands, was arrested in May last year after the sexual assaults were reported to police and that he made partial admissions when interviewed.

Prosecutor James Keeley said: "He stated that he got no sexual gratification from it...and was not sexually attracted to children."

Wykes later admitted 12 child sex offences, with the most serious being assaulting a child under the age of 13 by penetration.

Mr Keeley said the incidents had caused the victim severe psychological harm and read an impact statement from her, where she described suffering from depression, stress and anxiety.

Mitigating, Laura Blackband said Wykes, who had no previous convictions, deserved credit for his guilty pleas and that he had expressed real remorse for his actions.

She said: "He is someone who is willing to engage with professional insight."

Sentencing, His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo said Wykes had distorted attitudes and described some of his behaviour as chilling.

He said: "It has led to psychological harm that will scar her (the victim) for life."

Wykes was jailed for nine years and five months with an additional one year on licence.

He will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison before he will be eligible for parole. Wykes will also be on the sex offender register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.

Description

A paedophile who groomed a teenage girl by giving her sweets before sexual abusing her has been locked up.

Shop worker Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, of Pipers Hill Road in Kettering, handed her extra change and gave her free confectionery and soft drinks.

The 45-year-old then sexually abused her before the victim reported the offences to Northamptonshire Police.

Santhakumar initially denied the allegations when he was interviewed by officers and was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of inciting sexual activity with a child and two counts of possession of indecent images of children.

He pleaded guilty to some offences before his trial and was convicted of all remaining charges by a jury.

At Northampton Crown Court he was jailed for 11 years, with a further two years on licence.

Lead investigator Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, commended the victim for her courage and said her support was vital to their investigation.

He said: “This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence. Santhakumar gradually built trust with this girl through offering her free items and money off her purchases. It then escalated into this abuse.

“I welcome the sentence handed out to him as it means there is one less sexual predator on our streets and one less person able to harm children. I hope this result shows the seriousness with which Northamptonshire Police takes these offences and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to work hard to bring people like Santhakumar to justice.”

Description

A paedophile has been locked up after making plans to meet what he thought was a 13-year-old so he could carry out his sick schoolgirl fantasy.

Mark Ure, 42, had no idea he was speaking to an undercover police officer and even checked that she could skip school to see him for sex.

The Woodford man was also caught communicating with three other police decoys, who he believed to be 12 or 13, and searched for an Airbnb close to one of them.

On Tuesday (March 8) a judge ruled he posed a significant risk to teenage girls and handed him an extended sentence, with four years and 10 months in prison and an extra three years and two months on licence.

Northampton Crown Court heard Ure, of Long Row, was snared last year as part of a West Midlands Police operation called Project Atari, committing his offences between August and October.

Prosecuting, Micaila Williams said he thought he was speaking to girls named Olivia, Emma, Lily and Rhea, each aged 12 or 13, over Kik messenger or WhatsApp.

'Olivia' told him she was 13-years-old but the chats soon turned sexual. He spoke about holding her to keep her warm and said he wouldn't be able to trust himself.

He told her: "Every man has a schoolgirl fantasy."

Ure told the police decoy that she would make his "wildest dreams come true", spoke about explicit acts he wanted to do with her, sent lewd files of himself and incited her to perform a sex act.

He also said he would "teach her new things" and requested pictures of her.

Ms Williams said: "He said she was going to get him into trouble."

Ure, who was once jailed for producing cannabis, then spoke to her about meeting up and engaging in sexual activity and the pair had a phone call where it was confirmed they would be together in the next few days.

Ms Williams said that he checked she could get the Thursday off school to meet up.

She said: "There was no meeting, but the intention was to carry out what he described."

In chats with other girls he told one he would have asked her out if he wasn't older and early stage discussions were held about the logistics of meeting up. In one chat he used the username 'Rustynuts42'.

He talked about forcing people into sexual activity against their will and searched for an Airbnb stay close to a location he believed one girl was residing at.

When one girl said she was worried about pictures of her being leaked he told her: "You also forget how much trouble I can get into."

Mitigating, Liam Muir said Ure was not simply sorry he had been caught.

He said: "He has show genuine remorse and genuine disgust at what he has done."

Ure admitted eight child sex offences and Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking QC ruled he posed a significant risk of serious harm.

She said: "He has a deeply entrenched sexual interest in very, very young teenage girls."

Judge Lucking QC told Ure he must serve at least two-thirds of prison sentence of four years and 10 months behind bars before he can be considered for parole.

Once he is released he will serve the remainder on licence, plus an additional three years and two months, and faces being returned to prison if he breaches strict conditions.

Ure will also be on the register for sex offenders indefinitely and be made to follow an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A Kettering man who carried out a reign of sex abuse against teenage girls has been jailed for 16 years.

Christopher Lynch, 38, was convicted following a trial at Northampton Crown Court in September during which his victims were forced to give evidence.

A Kettering man who carried out a reign of sex abuse against teenage girls has been jailed for 16 years.

Christopher Lynch, 38, was convicted following a trial at Northampton Crown Court in September during which his victims were forced to give evidence.

Lynch, formerly of St Stephen's Road, was found guilty of one count of rape, three counts of sexual assault and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was also found guilty of two charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one of facilitating and commissioning a child sex offence.

Today Judge Rebecca Crane jailed him for 16 years, with a further eight-year extended licence.

She said he is a "dangerous and predatory male" and told him that he would have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence behind bars.

Upon release from prison, Lynch will spend the remainder of his sentence on licence and will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, prohibiting him from having any unsupervised contact of any kind with any female under the age of 18, or undertaking or seeking to undertake any paid or voluntary position, role, appointment or office which would or is likely to cause him to have any unsupervised contact with any female person under the age of 18.

He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.