Latest Offenders Lancashire

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A man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting two girls and several breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Blackpool police became aware in October 2022 that Thomas Thompson, 55, was working in a resort on a casual basis as a security officer and steward.

As a registered sex offender, Thompson was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and had to notify officers about his employment.

A delve into Thompson's life found that he had lied to the police on numerous occasions, having stated he was not working and had not revealed he was involved in an intimate relationship when in fact he was.

During the investigation, officers spoke to teenage girls who Thompson had invited to his home having initially come across as a good samaritan to help them.

He left Blackpool and went on the run to West Yorkshire as police investigated, however he was arrested in October 2022 and remanded in custody.

Thompson, of Ashton Road, Blackpool, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to two counts of sexual assault against girls under the age of 18 and five breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Det Con Jason Wainwright of Blackpool Police said: “Thompson had only been in the community since 2019. Over a period of time he lied to the police and breached the order which was in place.

“I would like to commend the bravery of the young girls in this investigation. It is important that vulnerable victims are aware of the support which the police and court system provide.

“This includes regular contact from the officer in the case throughout the investigation to when sentence is passed.”

Description

Stephen Powell, 42, from Eskdale, Skelmersdale, who changed his plea from not guilty to guilty, has been sentenced to a total of 40 months’ imprisonment for offences relating to assault and engaging in sexual communication with a child. He had intentionally attempted to communicate with a person under 16 for his own sexual gratification and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court last Wednesday (April 19).

On Saturday, September 10, Mr Powell intentionally attempted to communicate with Izzy, a person under 16. The court was told that Mr Powell "did not reasonably believe her to be 16 or over" and that communication was of a sexual nature.

He has also been placed on the Sex Offender Registration for an indefinite period, given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period, had a Restraining Order placed on him for five years. Two Samsung Phones and one iPhone have also been removed from his being.

The defendant was ordered to pay a Statutory Surcharge of £190.

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A 65-year-old man has been jailed for historic sexual abuse on a girl under the age of 14.

Neil Kinney, of Fielding Street, Rishton, appeared at Preston Crown Court last week charged with four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14.

The court heard how the offences were all carried out on the same victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between January 1978 and January 1979, in Clitheroe.

Kinney, who would have been 20 or 21 at the time, was jailed for 22 months.

He was also made subject of a 10 year sexual harm prevention order, told he must sign the sex offender’s register for the next 10 years and was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order in relation to his victim.

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A PERVERT investigated by Cumbria Police was found with sickening child abuse videos of infants as young as four, a court heard.

Sam Partington was hauled before a court after he hacked into a woman's social media accounts of stole private photos of her.

When police searched the 30-year-old's devices they found hundreds of indecent images and videos of children being sexually abused.

Preston Crown Court was told Partington hacked into a woman's Facebook and Snapchat accounts and stole photos and then changed login details to prevent the victim from accessing her own accounts.

The court heard he stored hundreds of indecent images on three devices, including an iPhone.

He hid files inside what appeared to be a calculator app.

Passing sentence, Recorder Daniel Prowse said: "Each one of the children shown in those images and videos is a real child being sexually abused.

"Some involved the most serious and damaging types of sexual abuse.

"Some of the children depicted were particularly vulnerable due to their age.

"The harm, both physical and psychological, that is caused to children who are the subject of this sort of abuse can be lifelong in nature."

The judge accepted evidence that the Covid lockdown and Partington losing his job contributed to the offending because the defendant was spending long periods alone in his bedroom.

He said Partington had a 'good job' and was seeking support for his mental health.

The court heard the defendant had denied having a sexual interest in children but Recorder Prowse said 'the evidence in this case demonstrates comprehensively to the contrary'.

"I do remind myself, however, that it is not uncommon for people with such a sexual interest to come to terms with the enormity of that realisation," the judge added.

Partington, Cecil Street in Lytham, was jailed for 29 months for a number of offences, including hacking offences under the Computer Misuse Act, s170 Data Protection Act and making indecent images of children.

Cumbria Police said the investigation forms part of Operation Alliance, the force's ongoing response to serious and organised crime.

Detective Constable Jon Hill from Cumbria Constabulary's Cyber and Digital Crime Unit said Partington 'used technology as a weapon to exert control'.

Description

A convicted paedophile used a fake identity to trick his way into the home of a vulnerable woman and her young children.

David Carsley created the fake identity, including a made up date of birth, in a bid to hide his sick past which includes two convictions for child sex offences. After first committing indecent assault and gross indecency in the 1980s, he was jailed for three years in 1995 for two counts each of the same offences against children aged under 14.

As part of that conviction, he made subject of lifelong notification requirements which meant he could not spend more than 12 hours at the home of an under 18 without informing the police. However, on several occasions Carsley stayed at the home of a woman who had no idea of his past and her children.

Carsley had given the name David Kay when meeting the woman, who was described in court as "vulnerable". Preston Crown Court was told this was a deliberate act to hide his past.

Police became involved when the received information he had been staying at an address in Chorley which was different to his home on Bolton Street. Officers initially struggled to speak with the woman who eventually explained she knew him as David Kay. A phone call was made to him and although he would no co-operate, police traced his location from that call and arrested him.

One of the children confirmed that he had been staying over at the address. The court heard that Carsley would also help with bedtime and getting them ready for school.

Defending, Ellen Shaw asked for credit for a guilty plea and said that Carsley, 55, had concealed his identity because he felt "ostracised" because of his past and that explaining it was a "difficult conversation to have". She also argued that a suspended sentence with rehabilitation work could have a more positive effect.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Medland KC said he could not agree with that argument and jailed Carsley for 18 months. He said: "For a period of around one month, you were living in one form or another with a vulnerable woman who was not in a position to protect her children from your sexual interest in children, which you undoubtedly have. This was quite deliberate as you went in with a false name and false date of birth and you didn't tell the mother what you should have done."

Description

A paedophile, who raped one woman and also engaged in sexual activity with a child, has been jailed following an investigation by Lancashire Police.

Preston Crown Court was told that in May, 2020, Billy Whitehouse took a 14-year-old girl into an abandoned shed in Burnley where they kissed. He then had sex with her, knowing she was underage.

Whitehouse, who is now 18 but was 16 years old at the time of the offence, was charged with rape. But part way through the trial he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a child. That plea was deemed acceptable by the prosecution.

In December, 2021, Whitehouse threatened to stab the second victim, before punching her in the face and rendering her unconscious. Once the victim regained consciousness, he took her into a house and raped her. On other occasions Whitehouse fractured the victim’s hand, sexually assaulted her, urinated on her and threatened to release private sexual images of her which he had taken without her knowledge.

Following the trial Whitehouse, of Green Street, Padiham, was found guilty of rape, assault by penetration, assault occasioning actually bodily harm, and threatening to disclose private sexual images.

He appeared back at the crown court today (March 14) where he was sentenced to eight years custody. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

In an impact statement to the court, the second victim said: “I struggle getting to sleep, and when I do sleep, I have severe nightmares. This impacts me at work because when I get there I am already so tired. I have been prescribed anti-depressants because of what Billy put me through. The effects on me are long lasting and extend far beyond the incidents themselves. I’m still dealing with the aftermath every single day.”

She added: “I hope I can start to move forward now without interruption from Billy, slowly rebuild my life and replace aspects of it which he stole from me.

“I had many aspirations for my life and still do, but this is something which people can’t see. It's pain which I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life.

“It has changed how I view myself and how I view others, and I have come out the other side a different person and a different version of myself. “The impact this has had on me does not have an end date and is something I will live with forever, so you could say it is me who has been handed the life sentence.”

DC Matthew Bourne, from East CID, said: “Whitehouse is an individual who presents a clear danger towards women and girls by his appalling attitude towards them, and a warped sense of entitlement. For such a young man he has committed some extremely serious and appalling crimes, which will have a long-lasting impact on both victims.

“I welcome the sentence handed down to him and the orders handed down by the judge mean Whitehouse will continue to be monitored by the authorities once he is released from prison.

“I hope this case and it’s outcome will encourage other victims of sexual offences to come forward, knowing they will be believed, listened to and we will do everything in our power to put the perpetrator before the courts.”

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A RAPIST who attacked a teenage schoolgirl has been jailed.

James Eastwood, who was 16 at the time, raped the teenager after meeting her in an alleyway near a supermarket in Bamber Bridge in June 2019.

While on bail he then went on to sexually assault two other teenage girls in May last year.

Eastwood, now 20, formerly of Brindle Road, Bamber Bridge, was jailed for eight years with an extended licence of eight years. He was also given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a lifetime restraining order and will be on the sex offenders’ register for life. He was classed as a dangerous offender.

He was also sentenced for possession of indecent images of children found on his phone.

The judge, who praised the quality of the police investigation, had to sentence Eastwood as if he were a juvenile given the delay in the case reaching court because of the Covid pandemic.

Det Con Laura Thornley, of the south rape team, said: “Eastwood is a dangerous sexual predator and I welcome the sentence. I would like to praise the victims in this case for having the courage to go through the court process and to see their attacker imprisoned.

“I hope that this sentence gives others the confidence to come forward and report rape and sexual abuse offences to us confident in the knowledge that we will investigate with sensitivity, tenacity and professionalism and that we will do all we can to get justice for victims and put offenders behind bars.”

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A judge commended a victim for her bravery and conduct as he sent her rapist to prison for five years.

Judge Simon Medland said “no sentence he imposed could make up for what happened” to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when she was raped by Asad Mirza while she slept on his sofa.

Mirza, 36, of Limbrick, Blackburn, was found guilty of rape at a trial in January and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday (March 8).

The sentencing hearing heard only brief details of the incident, which took place in November 2019, but Judge Medland said Mirza had a “flawed attitude towards appropriate sexual relationships” and thought he was “entitled to have sex” with his victim.

It was heard the defendant and his victim had spent some time together before the offence took place and were happy in each other’s company.

However, on the night in question she had been asleep when Mirza decided to have sex with her without her consent.

Judge Medland said: “You were not entitled to do what you did as if it was your right.

“She gave comprehensive and clear evidence to the jury and the impact on her has been substantial.

“You were reckless as to whether she consented or not. She was asleep and the abuse of trust is palpable in this case.”

Mirza was jailed for five years, handed a restraining order until further order in respect of his victim, and will need to sign the sex offender’s register for life.

Addressing the victim, who had bravely attended court for the sentence hearing, Judge Medland added: “No sentence I impose can make up for what happened to you. I commend you on your conduct.

“I can only hope that this will at last have brought some closure to you and you are able to put this away in the back of your mind and get on with the rest of your life.”

Description

A football lout described as being an ‘out-of-control sex pest’ groped a teenage girl and assaulted another woman after watching an England match.

Jordan Wilkinson, 31, later also allowed street dealers to use his home to store more than £35,000 worth of Class A drugs. The dad-of-one has been jailed and placed on the sex offenders register after making the ‘very bad choices’.

Preston Crown Court heard how Wilkinson, of Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, had joined friends at Central Pier to watch the Euro 2020 England vs Croatia match on June 13, 2021.

After downing numerous pints of lager, Wilkinson grabbed a 16-year-old girl by the crotch and groped another woman's bottom, reports Lancs Live.

When questioned about the offences, Wilkinson claimed he did not remember doing it but was appalled at his loutish behaviour.

The court also heard how in February last year, officers discovered heroin and crack in a box in his home. Julie Taylor, defending, said at the time he was struggling after a relationship break-up had left him in sole charge of his son.

Wilkinson’s defence said he had to give up work and had fallen into debt with cannabis dealers, so agreed to look after the box for £200 a week. He claimed he never looked inside and did not know what was in it, however he knew drugs were illegal.

Following his arrest, Wilkinson had worked with social services to try and turn his life around.

However, Judge Guy Mathieson, sentencing, said: "A lot of life is about choices, good and bad. It is a good idea to go out and watch the England game with your mates and have a few beers.

"It is a bad choice to get so out of it that you thought being an out-of-control sex pest was hilarious. The problem with bad choices is that they catch up with you eventually.

"There are two victims and there is some real impact, certainly with the younger girl, as to how she now deals with people. That seems to me to make it cross the custody threshold. So that is one choice. Then, things go badly wrong in 2021/22. I'm afraid I have heard this story so many times it is like a broken record. Things get difficult in lockdown, problems occur, so you take the choice to continue to use cannabis, which you know is illegal.

"What a surprise that when your drug dealer mates, who supply you with the cannabis, when you can't pay for it they aren't your mates at all? And what a surprise that they use you to store a really significant amount of drugs? A large amount - worth £37,000 on the street, spreading misery. And you get what for it? £200? £300?

"You said, 'it was a choice to get back on my feet'. Bad choice. They catch up with you.

"Drug dealers need people like you because they don't want to get caught with drugs on them. People like you who think, 'this is easy money because let's face it, the chances of getting caught are slim, so let's take the choice'. With your young son in the house."

The judge accepted Wilkinson had taken steps to change his life, but said: "You have still made these choices, and they have caught up with you today. This combination of offences, particularly the drug dealing, is so serious it has to be an immediate prison sentence."

He jailed Wilkinson, of Whitegate Drive, for 18 months for two counts of possession of class A drugs with a six month and three month sentence to run concurrently for each count of sexual assault. He also made him the subject of notification requirements (the sex offenders register) for seven years.

"You can't be seen to get away with it", he said. "That is why you have to go to prison."

Description

A convicted paedophile who was found with more than 250 indecent images of children, with a judge describing them as some of “the most disgusting images” he’s ever had the misfortune of viewing, has been jailed.

Phillip Belcher pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, but only after initially taking the case to court when he was found with the photographs on his devices back in 2019, rendering him in breach of a suspended sentence and sexual harm prevention order.

He was jailed for the breaches but fell to be sentenced for the images after he tried to blame everyone else but himself for his actions.

Prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, Adam Lodge said Belcher, 33, had been convicted in Reading in July 2019 of making indecent images of children and had been made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and suspended sentence.

However, in August 2019, during a routine check at his home in Church Meadows, Colne, police found Belcher to have devices which he had not informed the police about, including a Sony tablet and phone, which placed him in breach of his order, as well as an SD memory card.

On it, police found disturbing images of children only a few months old, as well as one of necrophilia.

Belcher tried to blame his partner and another member of his family for the images, saying they might have been the ones who viewed them.

His suspended sentence was activated, and he was jailed for 15 months.

Following his release in June 2020, Belcher was visited at home once again and a mobile phone was found which had been used to search for child sexual abuse on Google.

Judge Guy Mathieson said: “It was entirely your choice to span out these proceedings from 2021 until last year until you admitted your guilt before trial.

“At one stage you even blamed your partner.

“At 33, you might want to start to take some responsibility for your actions.

“The type of images you take some sexual gratification from are abhorrent. You are taking sexual delight in the abuse and torture of tiny children, babies in some cases.

“When it comes to your pre-sentence report you are blaming everyone else. You even say you may have come across the images by accident.

“You are a wholly unrepentant paedophile and you are not someone who wants to change or embrace change. You are quite happy with who you are.

“The images you have downloaded contain some of the most disgusting images I have ever had the misfortune to come across.”

Belcher, who has 15 convictions for 19 offences was jailed for two years, and told to sign the sex offender’s register for 10 years.

No variation was made to his sexual harm prevention order which will be in place for another six years.

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A police force has found a convicted sex offender who failed to turn up to court to be sentenced.

James Atkinson, of St George's Road, St Annes, near Blackpool, was convicted of rape, indecent assault and sexual assault.

Lancashire Police said the 57-year-old was found on Friday in Cumbria.

He had been due to be sentenced at York Crown Court earlier this month, but did not appear.

Lancashire Police thanked the public for sharing an appeal to locate him.

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A man who believed he was sending sexually explicit messages to a 13-year-old girl has been jailed after an undercover police investigation.

Bartosz Zaczek sent the "distressing and disturbing" messages before trying to meet the recipient, who was actually an undercover police officer.

He arrived to be met by officers, who promptly arrested him last May.

The 23-year-old, of St Annes, Lancashire, has been jailed for four years and two months.

Zacek sent messages and photographs over a month and also encouraged his supposed target to get her "12-year-old cousin" to meet him, Preston Crown Court heard.

In June, he told his boss he was running an errand but instead travelled to meet the recipient in Blackburn, where officers were waiting for him.

Det Con Nicola Long, of Lancashire Police, said: "The chat transcript makes for some distressing and disturbing reading so I am satisfied with the sentence Zaczek has been given, which reflects the danger he presents to teenage girls."

Zaczek pleaded guilty to a range of offences including attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

An order has also made for his phone to be destroyed and he will be monitored by authorities after his jail term.

Det Con Long said: "The public may not see the undercover work that goes on, but it is always going on.

"If anybody has concerns about an individual, I would always encourage them to contact the police in the first instance."

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An A&E nurse has been struck off after being convicted of groping the breasts of his female co-workers.

Adam Soothill began working in the emergency department at Royal Preston Hospital in 2011, but in March 2019, allegations were made against him by several members of staff.

These included inappropriate sexual behaviour, which involved touching, the flicking or touching of breasts, grabbing breasts, seven touching of naked breasts, and placing his hands between legs.

The assaults took place between 2017 and 2019 and as a result of the allegations, Soothill was suspended from work pending a police investigation.

Initially, he denied any wrongdoing but was charged with sexual assault on July 12 2021. Following this he was dismissed by the hospitals trust.

Soothill appeared at Preston Magistrates’ Court on August 15 2019, with his case being referred to the crown court where he entered not guilty pleas and was sent to trial.

On October 27 2021, Soothill was convicted of 24 counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, told to sign the Sex Offender Register indefinitely, and pay a surcharge of £170.

Following a hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) last month, it was agreed that Soothill be struck-off the nurses register.

A report from the NMC read: “Adam Soothill's criminal offending has so seriously undermined public trust and confidence in the profession.

“The criminal offending and subsequent sentence is fundamentally incompatible with being a registered professional nurse.

“Only a striking off order is sufficient to protect patients, maintain public confidence in the profession and maintain professional standards.”

The NMC report also provided some of the judges sentencing remarks, which included the following relevant comments: "You undoubtedly preyed on these women so often and in such a manner that you made their lives uncomfortable, miserable within the workplace, in several instances it got to a stage where some did not wish to come to work.

“In relation to one victim, you had only worked with her once and that was the occasion you sexually assaulted her.

“In relation to another, she was so distressed by what you had done, that she went to the sluice room and cried.

“You took advantage of the workplace situation...you had relied on the fact that these women would not want to complain or felt uneasy about complaining.

“The touching you indulged in was not only unwanted, but sexual. It was also harassment and bullying behaviour which is not acceptable in any workplace.

“You tried to pull the wool over the jury’s eyes hiding behind a jovial workplace exterior.

“In relation to the seven women who alleged incidents, which you absolutely denied, there was no room for mistake, they were not exaggerating, and they were not liars.

“As prosecution counsel pointed out, it is noteworthy that you only denied the more serious matters and it is noteworthy that your defence, in relation to two or three of your victims, changed as the evidence came out.”

An interim suspension order was handed to Soothill to give him time to appeal the sanction. Should no appeal be made, he will be struck-off with immediate effect.

Description

A "dangerous" sex offender from Darwen who was found with two teenage girls in his hotel room has been jailed.

Colin Smith, of Everton Street, was arrested in 2020 when he returned to a hotel room in Bury.

Smith was putting up two teenage girls who had been reported missing at the time, and on his return to the hotel, found Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers waiting for him. 

Appearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday, Smith, 59, was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to 11 charges against five victims.

These including offences of meeting a child following sexual grooming, making and distributing indecent images of children, and sexual activity with a child.

Among the offences, police said Smith "plied victims with alcohol in order to commit abhorrent and depraved offences".

Described as a "calculated individual", he created multiple social media accounts and aliases, identifying as a teenager, to lure his victims into trusting him. 

Following his arrest, numerous devices belonging to Smith were seized which uncovered further victims of grooming, evidence of possession and distribution of indecent images of children, and extreme pornography.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Partington, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “Firstly, I would like to publicly recognise the courage of the two young girls who were staying in the hotel room – they made contact with someone they could trust, which enabled us to safeguard them and, ultimately, secure this prosecution.

“Smith’s behaviour towards the victims was nothing short of sickening – in some cases, he plied them with alcohol in order to commit abhorrent and depraved offences.

"His prosecution and imprisonment should reassure our communities about our commitment to fighting this type of crime and keeping vulnerable people safe.”

Constable Carly Baines, of GMP's Sexual Crime Unit, added: “This sentencing is the result of a long, meticulous investigation by our complex safeguarding hub.

"Smith’s behaviour is deplorable and completely unacceptable, and I hope this result sends a stark warning to offenders that these behaviours will not be tolerated by GMP.

“I would like to thank the victims for their resilience and bravery in reporting this incident to the police and giving us the opportunity to put a dangerous and depraved man in prison, and I hope this sentencing will now allow the victims to be able to move forward with their lives.”

Description

 A PERVERTED pensioner who sexually abused a schoolboy during a weekend go karting trip to west Cumbria has been jailed.

Raymond Monks, 78, had pleaded not guilty to allegations of showing the boy a pornographic film before sexually abusing him in his motorhome during a trip to the Rowrah race track near Frizington more than a decade ago.

But after a trial at Carlisle Crown Court, Monks was convicted of both charges on evidence which a judge said was 'compelling'.

The jury heard that the youngster, aged under 13 when the abuse happened, was at the race track for a weekend trip organised by 58-year-old Andrew Fairley, who was recently jailed for systematically grooming and abusing the same boy.

Prosecuting barrister Rob Wyn Jones said that Monks, a married father, took advantage of the schoolboy because he knew that Fairley had already groomed him and he thought it was unlikely he would tell anybody.

In evidence, the now adult victim recalled how a group of boys had taken him to see Monks at his motorhome, where the defendant put on a pornographic video. He then sent the other boys away, closed the curtains and locked the door.

It was at this point that the abuse happened.

In his evidence, Monks accepted that he had been watching pornography when the victim and two other boys were in his motor home. Asked if it was appropriate to have watched pornography with schoolboys, he said: “Lads are lads.”

He added: “At their age, they’ve most likely seen it before."

Mr Wyn Jones suggested that he had a reputation among the boys at the racetrack for showing children pornographic videos. Monks denied being sexually aroused by the pornography or using it to facilitate the abuse.

Keith Harrison, defending, said what happened had been an isolated offence and was obviously far less serious that the prolonged and systematic abuse perpetrated by Fairley over a lengthy period.

In an impact statement, the victim described how the abuse – that perpetrated by both Fairley and by Monks – had left him suffering panic attacks, depression and paranoia, all of which he attributes to what happened.

He was haunted by memories of the abuse and found it difficult working with older men. “Raymond Monks did not groom me in the same way Andrew Fairley did - but he also took advantage, predated on me and abused me,” said the victim.

“He then threw me to one side and didn’t care that I was a child; he used me to satisfy his own sexual fantasies. He will never know how much pain and suffering he has caused me.”

Judge Richard Archer told the defendant: “You have been convicted by a jury on compelling evidence of the sexual abuse of [the boy].” The judge said he was satisfied that showing the boy a pornographic film was an intention precursor to the abuse, intended to help him achieve his goal.

“You used him for your sexual gain,” said the judge. “You used him for that short period of time and then discarded him.”

Monks had shown no remorse. The judge jailed him for six years and put him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. The judge also imposed a sexual harm prevention order, which will bar Monks from ever staying at a property where there a child, unless there is written permission from Social Services.

His use of the internet must also be subject to strict police monitoring. As the sentence was passed, Monks, of Greens Lane, Rossendale, Lancashire, showed no emotion.