Latest Offenders Lancashire

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A rapist who attacked a woman as her child slept in the next room has been handed a nine year sentence.

Matthew Nicholson, 36, ignored the woman's refusal to have sex when she repeatedly told him she did not want to. During the attack, the woman said she froze as Nicholson carried on after she told him to stop.

Sentencing, The Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, said Nicholson was a dangerous man and handed him an extended sentence of six years custody and three years on licence.

He said: "You knew her child was in the next room. Your victim knew she couldn't fight or cry out and you knew that. It is clear you exploited that situation to get what it was you wanted.

"You knew you had been raping her as you raped her and as she lay there with you next to her, crying. The next day she challenged you by message. In effect you admitted you had raped her by message and voice note, repeatedly apologising and telling her you should have listened to her when she said no.

"With that background it is surprising you ran a trial."

Judge Altham said: "You do pose a serious risk of causing harm to other (women) by the commission of further specified offences. That risk can only be managed by the oversight of your release by the Parole Board and an extended licence period.

"It is a most seriously aggravating feature that you did this knowing her child was only a wall's width away."

Nicholson has been ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and been made the subject of a 12 year restraining order to protect his victim.

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Christopher Brooks plied the then 15-year-old with vodka on February 22 2020, before kissing her on the lips and groping her.

Preston Crown Court heard the girl reported the assault to the police, but Brooks, of Church Street, Ribchester, denied the allegations and took the matter to trial.

In July, he was found guilty by a jury of three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Judge Darren Preston told the court he believed Brooks, whose rugby career ended after he became injured, had continued to deny any wrongdoing, and even suggested during the course of the trial that he had been set up.

He said: “He continues to find new ways to deny the offences, and claimed during the course of the trial that this had been a set up.

“When you were arrested you denied the allegations, but your DNA was found on the inside of the victim’s bra.

“You then came up with offensive theories as to how the DNA came to be inside her bra – anything to avoid the truth of what happened that night, which is that you were guilty of the attack.”

During the sentencing hearing on Wednesday September 13, the brave victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stood in court to read her impact statement, in which she said her “whole life had been affected massively” and “she couldn’t concentrate at school or stay in lessons which impacted her overall performance in her GCSEs”.

The victim’s mother also gave a statement in which she described the last three and a half years as being “a struggle” and said: “I hope after this ends today for us he will never destroy a child’s life again”.

Brooks, 34, has no previous convictions save for an old driving offence.

Mitigating, Kathryn Johnson said her client had come to court with a realistic attitude, and asked Judge Preston to impose the shortest sentence possible.

She said: “He started out as a professional rugby player but that ended. He has references which speak of him in high terms, and this was an isolated incident.”

Brooks was jailed for three and a half years and was told to sign the sex offender’s register for life.

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A RAPIST who attempted to blame his crime on an undiagnosed sleep disorder called sexsomnia has been jailed for six years.

At Carlisle Crown Court, a judge said that 32-year-old Thomas Charleston targeted his victim when she was vulnerable and then showed no remorse as he attempted to defend and explain his actions during a trial.

A jury rejected his claim, convicting him of rape and a serious sexual assault. Charleston committed the offence while staying in caravan park accommodation in the Lake District in 2019, the court heard.

On the day of the offences, the defendant had spent the day drinking, and it was clear he had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, said Judge Nicholas Barker.

When he carried out the attack, Charleston believed his victim, who had also been drinking, was asleep and as he left the room where he raped her he kissed her and said: Good night, pretty.

She was immediately distressed and reported what happed to a security guard, who in turn contacted the police.

During the trial, Charleston did not deny her testimony but said he was suffering from sexsomnia, a condition where people have sex while in deep REM sleep. He claimed this had made him completely unaware of his actions.

When he was initially interviewed by police he was asked if he had any history of doing what he did that night, to which he said no, and if he had any medical conditions, to which he stated hayfever.

He did not mention sleepwalking or sexsomnia.

Describing the impact on the victim, Judge Barker said her statement clearly demonstrated the continuing and destructive impact of the rape. She has suffered significantly, the judge told Charleston. She finds it almost impossible to countenance the idea that she could trust a man again and have a meaningful relationship.

You are responsible for that; its your actions with caused that.

As well as jailing the defendant, whose address was given as Victoria Street, Accrington, the judge placed him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely and imposed a restraining order banning any contact with the victcim.

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A convicted sex offender who was recalled to prison multiple times after being released from an eight-year sentence has been jailed again.

Kurt Alexander was caught in the toilets of an Asda supermarket in Keighley in April, during the school holidays, “sweating profusely”, and in possession of three pairs of girls’ knickers.

Preston Crown Court heard the convicted paedophile had been jailed in 2011 for a range of sexual assault charges but following his release had been recalled to prison on numerous occasions for breaching his sexual offences prevention order and failing to comply with his notification requirements.

He was ultimately released in February, but just five days later he was making searches on a mobile phone relating to the ‘sexual abuse of children’ and ‘girl’s panties’.

Prosecuting, Cecilia Pritchard said that, sicne his release from prison, police had found nappies in his home as well as children’s underwear.

She said: “Then, on April 3 at 2.30pm, his offender manager was on duty and attended Keighley town centre after receiving information that Alexander had been seen entering numerous town centre shops.

“He was located in the men’s toilets in Asda, sweating profusely.

“They spoke to him about their concerns as it was half term, and he was asked to produce any devices he had on him.

“He handed over an Alcatel mobile phone, but officers asked what was in his top pocket and pulled out a Huawei smart phone.

“He was arrested having breached his sexual offences prevention order and was taken to the police station, and during the journey there he said he just wanted to plead guilty to everything.”

Ms Pritchard said a pair of girl’s knickers, aged five to six, were found in his pocket and two more pairs located in a washing powder box he had with him.

Police also found a micro-SD card which contained images of children – eight category C images featuring young girls between the ages of 12 and 14 in bikinis.

Ms Pritchard went on: “He’d also zoomed into their genital areas on these images which is where the making of indecent images comes from.

“He was interviewed and answered no comment but did in fact plead guilty at the first opportunity.”

Alexander, of Mason Street, Colne, has two convictions for 24 previous offences and pleaded guilty to two breaches of his sexual offences order, failing to comply with notification requirements, and making indecent images of children.

Mitigating, Kristian Cavanagh said his client had committed “abhorrent offences” and recognised he had done wrong.

Recorder Daniel Prowse said: “You had been monitored by the police since your release and had been found in possession of nappies, and on one occasion you were found in the children’s section of a library reading a book about child rape.

“You were also provided with anti-libido medication but had stopped taking these.

“Then in April you were found in Asda toilets during half term with two phones and three pairs of knickers, as well as a tourist leaflet with pictures of children on it.

“Your frankness with probation is to your credit but it’s very worrying as you say you are attracted to children.

“You also said you are sexually aroused by nappies and children’s underwear, and I am satisfied these were deliberate breaches.”

Alexander, 56, who appeared in the dock clutching a bible with a set of rosary beads around his neck, was jailed for two years and was made subject to lifetime notification requirements.

His previous sexual offences prevention order was replaced with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

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A "dangerous and predatory" paedophile who raped a woman while on bail awaiting trial for sexual assaulting two children has been jailed.

Michael Levy, 39, sexually abused a nine-year-old and a 13-year-old on a number of occasions between 2019 and 2021, Lancashire Police said.

He then pressured a woman into letting him into her home before raping her.

Levy has been jailed for 18 years at Preston Crown Court after being convicted in two separate trials.

He was found guilty of 13 sexual offences against children under 13 in March before being convicted of rape in July.

Warning: This article contains distressing content

Police said Levy, of no fixed address but formerly of Bamber Bridge, bombarded his first and youngest victim with WhatsApp messages telling her he loved her.

He sexually abused his second victim several times including when she was in her school uniform, police added.

After being charged with the offences, Levy was bailed ahead of his trial.

By this time, Levy had began bombarding his third victim with messages.

He then pressured the woman into agreeing to meet him for a coffee in January and then to let him come over to her house while her friend was there, police said.

After the victim's friend had left, Levy bit her, sexually assaulted her and raped her, the force said.

Levy was smirking at the victim throughout, police added.

'Sense of entitlement'

The mother of the teenage victim wrote in a victim personal statement to the court that her "very bubbly" daughter's moods had changed and she had vivid nightmares and would wake up in tears.

The woman said in her victim personal statement: "I feel scared all the time.

"I struggle to sleep and when I do it's only a couple of hours, then I am stressed at the children, it's just awful."

Det Con Jo Billington said the offences had a "profound impact" on all three of his victims.

"Levy is a dangerous and predatory offender with a sordid sexual view and sense of entitlement towards both women and girls," she said.

"He planned these offences and continued to sexually assault his victims even when they pleaded with him to stop."

Levy was handed a further five years on licence, made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

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The devastation felt by a traumatised rape victim was graphically spelled out in court as a 32-year-old Leyland man was jailed for 10 years for attacking a woman in her own home.

Adam Stock was told by a judge he was close to getting a life sentence for the offence, which was the second time he had been convicted of rape.

Preston Crown Court heard Stock had been released in 2021 - halfway through an eight-year prison sentence for a series of 10 sex offences.

This time Judge Andrew Jefferies told him he would have to serve a minimum of two-thirds of the sentence before he could apply to the Parole Board for release and warned: “If you have not changed your attitude to women after that period then the Parole Board will not release you and you would have to serve the full 10 years.”

Stock, of Cumberland Avenue, Leyland, pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one of sexual assault on the woman. Both offences happened despite the victim refusing to have sex with him at her home – once in her bedroom and the other in the lounge. The sexual assault was witnessed by the woman’s young son who heard the pair arguing and came downstairs.

Both the victim and her child were left traumatised by what had happened, prosecuting counsel Tim Evans told Judge Jefferies. In the woman’s case she had suffered “severe psychological harm” as a result of what had happened.

In a victim impact statement, read out by Mr Evans, the woman said she had been left “completely and utterly broken” by the ordeal and had suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Since it happened it had affected her day-to-day life, she suffered from vivid flashbacks and struggled to get to sleep at night. When she did sleep she suffered from nightmares and regularly woke up crying and screaming.

“She says she will never trust anyone again, or believe anyone,” said Mr Evans. The woman, he said, had had suicidal thoughts and felt she had lost her identity and that her body had been stolen from her. She had since felt physically sick when near men.

“I don’t even recognise myself anymore,” she wrote in her statement. “I will never know what I did so wrong to him for him to abuse me and destroy me. I will forever be damaged and never be the same person again. My son witnessed something no son should ever have to go through. He is terrified. He has struggled at school.”

Mr Evans said the house where the offences happened no longer felt like home to the victim. He added that she kept seeing Stock’s face everywhere and she felt “a complete mess.” He was, said Mr Evans, “plainly a highly dangerous individual.”

Christian Cavanagh, defending, asked Judge Jefferies to take a “cautious approach” to sentencing and not impose a life term despite his previous record of sex crimes. He said in mitigation that Stock had pleaded guilty to the two offences, which spared the mother and son the ordeal of having to give evidence in a trial. Mr Cavanagh said Stock recognised the emotional effect the offences had had on the victim.

Judge Jefferies told Stock that he had refused to take “no” for an answer and raped the woman. Later he had again refused to take “no” for an answer and sexually assaulted her before her son came downstairs and intervened. “What is troubling me is it mirrors what I have read about your previous convictions.”

The judge ordered that Stock should serve an extended three-year licence period after he is eventually released from prison. He will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

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Lancashire Police say they could not have predicted violent sex offender Anthony Stinson would go on to kill.

Stinson, 31, was jailed for life and must serve a minimum term of 24 years and two months before he can apply for parole, after killing Charlotte Wilcock on her doorstep in Blackburn.

No motive has been given for the attack on Charlotte, who was a complete stranger to Stinson. She suffered almost 100 separate injuries and was left to die behind her front door while her baby daughter was alone upstairs.

Det Ch Insp Mark Haworth-Oates, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said: "The nature of the offence was so random. We saw him in a shop 20 minutes before the murder, acting reasonably normally. He was with his friends rapping on a video half an hour earlier, acting reasonably normally."

Although Stinson was unknown to Charlotte he was no stranger to the police. As a registered sex offender he was monitored in the community by the police and Probation Service. At his sentence hearing, the court heard he has 11 previous convictions for 25 offences including rape, ABH and criminal damage. Many of those crimes were against women.

In 2010, Stinson assaulted an ex partner at her home by pushing, grabbing and spitting at her, after entering her flat through a window.

In 2013, he raped a teenager at a house party in Clitheroe. He admitted abusing the girl while she slept and was jailed for five years. In April 2019 he was handed a suspended sentence for two attacks on his ex partner within days of each other. On both occasions he strangled the woman, and during the second attack, Stinson put a pillow over her face, saying: "I swear to God, I could happily bury you." The victim said she thought she was going to die.

Stinson admitted he had been drinking and taking drugs when he attacked his partner in 2019 and was ordered to take part in rehabilitation to address his offending. He remained under supervision until his arrest for Charlotte's murder in March 2023.

Det Ch Insp Haworth-Oates said: "He was managed like any registered sex offender because of his rape conviction. He had served his prison sentence (for rape) and like numerous other people, unfortunately, he was managed in the community.

"Clearly, that doesn't lend itself to us following someone round or being with them 24 hours a day, or being able to predict a change in mood or a change in circumstances on that night that caused him to go and do what he did.

"He made a decision on that night to take an awful lot of drugs, all day - drugs he knew and he admitted caused him issues mentally and caused him anger issues."

Stinson claimed he was suffering psychosis and had seen the devil when he attacked Charlotte, but psychiatrists concluded he was acting rationally at the time he claimed to be impaired. However Stinson also admitted he had been taking drugs and drinking and had argued with his dad, before taking a Stanley knife onto the street to 'rob a drug dealer'.

"It could have been anybody sat on that doorstep that night", DCI Haworth-Oates said. "It is so sad it was Charlotte this has happened to. One person is responsible for that and that is Anthony Stinson."

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A depraved nurse who ran a respiratory ward during the Covid crisis turned to online sex offences for 'comfort' - keeping a hoard of sick images and sharing obscene stories about children.

Rebecca Ruler, 32, kept a hoard of sadistic child abuse images and published sick sexual articles about children and babies for a group of paedophiles, a court heard.

Preston Crown Court heard that Ruler had been on the frontline of the Covid crisis, working as a ward manager at Royal Bolton Hospital. Kim Obrusik, defending, said: "It was the worst time in recent history that someone could be working on those wards."

But, prosecuting, Peter Barr said: "It was she who initiated the discussions by expressing her sexual interest in children. There was no evidence of coercion."

Ruler has now been handed a suspended prison sentence, reports LancsLive. Mr Barr told Preston Crown Court that between April 2021 and April 2022, Ruler downloaded 151 category A child abuse pictures, along with a further 101 at category B and 134 category C images.

She also created five obscene articles into an internet chat with five paedophiles. When questioned, she claimed the conversation was instigated by a man she was in an online relationship with and she was using the chat to impress him.

Ms Obrusik said Ruler had mild depression which was aggravated by her work, as she saw patients she had cared for dying alone, without their family or friends, on a daily basis. "As we come out of the pandemic it is easy to forget the horrors of what was occurring. The demands, both physically and emotionally, can not be quantified."

Ruler's relationship broke down, she began struggling with her body image and she found it difficult to confide in people close to her.

"She encouraged the contact from males in respect of these types of discussions as she realised this was a way to receive male attention", Ms Obrusik said. "She was feeling that she would never gain any sexual interest from males and this is how she got that interest."

Judge Richard Gioserano said: "Seeking comfort from strangers is one thing but she knew these were paedophiles."

A pre-sentence report stated Ruler, who now works in a supermarket, has "significant remorse for her actions". "Prior to this she was a woman of exemplary character, working in a job that is known to be very giving through what was and remains to be the most difficult period for the NHS in living memory", Ms Obrusik said.

Ruler, of Springfield Road, Coppull, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images and five counts of publishing an obscene article.

Sentencing, Judge Gioserano said: "I have asked myself how it is that your thinking became not just distorted but so depraved that you committed these eight offences. I will start by stating the obvious: distorted thinking, no matter how depraved, does not in itself attract a criminal sanction.

"It may of course attract moral outrage but moral outrage is no basis for sentence. You are not being sentenced for distorted thinking or depraved thinking in itself. You are being sentenced for acting on that thinking by downloading indecent images and engaging in messaging about sadistic and sexual abuse of very young children.

"I have assessed the risk that your messages could have depraved and corrupted others that might have read it. It is possible that the recipients could have shared your messages with other paedophiles but that was not your intention. There was no intention that your messaging, as depraved as it was, should go beyond the five people in the chat.

"I am asked to consider whether your work as a nurse on a respiratory ward during Covid played a part. I do not wish to underestimate the emotional and physical impact upon you. It clearly did take its toll, not only on you but on your relationship with your partner. It might have been that that was what led you to seeking comfort from strangers but that is not necessarily uncommon. People in difficult emotional circumstances may take value from anonymous online contact with strangers.

"This is not a court of morals. I am not here to judge that. But you moved from that sort of contact to active criminal contact with paedophiles. Even if the distortion in your thinking could somehow be explained by the emotional toll of your work at the time, I can not see how that can mitigate for your offending."

He handed Ruler a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work. She must also complete 35 days of rehabilitation activities including a one-to-one sex offenders course, and has been made subject to a five year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders' register.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council confirmed they are aware of the sentencing.

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A man who raped three young girls and sexually abused a boy has been found guilty of committing his depraved crimes by a jury.

Stephen Anderton, 53, has been on trial at Burnley Crown Court, and on Friday, August 4, was found guilty of five rapes and 15 other sexual offences committed against children.

Anderton’s abuse started in the 1980s and spanned four decades.

The youngest victims were aged just four when 53-year-old Anderton began abusing them.

The mother of one of the victims first contacted the police to report Anderton’s crime against a child in 2018.

 
Enquiries from detectives then led to further victims being identified.

Anderton, of Bank Street, Padiham, denied his disgraceful crimes but after trial a jury convicted him of the prolonged child abuse.

He was remanded into custody to be sentenced at the same court on September 22.

DS Alex Rawsthorn, of the Blackburn Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: “Anderton was found guilty of the most depraved offences imaginable.

"I would like to express my thanks to the officer in case whose tenacity and dedication has been unwavering.

"Most importantly, I would like to place on record my sincere gratitude and admiration for the victims who have endured an agonising wait for justice.

"They have shown remarkable courage throughout this case.”

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A disgraced former police officer who sexually assaulted a lone teenager as she walked home alone at midnight has been jailed for two and a half years.

James White, a former officer for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), admitted he had drunk four bottles of wine before getting in his car for a drive on 25 June, before carrying out an attack that was "the stuff of nightmares".The 39-year-old said he had not gone out to prowl for a lone female but when he spotted the teenager in a remote location in Darwen, Lancashire, he stopped the car and assaulted her.

Eve Salter, prosecuting, told the court the girl heard footsteps running up behind her. When White caught up he put his hands over her eyes, saying: "I don't want to hurt you".

He dragged her to the ground, causing grazes and bruises to her arm, torso and hip, before removing one of his hands from her eyes and putting it on her leg.The brave teenager took out her mobile phone and called her mum on Facetime. She tried to strike her attacker with the phone as the call connected, but White tried to knock it out of her hand.

She was able to take a photo of her attacker, who was wearing a distinctive t-shirt, before White ran away into the darkness, spooked by the girl's call for help.

The youngster was collected by her step-dad and reported the attack to the police.She said: "I don't know how to feel about the attack. I am just glad to be alive as I feared the worst was about to happen."The court heard White was dismissed from his role with GMP, serving the Bolton area, after he was convicted of four offences relating to the sexual harassment of female colleagues.

Tom Worsfold, defending, said his client recognised the court would have little sympathy for him and deserved to feel the shame he feels.

His step father, who has visited him in HMP Durham, said White told him he felt "he was torn between two different people - one good, one bad - and the bad one was winning"."There is a sense of tragedy that this person who was once a police officer in a position of responsibility could fall so low", Mr Worsfold said.

Sentencing, Judge Altham said: "What must have made this attack so frightening is that a 16-year-old who was on her own was targeted on the street.

"It is the stuff of nightmares for a stranger to wrestle you to the ground with the intention of sexual assault.

"If this was a planned attack where he has prowled for a victim before attacking her in this way, it is troubling, but it is equally troubling if all it takes is the sight of a lone female for him to run up behind her and assault her in this way.

"This young woman had to fight him off in the course of a violent attack. A man who can attack a young woman in this way - particularly with his background, is dangerous."

He sentenced White, of Suddellside Road, Darwen, to two years and six months for sexual assault with 10 months to run concurrently for ABH.

The judge also placed White on the Sex Offenders Register for 15 years, saying: "He will remain a danger to women for a significant period of time."

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A ‘DANGEROUS’ sex offender from Ingleton has been jailed for four years after he was trapped by a paedophile hunter group for the second time.

Robert Twaites was given a community order in 2018 that included a condition that he took part in a specialist sex offender programme.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday (Monday) that he had been caught by a paedophile hunter group sending sexually explicit messages to decoys posing as girls aged 13 and 14 and trying to meet up with them.

Despite completing the Horizon Programme, he was back online in January this year trying to meet up for sexual activity with what he believed was a girl aged 13, the court heard.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast told the court that Twaites engaged in conversations with the decoy saying he liked to go on dates and offering to buy her presents.

He suggested they could ‘meet in the woods’ but after he failed to turn up, members of the paedophile hunter group confronted him at his home and contacted the police.

When officers examined his phone, they found prohibited images of children.

Twaites, 33, of New Village, Ingleton, admitted charges relating to his attempts to cause or incite a child to engage sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Julian White, for Twaites, described his behaviour as self-destructive and said it was mind-boggling that he would continue to behave in the way he had.

“He went through the necessary rehabilitative process, but notwithstanding that, he continued to offend in an identical manner,” Mr White said.

He described Twaites as an isolated and lonely individual.

Judge Sophie McKone said that despite his denials, he had a sexual interest in children and posed a high risk of serious harm to them.

Although no real child was involved, if there had been he would have gone through with the intended abuse.

Judge McKone jailed Twaites for four years and added an extra two years’ licence because he was a dangerous offender.

He will only be released by the Parole Board after serving two-thirds of his jail term if they decide it is safe to do so.

Twaites will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and he must comply with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A man who breached a sexual harm prevention order by assisting families with young children at a fairground ride has been jailed for nine months.

Richard Mason, 35, pleaded guilty to the breach and to obstructing a police officer at a hearing on May 9.

Mason, of Church Terrace, Darwen, was not to have any contact with children under the age of 18 per the terms of his order, which was amended to include that restriction in 2019.

This was the sixth time Mason had breached the order, originally imposed following a conviction for sexual offences in 2005.

Prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, Beth Pilling said: “Police received an anonymous phone call on April 8 this year informing them the defendant was working at Witton Park in Blackburn.

“They attended at around 4.15pm and observed him working on one of the rides for around 13 minutes, seating families and locking the overhead equipment into place.

“On speaking to him, he informed the police he was going home. He collected his items from by the ticket stall and walked off.”

The police decided to take Mason to one side to speak to him, but he pushed an officer’s arm away and ran off. He was located an hour later on a nearby street.

He informed officers he was only there to go on the rides and that he had not been working there, just assisting a friend who was working.

Mitigating, Holly Nelson said Mason maintains he was not paid to be there and he attended the fairground to meet a friend working there who had asked for help.

“He should not have been doing it and he accepts that,” Ms Nelson added.

Sentencing, Recorder David Temkin said: “On April 8 this year police were anonymously called to say you were working at a funfair in Witton Park.

“You were observed for a little under a quarter of an hour assisting your friend. You certainly assisted and operated machinery.

“What you did brought you into contact with families, including children, in direct contradiction to your Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and you knew it.

“Police officers viewed some families had young children appearing to be under 13. One police officer saw you lifting a seven-year-old child into a carriage.

“You told the police officers you were only there to go on some rides. That was patently untrue.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Temkin said Mason presented a risk and a danger to the public and an appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.

Mason was sentenced to nine months in prison, with no separate penalty for the obstruction of an officer.

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A “predatory” former religious education teacher sexually assaulted a teenage boy in the 1980s after keeping him back after school.

Donald Hunt was an RE teacher who worked at Rhyddings High School in Oswaldtwistle between 1983 and 1989.

Preston Crown Court heard that between 1987 and 1989 he sexually assaulted a 15 or 16-year-old boy on three occasions after keeping him back to “discuss his work”.

Amanda Johnson, prosecuting, said: “The defendant would keep him back after lessons to ‘discuss his work’ and on one occasion, when in close proximity to his victim, he rubbed himself up against him.

“On another occasion he was standing next to the child and undid the teenager’s flies and began to rub him over his boxer shorts.

“The victim said he recalled feeling scared.

“On the third occasion the defendant told the boy to get a chair and come and sit next to him.

"He unzipped his own flies and said to the victim ‘you know what to do’, before placing the boy’s hand on his groin area.

“The boy pulled away and went home and told his father, but his father refused to believe him.”

Ms Johnson said the offending ended when the teenager told a friend and made him wait outside the classroom the next time he was kept back, and when the defendant went to initiate further contact the victim called out to his friend.

Ms Johnson told the court: “The boy’s friend ran into the classroom and the defendant panicked and stormed out with the boys following him into the car park.

"The defendant could not get away quick enough.”

It was heard the incidents were reported to the headteacher at the time, but they were not acted upon.

Ms Johnson went on: “The victim was told ‘Mr Hunt has a family, are you trying to break the family up?’.

“He also got into trouble for ‘making the whole thing up’ and ‘trying to ruin the teacher’s career’.”

The offences eventually came to light when the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attended a police station in 2019, as the incidents had been niggling at him for years and had affected his personal life, his relationships, and had resulted in him abusing drugs and alcohol.

He said he had even attempted suicide on a few occasions.

Hunt attended the police station for a voluntary interview and said he could not remember the victim.

He said he experienced difficulty with his memory due to a car accident in 2007, although no medical evidence was provided to the courts to support this.

Mitigating, Mark Shanks said: “The man before you today is a different man to who committed the offences in the late 80s.

“He is a religious man who gives to the community, his friends and his church. He was shocked and disappointed when he heard about the effect his offending had had on his victim.

“He is petrified of going to prison again and so he should be.”

Married father-of-three, Hunt, now 69, was jailed for nine months in 2006 for indecently assaulting a boy in a storeroom at the same school in 1984.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order at the time, which he later breached in 2012 when work he was doing meant he had contact with schoolchildren.

He was handed a community order for this breach.

Hunt, of Fairfield Street, Accrington, initially pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault with a view of taking the case to trial, but pleaded guilty on the first day of the hearing in May.

Judge Heather Lloyd, sentencing, said: “In the 80s you were a respected RE teacher and with that came the responsibility of not only the education of your students but the safety and wellbeing of your students.

“You used your position to behave in a criminal and predatory way to two boys in your care.

“In 2006 you were sentenced for indecent assault on a student at the same school.

“You said the student lied about what had happened. You told probation you pleaded guilty to that but you were found guilty after trial.

“You must have known when you went to prison for that there was another victim, but you kept quiet, and sure enough, your past has crept up on you.

“When this victim reported what had happened to him he was told he was telling lies. You got away with what you did to him for many years.

“You told him to stay behind for detention and you indecently assaulted him.

“You said you couldn’t remember this pupil but you were able to give a full account of your own life history.

“Even now you do not admit guilt, you simply dispute your guilt.”

Hunt was jailed for 11 months, handed a 10 year sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offender’s register for 10 years.

Upon release he will be under post sentence supervision for 12 months.

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A pervert who thought he was talking to a 14-year-old boy via Facebook Messenger arranged to meet him at Blackburn train station so he could have sex with him and ‘make him a man’.

Peter Cumberland, of Bonsall Street, Blackburn, created a profile on Facebook in July 2021 and struck up a conversation with who he thought was a 14-year-old boy, when in reality it was a decoy.

Prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, Lisa Worsley said: “The ’14-year-old boy’ was an adult decoy from a group called ‘Travelling from Nottingham’ or ‘TFN’, who engages in conversation with suspected paedophiles and uses language that a 14-year-old would use as well as making reference to his parents.

“On July 22 2021, the decoy received a message from Cumberland asking for his school shoes, his trainers and his d***.

“The decoy said he was 14 and was still in school, to which Cumberland replied, ‘show me your trainers’ and asked for some photos.

“The decoy commented that he thought what he was saying was strange and asked Cumberland ‘do I know you?’.

“The defendant replied ‘no why?’, with the decoy saying ‘no reason, you could be anyone, and I’m not sending pictures to someone I haven’t seen’.”

Ms Worsley said the defendant then asked if he could buy the decoy’s trainers and asked if he would meet him at Blackburn train station and gave him his home address, of Bonsall Street.

The decoy then told him he couldn’t as his mother wouldn’t let him out, and asked how would he know Cumberland wasn’t a killer.

Ms Worsley said: “The defendant said he wasn’t a killer but was gay, and would prove it by kissing his feet and then making him gay. He said he would like to play with his penis and asked if the decoy was a virgin.”

The court then heard how Cumberland told the decoy he would like to have sex with him, and then asked if he wanted a photo of his private parts, before sending him one of him sitting on the toilet.

The conversation continued the following day and they arranged to meet at Blackburn station on July 25.

Ms Worsley added: “Cumberland said he would ‘make him a man’ and sent him photos of his house to reassure him he was telling the truth about where he lived.”

The decoy and a colleague arrived at Blackburn station and saw the defendant, approached him and asked him about his online activity.

They ushered him to an alleyway away from public view and called the police, before handing over documents to officers which detailed the conversations had online.

Cumberland was arrested and his mobile phone analysed, with officers able to download the conversations had with the decoy.

The 31-year-old, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child to look at a sexual image, attempting to engage a child in sexual activity, arranging the commission of a child sex offence and attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child.

Defending, Clare Thomas said her client was vulnerable, had lived a life of social isolation, had a learning disability, and had difficulty with speech and language and would find a prison sentence “traumatic”.

Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Prowse said: “I am satisfied you would have engaged in sexual activity with him if it had actually been a 14-year-old boy, but I can’t suspend this sentence as it’s so serious that it can only be dealt with by way of a custodial sentence.”

Cumberland was jailed for 28 months, will have to sign the sex offender’s register for 10 years and was handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

DC Sarah Fyans, of East CID, said: “Peter Cumberland’s behaviour in 2021 was clearly very concerning and something we take extremely seriously.

“He clearly has a troubling sexual interest in children and attended Blackburn Train Station fully expecting to meet a 14-year-old boy.

“I welcome the custodial sentence handed down by the courts to a man with no previous history of offending. I hope he uses his time in prison to reflect on his actions and get the help he clearly needs.”

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Dylan Tattersall, 28, attempted to sexually assault the victim twice while threatening her with a metal bar in the early hours of June 19, 2022.

The victim managed to secretly take photographs of Tattersall on her phone in order to raise the alarm.

Tattersall, of Gloucester Avenue, Accrington, was arrested later the same day.

He was charged with two rapes and a number of breaches of a non-molestation order following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

During a trial in December 2022, a jury found Tattersall guilty of breaching the non-molestation order but were unable to reach a verdict in relation to the charges of rape.

Tattersall later pleaded guilty to two alternative counts of attempted rapes, with the victim ready to give evidence for a second time.

He was sentenced on Tuesday (July 4) for those offences and breaches of the non-molestation order he had previously pleaded guilty to.

Tattersall was subsequently jailed for 11 years and eight months.

Sitting at Preston Crown Court, Judge Heather Lloyd deemed Tattersall to be a dangerous offender and sentenced him to a three-year extended licence period.

Tattersall was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and a restraining order was put in place.

Det Sgt Lee Harris, of East CID, said: “'I would like to commend the victim of this case for her bravery in reporting this serious incident to the police and for her continued resilience, which saw her having to give her full evidence in a previous trial and who was prepared to endure it again if needs be.

“Both the victim and I welcome the sentence and other sanctions that have been placed upon Tattersall today, which reflects the seriousness of the case and sends a clear message that offenders like Tattersall will be brought to justice.

“I hope the outcome of this case encourages other victims of sexual violence to come forward, knowing they will be listened to and believed.”