Latest Offenders London

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A photographer who raped a woman at his central London studio may have attacked others, police have said.

Sritharan Sayanthan, 42, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Friday after being found guilty of two counts of rape and one of attempted rape at Hendon Crown Court.

The victim, a woman in her 30s, went to Sayanthan's studio on Brompton Road in May 2022 and paid for pictures to be taken.

She met him again on 8 July 2022 for a drink, believing it to be part of a networking process after he contacted her online, Scotland Yard said.

They met at a pub in Warren Street where Sayanthan "encouraged her to drink alcohol which made her intoxicated very quickly", police said.

The Met added: "He then led the victim to his studio. Here she blacked out on the studio floor. When partially awake she was aware of Sayanthan sexually assaulting her. She was unable to respond verbally or physically."

The victim, a Chinese national, went to police on 31 July 2022.

She did not go earlier because she was unfamiliar with how rape is investigated in the UK, officers said.

CCTV was discovered showing her "noticeably unsteady on her feet".

Scotland Yard said: "Statements were gathered from studio staff and further research uncovered several other photography businesses owned by the suspect."

Detective Constable Sophie Baker said officers "believe there could be other victims of Sayanthan" and are encouraging "anyone who wants to speak to us to come forward".

She added: "No piece of information is too small and you will be listened to and supported."

DC Baker praised the victim, too, describing her as "fantastic from start to finish".

She sent on: "She was extremely nervous at the prospect of giving evidence but, with the support of an interpreter, she told the court in fine detail what happened.

"For victims, describing the incident in court can be daunting but she did amazingly and I am personally very proud of her bravery and thankful to her for coming forward."

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A CHILD rapist who forced a girl to engage in a sexual act as their little secret has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Mark Smith, 30, has been sentenced to 13 years and 6 months after admitting rape and assault by penetration.

He must serve an extended licence period of one year.

The man had forced a girl to engage in a sexual act at an address on Canvey on June 4, 2016.

The victim reported to Essex Police that he had threatened her to make her go through with it and told her that it was their little secret.

She said she felt to embarrassed and scared to tell anyone what happened and was left feeling it was her fault.

As a result of the assault, the victim experienced significant struggles with her mental health to the point that she needed professional help.

It was at that point, in August 2019, that the offences were disclosed to Essex Police.

Smith, of Florian Avenue, Sutton, was arrested following month and when initially interviewed denied remembering the incident stating he couldnt recall if he was at the address on that day.

He was later charged with rape and assault by penetration and admitted the offences at Basildon Crown Court on March 30, 2022.

He was also sentenced for a separate count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity without consent.

This offence was committed by Smith while on court bail, in January 2022.

Det Con, Victoria Leese, the investigating officer from the child abuse investigating team, said: I want to praise the courage shown by the victim in this case, who went through an awful ordeal which has had a long-lasting impact.

No-one should experience what she has, and she has shown incredibly bravery in telling us what happened.

Mark Smith threatened her and forced her to take part in a sexual act. His actions are despicable, and I am please he has now been held accountable for them.

I hope this result will help the victim move forward.

I would also pay tribute to the family of the victims, whose bravery and trust in the police and throughout this process has been steadfast.

For more information about how to get support, visit synergyessex.org.uk

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A sick Metropolitan Police officer has been spared jail after he paid for videos of babies being sexually abused.

PC Darren Hourigan, 51, claimed he may have been hacked after he was caught accessing a portal which included 3,490 videos and 295 still images of children.

The portal included videos of babies as young as one being sexually abused.

PC Hourigan, of Coteford Street in Tooting, was a serving officer in the South Area Command Unit, which covers Bromley, Croydon and Sutton, when he was caught with the images.

In March 2020 the Mets Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse team found that two email addresses attributed to PC Hourigan had accessed the portal.

When he was arrested at his home in March 2020 he told colleagues he had no idea about the images.

The portal included four folders with child abuse images, including one titled baby and another titled 1 to 5.

In a second interview, PC Hourigan said he had used the file sharing platform to view cycling and athletics videos.

He continued to deny ever viewing indecent images of children but said I may have been hacked.

PC Hourigan eventually admitted his offending on April 26 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent images of children.

On Friday (July 7) he appeared at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court where Judge Barklem gave him a 10 month prison sentence suspended for one year.

This means he will not see a prison cell unless he offends again during that period.

He was suspended from duties before he was charged on September 21 last year. He later resigned from the police force.

Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, in charge of policing in South Area, said: We have made it clear that the Met will take action against any of its staff who are not fit to remain within the organisation, and we will now prepare for a misconduct hearing.

We are committed to providing Londoners with a Met that they deserve; one that upholds the law on the streets of the capital and amongst its own ranks.

The vast majority of the thousands of police officers and staff are striving to take this forward those who wont are not worthy to remain.

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A man has been jailed for raping a child over a period of time between 2006 and 2008.

Paul Hunt – 35 (19.09.87) of no fixed abode was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment following a hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 29 June. He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Hunt had been found guilty of rape and sexual assault of the girl, who was under the age of 13 at the time of the offences, at the conclusion of a trial on Friday, 16 June.

The court heard how Hunt knew the girl and groomed her over the course of several visits to the house he was staying at in Stratford at the time.

On various occasions between 2006 and 2008, Hunt raped and sexually assaulted the girl. He told her that no one would believe her if she told anyone about the abuse.

However, in 2018 the girl, by now an adult, confronted Hunt and reported the matters to police. Officers undertook an investigation which involved gathering evidence and witness statements from over ten years previously. 

Hunt was arrested but refused to answer questions during his police interview. However, he was charged and subsequently found guilty at court.

DI Jeremy McDermott of the North East Command Unit said: “Hunt exploited and took advantage of a vulnerable child on numerous occasions. He told the victim that she would not be believed. Despite this, she showed commendable bravery in coming forward and providing such strong evidence to police and at the trial. I hope that the sentence handed down will bring her a small measure of comfort and a sense that justice has been done.

"I would like to encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual crime to come forward and speak to police; they will be supported and their voice too can be heard.”

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A sexual predator has been sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court last Thursday (22 June).

Michael Morgan, 35, from Hounslow, London, was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of voyeurism against two separate victims when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, 31 March.

The extensive investigation into Morgan began when he was reported to police on suspicion of rape. It was later discovered that he had encouraged a 14-year-old to drink alcohol so that he could groom her and commit the offence of rape.

In a separate incident, Morgan also filmed himself engaging in a sexual act without consent with a woman in her 20s. The two offences were tried in conjunction at his trial at Guildford Crown Court.

Morgan was given a sentence of 11 years and 6 months for the rape offence and a 6-month sentence for the voyeurism offence that is to run concurrently.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Connor Leney, said: “Morgan’s behaviour has impacted many lives, and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the bravery and courage of both victims who have helped put this man behind bars for a long time.

“This investigation and sentencing shows that we will work tirelessly to ensure sexual predators face the consequences of their actions.

“If there is anyone reading this who has been a victim of sex abuse, I would encourage you to speak to us. We will do everything we can to support you.”

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A rapist who forced himself on a woman who he met on a dating app has been jailed.

Three months following the attack, Ryan Mulhern, of Hornsey Lane in Highgate, was sentenced to eight years’ and nine months imprisonment for rape and attempted rape.

Police were called to Hornsey Lane on March 21 at 9.50pm after a member of the public found the victim, 25, crying and saying she had just been raped.

She explained she met Mulhern on a dating app and went to his house to meet up.

Whilst there, he raped the victim and she repeatedly told him to stop, but he continued.

Officers searched multiple addresses and were initially unable to find Mulhern – but he was eventually arrested in Islington the day after on March 22.

The victim’s impact statement was read out in court, where she wrote: “I reported you because it was the right thing to do.

“Even now, I do not feel hatred towards you and am saddened that we are in such a situation.

“However, I hate that your actions have made me feel unsafe, empty, and unworthy of others' respect. I have to deal with the impact of your violence for the foreseeable future.

“This rape is a tragedy that could have and should have been avoided. Even if you struggle to feel remorse towards me, I hope you can understand the hurt you have caused to the ones closest to you and yourself.”

Mulhern appeared on Friday (June 23) at Snaresbrook Crown Court after pleading guilty to both offences on April 21.

Detective Sergeant Sam Lockstone, who led the investigation, said: "I hope the significant sentence handed down encourages other victims of rape to come forward, and brings the rape survivor in this case a sense of closure and justice.

“I am incredibly proud of my team for supporting the victim throughout this investigation with such professionalism.

"Arresting, charging and seeing Mulhern jailed within just three months of the incident shows the dedication and commitment our teams have in pursuing justice for these horrific offences."

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A junior doctor has been jailed for six years for his role in a dark web chat site dedicated to sharing images of child sexual abuse.

Kabir Garg, 33, from Lewisham, south-east London, pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to facilitating the exploitation of children.

Until he was arrested in November, he had been working as a psychiatrist for South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

Garg had acted as a "moderator" of the site, the court had heard.

This involved overseeing the running of the site, which included giving advice in private messages on how to share images.

When he was arrested, the National Crime Agency (NCA) found thousands of indecent images on a laptop and SD card at his flat which had 522 category A images, which is the most serious category.

Examinations of his devices also uncovered numerous medical journals and articles that discussed the psychological impact of child sexual abuse on a child, which the NCA said showed he understood the "devastating impact such actions have on children".

'No choice'

Bethany Raine, specialist prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service's Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said his crimes were "especially shocking given his role as a NHS psychiatrist, treating vulnerable members of the public, and his understanding of the psychological impact of sexual abuse on children."

She added: "When faced with the evidence of his crimes, Garg had no choice but to plead guilty."

She said the case illustrated the determination of investigators and the CPS to pursue child sexual offenders, including those who have moved their "vile activity onto the dark web".

"These sites are horrific and have no place in society," she added.

At a hearing on 9 January 2023, Garg pleaded guilty to one count of facilitating the exploitation of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possession of a prohibited image of children.

After Garg was jailed on Friday, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said it hoped it the sentence brought a "sense of justice and closure to all those impacted by his deplorable actions".

The General Medical Council (GMC) confirmed that Garg is interim suspended "pending the conclusion of a full GMC investigation".

Upon the completion of the investigation, the GMC can refer the case to a full tribunal hearing where it will be decided if Garg will be struck off.

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A child rapist has been jailed after detectives led an international manhunt to track him down.

Abbas Alsaed, 28, from Kingsbury, pleaded guilty to eight counts of rape and sexual assault at Harrow Crown Court on 1 December 2022 and was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 years in prison.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

The Met Police said Alsaed met his victim, an 11-year-old girl, in Fryent Country Park, Wembley in May 2021 when he told her he was a child protection officer and proceeded to befriend the victim before taking her mobile phone number.

He then met her in the park over the following year where he raped and sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions.

Police were called after concerns were raised by a member of staff at the victim’s school but Alsaed fled the country before he could be arrested.

Officers from the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit tracked him to the Netherlands and he was then arrested at St Pancras station when he returned to the country on August 15 last year.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Qamar Islam from the North West Command Unit said: “Alsaed is a dangerous and manipulative individual, who took advantage of a vulnerable child in order to carry out terrible crimes, which will live with the victim forever.

“I would like to commend the courage and bravery of the victim, who after enduring such traumatic abuse, spoke with officers and found the strength to assist with this investigation.

“These crimes were reported to the Met in June 2022 and resulted in an arrest less than two months later. A successful investigation ensued due to diligent and efficient work by a number of officers involved in this case.

“I truly hope that the result today will reassure victims of rape and sexual assault, that we will do everything within our power to investigate and prosecute predatory men at the earliest possible opportunity.”

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A FORMER deputy head teacher at a prominent London school previously attended by royals has pleaded guilty to financially rewarding Indian teenagers for sending him indecent images of children.

Matthew Smith, 34, from East Dulwich, admitted to 22 charges, including having instructed teenagers in India online to abuse younger children while he was working in Nepal.

The “prolific offender” who appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday (20) will be sentenced on August 4.

Smith, who briefly worked at the £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school in London where Prince George and Princess Charlotte once studied, was arrested in November last year after investigators discovered that he had been sharing abuse material on the dark web during his stay in Nepal.

He was online at the time of his arrest, speaking to a boy living in India and asking him to send sexual images of a younger child, in return for money, the National Crime Agency said.

Officers recovered more than 120,000 indecent images of children which the Oxford University graduate had saved on a laptop, SD card and on his phone.

Smith was remanded in custody, charged with five offences, including causing the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.

Investigators established that Smith had paid the boy and another teenager, also based in India, £65,398 to abuse children over five years.

He worked in orphanages and non-governmental organisations across India between 2007-2014 before he shifted to Nepal where taught at Kathmandu’s British School.

He returned to London in July 2022 and started working at Thomas’s Battersea where he was a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care before he was fired two months later.

Investigators found that Smith would instruct the young men via chat logs to perform sexual acts on boys and would send them images and videos as examples of ones he would like to receive in return.

He also told one of them how to befriend children and build their trust with a view to abuse them, the NCA said.

Information and evidence of potential offending by Smith against children while working in India have been shared with relevant law enforcement partners.

However, there is no evidence to suggest he committed offences against children based in Nepal or Britain.

Claire Brinton, a specialist in the Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service said Smith’s crimes were “particularly disturbing” given his role as a primary school teacher.

“Thousands of images and videos were recovered from his devices which showed an appalling catalogue of sexual abuse being perpetrated on children,” she said.

A Thomas’s Battersea spokesperson said the school was “shocked and appalled beyond measure” by Smith’s actions and thanked the investigators for bringing him to justice.

His employment at the school, which began in September 2022, was terminated soon after it learned of the charges against him in November, the spokesperson said.

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Two men who kidnapped two women have been jailed and one will be on the sex offender register for life. 

The Met said both men laughed in their police interviews when shown CCTV footage of their attack and told the officers the women had consented.

At around 5.30am on July 16, 2022, both Dhari Alshammari, 28 of Hester Road, Wandsworth, and Badr Alhadidi, 39, of Talbot Street, Birmingham, targeted two women in a nightclub along Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, first approaching them on the dance floor. 

CCTV footage inside the club showed Alshammari pour a vodka into some glasses while Alhadidi waited for the women outside the toilets.

All four left the club around 6am when Alhadidi and Alshammari forced the victims into a car.

They drove the women to an address at Beauchamp Mansions, Kensington. Further CCTV footage nearby showed Alshammari drag one of the victim-survivors along the pavement. Both were forced through a doorway where they collapsed.

Inside the property Alshammari raped one of the women. After he went to a nearby McDonald’s to order food before returning to his home address.

Later that morning, Alhadidi drove the woman to a petrol station in another area of London and left them. 

One of the victims reported to police they had been on a night out and couldn’t remember a portion of the evening. She stated she remembered being pinned down in a car and sexually assaulted in a room.

Officers began an investigation which led them to identify and arrest the two men two days after the attack.

Alhadidi was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for kidnap at Isleworth Crown Court last Wednesday.

Alshammari was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years for rape and kidnap. He will be on the sex offender register for life. 

Detective Sergeant Tony Larkin, who led the investigation, said: “Alhadidi and Alshammari are two predators who set out that night with only one sinister intention in mind. 

“They had a clear plan of how they were going to target the victims and thought they could get away with it. 

“They’ve shown no remorse and have no idea how much harm and distress they have caused. 

“The CCTV footage reviewed as part of our investigation was harrowing and showed real violence and monstrous treatment of the victims.

“I would like to thank the victims in coming forward and reporting this to police, they have been extremely brave.”

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Asenior Met Police officer convicted of possessing a child abuse video on her phone will appear in court charged with five further offences.

Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for possession of an indecent image in November 2019.

Jurors at the Old Bailey heard that she received a child abuse video from her older sister so the officer could investigate the footage.

But she failed to report the clip, and while the court accepted she had not viewed it, the jury was not convinced she was unaware of it being on her phone.

Supt Williams has now been charged with failing to notify police of information required five times between November 22, 2019 and December 11, 2021.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) claims that she failed to notify police of details of a credit card account, bank account, debit card, and travel outside the UK between December 11 and 19, 2021.

Supt Williams will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 16.

Nick Price, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division at the CPS, said: We have authorised charges against Superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams, 58, for five offences relating to breaches of notification requirements.

The charges follow an investigation by officers at the Metropolitan Polices Central West Command Unit that began in 2022.

The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Supt Williams are active and that she has the right to a fair trial.

It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

Supt Williams was dismissed from the Met after a disciplinary hearing in March 2020 found her conviction amounted to gross misconduct.

However, she was reinstated as a police officer after she appealed against the decision.

Supt Williams was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years as part of her sentencing.

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A landlord who secretly filmed his female lodger in the bath and had thousands of indecent images of children on his phone has been jailed. Oliver Fay, 45, had been subletting one of the rooms in his council flat to the woman for at least three years after she saw it advertised online.

Fay covertly recorded her in intimate circumstances whilst she was sleeping and in the bathroom. Various images showed that on some occasions he had hidden his mobile phone in a small black vanity drawer and the end of the bath.

Fay was caught when the National Crime Agency (NCA) received information that linked him to uploading indecent images of children to the internet. When the police went to Fay’s home address in Bethnal Green, east London, several of his electronic devices were seized from his bedroom and were examined whilst he was in custody.

There was a total of 9,831 indecent images of children, including 1,200 of which were the most serious category. Whilst reviewing his phone officers quickly identified that he had been recording his lodger.

Fay was arrested at the address for voyeurism and indecent images offences. He pleaded guilty in January, and was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for six counts of voyeurism between September 2019 and August last year when he appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.

Fay was also jailed for three counts of making indecent images of children of category A, B and C and received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Category A refers to images involving penetrative sexual activity, while category B are images that involve non-penetrative sexual activity.

Category C includes any other indecent image that does not fall into the other two categories. He will also be required to sign the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.

Sentencing Fay, Judge Caroline English told him: “Anyone involved in such imagery, whether in the production, distribution or simple download is quite literally plummeting into the depths of depravity. Make no mistake, anyone who downloads or views such imagery is complicit in the abuse of those children because you provide and perpetuate a market for such material. You should be thoroughly ashamed.”

Investigating officer PC Lindsey England said: “Oliver Fay used his mobile phone to take images of his lodger over a period of at least three years. This was the grossest violation of her privacy and it cannot be overstated how horrific it must have been to learn that her home had not been the safe place she thought it was.

“I would like to commend her bravery and I hope that she can now begin to find a degree of closure and move forward with her life."

PC England added: “Fay’s sexual interests and predatory behaviour is deeply concerning and he paid no regard to the distress and humiliation that this would cause. I would like to encourage anyone who has concerns that they have been secretly recorded to please contact the Police and they will be supported."

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A SEX attacker broke into a woman's home through an attic before tying her to a chair and trying to rape her at knifepoint.

Karan Pullock, 37, was described as "truly dangerous" individual after attacking the victim at her home in Hackney, London.

Pullock had entered the victim’s flat through an attic on June 30 last year, a court heard.

Once the victim returned home later that day, she noticed the blinds had been drawn and her dog was unusually quiet.

Pullock then emerged from a darkened room armed with a knife and grabbed the woman.

She bravely tried to fight him off, but he overpowered her before holding a knife to her throat.

The sick offender then threatened to kill her as she continued to scream in fear.

Pullock then took the frightened victim into her bedroom, where he tied her to a chair and demanded money.

He began to cut the victim’s clothes off before sexually assaulting her and attempting to rape her.

Shortly after, Pullock called the Met Police and confessed to the incident with cops rushing to the scene to arrest him shortly after.

Pullock, of Hackney, East London, has been jailed for 12 years and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

He pleaded guilty on January 18 to attempted robbery, attempted rape, sexual assault and threats to kill.

The victim said: “There are days where I struggle to get out of bed. Not recognising the person I once was. I wonder what the point is, where I no longer have the confidence to live like I used to.

"To live in a city like London and constantly be in fear feels hopeless.

“I’m a grown woman who is now scared of the dark. I feel embarrassed trying to make plans to see friends, or client meetings and having to work around this.

"In the winter months, it makes this basically impossible."

Detective Sergeant Matthew Cooksey said: “Pullock is a truly dangerous individual who planned a terrifying attack on the victim for no reason other than his own gratification.

"I am glad that he pleaded guilty and spared the victim from having to relive the experience at court.

"He will now spend a significant period behind bars. We are working hard to prevent violence against women and girls and we will continue to remove these dangerous offenders from the streets of London.”

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A sex offender has been jailed after being caught by plain clothes British Transport Police officers assaulting a teenage girl on the London Underground.

Abdulrizak Ali Hersi, 32, and of Invicita Close, Limehouse, was found guilty of sexual assault at Inner London Crown Court on 5 May.

The judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison and a ten year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prevents him from intentionally standing behind or next to any female he doesn’t know in a public place.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.

On 11 October shortly before 5pm, plain clothes officers on patrol on the Piccadilly Line observed Hersi board a train at Green Park and stand near the doors.

At the next stop a family got on the train and moments later Hersi sexually assaulted the 13-year-old daughter. Officers quickly intervened and took Hersi off the train at Leicester Square and arrested him.

Inspector Sharon Turner said: “Our plain clothes teams are specially trained in identifying dangerous sexual offenders like Hersi, who will do their level best to commit such crimes without notice.

“In this case, the victim and her family didn’t even realise what was happening until our officers quickly intervened.

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A man who hid devices at his flat containing over a thousand indecent images of children has been jailed.

Warren David Manners, 45, of Sowerby Close, Eltham was jailed two years and eight months at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday.

He had pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of indecent images of children and three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. 

Manners was already a registered sex offender having been convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

He had been issued with a sexual harm prevention order which prohibited him from being in possession of digital devices or devices that enable access to the internet without notifying a local unit.

On March 22, Met officers executed a search warrant at Manners’ address. 

Manners initially denied owning any phones, tablets, or laptops, but officers found a total of 32 digital devices hidden throughout his flat including a cupboard with multiple locks.

Officers also found hundreds of still photographs of children inside the flat. 

Officers established that 21 of the digital devices seized contained indecent images of children. 

Manners was charged and attended Bromley Magistrates’ Court on March 23. He pleaded guilty at his first hearing and was remanded in custody. 

Met detective James Cronin said: “Manners is by his own admission a paedophile who has repeatedly ignored court orders put in place to help him desist from his criminal behaviour.”