Latest Offenders Manchester

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A perverted pensioner has been jailed for 17 years for his horrific sexual abuse of a young boy and girl more than 30 years ago.

Paedophile Peter Byrne violently raped both his victims on multiple occasions and Judge Andrew Hatton imposed an extended licence period on top of his jail sentence after concluding that the 76-year-old was a dangerous offender.

Former Calderdale man Byrne was first convicted of indecently assaulting girls under 14 back in 1970 when he was 25 and he also admitted further sexual abuse offences in the late 1980s.

In 2016 at the age of 69 Byrne, now of Townsgate Way, Irlam, Manchester, travelled 150 miles to have sex with an eight-year-old girl only to find out he had been talking to an undercover police officer.

Byrne was jailed for 30 months for that offence, but his court case prompted two more of his victims to contact the police and last month he was convicted of a series of serious sexual offences against them dating back to the 1980s and early 1990s.

Byrne was jailed today for offences of rape, buggery and indecent assault and his own barrister David Hall said the pensioner would be a frail old man when he becomes eligible for release after serving two-thirds of his 17-year jail term.

Judge Hatton said the victims impact statements made harrowing reading and by putting them through a trial Byrne had continued abusing them by requiring them to be cross-examined.

Both of them have been significantly impacted by your offending, he told Byrne via a video link to HMP Leeds.

Both of them clearly found the experience of giving evidence in their own ways very difficult.

The court heard that Byrne plied the young girl with alcohol and also recorded some of the abuse using a camera.

He said Byrne had used violence of a gross nature against both complainants, who must not be identified for legal reasons, and they had both suffered a severe psychological impact.

Byrne is already subject to a lifelong notification requirement as a sex offender as a result of his previous crimes.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Lindsay said: I would like to thank the victims for their bravery in coming forward and reporting these matters.

Because of this, Byrne has got the sentence that he deserves. This case shows that, despite the passage of time, people like Peter Byrne can be brought to justice and I would urge anyone who has suffered in a similar way to come forward and to report the matter to us.

We have dedicated safeguarding officers here in Calderdale who are able to support you, will believe you and will take your reports seriously.

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A pervert asked what he believed was a 13-year-old girl to ring him for a sick phone call, but didn't realise he was actually speaking to an undercover cop. Paul Barrett has been jailed for two years after failing to convince a jury that he thought that the account he was speaking to was an adult 'role playing'.

Barrett, who was 40-years-old at the time of the offence, used an online chat room to speak with a profile called 'Sasha' between January and February 2019, Bolton Crown Court heard. Despite the account telling Barrett that she was 13-years-old and in school, he turned the conversation sexual.

In the first conversation, Barrett asked if she liked getting kissed and also asked if she wanted to perform sexual acts on him. The following day he asked the account questions about her school uniform and detailed sexual acts that he wanted to perform on her.

Sickeningly, Barrett then sent a message with his phone number and asked if he could speak with the girl directly so he could 'hear her orgasm'. The undercover police officer operating the account rang the number twice but Barrett did not answer.

Barrett, of Nearcroft Road, Wythenshawe, was arrested in March 2019 but denied the offences in interview and subsequently pleaded not guilty to a string of crimes under the Sexual Offences Act. Following a trial, a jury found him guilty of sexual communication and three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Defence barrister Helen Longworth told the court that Barrett has a 'supportive' family, including a partner and two step sons. She said that at the time of the offence, he was going through 'family difficulties' and 'stress' at work.

Ms Longworth also said that Barrett, now 43, has no previous convictions and cited the long delay between the arrest and case going to trial. She added: "Imprisonment will affect him but also have a significant impact on his family who clearly rely upon him."

Judge Tom Gilbart jailed Barrett for two years. He said: "I find it utterly mind boggling to consider how a father could act in this way to a person he thought was a 13-year-old child."

"These were extremely serious offences in which you sought to engage a child in sexual activity of the most serious kind. It was predatory behaviour by you."

Barrett will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next 10 years. He will also have to sign the Sex Offender Register for the same length of time.

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A man who blackmailed a girl after he groomed her into sending him naked selfies during an abuse ordeal has been jailed. Retired tool maker Barry Doyle, 71, warned the vulnerable child he would share the pictures with others unless she submitted to further sexual demands - telling her: ''You have to behave.''

Doyle, from Stretford, had become obsessed with the girl and would take her out on trips in his car without her parents knowing. He also took her on shopping errands to the Trafford Centre, a court heard.

Greater Manchester Police arrested Doyle after discovering he had given her six mobile phones and on occasions used them to film himself molesting her. Officers seized a sex doll from his property plus a bag containing pairs of young girl's underwear.

It emerged he had a previous conviction from 1981 for indecent assault after he gave another girl money to strip before he attacked her. His latest victim was said to be 'extremely reluctant' to disclose details of her ordeal and was left suffering from severe bouts of embarrassment and anxiety.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Doyle admitted 14 charges including sexual assault; inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; child abduction; and making and possessing indecent images. Following his release from jail, he will be on licence until 2032 under the terms of an extended sentence after the judge branded him a 'dangerous offender'.

David Bentley, prosecuting, said: ''He engaged in grooming behaviour towards her. He gave her mobile phones to entice her into having communications with him and he controlled her behaviour.

"She was given six phones and he would send messages some of which were affectionate and loving, such as addressing her as 'babe'. He said he loved her and he asked what colour knickers she wore.

''Her use of the phones was not unconditional. If the defendant suggested doing something to which she didn't acquiesce he would inform her that she had to return the phone to him. Arrangements would be made for her to return the phone back to him but he would then give it back to her and this happened on many occasions.''

The offences emerged after one of the victim's friends told her parents she was frequently being driven around in Doyle's car. The victim's father then saw his daughter in the car with Doyle and challenged him about what he was doing.

She was said to be anxious and crying and police were informed. It emerged Doyle would often call the girl to pick her up in his car and once collected her from school. Three pairs of girls' knickers were found in his vehicle.

Officers later seized various phones and inquiries found Doyle had told the girl to repeatedly pose naked for him during online chats.

Mr Bentley added: ''She said she sent pictures of herself to him at his instigation and she said she replied to him about 20 times. Specific naked poses were found on four devices. She said she was doing these poses for the defendant.

''She also disclosed that he threatened to show the pictures to others if she didn't behave. She suffered embarrassment and anxiety and what happened caused to her lose concentration during lessons at school although she has improved since his arrest.''

Doyle later denied wrongdoing in police interview and falsely tried to claim some of the images were of the sex doll.

In mitigation, defence counsel David Toal said: ''He will never involve himself in this kind of behaviour again. He recognises what he has done.''

Doyle was also made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register. He was banned from contacting the girl under the terms of a restraining order.

Jailing Doyle for jailed for seven and a half years, Judge Tina Landale told him: ''You took advantage of social ties to exploit a vulnerable girl and took multiple opportunities to be alone with her. You groomed her and you got what you wanted from her using gifts or with punishment by taking those gifts back.

''What you wanted was sexual contact and sexual pictures and movies of her. You took her out in your car... and repeatedly caused her to pose naked for photos.

''You used those photographs to blackmail her in addition to using these images for your own depraved enjoyment. If she didn't behave as you wanted, you threatened to show the pictures to others.

''A report says you pose a high risk of causing serious harm to children and I have reached the conclusion you are a dangerous offender. You committed these offences persistently and there is a pattern of sexual offending spanning several months.

''You have a clearly developed sexual interest in children - you have little genuine empathy, regret or insight into what you did.''

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A convicted paedophile is back behind bars after he was caught engaging in online chats about child abuse weeks after his release from jail. Brett Harriss, 28, had been locked up for 27 months after he ignored a court order and used an Xbox to trawl the internet for child pornography.

After serving a year of his sentence, the former McDonald's worker moved into a hostel. But just three months later, he was found in the illegal possession of a phone and tablet whilst he used to secretly communicate with other paedophiles.

It emerged he had used the devices to download more squalid material over a period of six weeks and to communicate on forums with what he called 'like minded individuals' via the encrypted social media app Telegram.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Harriss, from Bredbury, Stockport, who appeared via video link from Berwyn jail in Wrexham, North Wales, was sent back to jail for another 30 months after he admitted five charges of breaching the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and making an indecent image of a child.

He admitted a sexual attraction towards children but blamed his behaviour on him being 'entirely isolated' due to being disowned by his adoptive parents. Harriss had originally been locked up in 2017 for 32 months and was barred from using the internet after he distributed child pornography to other online predators.

He was released in 2019 but he was arrested again that December after he secretly acquired the games console to go online and trawl for more squalid images of youngsters - some aged as young as two.

Police carrying out a routine check on Harriss discovered he had stored a library of 981 sick images on an iPad and filed them in folders labelled 'rape', 'younger', 'dad and daughter' and 'sibling'.

The latest offences were discovered last year when Harriss was released in January 2021 and he moved into a hostel. Police had already carried out a series of routine inspections in which he insisted he had no electronic devices to use the internet.

But the truth emerged on April 29 last year when officers searched his room during an unannounced visit. Prosecutor Miss Sophie Kenny said: ''He produced a Huawei tablet device and when asked if he had any other devices produced an internet enabled Alcatel mobile phone.

''He told officers there were Japanese style cartoons of child sex abuse and other indecent images on the tablet. He said he had been using the Telegram app to speak to what he called 'like minded individuals' who would forward him onto forums where he could discuss child sex abuse.

''Both items were seized and sent for investigation. The tablet was found to have Google auto fill records with entries including 'club paedo', 'prison bus paedo' and 'extreme pead' which had been searched over the previous two months.

''Two images were also found which were judged to be a female aged between nine and 12 and the tablet was found to have a cloud storage account and an encrypted SD card was recovered.

''Harriss was interviewed and made full admissions saying the pictures had been downloaded using the Telegram app and said he was sexually attracted to children. These were very deliberate and serious breaches of the Sexual Harm Prevention Order. There was an obvious persistence in his behaviour.''

In mitigation, defence barrister, Miss Kay Driver, said her client had previously enrolled on a 'Horizon' programme for convicted sex offenders but said it was 'not effective'.

She added: ''He is motivated to address his offending behaviour and to lead a lawful life - he does not want to be in the position he finds himself in now. He was fostered at a very young age, his biological father having died in 1995. His mother died when he was 19.

''Since the 2017 offences both his adoptive parents have disowned him and he is found himself entirely isolated. He has resorted to his offending behaviour online to look for company. He wants out of that situation.''

Sentencing, the judge Mr Recorder Ciaran Rankin told Harriss: "Your rather disrupted youth and background give you no excuse whatsoever for the behaviour you undertook. You have described yourself as an idiot but much stronger words to describe you could be employed. This is repeat offending.''

Harriss will also be made subject to a new Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will sign the Sex Offender Register for an indefinite period. He can only use an electronic device to access the internet if it has 'risk management software' installed and managed by police.

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This is the controlling rapist who held a woman hostage for weeks and tortured her with needles. Neil Cauchi is starting a 19 year jail sentence for the horrific crimes he committed against the woman.

Over the course of nearly two months she was falsely imprisoned in a house in Salford, where he raped her and subjected her to cruel and terrifying attacks. After an argument, Cauchi, 33, tied her to a bed before he began slapping, punching and hitting her legs with a 'heavy object'. She had been tied up so long that her hands turned purple.

Knowing she had a phobia of needles, he also jabbed her legs with hypodermic needles which he had used to administer steroids. At one point he threatened to stick a needle in her eye.

While she was falsely imprisoned, Cauchi raped and sexually assaulted her. She was no longer tied up but was too scared to leave the house in Eccles due to threats he made.

The woman was eventually rescued from her ordeal. Cauchi, of no fixed address, was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of false imprisonment, one count of causing actual bodily harm and one count of sexual assault after a trial.

The judge said Cauchi had 'effectively tortured' his victim with the needles, and he had 'held her hostage' for weeks. He admitted witness intimidation in relation to another woman, who had accused him of 'abuse'.

Cauchi bombarded the woman with up to 200 calls a day over a seven day period telling her to retract her statement, which she later did. At his sentencing hearing Cauchi read a letter to the court, saying he was 'deeply sorry' and 'ashamed' of his behaviour.

"I am disgusted with myself," he said. "May God help me find peace." His barrister said Cauchi is now a 'quite different person' now after becoming clean of drugs.

Cauchi will serve two-thirds of his 19 year sentence in prison.

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A TAMESIDE pensioner looks set to spend the rest of his life in prison after a campaign of sexual offences lasting 32 years.

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An "obsessed" paedophile who forced his victims to eat raw meat from pigs' heads has been released from prison. Colin Cooper was jailed for 18 years in July 2011 but is free after serving just over ten years. Today the father of one of his victims said: "When I had the phone call from the Probation Board I wanted to scream. My daughter is safe, but there are other children out there who are not. In my opinion he should never be released."

Cooper, who is now 72, - formerly known, as Alan Makinson - would force his victims to eat raw meat from pigs' heads when they tried to avoid his clutches. Manchester Crown Court heard his homes in Hattersley and Wythenshawe were a "magnet for children' - who is was 'utterly obsessed' with molesting in bizarre ways.

Youngsters with learning difficulties were lured into playing in his garden and plied with treats before being forced perform sex acts on with each other and him. He tried to buy their silence with trinkets and small amounts of cash. When they attempted to escape he would lock them in rooms, block their way with his pet Alsatians, and make them eat the meat he fed them as punishment.

Cooper, of Sylvester Close, Hattersley, was jailed for 18 years at Manchester Crown Court in 2011 after being found guilty of abusing eight youngsters between 1984 and 2002, at addresses in Wythenshawe and Tameside, at an earlier trial. He had been jailed for just three years in 1986 after admitting a string of child sex crimes, including rape. He changed his name, moved address, and continued to prey on vulnerable youngsters.

The father of the victim, who was one of the eight youngsters he abused between 1984 and 2002, said: "In a way she has suffered far more than him over the last ten years. She has had four years of therapy, and has had mental health issues which has led to dropping out of school, self harming, trying to take her own life and becoming homeless for a while. She had to give evidence at the trial by video."

"I did ask the Probation Board for Cooper's new name and address but they would not give it me. There words were 'he has rights and we have to protect him'. I am not the kind of person who would be a vigilante, I just want to protect my daughter. Her first words when she knew he was out were 'he will do it again'.

"My daughter is surviving, but it is a slow process. She is scared to go out at the moment, now that he has been released. He is a serial offender and should not be out."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed today that Cooper had been released under licence.

At court in 2011, Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing how his victims 'were plagued by flashbacks, had battled feelings of depression and guilt, struggled to trust others, and had their chances spoilt by disrupted education. One told police, 'my life has been miserable., while another said, he has wrecked my life.

Cooper was arrested in March 2009 after a man, in his thirties, told police how he had abused 25 years earlier, and the police investigation unearthed the other victims, who had been suffering in silence. After his sentencing Detective Constable Grace Hulse, of the South Manchester Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "It is only down to the bravery of his victims that we are able to put this man where he belongs behind bars. I believe today's sentence demonstrates that we take allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and will investigate thoroughly, no matter how long ago the offences occurred."

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A transgender father of two awaiting gender reassignment surgery has been jailed in a male prison for three years after being exposed as a paedophile.

Britnee Aitken, 47, will have her treatment delayed after two girls said she molested them ten years ago when she identified as a truck recovery driver called Marcus.

One of the victims, then six, said she targeted them under the guise of offering to play board games.

They said she poked her genitals through a letter box when they knocked at the front door.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Aitken appeared in the dock wearing a low cut woman's blouse and sporting makeup and long red hair.

She was referred to as 'she' and 'her' during the hearing that saw her convicted of three charges of sexual assault and one of exposure.

She was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life. She denied any wrongdoing. The Ministry of Justice told MailOnline she will go to a men's prison.

The sexual offences occurred after Aitken, from Rochdale, went public about a bizarre legal battle over a 30 fine imposed by police in 2008 for playing her Riverdance CD too loudly inside her car.

Identifying at the time as Marcus she had refused to pay the fine, and in the months after she was pestered by demand letters and received six visits from bailiffs to her home and the debt eventually rose to 270 because of administration costs.

She said the bailiffs demanded entry at 7.30am and shouted threats through the letterbox while she was inside with her then girlfriend and their two sons.

In 2008 a judge quashed the fine on appeal. The court heard the offences against the girls occurred between July and September 2012 when they visited his home.

Mr Ben Berkson prosecuting said: 'The defendant was then known as Marcus Aitken and the girls were five or six years old at the time.'

In a statement one of the victims said: 'I suffer flashbacks due to the abuse and I get angry when I contemplate and think about what this person did to me.

'What happened has affected my ability to form and maintain relationships with friends and family and the abuse has caused me to struggle with anxiety and anger management. I am concerned about these things will impact my life going forward.'

itken who was charged in 2020 had no previous convictions but had accepted a caution in 2012 for having an illicit 'upskirt' video of another little girl aged seven.

In mitigation defence counsel Adam Roxborough said: 'These offences occurred over a short period ten years ago and there is no suggestion of any repeat offending since.

'During that time Miss Aitken has maintained a good work ethic as a recovery truck driver and led a decent life.

'She has fragile mental health and given her sexuality, she has suffered abuse on a regular basis. It is for her a daily issue.

'That, she hopes, would come to an end to an extent when she is able to have gender reassignment surgery and her plans for that were moving ahead for this year. Of course any custodial sentence would put that progress back considerably.

'She has to be punished but the question is whether that punishment should effectively cause such damage to her notwithstanding the damage she has caused to others.

'She still does not recognised her guilt but a sentence of imprisonment could be suspended. It must be a difficult life for her to lead at the moment..'

Sentencing Judge John Edwards told Aitken: 'I bear in mind the difficulties you may encounter in a custodial environment but this offending was sustained, predatory and very distressing for these girls.

'It has had a significant emotional impact on one of them, she being vulnerable and impressionable courtesy of her age.

'You presented as an almost avuncular figure, happy on the surface to indulge those children with games, when your true motives were more sinister.

'You crossed a very clear boundary in order to indulge your attractions. Your caution plainly displays an interest in young children.'

Aitken was also ordered to abide by a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will bar her from 'loitering' near schools or children's play areas.

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A man who groomed a teenage girl by plying her with alcohol has been jailed. Jordan Robinson, 21, met the girl at the park before he began inviting her and her friends back to a flat in Manchester.

He plied them with alcohol, namely vodka, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. The girl, 13, then began visiting the flat alone where Robinson continued giving her alcohol with the intent to commit a sexual offence.

Following a trial, he was found guilty of being an adult meeting a child following grooming, and was acquitted of an offence of rape and supplying cannabis. On Thursday (March 17) he was jailed for two years.

The court heard that the girl was having problems at home when she met Robinson, then 19, in the park. He befriended her and the group she was with and invited them back to a flat in Manchester, which he had essentially moved into in Autumn 2019.

The flat operated as a free house for the children in that it gave them a space to congregate away from parental eyes and to drink alcohol, prosecutor Jon Close said. The victim drank vodka that was provided by the defendant and was attending the address 2-3 times per week initially with her other friends, but then, at his invitation, she began to visit alone again 2-3 times per week.

Robinson continued providing her with alcohol to the extent that she needed a period of hours to sober up before she went home due to her being in a heavy state of intoxication. By virtue of the jurys verdict, Robinson intended to commit a sexual offence.

During the trial, jurors heard evidence of a friend finding the girl intoxicated or having consumed cannabis, in Robinsons company and in a state of undress. In a victim personal statement, the girl said that her life had been ruined and everything had been taken from her'. She said she was shaken up and said that her childhood had been taken away from her.

Robinson was said to have no previous convictions. Mitigating, Mark Fireman said that although his client was 19, he was a young 19 and had problems of his own. He perhaps wasnt behaving in a manner a 19-year-old would behave, he said.

He was diagnosed with ADHD, and is somebody with particular difficulties. He chose to spend lots of his time with people younger than himself. Mr Fireman added that his client started drinking alcohol and was perhaps not used to it.

Sentencing, Recorder Michael Hayton QC said: You chose to associate with them, on the conviction of the jury, for the purpose that it was for some sexual gratification of some sort in the future. Whatever rights and wrongs, your behaviour had an enormous impact on a young girl.

It is very clear she will be scarred by your actions for many years to come, perhaps throughout her life. What you were doing with these young girls was attempting to engage in sexual gratification in the future.

Having heard your evidence, it is quite clear you are capable of manipulating the facts and circumstances. You suggested you were offering friendship and care to those who came to the flat in their early teens, who were plied with drink by you. I feel I am not able to do anything other than impose a sentence of immediate imprisonment.

Robinson, of Haddon Green, was jailed for two years, made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

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A man has today been jailed for more than 20 years for the sadistic and vile rape of a vulnerable woman in her own home.

Brian Brough, 35 of no fixed abode, sexually assaulted the 60 year-old woman in Little Hulton in March last year after knocking on her door, and asking to use her toilet, claiming to be a neighbours relative.

Once in the house, Brough then asked his victim if she wanted to pay for sex with him and, when she said no, punched her in the face, dragged her into the bedroom and raped her.

Detective Constable Leanne Jackson of GMP's Salford district, said: "This was a horrific and sustained physical and sexual assault on a vulnerable woman and no one should ever be made to feel unsafe or at risk in their own home.

Police investigated and Brough was arrested two days later and was subsequently charged with multiple counts of rape.

He did not accept responsibility but was brought to court and eventually found guilty of rape.

On Wednesday he was sentenced to 22 years in prison at Minshull Street Crown Court.

DC Jackson said: "Throughout interview and the trial Brough would not accept any responsibility for his sadistic and vile actions, forcing his victim to go through the horrendous ordeal in court.

He did not even have the decency to attend his trial and face up to his actions and instead refused to come out of his prison cell with the trial having to be heard in his absence.

His lack of remorse perfectly sums up who he is as a human being and thankfully we've now been able to remove him from the streets for 22 years and stop him causing any further harm to anymore women.

DC Jackson paid tribute to the victims courage as well as the quick actions of her neighbours in getting her to hospital.

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Now goes by Kane Hutchison

Mason Maxwell was required to inform officers of any foreign travel due to a previous conviction relating to a child abuse offence

A man has been jailed after being found guilty of failing to comply with foreign travel notification requirements. Mason Maxwell, 32, of HMP Forest Bank, was found guilty yesterday at Manchester Crown Court.

The court heard how the requirements had been imposed on Maxwell following a previous conviction of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in March 2015. Maxwell was charged with four counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements - which inform officers of any foreign travel - between September and December last year.

He was arrested on Clowes Street in Salford on January 6 in relation to the breaches. He was also sentenced for breach of a suspended sentence order which was investigated by West Yorkshire Police. Maxwell was jailed for one year and four months.

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: Mason Maxwell (16/07/1989), of HMP Forest Bank, was yesterday (Wednesday 16 March) jailed at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court after being found guilty of failing to comply with notification requirements. Maxwell was sentenced to one year and four months imprisonment.

On Thursday 6 January 2022 Maxwell was arrested at Clowes Street, Salford and subsequently charged with four counts of failing to comply with notification requirements relating to failure to comply with foreign travel notifications.

The offences relate to incidents on 3 September 2021, 24 September 2021, 4 November 2021 and 1 December 2021 where Maxwell failed to register his intended foreign travel seven days ahead of departing the UK. Maxwell is required to notify intended foreign travel as part of conditions following his conviction of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity on in March 2015.

"He was also sentenced for breach of a suspended sentence order which was investigated by West Yorkshire Police.

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An ex-firefighter has avoided jail after downloading over a MILLION indecent images of children he even admitted to police he had been doing it since 1998.

Bill Platt, 59, was found to be in possession of an enormous amount of the vile pictures and videos of children, aged from babies up to 16-years-old.

Police had gleaned information that Platt, of Worsley, was downloading indecent images of children, and conducted a search at his house on June 24 2019. He was arrested and handed over the PIN codes to his various devices, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He was asked about his computer and he said: Im downloading indecent images of children, and said it had been going on since 1998 and said he was relieved, prosecutor Roger Brown said.

They confiscated 24 devices. There are so many images its been impossible to say which ones have images on.

There were examinations of the devices, the total number of category A images was 15,690, the total number of category B images was 15,753 and the total number of category C images was 837,729.

Category A images are said to be the worst type of indecent images, of which there were 1,024 videos. It was said that the police reviewed over 25 million images from the devices.

A total of 11 million images were identified, and another million were not checked. In total there were 12 million images, which was the biggest number Mr Brown said he had ever come across.

In his police interview, Platt spoke about the ages of the children in the images depicted to be aged from babies to children aged 16. One video was 21 minutes long.

He had also taken some non-sexual images of children getting onto a bus, which the prosecutor said was a worrying change of tactic. Officers also found 976 .22 bullets in a box in Platts house. He had previously had a gun licence, but gave this up and had left the ammunition in the house.

Platt was said to be a man of previous good character. Mitigating, Nicholas Hammond said that his client had retired as a firefighter before setting up a business as a photographer.

The defendant had the good sense to plead guilty at the first opportunity before the lower court, he said.

The majority of his working life he had contributed well to society. He worked to the benefit of the public and had an exemplary record. He contributed well and assisted the public, often putting his own life in jeopardy.

Since his arrest he has addressed his behaviour to some extent by availing himself of Safer Lives. He has gone to seek help to address his behaviour. This has been hanging over him for a three year period.

He added that Platt previously held a gun licence, but didnt renew it and the ammunition was left in his house.

Sentencing, Recorder Alex Leach QC said there was an enormous number of images that were found.

This was a substantial collection of sickening images depicting the rape and sexual abuse of children, he said.

I am told you have been tackling the root of your offending, that your partner stands by you and the probation service feel they can assist you and that you are a good candidate for rehabilitation.

I have received a letter from Safer Lives and the probation service who say you do pose a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. A short custodial sentence would not accomplish these aims.

Platt, of Gambleside Close, was handed 20 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years, 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 200 hours of unpaid work. He earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images.

He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years which includes terms that will ban his from using the internet without informing the police and ban him from downloading any software which hides his internet history. He must also sign the notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

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A monster raped a girl multiple times over nine months and recorded it on his phone to 'degrade and humiliate' her. Danny Harper, 31, sexually abused the girl and told her it was their little secret in order to stop her from reporting it.

Harper, of Wythenshawe, pleaded guilty to three offences of rape, two offences of sexual assault and one offence of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. Yesterday (March 15) he was jailed for 12 years and 10 months.

The court heard that Harper began abusing the girl in early 2020. He went on to take pictures of her genitals, prosecutor Brian Berlyne said.

She noticed him taking photos of her. She suffered pain as a result of the abuse. He told her it was their little secret. She felt unable to talk to anyone about the abuse.

Harpers offending only came to light following his conversations with a fake profile of a 10-year-old girl that was being run by a paedophile hunter group. He added her as a friend on Facebook and messaged her telling her that she was cute on September 3 last year. He asked about her age and she told him she was 10. He then asked what colour underwear she was wearing.

On September 18 he told the profile he could show her naughty things and teach her about sex. Harper then asked her to send a picture of her genitals and of her in her underwear.

Separately, his young victim courageously told her mum of Harpers abuse. She was medically examined and found to have injuries. Harper was arrested and his phone was seized and examined, of which officers found 45 indecent images of the girl, 15 of which showed him sexually abusing her, it was said.

In a police interview he said that he was a monster and that he never wore protection. He also said he messaged the profile because he was lonely. In a victim impact statement, the girls grandmother said that she was a happy, little soul and a very thoughtful child, but said when she told the police what happened she was physically sick.

She thought she was in trouble and we had to explain to her that she was not. She told me that man has ruined my life. This hit me hard. [Harper] has ruined all of our lives. He is a clever man who knew full well the consequences of his actions.

Harper was said to have one set of previous convictions which were unrelated.

There was genuine remorse and a desire not to subject her to any further suffering. He described himself as a monster in his interview, barrister Rachel White said, defending. He has learning difficulties, he was diagnosed with the autism spectrum disorder and he was diagnosed with ADHD. This began as opportunistic and the defendant became persistent in his conduct.

He wants to begin a new life and not offend again.

Sentencing, Judge John Potter said: Of these six counts to which you have pleaded guilty in these proceedings, represents the sustained and most dreadful sexual abuse of a child. Not using a condom and ejaculation are significant aggravating features of this offending, as is the clear grotesque evidence that you filmed those acts of abuse on your mobile phone. When after your arrest, your phone and seized and examined and it contained evidence of you degrading and humiliating her by filming the sexual abuse that took place.

This is depraved offending.

Harper was jailed for 12 years and 8 months, made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely and must sign onto the Sex Offender Register indefinitely.

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Benjamin Behan, 25, has been jailed after being caught out by paedophile hunters

A pervert chef admitted to his family he had 'done it again' after being caught out by paedophile hunters.

Benjamin Behan, 25, had been ordered to undergo the Horizon scheme, which aims to rehabilitate sex offenders and change their warped outlook, after being found with vile images of children.

But Behan, from Wythenshawe said it was a 'load of cr**'. He claimed that sessions being moved online during the pandemic made them more difficult for him to follow.

"He didn't engage with it as best he could have done," Behan's barrister Mark Shanks told Manchester Crown Court.

"Because of his autism he deals much better face to face, he found it much more difficult to absorb it."

Despite attempts to help him reform, Behan has now been locked up after he once again displayed a sexual interest in children. He was exposed by paedophile hunters, with a decoy account being set up in the name of a 14-year-old girl.

Behan told her he was a head chef at a pub, and the pair had some 'innocuous' chat about coronavirus before he turned the conversation sexual. He suggested that they could go to a hotel room, and asked whether she wanted to be naked in bed with him, prosecutor Amanda Johnson said.

Behan asked the 'girl' how long it would take her to get undressed, during online conversations over a two day period. Members of the paedophile hunter group went to confront Behan at his home, and his stepfather answered the door.

"Yes, I've done it again," Behan admitted to his stepfather.

In interview with the police, Behan accepted having sexual chats but said the idea of meeting up in a hotel room was 'pure fantasy'. Mr Shanks said prison has had a 'significant effect' on Behan, who has been locked up on remand.

"He has not been to prison before, he is absolutely certain he will not be going back to prison," the barrister said.

Behan, of Inglesham Close, Wythenshawe, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

"Your behaviour, I'm afraid, has demonstrated that you will not comply. You described the Horizon programme as a 'load of cr**', so custody must follow," sentencing Judge Anthony Cross QC said, before jailing Behan for 16 months.

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A paedophile who groomed a vulnerable teenage girl from Warrington over several months has been jailed for 12 years.

Michael Smith was convicted of causing and inciting a teenage girl to engage in sexual activity following a five-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The 49-year-old, of Cheetham Fold Road, Hyde, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday 28th February where the judge sentenced him to 12-years in prison after describing him as a danger to the public.

During the hearing, the court heard how Smith had groomed the teenager over a number of months before arranging to collect her from an address in Warrington on Tuesday 2 February 2021.

He then drove the girl back to his flat in Hyde where he sexually assaulted her.

The victim was located at around 5.30am the following day after she contacted police.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Stephen Martin, who led the investigation, said: Smith knew the victim was underage and he knew that she was vulnerable.

In spite of this, he purposefully chose to take advantage of her, grooming the girl over a number of months and convincing her that she was in love with him.

After gaining her trust, he then collected her from her home in Warrington and took her to his flat Hyde where he sexually assaulted her.

Thankfully, as a result of the evidence provided by the victim and the evidence gathered during our investigation, Smith is now facing a significant prison sentence and is no longer a danger to the general public.

On top of his custodial sentence, Smith was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

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A dangerous, violent rapist who 'degraded' his victim and forced her to have sex with others in a horrific campaign of abuse has been jailed for 18 years.

Philip Daly's sickening abuse against his victim included forcing her to have sex with himself and another man while she was blindfolded and bound. He also beat her following horrific bouts of rage and cut her communication from her family and friends, and stole her money.

His victim says her life 'is a constant black cloud' and that she would never get over what Daly did to her.

"He cannot be helped. He is not remorseful for his actions," she said.

"I will never really get over this ordeal and in time, somebody else is likely to be hurt by him."

Sickening abuse

Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Daly, 42, carried out the sickening physical, mental and sexual abuse over a number of years. He isolated her from her family and friends, smashing her phone and ripping up her passport, and stopped her from spending money by taking her cards away.

He also beat her a number of times, throwing her against a chest of drawers and attacking her with a walking stick when she refused to send him money. He even helped to set up a cash for crash and made her make a personal injury claim so he could take the money from her.

As details of his abuse was laid bare, the court also heard of harrowing instances in which he raped her alongside friends, which she felt she could not refuse for fear of further beatings. On one occasion, the court was told that Daly had bound her hands and blindfolded her before forcing her to have intercourse with himself and another man.

The woman was left fearing for her life and she was transformed from a 'bright and bubbly' woman to one who lost weight and began suffering from seizures and nightmares, the court heard.

'He degraded her'

Prosecuting, Ms Vanessa Thomson said: "He belittled her, he controlled her movements and he took her financial independence from her. More significantly, there were regular bouts of violence towards her, to the point where she would seek immediate help from those closest to her.

"Daly not only abused her with his fists and his feet but he would degrade and humiliate her sexually by forcing her to engage in sexual activity with his friends. The force used was mental rather than physical on these occasions. But she knew that to not do as she was told would result in a further beating."

He also stopped her from going to the police, the court heard, and made her lie about where she had received the bruises from.

In a powerful victim impact statement, read out in court, the woman said she 'lives in fear' of Daly and that he had destroyed a part of her life.

"I always feel like I need to look over my shoulder," she said.

"He cannot be helped. He is not remorseful for his actions. I will never really get over this ordeal and in time, somebody else is likely to be hurt by him.

"My life is a constant black cloud and I am not sure how I continue to go forward without these thoughts in my mind. I regularly have nightmares about the traumatic events that he put me through, upon waking up from these nightmares I'm in a state of panic and a sense of having to be on high alert in case he's there".

Daly was found guilty of all 16 offences at trial in October 2021, namely eight counts of actual bodily harm, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour, two counts of rape and five counts of cause/incite to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Clarke QC cited that a psychiatric report during his time in custody showed that Daly had no understanding to the extent he had harmed the victim.

He said: At trial you claimed you were not guilty, and a report shows you appear not to understand what has happened, or to the extent that you have harmed the victim. You took total control over her life which enabled you to commit the serious offences for which you have been convicted.

This was a campaign over many years of violence, control and rape, against an extremely vulnerable woman. I hope in due course she can start to move on from this, but it will take many years before she can even start to make anything like a recovery from these awful events.

'He is a dangerous and very manipulative man'

Mr William Staunton, defending, submitted a letter from Daly to the judge, in which he claimed Daly was trying to express his remorse and that he had attended anger management courses.

He added: This is a man who has never been to prison before and understands that a custodial sentence is inevitable. He expresses his remorse to her and realises he has caused the victim pain, hurt and suffering. He fully regrets his actions and accepts it was all his doing and responsibility. This is a man who is capable of change he is in a fit and clear state of mind, given what appear to already be positive steps to prove himself."

Daly, of Trafford, was handed an 18 year custodial sentence, however, for which he must serve 12 before being eligible for parole. He will also spend a further five on license.

Detective Constable Charlotte Morgan, of GMPs Complex Safeguarding Hub, said,: "Daly's sustained and deplorable campaign of domestic abuse, left the victim feeling like her life would never be the same again with nowhere to turn to. He is clearly a dangerous and very manipulative man and I am pleased that he is facing justice for what he has done. I would very much like to thank the victim for her bravery and cooperation throughout this investigation.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who is suffering abuse to please get in touch with the police or another support service. You may feel like you can't escape but we can help you to make a fresh start, there are lots of wonderful local services who can help with living arrangements, finances and counselling so please dont suffer any longer."

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I have panic attacks in public as I feel like I am being followed by my abuser. I feel like he wont let me move on"

A rapist who groomed a 15-year-old girl, took her to the cinema and attacked her in a hotel has been jailed for over nine years.

Jordan Lanzon, 26, befriended the girl on social media after making numerous accounts to contact her.

He claimed he was 17 when he was actually 23.

The pair met in November 2019 in Manchester city centre where they went to the cinema.

The following month they met again and Lanzon told the teen that he had booked them a hotel room to escape the cold.

It was there that he raped her, a court previously heard.

They continued to communicate, with Lanzon repeatedly booking hotel rooms for them and inviting her to join him.

She reported feeling scared and forced into having sex with him on multiple occasions.

He also asked her to perform sexual acts over video calls and via texts, it was said.

Following a trial in January this year, Lanzon, of Whalley Range, was found guilty of offences of rape, and had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child, and causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity as well as an unrelated assault.

Today (March 4) he was jailed for nine-and-a-half years at Minshull Street Crown Court.

In an emotional victim personal statement, the girl said: I was so scared when I started to talk about what happened to me. I self harmed to release my emotions and I struggled to sleep.

I sleep with my light on and my door open. Im worried he will come and get me.

I have panic attacks in public as I feel like I am being followed by my abuser.

Since I have spoken out, he has attempted to contact me on social media. I feel like he wont let me move on.

My family has supported me throughout the trial, but I feel guilty when they feel sad or worried about me.

I should be enjoying my life, college and my friends. I want the court to know just how much life has changed for me and my family.

I dont feel safe as a direct result of the harm this man has caused me.

In a further statement she said she has nightmares, has struggled eating and sleeping and cant imagine leaving her parents' side as thats the only place she feels safe.

I have gone from a happy, normal girl to speaking to the police and going to court, she said.

Her mother said in a statement: I have never suffered from depression or anxiety, but since this my anxiety has been high, there have been sleepless nights and I have felt distressed.

I have had to watch my daughter go through the court process and have been there to support her, but it has been difficult. I hate seeing her upset.

She has changed since this happened.

The court heard Lanzon had exploited and groomed the girl, and she was vulnerable as he had taken her to a hotel room to isolate her where she was unable to call for help.

The incident was reported to police in April 2020 and Lanzon was arrested. During his police interview he denied knowing the victim.

However, further evidence from his mobile phone confirmed the pair's relationship and he later admitted to being in contact with her.

Separate offence

The court heard of a separate incident in which Lanzon had gone round to a couples home in June 2018, wherein he asked them for a cigarette.

They refused and he barged his way into their home before attacking the couple with a knife which he produced from the waistband of his jogging bottoms.

The male victim was left with a one inch cut to his eyelid with required suturing.

Lanzon was said to have four previous convictions for four offences.

He maintains his position which he had through the trial, that this was a consensual sexual relationship - albeit with a child under the age of consent, Rachel Shenton, defending, said.

He was taking prescription drugs and cannabis - he was leading a lifestyle that didnt give him any credit for his own problems.

Lanzon, of Stanley Road, Whalley Range, was jailed for nine and a half years.

"He left the victim feeling intimated and scared on multiple occasions"

Detective Constable Hannah Rudd said: "Lanzon is a sexual predator that used a vulnerable young woman to satisfy his own sexual desires.

"He left the victim feeling intimated and scared on multiple occasions and forced her into performing sexual acts over the phone and in person.

"Sadly, we can't take away the impact that Lanzon's actions will have on the victim and her family's life. However, I want to thank the victim and her family for their unwavering cooperation and I hope that today's sentence acts as some form of justice and help bring some form of closure.

"This kind of offending and abuse is horrendous and I hope today's sentence also sends a stark warning to those who feel that they can commit these offences - from in person or behind a computer screen - that we will do all in our power to seek prosecution.

"I would encourage anyone affected by this case to contact police, or our partners, to report any abuse or exploitation so that the relevant authorities can act on it."

Councillor Garry Bridges, Executive Member for Children's Services for Manchester City Council, said: "This was a sickening crime and our hearts go out to the young woman, a child at the time of the offence, who was attacked. We have supported her throughout this process and will continue to do so.

"This conviction is an illustration of how Greater Manchester Police and the Council are working closely together to identify and tackle child sexual exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice."

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A LAW student from Bury travelled to Birmingham with the aim of meeting a 13-year-old boy he had been grooming only to discover police were already at the address.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard Ashley Brooks had already been given a warning by the police about his conduct but tried to meet the teenager in January this year.

Judge Mark Savill, learning of his conduct, said it was the most extraordinary of events I have encountered.

The court heard the 25-year-old had been communicating with his victim since July 2020 after meeting on a Playstation network. He lied about his age initially and then threatened to harm himself if the teen blocked him.

But last October he was visited by police after officers in Northern Ireland had become concerned about his contact with another teen.

Officers visited his home on Holly Street, Tottington, and he was released on bail.

But last January, on the day officers visited the home of the teen in Birmingham he had been in contact with, he went to meet him and had a hotel room booked.

When he phoned the 13-year-old police answered and he asked officers if he could say goodbye.

Brooks went on to visit the home after officers had left to apologise before handing himself in at Bury Police Station a short time later.

He appeared in court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to child grooming.

Neil Usher, prosecuting, said: His father speaks of his shock at his son being involved in such things. It has impacted on his school. It has had a lasting impact on their son, who shouldnt have to deal with these things at his age.

The court heard Brooks had been in contact with three teenage boys, one of whom did not wish to assist the police and another who could not be traced.

James Preece, defending, said his client had been studying for a law degree online but understood this was no longer an option.]

He added that Brooks had encountered loneliness and mental health issues and said he had felt he was in a relationship with the boy.

Passing sentence, Judge Savill, said: Anybody who engages in grooming behaviour over this period of time, in the way that you did can expect an immediate sentence of imprisonment.

He jailed Brooks for two years and placed him on the sex offenders register and on a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking after the case, Det Con James Donnelly, from Bury Police's complex safeguarding team, welcomed the outcome.

He said: "Brooks was clearly a predator online and was targeting young teenage boys online and attempting to meet up with them.

"Thankfully one of the victim's mums raised concerns and reported them meaning we were able to catch him and unravel his crimes.

"This is a step towards making the online world that little bit safer for children online now Brooks is behind bars.

"I would urge parents and carers to be cautious about who their children and young people are speaking to online and if there are any concerns, report them.

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Daniel O'Brien, 38, had almost 40,000 indecent images of children

A Wigan dad has been jailed for downloading almost 40,000 indecent images of children after he was caught out by a paedophile sting operation.

Daniel O'Brien, 38, appeared at Bolton Crown Court on Friday morning, February 25, to face sentence for his crimes after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

Timothy Ashmole, prosecuting, told the court that O'Brien had been caught out for his crimes after starting a conversation with an undercover National Crime Agency officer on Wickr, a secure instant messaging service owned by Amazon Web Services, in March 2020.

The officer was posing as a young single mother called Holly, claiming to have two daughters aged six and eight.

O'Brien, who went by the username Monkeystew24, quickly turned the conversation sexual, telling "Holly" that when his young daughter, aged two at the time, was old enough he wanted her to "play" with his genitals.

He then told the undercover officer, whom he understood to be a single mother, that he would like to perform sexual acts on her daughters, saying he would enjoy sexual activity with both her and her daughters.

The pair's contact then moved to KiK instant messenger on April 11 2020, where O'Brien set out sexual desires towards "Holly"'s two children, asking for photographs of them for his own sexual pleasure.

However, when interviewed, O'Brien told police this was all part of a roleplay, as he believed "Holly" may be an adult man also engaging in fantasy, and he had no intent to actually commit sexual offenses with a child.

Mr Ashmole went on to say O'Brien had sent 21 sexual images of children to "Holly", starting with pictures showing young children in lingerie, before moving on to more sexually explicit images that showed sexual offenses being committed against youngsters.

Officers were able to link the username to a BT account at a home in Standish, that O'Brien shared with his wife and two children.

When police raided the house, O'Brien retrieved a phone from a pillowcase and handed it to officers, telling them: "I think you might want to see this, there's things on there you'll want to see."

A total of 18 digital devices were retrieved from the house, including phones, laptops, and hard drives.

Four of them contained sexually explicit pictures of children and images showing bestiality, although O'Brien noted that none of these images were stored on devices that were used by his wife or children.

Officers found around 40,000 indecent pictures and videos of children, including almost 1,900 category A images showing the most severe sexual abuse against children.

O'Brien admitted a sexual interest in teenage girls aged 14-15 had developed years earlier, around 2010, and he had been accessing indecent images for a large portion of time.

Paul Treble, defending, told the court O'Brien had lost his relationship, access to his children, and his job as an adult social carer as a result of legal proceedings.

He also said his client had been engaging with organisations including Stop It Now and Safer Lives, groups that work with people to prevent them from partaking in child sexual offences.

His Honour Judge Tom Gilbart, presiding, sentenced O'Brien to two years imprisonment for the possession and distribution of indecent images of children.

Addressing O'Brien, Judge Gilbart said: "The number of images you distributed was small but you were responsible for the further dissemination of this material.

"The number of images you downloaded was significant and the offending was spread over a substantial period of time.

"You developed an attraction towards teenage girls and began to discuss sexual fantasies towards children in chatrooms.

"Appropriate punishment can only be achieved through an immediate custodial sentence."

O'Brien was jailed for two years.

He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for ten years, barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, and will have a sexual prevention order placed against him for ten years.

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"This man preyed on their vulnerabilities as young girls and exploited them for his own sickening pleasure"

A taxi driver plied two girls with alcohol and drugs then raped them in a terrifying campaign of abuse.

Mohammed Saleem, 42, groomed the two girls who were aged 14 and 15 when he targeted them in the 1990s.

Both victims were extremely vulnerable and "abused in the worst ways possible".

Taxi driver Saleem, of Rochdale, met them both at a house of an older associate, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

He gave them lifts in his taxi and plied them with booze and cannabis before raping them, prosecutor Mark Kellet told the court.

Despite being married and having children, he went onto continue sexually, physically and mentally abuse one of the girls for more than 17 years.

He even installed spyware on their computers to track their internet activity.

Saleem was today jailed for 33 years after being found guilty of 31 offences.

The victim was vulnerable due to the use of alcohol and drugs to facilitate the offences, Mr Kellet said.

There were 16 offences of rape over an 18-year period.

There was systematic abuse of the victim, who was targeted and exploited as an extremely vulnerable young child."

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the first woman said: I often reflect on how my childhood was full of abuse instead of love and protection.

I feel ashamed by what happened.

Coming to the stand in the court was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

The other woman said: Its impossible to put into words how I have been personally affected by the last 32 years.

'I became an empty shell'

My whole life was destroyed - I lost my identity when I was just a child.

I became an empty shell.

I really struggle to make choices for myself as I was always made to believe I was incapable of making my own decisions.

No doubt as a result of what I have suffered, I have been left unable to trust, which has left me very lonely and isolated.

I still dont know how to move forward.

Following a six week trial, Saleem was found guilty by a jury of 31 offences including:-

Six counts of indecent assault against a 14-year-old female

Rape of a 14-year-old female

Three counts of rape of a 14/15-year-old female

Indecent assault against a 15-year-old female

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm

Nine counts of rape of a female

Assault by penetration

Three counts of rape of a female under 16 years

Two counts of voyeurism

Sexual assault

Securing unauthorised access to computer material

Two counts of making indecent images of a child

Saleem was said to have no previous convictions.

In mitigation, his barrister David Langwallner said: There is an element of acceptance of a degree of responsibility.

Looking at the issue of dangerousness in the context of intimate relationships, there is no doubt he was a danger to young girls 20 years ago, but there has not been any displays of that danger recently.

Mr Saleem is going to face an awful shock quite soon.

Sentencing, Judge Tina Landale said: She was almost half your age when you spotted her and targeted her for a sexual relationship in which you exploited and manipulated her.

You took away her freedom.

It was your distorted belief that Islam entitled you to rape her on many occasions.

You saw her as your possession.

There was a significant degree of planning, you targeted her with false compliments, alcohol and drugs to wheedle your way into her life and exploit her.

'You have no remorse'

Your other victim, you manipulated her with drugs and alcohol using the advantage of a premises to enable the rape to take place.

You have no remorse, and your report identifies that you find you have done nothing wrong.

Finding him to be a dangerous offender, Judge Landale added: You are capable of deceiving those closest to you.

You have no empathy at all or insight into the damage you have caused.

You believe you are entitled to sex whenever you want.

Saleem, of Cannon Street, was jailed for 30 years with an extended licence period of three years, of which he will serve two thirds (20 years) in prison before being considered for release by the parole board.

He was also made subject of the Sex Offenders Register for life and Sexual harm Prevention Order indefinitely.

Detective Constable Sarah Hayfield of GMP's Rochdale district, said: "The victims in this case were abused in the worst ways possible.

"This man preyed on their vulnerabilities as young girls and exploited them for his own sickening pleasure.

"He then went onto control and abuse one of the victims for 17 years.

"This was a horrific ordeal that has no doubt left a damaging and haunting impact on those lives affected.

"I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to these two brave women and their families for their support and strength throughout this investigation.

"Their resilience has been instrumental in ensuring we could secure this custodial sentence and, although I have no doubt this will stay with them for the rest of their lives, I hope today will help bring some form of closure.

"I also extend my thanks to our partners at Rochdale Borough Council, particularly their adult care recovery and re-enablement team, who have both supported the investigation and been instrumental in providing the victims with the care and support they need whilst we investigated Saleem.

"I hope this sentencing sends a clear message that child sexual exploitation and domestic abuse is abhorrent and will never be acceptable and through our joint working with the council on child sexual abuse we will ensure anyone who engages in this type of vile behaviour will be brought to justice, as we have seen today."

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Four men who subjected an extremely vulnerable teenager to a "campaign of rape" have been jailed.

The gang plied the girl, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, with drugs and alcohol and "systematically and repeatedly" abused her, prosecutors said.

Her ordeal, which occurred between 2009 and 2010, left her with long-standing psychological problems including PTSD.

A fifth member of the group was found guilty of three rapes and will be sentenced at a later date.

Prosecutor Katherine Robinson told Bradford Crown Court the woman was 20 years old when she came forward to report the abuse to police.

Officers found that the older men could see she was "plainly extremely vulnerable" and had drink problems when they targeted her.

In a victim statement read to the court the woman said she had been left "unable to look after myself due to my mental health" in the aftermath of the abuse.

Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Hatton said: "The gross abuse she suffered at the hands of you is a significant factor in her current mental health."

Det Ch Insp Alan Weekes, of West Yorkshire Police, said the victim had been "robbed her of her childhood"

"I hope seeing all of these men sent to prison today for these horrendous offences she was subjected to will allow her to start to look forward to the future," he said.

Ed Hulbert, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the men had "cynically manipulated and ruthlessly exploited a young and vulnerable girl".

Omar Safdar, 30, of no fixed address, was jailed for 12 years after being convicted of three counts of rape.

Imran Sabir, 42, of Spencer Street, Keighley, received 12 years after being convicted of two counts of rape.

Hassan Basharat, 32, of Highfield Road, Keighley, was jailed for 12 years after being convicted of three counts of rape. He will also serve an additional 16 months for two counts of dangerous driving.

Barber Hussain, 36, of Thorn Lane, Bradford, was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of seven counts of rape.

Amjad Hussain convicted of three rapes, will be sentenced later.

All five men were found guilty at a trial in October.

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A paedophile who thought he was having sick chats with teenage girls claimed they were actually adults engaging in 'roleplay'.

Adam Ali, 35, believed he was chatting with 13-year-old girls called 'Becky' and 'Noemi'.

But he was actually having sexualised conversations with undercover police officers, who used his messages to prosecute him.

Ali, who admitted being a man in his 30s, did not stop when the 'girls' told him how old they were.

"If anything you were encouraged," a judge said.

After being arrested, Ali claimed he believed the 'girls' were actually adults taking part in 'roleplay', Manchester Crown Court heard.

But he pleaded guilty to trying to have sexual communications with two 'children', and avoided jail after a judge heard he had become isolated.

Ali began to send messages to the first 'girl' after telling her he was 'horny', in February 2019.

He sent her a video and a picture of his penis, and asked for images of her.

He continued to send sexualised messages, before the undercover officer stopped replying and contact ended a few weeks later.

Ali was snared by a second undercover officer, who also posed online as a 13-year-old girl.

His messages to this 'girl' were sexual 'from the outset', prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said.

Ali sent her a picture of his penis and told her she was 'sexy'.

The messages lasted for a few days in April 2019, and he was arrested in August that year.

He accepted he was responsible for the messages, but said he often used chat rooms where adults over the age of 18 engage in roleplay.

Defending, Sebastian Gardiner said unemployed Ali suffers from physical and mental health issues, and had become socially isolated and sought refuge online.

Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field QC told Ali: "I have particular regard to the personal mitigation advanced on your behalf, in particular the element of personal isolation that you have experienced, that might well have led you into this rather dark corner of social media.

"You had said that you are ashamed of that which you did, and so you should be.

Ali, of Doric Close, Beswick, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

He received an 18 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He must sign the sex offender's register for 10 years.

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VILE paedophile Colin Blanchard is set to spend "two more years behind bars", insiders say.

The sex monster went before a Parole Board meeting last month to beg for his freedom - telling bosses hed wear an electronic tag and undergo regular lie detector tests to curb his movements.

But the hearing overran because of the weight of information on the disturbing case and was adjourned to a date to be set over the next few weeks.

Now we can reveal that sources believe Blanchard, 51, will not be granted freedom once the reconvened hearing is concluded.

Offenders can only appear before a Parole Board every two years.

Our source claimed: Blanchard has got no chance of freedom. And of debate. He will spend two more years banged up before his next shot at freedom.

This is first Parole Board hearing but hes likely to have to appear at a couple more before hes deemed ready for release.

The bottom line is that his offences are just too serious for him to be granted parole at the first attempt.

His release into the community would be managed by dozens of limitations like lie detector tests and a tag but even so, Blanchard would remain a danger to the community.

A spokesman for the Parole Board confirmed that a date for the adjourned hearing would be set in due course.

Blanchard - the ringleader of a paedophile gang who convinced a nursery worker to abuse tots in her care was referred to the Parole Board for potential release in 2020 after serving his minimum nine years in prison for running one of the most sickening paedophile rings this country has seen.

But parole chiefs deemed him not ready for freedom without even holding a hearing and instead they ordered that Blanchard must complete another course in jail designed to prevent re-offending and then he must be reviewed by a psychologist before they could set a date to consider his status.

The Ministry of Justice referred his case to the Parole Board after he had completed his minimum sentence.

His co-accused - nursery worker Vanessa George - is back on the streets after serving just ten years in prison for abusing 64 babies and sharing the sickening videos with Blanchard.

Her release sparked fury after it emerged she has been given a cushy flat in the Midlands at the expense of the taxpayer.

George earned the grisly title of Britains worst female paedo in 2009 after she was caged for taking the sick pictures of herself harming babies and toddlers.

The fiend cruelly refused to tell police the names of all of her victims leading to a decade of hell for families who still arent sure whether their child was abused.

Special needs coordinator George took pictures on her phone of her abusing babies and toddlers at a nursery in Plymouth.

Her trial heard she sent pictures to paedophile Blanchard after meeting him on Facebook.

Blanchard, of Rochdale, was said to be the hub of the paedophile wheel.

He traded the photos to members of a paedophile ring, including prostitute Angela Allen, of Nottingham, who was jailed for at least five years.

Mum-of-two George, whose two daughters have publicly disowned her, described herself to lover Blanchard as a paedo whore mum in vile exchanges between the two.

Tracey Lyons, who was jailed in 2011 for sending sickening child abuse pictures to Blanchard, has now been released from prison.

Tracy Dawber, who was in a year-long relationship with him, was caged for four years for abusing a two-year-old boy and letting Blanchard film it.

The Sun has approached the Parole Board for comment.

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A former sergeant in the Spanish army was jailed for 44 months for storing and distributing the worst child sex abuse videos and images.

Gabriel Gonzalez, 43, had one 17-minute long video called Daisys Destruction, which showed the abuse of an 18-month old girl.

The police officer who viewed it said it was the worst he had ever seen and said other police should not look at it, Luton Crown Court heard yesterday (February 3).

The sentencing follows that of Bedford couple Nicholas Harris and Clare Buttrice, who were jailed for a combined 35 years for sexually and mentally abusing children last week.

Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams said that acting on information, the police raided a multi-occupancy house in Campbell Road, Bedford, on the morning of 18 October, 2018.

The officers seized one laptop and three hard drives from Gonzalezs room. He was not there at the time, but handed himself in later. He made no comment to the police questions.

Ms Kettle-Williams said 404 images were found on the devices, along with 182 videos. The total length of the videos was 20 hours, with the longest single film lasting 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Gonzalez had distributed nine moving images at Category A, the most serious level, and three Category B moving images to other paedophiles.

He had downloaded 85 still and moving images at Category A, 65 at Category B and 379 Category C images and 57 images of extreme pornography.

The images were stored under the names of music albums in an attempt to disguise them.

Ms Kettle-Williams said: He had a personal video library of indecent images. They showed pre-pubescent girls, with the victims in pain and crying. There was also bestiality and torture.

He said Gonzalez had used computer search terms such as 'sadistic', 'torture' and 'snuff'.

Gonzalez, now of Pine Road, Didsbury, Manchester, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing indecent images of children, three of making (downloading) and one of possessing extreme pornography. He had no previous convictions in England and Wales or Spain.

Defending, Richard Saynor said he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He said: He served successfully in the Spanish armed forces and worked his way up to the rank of sergeant.

He gained a psychology qualification. He moved to the UK and gained employment using his psychology qualification by assisting people with autism. At all times he was working with adults.

After his arrest he moved to Manchester, where he had been working in a car wash.

In a letter of apology to the judge, Gonzalez said: Serving as a sergeant taught me strong standards of protecting community and having personal integrity.

I realise in the position I am in today I have fallen far from those high standards. I wanted to apologise to all the victims in this case.

Referring to the Destructing Daisy video, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said: This was the horrific, sadistic and tortured abuse of a completely vulnerable child of 18 months.

The investigating officer stated it was the worst he had seen in his five years in this role. He said other officers should not have sight of it. The abuse was beyond words.

The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and the hard drives.

Gonzalez must abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, is barred from working with children or vulnerable people, and register as a sex offender indefinitely.

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A paedophile travelled from Greater Manchester to Wales after arranging to sexually abuse a young child - but was met by police officers instead.

Michael Crossley spent months chatting to someone he believed to be the girl's mother online and over the phone before making the trip from his home on Bury New Road, Radcliffe, Bury, to carry out his sick fantasies.

In fact he had been communicating with an undercover policewoman and officers were waiting for him when he arrived at the meeting point in Cardiff, WalesOnlines reports.

Crossley would later claim that he was actually a paedophile hunter and had been trying to expose what he thought was a mother who was selling her daughter for sex.

But the 34-year-old failed to turn up for his trial to put that version of events before a jury last year and jurors convicted him in his absence.

The defendant returned to the dock of Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court for sentencing for facilitating sexual activity with a child and also for being involved in a 110mph police chase in a stolen car an incident which took place in Bolton while he should have been on trial in Wales.

The court heard that in the August of 2019 Crossley was on an adult sex website where he contacted the profile of a woman who had a daughter.

The defendant began messaging the woman on the site and then talking to her on the phone and he made it clear he was interested in 'playing' with her and her child.

He then began asking for indecent pictures of the girl, talked about the sex acts he wanted to perform on the child, including full penetrative sex, and discussed money changing hands.

The court heard that the profile on the adult site was actually being run by an undercover policewoman.

Crossley made arrangements to meet the woman and her daughter in Cardiff and travelled from his home in Bolton to the rendezvous point where he was met by police officers. He was found to be in possession of condoms, sex toys, lubricant, and a doll as a present for the child.

In his subsequent interview the defendant claimed to be part of a paedophile hunter group and said he believe the woman he had been chatting to was a paedophile who had been trying to sell her daughter for sex.

Crossley maintained his not guilty plea and the matter went to trial last August but the defendant failed to turn up at court.

The trial went ahead without him and he was duly convicted by the jury but in the meantime he had been involved in a high-speed police pursuit in Bolton.

This offence had seen him hitting speeds of 110mph as he raced through residential streets in a stolen Audi car, speeding through red lights, and taking bends on the wrong side of the road.

Eventually he abandoned the car and fled on foot but the combination of a police helicopter and a police dog tracked him down to his hiding place.

When arrested he was found to be in possession of cannabis.

The court heard the Audi had previously been stolen during a robbery and it was showing number plates that had been stolen from a different car which was being serviced in a garage.

Crossley had already been convicted of arranging or facilitating sexual activity with a child and had pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle-taking, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, possession of cannabis, and failing to surrender to bail when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has six previous convictions for six offences including producing cannabis, assisting an offender, and taking a vehicle without consent.

Barrister Isobel Thomas, for Crossley, said the defendant still denied his guilt as far as the sexual offence was concerned but acknowledged he was facing a custodial sentence of some length.

She said that in 2019 he was going through a 'difficult time' with his business being closed down and his relationship of 16 years breaking down.

As a result she said he turned first to cannabis, then cocaine, and then crack cocaine and his mental health began to suffer.

Recorder Lucy Crowther told Crossley a jury had rejected his claims to be a paedophile hunter trying to trap an offender and the conversations he had with the undercover officer showed he, in fact, was the paedophile.

She said the dangerous driving he then engaged in had been 'appalling' and it was remarkable nobody had been injured or killed.

Crossley was sentenced to a total of 54 months in prison comprising 42 months for the sexual offence, 10 months for the dangerous driving, and two months for failing to surrender to court all to run consecutively with each other.

He was sentenced to six months for aggravated vehicle-taking and to one month for possession of cannabis with these sentences running concurrently to the 54 months.

No separate penalty was imposed for driving without insurance.

Due to the nature of the sex offence Crossley can apply for release at the halfway point of his sentence but it will be for the Parole Board to decide if or when he is released during his sentence.

When he is released he will be on an extended one-year licence and he will be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life, as well as being made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

He was also disqualified from driving and must pass an extended test before he can get his licence back.

Description

A police officer who was caught trying to arrange the abuse of an eight-year-old girl and accessed indecent images of a vulnerable teen has been jailed.

Det Con Lee Cunliffe admitted seven offences including arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

The 40-year-old Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has been suspended from duty since his arrest in 2020.

Cunliffe, of Wigan, was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for eight years and four months.

The court heard Cunliffe had been a serving officer for 17 years when, in September 2020, he began messaging a woman whom he believed was the mother of the eight-year-old girl on instant messaging app Kik.

Prosecutor Arthur Gibson said Cunliffe told the woman, who was actually an undercover Met Police officer, that he would visit London to sexually abuse her daughter.

Police investigations revealed Cunliffe had sent the messages from several devices, including a police-owned computer at Swinton police station, and he was arrested in October 2020.

Perverted desires

A subsequent search of the married father's home revealed a laptop he had used to access indecent images of children, including of a "plainly vulnerable" teenage girl who made a complaint to GMP in 2018.

Mr Gibson said the girl had alleged her boyfriend had taken indecent images of her and distributed them without her knowledge.

Cunliffe, then a trainee detective, was allocated to the case and the suspect's computer and phone were seized after his arrest.

Mr Gibson said he later wrote an entry on the crime log stating there was nothing on either device relating to the offence, when "in fact, both devices contained both still and moving indecent images of children, a total of 227 being accessible".

The computer was returned to the suspect with the indecent images still on and no further action was taken.

Evidence of files from between 2014 and 2018 which were indicative of child abuse were also found on Cunliffe's laptop.

Julian King, defending, said Cunliffe had been going to see a psychotherapist, who said he had compulsive sexual behaviour disorder.

Cunliffe, of Hindley Green, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to arranging the commission of a child sex offence, perverting the course of justice, misconduct in a public office, distributing indecent photos of a child, and three counts of making indecent photos.

Sentencing him, Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary QC, said the actions Cunliffe was "contemplating with this very young child could hardly have been more serious".

"What you did in relation to this girl and this case is shocking and strikes at the very heart of that foundation of trust that the public have invested in the police service," he added.

Speaking after sentencing, Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods of GMP, said Cunliffe's "deplorable behaviour" was "absolutely inexcusable" and had "undermined the very essence of policing's core value of protecting the public and helping those in need".

Det Insp Suzanne Keenaghan, from GMP's online child abuse investigation team, described his offending as "depraved".

"Cunliffe deliberately created an online profile with the perverted intention of arranging to commit a child sex offence and having indecent images in his possession for his own sexual gratification," she said.

He will now face disciplinary action under the Police Conduct Regulations, GMP added.

Child protection charity, the NSPCC, said: "Cunliffe's actions were an appalling abuse of his position of trust.

"Through his police training and employment, Cunliffe would have been very aware of the devastation sexual abuse has on children's lives.

"Despite this, he chose to pursue his own perverted desires."

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Naveed Ishaq had downloaded a sickening amount of indecent images between March 2017 and August 2020, Bolton Crown Court heard on Monday.

The 48-year-old, from Bolton, had scoured the internet for vile images - as well as animal porn - and used chat rooms where he would ask: "Do you have any child porn about?"

He was eventually rumbled as part of a nationwide investigation - before telling police he was shocked at how easy it was to find the horrific material and insisting he was going to 'hand it to the police or a newspaper' as evidence.

The court heard that Ishaq was caught following an operation carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which was investigating the sharing of indecent images of children on a New Zealand-based file sharing website called Mega.NZ.

The NCA found six email addresses registered on Mega.NZ which were believed to have been used by Ishaq to receive indecent material from the website, and five of the accounts were traced back to Ishaq's address.

Mr Connick told the court that the NCA passed its evidence to Greater Manchester Police, which carried out a search at Ishaq's home on Langthorne Walk, Bolton.

He said: "When officers informed the defendant why they were there, he said that he had been wanting to contact the police for some time to talk about the fact that you could get such things on the internet.

"He said he was simply a concerned citizen who had been downloading such images to show how easy it was."

Ishaq was arrested by police, who seized an iPad, two iPhones, a desktop computer, another phone and a laptop.

The court heard he told officers that further devices could be found at his home inside a washbag, which was hidden in a sofabed.

Police carried out another raid on Ishaq's address and found the bag, which contained more devices including external hard drives and a memory card.

Officers analysed the devices and found a shocking amount of indecent images of children - both still images and video.

There were 31,307 category A images, 29,256 category B images, and 327,531 category C images - a total of 388,094.

Mr Connick said the images included children aged from just one-year-old to 17, adding: "Many of the victims appeared to be distressed and in severe pain."

Police found 47 images of extreme pornography involving animals - including a video which also featured a child - as well as a vile 120-page paedophile manual on 'how to practice child love'.

Officers also found evidence of web visits, bookmarks and downloads which indicated the various files Ishaq had accessed and the disgusting search terms he had used - including 'pre-teen hardcore' and 'rape' - as well as online chat logs to ask for more files.

Ishaq had used 'secretive internet browsers' in an attempt to cover his tracks, Mr Connick added.

Defending, John Harrison said his client was a man of previous good character who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and told the court his wife was 'entirely dependent on him'.

He said that Ishaq claims that the 'desperate' excuse he first gave to police - that he intended to hand over the material as a 'concerned citizen' - was one he made 'out of fear' following the raid at his home.

Mr Harrison added: "It's quite clear that the thought processes of [Ishaq] need to be tackled."

Judge Martin Walsh, honorary recorder of Bolton, handed Ishaq a two-year prison sentence but told him he would serve half of it before being released on licence.

Ishaq also must sign a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

"The amount of material here is grotesque," Judge Walsh said.

"This was a systematic and committed searching for prohibited material over an extended period of time.

"Having regard to the aggravating features here, only an immediate sentence of custody can be justified."

All items seized from Ishaq which contained the material will be destroyed.

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A woman sent child abuse images to her boyfriend - because she wanted to keep their 'relationship alive'.

Perverted couple Rachael Larkman, 38, and Steven Kearsley, 35, started dating in 2013 after meeting on the website Flirtomatic.

They were described as friends with benefits.

But their relationship took a sinister twist when Kearsley began asking her for indecent images of children.

Kearsley later became quite obsessed with the idea of chatting online to children, and officers later found he had been sending messages to a child.

Larkman pleaded guilty to distributing indecent photos of a child, the M.E.N reports.

Kearsley was convicted of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence believing it would be committed, namely requesting indecent images of children; and engaging in sexual communication with a child following a trial.

At an earlier hearing at Minshull Crown Court, prosecutor Robert Smith said: "He asked Rachael Larkman for topless photos of herself, which she did but then asked her whether she was interested in pornography.

"Rachel accepted that she had sent him eight to ten photographs."

The pair were arrested after police were made aware of the images and explicit messages.

Their phones were examined and revealed a number of sinister message exchanges.

In one exchange, Kearsley said: You got any pervy pics?

In another he said: You can send any - even nudes I wouldnt run.

She later said: Lol having fun?

Kearsley replied: Child abuse is always fun x.

The prosecutor said Kearsleys requests for the images were constant and arose from his sexual interest in children.

Following an investigation launched by the police, Kearsley also was found to be sending inappropriate messages to a child.

Both were said to have no previous convictions.

Mitigating for Larkman, Richard Simons said: She is considered to be a vulnerable adult and partner in the context of intimate relationships.

The psychiatric report concludes that she suffers from Battered Wife Syndrome and PTSD.

This offending behaviour happened over three years ago and she made immediate admissions.

She is deeply remorseful.

In mitigation for Kearsley, Vanessa Thomson said: His pre-sentence report doesnt make for positive reading on his behalf.

He still denies the offences.

The pre-sentence report suggests a community alternative, where he will be challenged face-to-face on a weekly basis about what he thinks is right and not right.

It will be intensely challenging to him.

That will not be available to him in a prison environment.

She added that her client suffered from ongoing complications from a broken back, which affected his work as an actor in the acting industry.

Sentencing Larkman, Recorder Anna Vigars QC said: These offences took place... to keep your own sexual relationship alive.

But, you have a difficult and traumatic background, and you have demonstrated very significant remorse.

Sentencing Kearsley, she said: Your request was made in the context of a perverted sexual fantasy.

I have read the pre-sentence report, and it is a troubling report.

I see no recognition you had done anything wrong and you sought rather to pass blame to Larkman.

Larkman, of Oldham, was handed an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years; 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirements; and a three-month electronically monitored curfew between 8pm and 6am.

Kearsley, also of Oldham, was jailed for a year.

Both were ordered to sign the sex offender register for a decade. Kearsley was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

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Manipulative Farzad Shabani's despicable behaviour exposed in powerful court speech by the student he left devastated

A rapist continued his attack through the tears of a student before waging a campaign of manipulation to prevent her from seeking justice.

Farzad Shabani fought through her efforts to push him away then shamelessly became angry at her devastation following the assault.

He then tried to convince her the assault was her fault before putting her through the ordeal of hearing him lie through a trial.

Shabani carried out his attack in the early hours of the morning at a university halls of residence in Liverpool.

Nicola Daley, prosecuting, said: "He had sexual intercourse with her at a time that she was not consenting... even when she was telling him to stop and pushed him away with her arms he carried on regardless."

Ms Daley added: "She described how the defendant didn't even seem to notice when she was crying when the sexual intercourse was continuing. She indicated how the defendant appeared to get cross with her for being upset afterwards."

In a brave statement to Liverpool Crown Court, the student told how she pushed her family away because she was too ashamed to tell them, while she said Shabani "gaslighted and manipulated" her, adding: "He convinced me that I deserved it, that it was my fault."

The 30-year-old's crime had a severe impact psychologically and physically, with the court hearing she initially existed solely in "survival mode".

She said: "I considered dropping out of university and I think a lot of people expected me to.

"There were days I could not get out of bed because I did not want to face anyone."

In the aftermath, Shabani launched a vindictive social media campaign that included the creation of a fake Instagram profile through which he sought to provoke the student in an attempt to make her write responses he could use to undermine her.

Meanwhile she became paranoid and scared, fearing he would have her followed.

Her powerful speech told of the strength she had mustered to report her attacker to police and reach the realisation she was not to blame: "I still felt almost guilty for telling my truth... It took a while for me to come to terms with the fact he had put himself in this position and what had happened to me was his fault despite what he had conditioned my mind to believe."

Peter Killen, defending, told the court: "Any offence of this type always inflicts serious harm on any victim... The sole mitigating factor is the defendant is a man of previous good character."

Passing sentence, Judge Brian Cummings, QC, described Shabani's attack and following behaviour as "appalling".

He told the court : "I make it clear that I sentence you on the basis of [the student's] evidence. The jury plainly accepted it. So do I.

"The factual basis on which I sentence you is one of which I am sure."

The judge continued: "You have shown an utter disregard for anyone but yourself.

"You have presented as manipulative and controlling and for having an inflated regard for your own personal dignity yet none for anyone else's."

Shabani, of Rectory Road, in the Crumpsall area of Manchester, was sentenced to six and a half years in jail and made the subject of a restraining order for life.

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Police praise victim for her bravery as family speak of their harrowing ordeal

Relatives of the victim of a child sex abuser have spoken of the harrowing impact of his actions as they attempt to rebuild their lives.

Richard Hall, 36, is behind bars after being given a five years’ jail term with an Indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order also imposed.

Hall, 36, whose address was given as Stockport Road, Ashton, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court last week.

A former student at Egerton Park in Denton before going on to serve in the army, he was found guilty following a trial of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

The judge said Hall had groomed his victim and had displayed no remorse, stating he was a dangerous man to society.

This week relatives of his victim, who remain anonymous to protect their identity, said they welcomed the sentence and justice had been done, but the victim and family members will have to face the lifetime impact of his actions.

They spoke out following the trial in the hope it will encourage other victims of child sexual abuse, sexual assault or rape to have the courage to come forward.

In a statement they said: “Paedophiles purposely take the child mentally, emotionally and physically despite knowing that it is wrong. They lure them and lie and prey on the most vulnerable children in our society. They are calculated and manipulative.

“They adopt a personality that we often find charming, trustworthy and likeable. They search out children like a predator stalking prey and they hurt everyone in their path.

“We want people to realise and be aware of how a predator can so easily infiltrate a family; Richard Hall didn’t just groom his victim but an entire family who are all his victims.

“People need to learn how to recognise grooming behaviour, it really is the absolute unthinkable and the ultimate betrayal.”

The victim and family members have been left with a range of mental health difficulties as a result of their ordeal, being diagnosed with social anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with difficulties forming relationships, ultimately with one of the victims even threatening to take their own life.

In a victim impact statement Hall’s victim said: “Sexual abuse isn’t murder but it is like killing someone inside... they are alive to feel that pain forever and watch what the abuser has done to the surrounding people - that applies to all of my family because they were mentally abused... we all have to live with this.”

The relative continued: “We have very special thanks and gratitude to Norfolk Constabulary, especially the investigating officer, CPS with our outstanding barrister and of course the Judge himself. We do feel as though we have justice despite the ongoing, lifetime impact that this has had.

“We hope our story might give victims courage to speak out and we send a clear message that child sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape is and will continue to be tackled and stamped out.”

The case against Hall was brought following an investigation by Norfolk and Suffolk Police.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Natalie Riseborough said: “First and foremost I would like to commend the courage of the victim in this case. I can only imagine the ordeal she has been through and the enormous impact that this has had on her life.

“She has been incredibly brave in speaking out and breaking the cycle of abuse and preventing it from happening to others. I hope this court result will bring some kind of closure for both her and her family and allow them to start to heal from what has happened.”