Latest Offenders Middlesbrough

Description

A "sexual predator" who raped five women he met on dating app Tinder has been jailed for a minimum of 12 years.

Tom Rodwell initially appeared as "perfect partner material", police said, but manipulated his victims, who he met between 2017 and 2020.

The 31-year-old trainee paramedic from Middlesbrough had previously admitted 10 rapes as well as one attempted rape and sexual assault.

Judge Paul Watson sentenced Rodwell to life at Teesside Crown Court.

The judge described the defendant as a "callous, unfeeling sexual predator" who was "addicted to a sense of power" and only interested in his own gratification.

He described Rodwell as a "significant danger" to women and said he had left his victims with "long lasting emotional scars which would take years to heal".

During the hearing it emerged that the former Royal Navy and HMRC employee, who has no previous convictions, faced similar charges in Scotland in 2018 but was acquitted.

Raped on second date

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, told the court Rodwell contacted the first woman and told her he was into "rough sex" but "did not realise or seem to care that he needed consent".

Rodwell admitted raping her four times.

He told his second victim her wanted to get her pregnant and attacked her on their second date, after which he messaged her asking when he could "rape her again", Mr Bennett said.

The third said she considered killing herself having been raped by Rodwell several times.

The fourth recalled that Rodwell raped and hit her in a hotel. He later claimed he could not remember what happened but said his "ex liked it", Mr Bennett said.

The final victim said Rodwell had wanted to "own her" and "choke her", the court heard.

'Doubt themselves'

Det Con Rick Sainsbury, from Cleveland Police's domestic abuse unit, said Rodwell came initially across as "perfect partnership material".

The victims, some of whom were university students, were not just physically abused by Rodwell but also manipulated emotionally, leaving some to believe they were to blame for his violence.

Det Con Sainsbury said: "He'd ask them to marry him, have kids with him, and it would be within a few days of meeting.

"That would soon change - sometimes even by the second meeting - when he would start to manipulate them, make them doubt themselves.

"If they had some doubts about themselves already he would centre in on that and exploit it. He's managed to get into their heads so much they've doubted what was happening to them."

He praised the bravery and strength of the victims who came forward and urged any women who have been subjected to any kind of abuse to contact police.

Description

A sex offender who once gave two schoolgirls love bites has been jailed for breaching a suspended prison sentence.

Serena Ransom was found guilty by a jury in 2015 of making sexual advances towards two young girls.

The 27-year-old was convicted of sexual assault, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

She was sentenced to 18 months’ detention in a young offenders’ institution and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order banning her from work or unsupervised contact with under-16s.

In May last year, Ransom was hauled back in front of a judge at Teesside Crown Court for breaching her notification requirements.

The court heard how the qualified bricklayer created a profile on video sharing app TikTok in October 2020 and failed to notify police.

She also stayed overnight in a house where children also regularly stayed and did not tell the police.

Ransom was handed a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and made subject to a six-month curfew.

She was also ordered to undertake 120 hours unpaid work and carry out 30 rehabilitation days.

On Wednesday afternoon, the defendant made a further appearance at the court in Middlesbrough.

Ransom, of Brompton Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to breaching her suspended sentence.

Miss Recorder Kidd partly activated the 12 month sentence and sentenced her to six months behind bars.

Teesside Live reported in 2015 how Ransom's first and youngest victim was described by a judge as being “particularly vulnerable” when Ransom sexually assaulted her by giving her love bites.

The court heard how Ransom gave the second older girl love bites, kissed her on the lips and asked her to touch her intimately.

During the hearing last year, the court heard how the notification breaches were Ransom's third and fourth.

She was caught after a man, who knew about her criminal past, saw her TikTok profile and sent a screenshot to police.

Nigel Soppitt, defending, said the breaches were "reckless rather than malicious" and that Ransom has "no sexual interest in children".

Description

A sex offender has been locked up after attacking a woman on Teesside.

Richard Marsden carried out two sexual assaults on the female in the Middlesbrough area.

The 27-year-old, of Locksley Close, North Shields, North Tyneside, committed the crimes in July last year.

He made a first appearance at Teesside Magistrates' Court in Middlesbrough in August this year.

Due to the severity of the charges, the magistrates' transferred his case to Teesside Crown Court.

He was given unconditional bail until the crown court hearing on September 24.

When he returned to court, Marsden pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by penetration.

He was sentenced by Judge Tim Stead at the court in Middlesbrough on December 6.

Marsden was jailed for three years and ordered to sign the sex offender register for an indefinite period.

Description

A former deputy headteacher of a primary school watched sickening indecent images of children on the dark web while his wife and child were at home.

Paedophile Richard Swinnerton admitted he had a sexual attraction towards children and would watch the vile abuse material on a weekly basis.

The 31-year-old was caught on May 15 after police executed a warrant at Swinnertons Coulby Newham home.

Following his arrest, he immediately resigned from his job at St Clares Catholic Primary School in Acklam, Middlesbrough .

His offences were not related to his employment at the school.

Swinnerton appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for three counts of possession of indecent images.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said that when officers went to Swinnertons home, he made a significant statement to them, and admitted straight away, saying; Its me, Ive been looking at indecent images.

He then pointed to a laptop on a nearby sofa which was recovered and examined.

On the initial examination, police found six videos containing indecent images, all of which were category A - the most severe.

The court heard that one sickening video was a full 36 minutes long and involved a child between the age of six to eight.

Another five-minute long video was found which depicted the abuse of a child who was aged between two and three.

A more in-depth examination of Swinnertons laptop was later carried out where a total of 95 indecent images were discovered.

A total of 87 were in category A - 11 of which were moving images.

Seven images were in category B and one was in category C.

Mr Dryden said that when Swinnerton was interviewed, he made full admissions and said he had been accessing indecent images for around two years.

He said he would view the disgusting material when his wife and child were upstairs.

He said he viewed the material for sexual gratification on a weekly basis for about half-an-hour.

The court was told that Swinnerton was employed as a primary school teacher at the time of the offences and was also an active member in his local church.

He had been a primary school teacher for the past eight years but resigned as soon as he was arrested.

Swinnerton, who had no previous convictions, admitted to police that he had a sexual attraction to children and had done so since he was a child.

In mitigation, John Nixon, defending Swinnerton, said he was a primary school deputy headmaster and that he was an intelligent, hard-working man who is well-educated.

He said that Swinnerton was very successful in his occupation.

Mr Nixon told the court that there was no suggestion whatsoever that there was any impropriety in his workplace and that he viewed the school children as pupils who were in his care.

His private life was quite separate from his public responsibilities, he said.

He added that it is a tragic fall from grace for him and that his life and reputation are in tatters and was required to split from his wife and child.

Mr Nixon said that he had chosen to be quite honest about the issues he has.

Before sentencing, Judge Deborah Sherwin said that there was no suggestion that Swinnerton crossed the boundaries with pupils at the school he taught at.

She sentenced him to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He must also undertake 35 rehabilitation activity days as well as a 27 day sex offender programme.

He must sign the sex offender register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order - both will last 10 years.

A St Clares school spokesperson said: This has been an upsetting matter for parents, carers, staff and the wider St Clares community.

We are grateful for the support we have received from them and we continue to assure them that the wellbeing and safety of children of St Clares remains our priority at all times.

It is also important to reiterate that this former employees offences were not in connection with his employment at the school.

Description

A remorseless child sex offender who groomed, molested and raped a vulnerable underage girl has started a 15-year prison sentence.

The young woman bravely faced her childhood abuser across the courtroom, saying: "I thought people wouldn't believe me".

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said Anderton targeted a "particularly vulnerable child".

He gave her alcohol and medication to make her sleepy, a court heard.

At one point she fell asleep and when she awoke, he told her they had had sex and claimed she "enjoyed it".

He made cruel threats to her to stop telling her anyone what he was doing.

"It's such a relief to be believed," the victim said, before she saw Daniel Anderton go to prison still denying his crimes.

'I struggled to breathe'

She stepped into the Teesside Crown Court witness box to read out powerful statements about how it affected her.

She said the abuse had a "massive impact" affecting her relationships and leading to anxiety, depression, flashbacks, sleep problems, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

She said she had believed Anderton's threats as he "blackmailed" her, only to realise later: "Everything he said was a lie.

"I remember feeling numb and every time he touched me I wanted it to end.

"My heart raced and I struggled to breathe."

It left her feeling isolated, lacking confidence and finding it difficult to socialise, make friends and trust others.

"The night I told my family was beyond difficult," she said.

"I couldn't keep it to myself anymore."

She remembered the relief and surprise she felt when, expecting a bad reaction, she was simply hugged.

She added: "I felt like it was all my fault because I let him do it to me.

"But now when I look back I see that I was a vulnerable child. He took advantage."

Still denied his crimes

Anderton, of Henry Taylor Court, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, denied three charges of rape, one of sexual assault and five of sexual activity with a child.

He claimed he only had consensual sex with her after she turned 16.

He admitted he had sex with another underage girl in his evidence, saying he thought she was over the age of consent.

The jury did not believe him and rejected his account, convicting him unanimously on all charges after a trial.

Robert Mochrie, defending, said: "He continues to deny acting unlawfully at any stage.

"I can't advance mitigation along the lines of remorse or anything of that nature.

"He will receive a lengthy custodial sentence. The last couple of weeks have impacted upon him greatly. It's his first taste of custody.

"He has spent the last two weeks or so trying to comprehend what will now come."

He said Anderton was immature, naive and much-loved, and had worked throughout his adult life.

Anderton, 26, was supported by his "incredibly distraught" mother and friends who wrote references for him.

'Selfish and devious' Anderton exploited and threatened

Judge Stephen Ashurst said: "Unhappily this court has seen an unpleasant aspect of your behaviour which displays, I regret to say, some very selfish and devious aspects which have underlined your capacity to commit these very serious sexual offences."

He said Anderton exploited and threatened the girl.

"I'm afraid I've come to the conclusion that you really didn't care less for the impact of what you were doing," he told the defendant.

"You remain in denial about all of these matters.

"There appears in my judgment to be a complete lack of remorse or shame as to the damage that you've caused to others.

"That has to be reflected in your sentence.

"Unless your attitude to sexual matters improves in years to come, there remains a significant risk of you causing harm in the future.

"It is you, Daniel Anderton, who is responsible for the position that you find yourself in."

Anderton was jailed for 15 years, of which he will serve half before the Parole Board decide whether it is safe to release him.

He was given an extra year's licence for an "offender of particular concern".

He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order banning him contacting the victim, going within 100m of her home, work or unsupervised contact with girls under 16, and governing his internet and devices use.

He will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Description

A sexual predator who plied two children with alcohol and drugs before attacking them has been caged for 24 years.

"Dangerous offender" Stephen Allen raped a young girl and also attacked her on other occasions - using the youngster as a "sexual plaything".

Some years later, the 51-year-old also encouraged a teenage boy to engage in sexual acts, before raping him, Teesside Crown Court heard.

As Allen was taken down by guards after being sentenced by judge Deborah Sherwin, the room burst into life as he furiously shouted: "F***ing bulls*** from start to finish, scruffy *****".

Commotion could also be heard from the public gallery as one woman shouted "f***ing joke" before the doors were aggressively slammed and banged - with further noise heard outside court five.

Prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi said "the defendant managed to facilitate the offences using alcohol and drugs", adding: "The Crown certainly think that this is a dangerous offender".

An emotional statement from one of the victims read out at the sentencing hearing said: "I cannot think of an aspect of my life that it has not affected."

It added: "I have had mental health issues as a result of this abuse."

The boy victim said: "I was a child and Stephen Allen abused the trust that I put in him."

Paul Abrahams, mitigating, said that his client "still denies the matters".

Allen, of Bamburgh Court, Middlesbrough, appeared to be sentenced for 14 counts including: two counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child.

He pleaded not guilty to the offences and made his victims go through the ordeal of a trial where a jury convicted him in May this year.

Judge Deborah Sherwin agreed with the prosecution's assessment, branding Allen a "dangerous offender".

She sentenced him to 24 years in jail, with an extended period of eight years - a total of 32 years.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A serial rapist could face a rare whole life sentence after he violently forced himself on a 71-year-old woman in her home.

Anthony Murphy, 59, raped and molested the woman just four months after his release from prison.

He had served 28 years of a life sentence following a string of violent rapes in the 1980s and 90s .

Now, he may become one of the few offenders to receive a whole life jail term.

After he was found guilty of rape, Judge Peter Armstrong told him: "In light of the history, there'll only be one sentence.

"Obviously a life term, and the only question is whether that has to be a whole life term or a fixed (minimum) period.

"From what I can see, whole life tariffs are extremely rare. But it may be that this is that sort of case," he added at Teesside Crown Court.

Murphy is a Category A prisoner - the type deemed to pose the greatest threat to the public.

According to the judge, it costs 10,000 per day to bring such prisoners to court accompanied by at least five prison officers.

Murphy will be sentenced via video link on May 16.

Rape exactly mirrored previous sex attacks

He raped a 71-year-old woman on the morning of November 9 last year, days after he befriended her and her partner in Middlesbrough.

Prosecutor Jo Kidd said he violently raped the woman when she rejected him, exactly mirroring his previous rapes.

He came to her home, tried to kiss her, and when she pulled away, he grabbed her around the throat and tried to strangle her.

He dragged the terrified woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, upstairs to a bedroom and raped her.

She walked into a Middlesbrough restaurant that day holding her stomach saying: "I've been raped."

'She thought she was going to die'

A restaurant worker who knew her said in a statement: "She looked like a frail old lady. She could hardly walk.

"I put my arms around her and she flopped on to me.

"She said it happened in her house and said she thought she was going to die."

Murphy, formerly of Middlesbrough Road, South Bank, ran from officers across a field before his arrest.

He denied two counts of rape and two sexual assault charges, putting the woman through a trial.

'My dying breath, I didn't do this'

He insisted to the jury: "I've know I've done some horrible s***e but I didn't do this.

"My dying breath, I didn't do this."

Jurors did not believe him and, after almost seven-and-a-half hours' consideration, unanimously convicted him on all four counts.

The jury had heard about his disturbing history during the trial.

He raped three women in France in 1980 and 1982.

He hit, tried to strangle the women, threatening to kill one and putting another in hospital for days.

Rapist targeted, preyed on and degraded women

He forced a fourth woman into a derelict van in Wales in 1991, grabbing her by the throat, threatening to kill her and forcing himself on her.

For the 1991 offence, he was given a life sentence with a 10-year minimum term for rape and another serious sexual offence.

According to him, he completed sex offender treatment programmes, courses in anger and alcohol control, relationship skills and attitudes to women, and four years in therapy while in prison.

He agreed in court that he targeted and preyed on women decades ago, trying to hurt, punish and degrade them.

He confessed he did this because he was angry at the world and at women, because they rejected him and were vulnerable.

He served 28 years before his release in July last year, and ended up living in a Teesside hostel.

'Obsessed and fixated'

He said he lied to the latest victim by saying he had been inside for murder.

"I didn't want them to think badly of me," he told the court.

He claimed the sexual encounter was consensual and even said the victim professed love for him and "fancied the hell out of me".

He denied being obsessed or fixated on the woman.

He denied grabbing her arms or throat causing bruises, dragging her, verbally abusing her or threatening to kill her.

Murphy had told police: "I thought she was in love with me... It just didn't happen. It's a stitch-up."

'I know everything looks bad'

In the witness box, he said: "I know it sounds exactly like what I've done in the past.

"I know everything looks bad. But I didn't do this."

After jurors rejected his account, Murphy remarked from the dock: "Can I just thank the jury, sir? Thank you."

The jury could not reach a verdict on a fifth charge of attempted rape, which will be left to lie on the court file.

Detective Sergeant Denise Knox from Cleveland Police said: Justice has been served today and Anthony Murphy has been found guilty of his crimes.

This has been a horrendous ordeal for the victim, and I would like to commend her for her bravery for reporting this to police and for her courage throughout the trial.

I hope the victim can now start to make steps to moving forward with her life.

Cleveland Police always encourage victims of sexual assault and rape to report these incidents to police, no matter how much time may have passed. They will be thoroughly investigated and all support available will be provided.

Description

Peter Gibson, from Middlesbrough, was jailed in November 2013 for 13 years and six months after pleading guilty to 15 sexual offences against the girls.

The offences included four counts of rape of a young girl in the 1990s and took place in Gibsons former home in Bowburn.

At the time of Gibsons sentencing, aged 66, Durham Crown Court heard he had a record of sexual offences dating back to 1967.

In 1998 he was sentenced to six years for the rape of a child. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Jailing Gibson, of The Crescent, Middlesbrough, in 2013, Judge Christopher Prince told him: You have a long-standing sexual predilection for young children.

Description

A TAXI driver who raped a teenage passenger in his car has been jailed for seven years.

Married Liaqat Ali, 42, was also banned from ever driving a taxi again for the sex attack on the lone girl.

He took advantage of the 16-year-old girl who got in his cab after celebrating at a birthday party with friends in Middlesbrough.

The teenager was picked up by Ali in his hackney carriage on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough on March 2 this year.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the girl assumed she would be in safe hands getting into the licensed taxi.

She was clearly drunk and had been “half asleep”, with her head against the seatbelt during the journey.

But her trust was betrayed after Ali drove her to a secluded spot in Acklam instead of taking her to her home.

She had to get out to go to the toilet but when she got back in the vehicle he forced her to perform a sex act on him.

When she eventually got home she was screaming and pulling her hair as she told her mum about her ordeal.

Interviewed by police after his arrest, Ali accepted he had picked up the teenager but denied anything had happened.

He only later admitted there had been a sexual encounter after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Even then, he claimed there had been consensual sex.

He repeated the claim during his trial at Teesside Crown Court last month.

Giving evidence through an interpreter, Ali claimed she had started touching him.

But the jury didn’t believe his version of events and accepted that the teenager, who is now 17, had been raped. Ali denied a charge of rape but was convicted by a majority verdict.

Judge George Moorhouse jailed Ali, of Abingdon Road, Middlesbrough, for seven years at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton also applied for an indefinite sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

She said there was an element of breach of trust as the girl had felt she would be safe with the taxi driver.

The SOPO was granted, with a condition that Ali must not work as a taxi driver.

Judge Moorhouse told Ali: “You must never drive a taxi again. That will remain in force for the rest of your life.”

The judge said it was a very serious offence, telling the defendant: “You were in a position of trust and owed her a duty of care.

“You knew she was drunk at the time and to some extent you abducted her.”

Paul Abrahams, mitigating, said Ali was a family man of good character who had worked all his life.

His incarceration would have a massive impact on Ali’s wife and children, said Mr Abrahams.

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A 64-YEAR-OLD husband who downloaded scores of child pornography pictures has walked free from court still maintaining his innocence.

Douglas Gaunt kept his freedom but still refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes in the face of unanimous jury verdicts on 16 charges.

He was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court last month of making 59 indecent images of children by downloading them from the web.

In courts often dealing with cases involving hundreds or thousands of child abuse images, these were deemed to be a small number of pictures.

Judge John Walford said: The fact of the case is that were talking about two specific dates over 21 months ago and a small number of images, for the most part images of the lowest level of seriousness.

He gave Gaunt a community order - as prescribed by sentencing guidelines and suggested by a probation report - with two years supervision.

It will address the sort of factors that caused you to behave uncharacteristically, Im satisfied, on those two occasions, he added yesterday.

Defence counsel Paul Cleasby said Gaunt continued to protest innocence but fulfilled his obligations for the sex offenders register, on which he will remain for five years.

Mr Cleasby said: He is not somebody who ignores the authority of the court.

He has reached 64 without any relevant previous convictions and has blemished his good character by his behaviour in June 2009. It is a very short window of offending.

He added Gaunt found great solace in the support of his wife, he had not offended since and supervising him would benefit the public.

Gaunt, who said he had no intention of having a computer in his home again, was also given a sexual offences prevention order.

The prosecution had told jurors Gaunt, of Meadowview Road, Middlesbrough, was a man with a predilection for searching and looking for sexual images of children.

The photos were found under Gaunts password-protected profile on the family computer after police searched his home on June 12, 2009.

The trial heard how the investigation revealed searches for child pornography and links to 5,000 websites suggestive of child pornography, on Gaunts computer.

Gaunts name, age, the area he lived and hobbies and interests like sex sex sex and young girls were registered on social networking sites.

The police raid sprung from a probe into alleged communication between Gaunt and a convicted sex offender.

In their online chats gauntdouglas, a user name linked to Gaunts email address and home, talked of young prostitutes on Teesside.

Gaunt denied accessing, receiving, saving or searching for pictures of young girls or visiting chat rooms or social networking sites on the internet.

He denied any knowledge of the pictures on his machine and said he didnt know who put them there, but insisted that it was not him.

He commented of some of the images: Ive seen worse on the beach in Spain.