Latest Offenders Middlesex

Description

A 'manipulative' paedophile who tried to recruit vulnerable young girls as escorts after posting modelling ads on Craigslist has been jailed. Shaker Sharif sexually abused five teenagers, who he knew to be under 16, by constantly asking them for sexual videos and photos, screen recording them engaged in sex acts on Facetime, and paying them for other sexual content.

The 44-year-old predator, of Middleton Avenue, in Greenford, Ealing, West London, appeared in an olive green hoodie at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, May 30, where he was jailed for three years and nine months for the vile sex crimes committed between 2015 and 2016. Prior to the hearing, Sharif had been on a restrictive sexual risk order since 2020, limiting his contact with children.

According to Companies House filings, the pervert was formerly a director of a dissolved property management company, Tenantbox Limited, which previously advertised rooms across London, while offering landlords a zero per cent management fee. Among the accounts followed by the company's Twitter page are a massage equipment company and a user called 'Sexpestinthecity'.

Shaker met his first victim, a 14-year-old girl, in 2015, using the pseudonym 'Jay Biggs' to swap sexual images with her, including fully naked photos. Prosecutor Corinne Bramwell said he used 'grooming' methods, like sending links to pornography websites and reference to his escorting business. "He would talk about meeting girls and providing 600 for happy endings," said Ms Bramwell.

For months the sickening conversations continued until the girl told Sharif it seemed like he only wanted indecent images of her masturbating or for her to have sex with him. After telling her, in his twisted mind, they were in a relationship, he carried on asking for the photos, with reference to sex and masturbating together. In all, 159 indecent images of the girl were recovered by police.

The second victim was just 13 years old when she started chatting to Sharif on a teenage dating app in August 2016. The app meant for teenagers has been known as 'a playground for paedophiles' since 2014 when the NSPCC issued a warning to parents. The girl claimed she was 19 years old, while Sharif was aged 36, some years above the maximum intended age range.

This time Sharif asked if the girl was a virgin, and preyed on her vulnerabilities when she disclosed self-harm and being bullied at school. Within a day of starting the conversation, he sent the girl a photo of his penis and called her 89 times. He also asked her for contact details of friends, to which she provided a number. Ms Bramwell said there was evidence Sharif called that number.

In September of that year, Sharif asked for more pictures. When the girl asked what of, he told her 'I want to see your body, tits, p**sy, all'. The victim of Sharif's persistent demand for photos sent him two more images, which only prompted him to ask again. She eventually told him she would stop because he was 'annoying' and she was not allowed to.

In relation to his next victim, a 17-year-old girl, Sharif was caught with 164 indecent images. Messages from the former property manager included 'I wish you were older' and offers to make money out of her if she would 'trust' him. After telling her 'how much girls make in the sex industry' he asked her to come to London. Police later found evidence of 55 payments to her bank account.

A fourth victim was 15 years old in 2015 when she responded to Sharif's Craigslist advert for teen models claiming she was aged 16. Their conversations developed with Sharif asking if she wanted to join the agency, while she disclosed a rate of 170 a shoot. After the girl responded to two more adverts, Sharif asked if she would do 'sexual shoots or videos' in Shepherd's Bush.

The final victim received multiple bank transfers of between 10 to 20 in exchange for sexual content when she was just 14 years old in June 2015. The messages - described as 'plainly manipulative' by Ms Bramwell - included Sharif's claim that he 'loved' the girl and accused her of not caring about him. As the victim pointed out, it was Sharif who did not care about her and would talk about other girls and sex, rather than asking her how she was, Ms Bramwell told the court.

Ms Bramwell referred to Sharif's legitimate adult escorting activities, but could not provide evidence that his abuse of the girls was 'commercial'. Referring to a recent probation report, she accused Sharif of victim blaming due to his 'disconnect between being ashamed and remorseful'. "How he talks about the complainants effectively puts blame on them for starting conversations," she added.

'In part, this is a victimless case'

Sharif was arrested at his home on September 27, 2017 on an unrelated matter, during which devices were seized containing evidence of his child exploitation. He denied 20 counts - which included making indecent images of children, inciting children into sexual activity, and causing the sexual exploitation of children - at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in October 2022.

At a pre-trial hearing in 2023 he reversed his pleas on five counts, but the case was still set to go to trial for the remaining 15 counts in March of this year. With all his victims ready to face him in court, Sharif then reversed another seven pleas just 10 days before the trial, bringing his confessions to 12 of the charges. The Crown decided it was not in the public interest to pursue the remaining eight counts which were left to lie on file at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday.

It means Sharif admitted five counts of causing the sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child, one count inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and four counts of making indecent photos of children in Category C.

Defence counsel Zacharias Miah called for a suspended sentence as he outlined the long delay in bringing the case to court and the recommendation of a community order by the probation service. While he conceded the same report write concluded Sharif posed a high risk of harm to children, he said this could best be managed outside of prison.

"In part, this is a victimless case," argued Mr Miah. "As some of them are not involved in these proceedings. It was all based on data from his laptop and phone."

Ms Bramwell hit back at this by reading out one of the victim's impact statements, in which the girl blamed her depression, anxiety, and panic attacks on Sharif's abuse.

Mr Miah pointed to Sharif's previous good character, poor mental health at the time, and obesity as he reached for mitigation. The barrister also highlighted Sharif's progress with various schemes for sex offenders, including a 'Sexaholics' clinic and the Safer Lives programme, and his compliance with the sexual risk order made in 2020.

'High level of manipulative behaviour'

Recorder Sam Robinson KC dismissed the recommendation of the probation officer, and Mr Miah's arguments for a suspended sentence, as he jailed Sharif for nearly four years. The judge highlighted Sharif's 'pattern of of long manipulative communications with vulnerable young girls', some of which lasted years, and left them with 'serious psychological harm'.

Referring to the lead offence, Recorder Robinson said: "I'm in no doubt the chats between the two of you were manipulative and controlling. The fact you sent links to porn websites and references to escort agencies. You sought to entice her about what other girls made in the escort business. She could make 600 with a happy ending. She, 15 years old, said she would like that money. You could see the power which you had over her."

Summarising the case, the judge added: "Your offending throughout these two years shows a high level of manipulative behaviour. You were constantly asking for images of young vulnerable girls. You persistently asked for sexual photos and videos and wanted to get some of them to act as escorts and come and meet you.

"You have described yourself as being deeply ashamed of your behaviour. So you should be. You have caused your victims a great deal of psychological distress."

Recorder Robinson fell short of finding Sharif legally 'dangerous', which would have led to longer licensing conditions upon release, but he did impose a seven-year sexual harm prevention order. Sharif must sign on the sex offenders register for life and pay a 170 victim surcharge. His sentence for the lead offence aggravated by the other offences, which earned him lesser concurrent sentences.

Description

A twisted West Drayton paedophile who gained the trust of families before he sexually assaulted their children has been jailed for 17 years and 9 months.

Benjamine Webb, 30, of Drayton Gardens, West Drayton, was found to have abused children, aged between one and nine years old, in the nearby area. Webb knew all the children and their families and had spent years gaining the trust of the victims' families.

He took photographs and films of the children naked and him sexually assaulting them before distributing the materials online. The police were able to identify Webb, by his distinctive tattoos which matched with those in one of the videos of a child being abused.

The police investigation started when officers from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Intelligence Unit received a referral in January 2023, telling them an indecent photograph of a child had been uploaded to the social media platform, Kik.

On March 14, 2023, Webb was identified and arrested for possession of indecent images of children and possession of cannabis. Police seized seven electronic devices and examined them, finding hundreds of images and videos of child sex abuse, many of which related to three particular young children.

Police were able to identify some of the children in the video and put them into safeguarding. Whilst Webb was in prison, four children from separate families were identified and safeguarded as well, however, one baby has not been able to be identified.

Detective Constable Samantha Thompson who co-ordinated the evidence said:“This was a truly horrific set of crimes. This man preyed on young children and exploited them.

“What he did was wicked, building up relationships with their parents and ruthlessly manipulating them to think that he was a person who could be trusted. The custodial sentence imposed is fully justified and richly deserved.

“Our role has been to give a voice to these innocent children. Having to break the news of what happened to their parents, was one of the most difficult jobs that any police officer will face in their work. I am grateful for them for their bravery and working with us to gather evidence against Webb, so we can now be sure that he can’t do this to any other children."

On March 15, 2023, Webb was charged with nine offences relating to making and distributing indecent images, engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a boy under 13 and sexual assault of a girl under 13. He pleaded guilty to these offences on 12 July 2023. He was sentenced on Thursday 4 April 2024 at Isleworth Crown Court to 17 years and 9 months.

Description

A respected charity worker snared by police officers posing as young children has been spared jail. Gordon Lane, a retired banker and founder of North Harrow Stroke Group, attempted to engage in sexual communication with two girls who he knew to be under the age of 16 - including one who was 12 - between January 5 and February 7, 2023, the Old Bailey heard on Friday, December 12.

The 66-year-old paedophile, who lives in a three-bed detached house on The Lawns in Pinner, asked one decoy, going by the name of 'Maisie', if they had 'touched penis', told them they would 'get them wet', spoke about 'the tightness of the vagina', and said he masturbated, court documents show.

The court also heard how Lane offered to buy things for the child, however, a separate charge of attempting to incite sexual activity was dropped by the prosecution. Lane was charged and gave no indication at Willesden Magistrates' Court in September last year, but later pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court on November 14, eight days after he was shown his sordid messages.

"These were attempted offences. These were not children. These were police officers posing as children on the internet. Thankfully no real children were contacted," prosecutor Dipan Varsani told the court.

Defence counsel Joanna Hardy-Susskind said her client's messages were 'deeply unattractive', but argued Lane had already tried to address his offending by taking up rehabilitative courses. "The defendant during police interview was weeping and saying 'What have I done?'" Ms Hardy-Susskind told the court, as she asked Judge John Lodge to suspend any sentence.

"He is somebody who has had a successful career but is community-minded. He runs a stroke club for people and cares for people who have suffered stroke. He gave up his successful career to care for members of his family... He is capable of living offence-free," Ms Hardy-Susskind added.

Judge Lodge said the 'sustained' and 'quite deliberate offending' was 'so serious' only a custodial sentence would do, but agreed to suspend it because of Lane's 'strong personal mitigation'. Lane was handed six months concurrent for each offence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 30 hours rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £400 in costs.

He is signed onto the sex offender's register for seven years and subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Description

Yuval Keren, 56, of Lyndhurst Gardens in Pinner, was previously a rabbi at Southgate Progressive Synagogue. 

In July 2022 police were alerted that a user was uploading suspicious images to online storage provider Dropbox. 

Keren was arrested at his home and several devices were seized. 

Officers found a total of 1,694 indecent images of children – including 189 category A images, which show the most extreme abuse. The images dated back to 2010 and indicated that Keren had been viewing vile images repeatedly for 13 years.

On October 11 this year Keren pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images and one count of possessing prohibited images of children. 

On Wednesday (December 13) Keren appeared at Amersham Crown Court where he was given a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. 

He will be required to complete 40 hours of rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work. 

He will be on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order. 

Keren was suspended from his post as rabbi immediately after his arrest and no longer holds a position. 

Description

A man who travelled to Chippenham with the intention of sexually abusing a child has been jailed.

Mark Pegram was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court today (Wednesday) after pleading guilty to the commission of a child sex offence and possessing indecent images of a child.

The 65-year-old engaged in a number of explicit conversations with an undercover officer online – who was posing as a woman with a nine-year-old daughter.

The defendant, of Chase Side Avenue in Enfield, London, was collared when he proceeded to arrange a meet and turned up believing he was going to be able to sexually abuse the youngster.

He denied he had any intention of carrying out any sexual acts on the child and went to trial, where he later changed his plea to guilty.

Pegram was sentenced to 48 months in prison and told the register as a sex offender indefinitely. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Wiltshire Police Detective Constable Kerry Foster said: “This was an extremely distressing case for the jury sitting on this trial.

“They had to view a large number of messages that contained graphic details about the sexual acts that he planned to carry out on the child when they met.

“The jury also had to listen to recordings that depicted the graphic detail of the sexual acts that he wanted to do with the child.

“Our Child Internet Exploitation Team works with other agencies such as children’s social care and health, to minimise the risk to children who may be vulnerable to harm.

“We would urge anyone who suspects a person of carrying out child sexual exploitation to get in touch with us straight away.”

Detective Inspector David Wells, from the Online Investigations Team at South West Regional Organised Crime Unit said: “This is vital work, identifying offenders who use the internet to groom children and, as in this case, attempt to arrange access to a child to abuse.

“It is our priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities and I encourage anyone worried about exploitation of a child online to report it to the police.”

Description

A registered sex offender will now spend 40 months behind bars after being caught breaching his sexual harm prevention order and possessing indecent images of children.

Graham Phillips, 63, of Bridge Close in Staines-upon-Thames, was caught in the act by officers in our High Harm Perpetrator Unit who were monitoring him, after he was seen speaking to three children on the banks of the River Thames near Staines Town Centre on 26 August 2022.

After being arrested, officers were able to determine that he had been regularly trying to communicate with three 12-year-old boys whilst they were on summer holidays.

Phillips's mobile devices were also searched, and separate indecent images of children were discovered. He was remanded in prison and pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order and possessing indecent images of children. At his sentencing on Friday 17 February at Guildford Crown Court, the judge sentenced him to 40 months behind bars.

Detective Inspector Ellen McLachlan who leads the High Harm Perpetrator Unit at Staines said; "The quick and successful apprehension of Mr Phillips before his offending could escalate, is a great example of the dedication and proactive policing work done by the High Harm Perpetrator Unit. We take breaches of prevention orders extremely seriously and will act quickly and decisively to keep the residents of Surrey as safe as possible."

Description

A registered sex offender travelled from London to Barnsley with the intention of sexually abusing a child he had groomed on the internet.

Hegoda Makalanda travelled from the capital to Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on October 27 last year, where he believed he would be meeting the child.

But instead he was arrested by detectives as part of a joint operation involving South Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit. Makalanda had been engaging with police officers as part of a covert investigation.

Appearing before Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing, the 45-year-old, of Drapers Road, Enfield, North London, was jailed for nine years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Makalanda pleaded guilty to four offences, including meeting a child following grooming, sexual communication with a child, arranging the sexual exploitation of a child, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, at a hearing in November last year.

The court heard he was already the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children dating back to 2010.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Howard of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “Makalanda was already a Registered Sex Offender and his actions in grooming and arranging to meet a child in order to carry out abuse show how much of a danger he is to children.

“I’m pleased that the sentence he has received reflects this.”

“The Yorkshire and Humber ROCU will not stop in its efforts to bring the predators like him to justice.”

Description

A teacher from London has been jailed for grooming and sexually abusing two children in the Middle East over an eight-year period.

Paul Shinn, 49, taught at an English school in the United Arab Emirates from 2004 until March 2019, when he was dismissed from his post following allegations that he had sexually assaulted children.

The school reported the allegations to the National Crime Agency, who arrested Shinn after he returned to the UK the following month.

The investigation showed that Shinn had begun grooming two children from the ages of eight and nine, gaining their trust and encouraging them to spend time with him through the offer of gifts and trips.

His campaign of abuse took place over eight years, during which Shinn sexually assaulted his victims on a number of occasions and took indecent photographs of them.

He also attempted to sexualise them, by forcing them to watch sex scenes in films before moving on to pornography, as well as showing them condoms.

Shinn was charged with six counts of child sexual abuse under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for abuse committed overseas.

On 28 January 2022, he was convicted by a jury at Kingston Crown Court of five counts, including sexual assault of a child under 13 (2011-2015), two counts of sexual activity with a child (2016-2019), and two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act (2010-2017).

The jury were unable to reach a decision on the sixth charge - sexual activity with a child over 13.

He was sentenced today at the same court to a total of 10 years in prison, plus two years on licence.

He is also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order,

Ian Truby from the National Crime Agency said: Shinn positioned himself as a caring and trustworthy teacher in order to befriend children and their families.

He then abused their trust in the most horrific way; through the systemic grooming and sexual assault of these children over a number of years.

Shinn thought that he could run away from his crimes by returning to the UK. However, the NCA works closely with international partners to ensure British nationals who commit offences against victims overseas are brought to justice.

Description

A man has been jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of raping a woman he met in a nightclub in Kingston.

Taulant Krasniqi 25 (21.11.96) of Cottingham Road, Feltham was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, 5 April.

He was found guilty at the same court on 25 January of rape having pleaded guilty to voyeurism and theft earlier in proceedings. These all relate to incidents that took place on Sunday, 12 November 2017.

On that morning, Krasniqi went to a nightclub in Kingston where he approached a woman in her 20s on the dancefloor.

The woman went home with Krasniqi but went to sleep in her bedroom. She woke briefly to see Krasniqi sitting at the foot of her bed with her phone in his hand, but when she awoke he was gone.

It was only when one of the womans friends contacted her later that day to say she had been sent a video on Snapchat from an unknown person showing the woman lying naked in bed and an empty condom wrapper.

The woman called police as she had not consented to having sex with Krasniqi and an investigation was launched.

Krasniqi was identified and arrested; he claimed the sexual intercourse was consensual.

His phone was seized as part of the investigation on being examined videos were found showing Krasniqi having sex with the woman. Throughout the videos the woman is not engaging, demonstrating she was not in a position to consent.

Messages from Krasniqis phone also showed he had spoken to friends stating he had taken items from the room, including an Oyster Card and iPod.

Krasniqi was charged and subsequently pleaded guilty at court.

Detective Inspector Julian Crabb said: Krasniqi knew that the woman he had gone home with was in no position to consent to sexual activity yet he took advantage of this situation and raped her.

He also filmed to woman without her knowledge and shared this on social media. His behaviour is truly abhorrent and I am pleased that he has been handed a lengthy prison sentence which reflects the gravity of his offending.

I would also like to commend the woman who Krasniqi attacked she has shown immense courage to report this to police and support this investigation and I hope this sentencing allows her the opportunity to begin to move on with her life.

Anyone who reports a sexual offence to police will be offered the support of a specially trained officer to help them through the investigative process in this case, PC Sheena Woodward worked tirelessly and has been invaluable in helping to secure this conviction.

Description

A DANGEROUS rapist has been jailed for 10 years after subjecting a Rugby woman to a horrendous ordeal in her own home.

George Cowley, 28, committed the rape at the victims house in 2019.

London man Cowley was part of a group that went back to the womans house following a night out in the town.

The woman went to sleep and was awoken by Cowley attacking her.

Cowley was arrested in London four days later after the victim reported him to police.

He was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court.

Investigating officer Det Cons Caroline Kelf from Rugby CID said: The victim in this case has shown immense bravery in supporting this investigation after suffering such a horrific attack at the hands of Cowley.

Providing her with support has been our top priority and specially trained officers have been on hand to help her throughout the process.

I am pleased we have secured justice for the victim. Cowley subjected her to a horrendous ordeal and he is clearly extremely dangerous to women.

I would encourage anyone affected by any kind of sexual offence to contact us. As you can see from this case, we will take action, we will support you, and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.

Prosecutor Sophie Murray said: George Cowley took advantage of his victims prone position, being asleep on her own sofa when he began his sexual attack. She was unable to fight him off.

His Honour Judge Cooke found him to be a dangerous offender who had a worrying attitude to women.

Description

A man who posed as a taxi driver before kidnapping a woman in central London has been jailed following an investigation by the Met.

Isaac Mabwa, 33 (13.06.88), of Melville Avenue, Ealing, was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday, 29 November. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.

He was previously found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and committing an offence with intent to comment a sexual offence at Harrow Crown Court on Tuesday, 24 August.

In the early hours of 8 May 2017, Mabwa was driving a hire car through central London when he came across a woman who was walking on Euston Road. He stopped his car and offered the woman a lift home.

Believing he was driving a taxi or minicab, the 25-year-old victim got into the car, however she quickly realised something was wrong when Mabwa began driving in the opposite direction away from her home.

During the journey the victim tried to get out of the vehicle several times, but Mabwa stopped her from doing so. She was able to message her boyfriend and a friend and also sent them her location.

After approximately 90 minutes, Mabwa stopped at an unlit car park and the victim began to scream. These screams were heard by a member of the public and the victim was able to escape from the car.

Mabwa left the car park and was detained by officers a short time later. Following a complex and lengthy investigation, he was charged in April 2020.

Detective Constable Natalie Witt, who worked on the investigation, said: "This was a terrifying experience for the young woman involved who was targeted while walking home from a night out.

"Her bravery and support for the investigation means Isaac Mabwa is no longer a risk to other women, and while today is not a day to celebrate, I hope the sentence allows her some closure.

"I recognise that details of this awful crime will cause fear among the community, particularly women, and I would like to reassure you that the Met is doing everything it can to make the streets of London safer for everyone."

Description

A man who orchestrated a meeting with a 12-year-old girl through online chatrooms only to find he had been set up has been sentenced after admitting child sexual offences.

David Asser – 49 (18.10.72) of Hertford Road, Enfield pleaded guilty on Wednesday, 25 August at Wood Green Crown Court to one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a girl under the age of 16 and one count of attempting to meet a girl under the age of 16 following grooming.

On the Tuesday, 23 November he was sentenced at the same court to 28 months’ imprisonment and will be recorded on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

Asser began communicating with the girl on an online chatroom in November 2020; despite the ‘girl’ stating she was aged 12, Asser continued engaging with her, including making sexually explicit suggestions.

However, unbeknown to Asser he was actually communicating with an adult who was pretending to be a young girl.

Over the next week, Asser continued to communicate, making arrangements for the pair to meet while continuing the sexually explicit conversations.

On 7 December, Asser went to meet the girl at a prearranged place in Mandeville Road, Enfield. However, when he arrived he was confronted and detained by an online civilian group. Police were called and Asser was arrested.

Items were seized from his address which laid bare his attempts to groom and sexually exploit the 12-year-old girl he thought he was communicating with.

DC Lee Jeffrey from the North Area Command Unit said:

“David Asser was fully aware of the age of the girl he believed he was communicating with yet despite this, he persisted in making sexually explicit suggestions to her and then made efforts to physically meet with her.

“His actions are deplorable and it is right he has been held to account for this.”

Description

A "dangerous" sex offender has been jailed after travelling 51 miles from London with two bags of sweets thinking he was meeting an 11-year-old girl in Bedford, Bedfordshire.

Lee Millar, 53, of Locarno Road, Greenford, struck up conversation with someone online that he thought had access to an 11-year-old girl.

The conversation turned to a sexual nature within hours of the first discussion, and the two exchanged various messages between May and July last year.

Millar then arranged to travel from Greater London to Bedford to commit sexual offences against the 11-year-old girl, where he was arrested by officers at Bedford railway station.

On Thursday, 15 July, Millar was jailed for four years and three months for facilitating and arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

The judge recognised Millar as a dangerous offender and based on this he will serve an extended licence period of four years, taking his total sentence to eight years and three months.

Millar was also found guilty of breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which will now be in force for life.

Investigation Officer Michela Zasada, from Bedfordshire Police’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation team, said: “I am glad that Millar is now behind bars and no longer poses a risk to children in Bedfordshire or anywhere else across the country.

“Millar was determined to commit this crime, regardless of the significant impact it would have had on the victim and only showed remorse for being caught.

“He is a dangerous offender and by continuing this abusive behaviour, he has shown total disregard for his previous conviction, which is something we will never tolerate.”

Description

A former Princeton University student and professional rugby player has been jailed for 23 years after violently raping two women in London.

Paulo Kretteis, 22 of Northolt, west London was found guilty of two counts of rape and making a threat to kill following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court in January.

The dual Brazilian national, who previously played rugby professionally for the Ealing Trailfinders, was described as a 'real danger to women, who took 'real pleasure' in the 'fear, pain and humiliation' of his victims.

The former Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student at the Ivy League University in New Jersey was thrown out of the prestigious school in May 2019 following a proven allegation of 'non-consensual sexual intercourse' following an internal investigation.

He appealed the decision, but was expelled. He never faced criminal charges following the investigation.

During the trial earlier this year, the court heard that Kretteis has been in London when he befriended his first victim outside The Chatsworth Bar in Acton in the early hours of October 13, 2019.

The court heard that he had walked the 25-year-old back to her home in Hammersmith and as they approached a secluded footbridge, he grabbed hold of her throat and threatened to kill her.

He then attacked her, hitting her in the face, before forcing her to perform a sex act.

In what was described as a 'particularly chilling' part of the attack, he told her to smile when she asked if she still had all her teeth left after he hit her.

The victim was able to escape and flag down a taxi driver for help before calling the police, but Kretteis ran from the scene.

He claimed he was not the man seen in CCTV footage because the hairstyle on the man in the clip was different to his own, but Instagram posts matched images of him at the scene wearing a Princeton University sports jersey.

The court heard that the victim now suffers numbness to the left side of her face and has difficulties with one of her eyes.

She also experiences repeated flashbacks, and has constant feelings of anger and uncontrollable crying.

In the early hours of December 15, 2019, Kretteis attacked his second victim at an apartment in Ealing.

The court heard that when the victim, 20, refused to let Kretteis film them having sex, he attacked her, grabbing her neck in what the judge described as 'the most dangerous and traumatic way for any woman.'

He attacked her a second time in a locked room where she was sleeping by forcing a pillow over her face.

She was left with bruising on her face and throat, as well as bite marks. Clumps of her hair were also found at the address.

The victim said she thought he was trying to kill her, and that she had been left 'physically, psychologically and emotionally' harmed by the attack, and took to sleeping with a kitchen knife by her bed.

She also said that she was unable to swallow solid food for days and could only sleep during the day with her mother in the room.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: 'He made me feel like I deserved it and was being dramatic for reporting it to the police.'

Kretteis had tried to manipulate her and, on one occasion, tried to persuade her to retract her statement.

'He said he only did it to me because of how much he loved me which is something that has haunted me ever since,' she said.

'I have lost my ability to trust many people, especially men, and find it difficult to create new connections with new people.'

Kretteis was identified in February last year from the DNA found on the jacket his first victim had left behind in the struggle, which was found dumped in a nearby bin.

The court heard he alleged that his victims attacked him first.

One of his victims sat in court as Kretteis' barrister, Nicola Shannon, said his academic achievements and 'determination' showed 'promise' that he could be rehabilitated.

She told the court has was an A* student who supported his single mother and siblings.

She added that his 'dreams of playing for Brazil were thwarted by an injury, and have now been eclipsed by this offending.'

'He is some who appears before the court as someone with the ability to lead an upstanding life, to show determination, character, and assistance to others,' she said.

'He was exposed to violence in the home, whether that was from his father or step-father, consistently throughout early years years and into his teenage years. He had picked up those attitudes to deal with conflict and had become a habit that, when challenged, violence would be resorted to him.

'It does prove some reassurance that there is a known cause and a degree of understanding and insight on Mr Kretteis' part and that might lead to him begin to mature out of those attitudes going forward.'

Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh sentenced Kretteis to 10 years in prison for the first rape, and handed a consecutive eight year term for the second, with a five year period on extended licence.

He also handed down concurrent sentences of three years and 11 months for the ABH offences and four years for making threats to kill.

He told Kretteis, 'In both their cases they were in no position whatsoever to resist the violence, both sexual and physical, you inflicted on them by reason of your considerable size and strength.'

'You had been expelled from Princeton University in May of that year after an internal [investigation] had concluded you had non-consensual sex with a woman there.

'It was the clearest possible warning for your behaviour society could give you apart from a criminal conviction.

'You continue, quite absurdly, to blame your victims saying that each had attacked you first. Their injuries were caused exactly how they described in the course of two ferocious attacks on them.

'When eventually arrested, because the police were called after the second incident, you were interviewed and you denied matters. You claimed she self-harmed. You represent a high risk of harm to women.

'It is a measure of your arrogance and lack of respect for women that, instead of being deterred by what happened in America, you went on to commit the serious offences for which I have to sentence you today.'

He will serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before he is considered for release.

Description

A former RAF intelligence officer has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted of 23 sexual offences on children.

Eddie Graham, 63, carried out the assaults on boys, many of whom were aged under 13, while serving at the RAF Gatow base in Berlin during the 1980s.

He was also a scout leader on the base and used RAF buildings and surrounding land to carry out his assaults.

He was convicted by a court martial earlier in the month.

'Disgusting predator'

The allegations first came to light in 2003 when one of the former scouts made a complaint to police. The man then approached a different police force with the same complaint in 2012.

The matter was passed to the RAF Police because all of the offences were committed by a serving member of the RAF on an RAF base abroad.

That is why Graham, who has retired from the RAF, was tried in a military court, not a civilian one.

Graham was a senior member of the Scouts and met Prince Charles in 1985. All his victims were boys aged between five and 14 years old, and they were all children of serving military personnel.

He was arrested in January 2013 and admitted assaulting nine of the boys but denied assaulting four others.

Victims' statements

Statements from 13 of the victims were read out in court, in which they told of the effects of Graham's abuse, here is a selection of what was said:

- "I am not able to keep a serious relationship. I constantly felt scared of him, and vulnerable. For years I have had bad dreams, flashbacks."

- "My whole life has been affected, I became a rebellious child, I was in trouble with police. I'm 42; I'm breaking down at night and thinking of all the things I've done wrong because of this."

- "As a child I questioned my sexuality; as a result I tried to prove myself and had as many relationships as possible, to prove I was not gay. I saw professionals and was given many medications, and diagnosed as bipolar. What he did to me will never leave me. I wish to see him punished for what he did to me and others."

- "I struggle daily with the pain of the abuse, the abuse has taken from me the ability to be confident and I cannot bring myself to have my own children as I feel I can not keep them safe. I am not able to keep a serious relationship. I am reminded every day of this disgusting predator."

A number of the scouts, who are now middle-aged men, gave evidence during Graham's court martial at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.

The assaults would often happen during scouting weekends at the base. Some took place at a large, barrack-like building in an area called Wilson's Retreat, others in tents next to the building.

Graham claimed that, with the passage of time, the victims who gave evidence in court had either mistaken him for someone else, or had made up their stories.

The case has prompted calls for the military to be included in the inquiry into abuse, which has been set up by Home Secretary Theresa May.

Before the judge passed sentence victim impact statements were read out in court. One victim described Graham as a "disgusting predator".

BBC correspondent Duncan Kennedy said Graham's was the biggest historical child sex abuse case to come out of the UK's armed forces.

Graham will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.

After the sentencing the RAF released a statement urging anyone who had been the victim of a sexual offence, or had information about sex crimes, to come forward and contact the RAF Police in confidence by phoning 0239 2285 170.