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A pet-collecting paedophile who sexually abused two youngsters has been jailed for 27 years.

Fraser Brennan subjected the children to sickening abuse which has left both of them traumatised. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 35-year-old was previously convicted of sexually assaulting two other youngsters when he was 15 or 16 years old. He got a community order for that then was cautioned twice for breaching a sex offender registration requirement.

In relation to the latest case, the court heard Brennan kept a selection of animals, including a bearded dragon, snake and rabbits and he admitted the pets were attractive to children, although a judge said it was unclear whether he kept them for that purpose.

Brennan denied offending against the victims but was convicted of two counts of assault by penetration on one of them and attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration on the other.

The abuse came to light after a school teacher was alerted and Brennan was arrested. He continues to deny any wrongdoing.

In a victim impact statement, one youngster said they are "more angry than ever" and has self-harmed. They added that they'll never forget it but hopes to use the experience to grow stronger.

The second victim said they have not been happy since the abuse and has depression, anxiety and has self-harmed.

Judge Christopher Prince jailed Brennan, of Camperdown, North Tyneside, for 27 years with an extended licence period of a further six years. He will also have to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Fiona Lamb, defending, said: "There's a different side to this defendant. His family are supportive of him."

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A 76-year-old man who paid to watch children be sexually abused in the Philippines has been jailed.

Leslie Fletcher, of Brancepeth Close, Washington, requested indecent photographs and videos of babies and children online.

Northumbria Police Det Con Rob Smoult said offenders such as Fletcher were "not welcome in our communities".

Fletcher was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday to five years and nine months in prison.

Specialist officers from the force's Paedophile Online Investigation Team (Polit) became aware of Fletcher's crimes after Google and Microsoft flagged the sharing of indecent images.

When officers seized Fletcher's devices, they found receipts and records of calls with people abusing their children.

'No excuse'

Fletcher was charged and pleaded guilty to 14 charges.

These included three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of arranging the commission of child sex offences, four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and four counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.

Seven of the offences related to Fletcher arranging the abuse of children abroad.

Along with his prison sentence, Fletcher was issued with a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

Det Con Smoult said the sentence "shows that offending like this will not be tolerated and that people like Fletcher are not welcome in our communities".

He said: "Fletcher knew he had no excuse and was left with no choice but to admit his guilt."

Description

A LYMINGTON paedophile who was found with more than 2,000 indecent pictures of children has avoided an immediate jail sentence after a judge ruled he did not intend to share them.

Martin Davidson (49), of Ditchbury, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images, which included some of the most serious, category A, and three counts of distributing them.

He also admitted possessing an extreme pornographic image.

However, Davidson claimed he was unaware an app he had downloaded to boost his internet speed would automatically share the images with others, which led to a Newton hearing at Southampton Magistrates Court to resolve factual differences.

Southampton Crown Court
Giving evidence, Davidson said he had used the app to download films and music before this led to viewing pornographic and indecent images.

He said the app was a complicated system and he had used an internet search to find how to improve his download speeds, changing the settings in the app based on what he copied from a forum.

Despite it being described by prosecutor Ellie Sheehan as a peer-to-peer sharing app, Davidson said never at any time had he considered the files he was downloading would be shared elsewhere and was unaware the sharing was automated.

Recorder James Watson KC ruled Davidson had not knowingly distributed the images, which the court heard showed children as young as two in distress.

Davidson was arrested at his home in September 2021, and his laptop and a mobile phone were seized.

On examination they were found to contain 772 category A images, 298 category B and 1,006 category C.

All categories contained stills and videos, the court heard, with most of the children shown estimated to be aged between five and 10 years.

Defending, Daniel Higgins said his client had been in a dark place when the offences were committed over a three-month period, but had been transparent and compliant after his arrest.

He had taken significant steps to address his offending, and engaged with therapy and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse.

A letter from Davidsons wife, which was not read out in court, spoke volumes about the impact of his offending on the family, he said, who would be punished if he was sent to jail.

He added: The stigma carried with this type of offending, which is known within the local community, is further punishment itself.

Sentencing him to a total of 16 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, recorder Watson said: Distribution is, within the guidelines, a much more serious offence than possession and in dealing with you that must be the lead matter.

However, I have concluded the prosecution cannot show you intentionally distributed the images with knowledge of what you were doing.

There was a degree of naivety, coupled with carelessness, through using the app.

Turning to the possession charges, he said aggravating factors included the volume of images and evidence of organised and encrypted storage archives.

He added: You and your wife have clearly worked hard on the difficulties revealed by your behaviour, and I accept overall the direction of travel gives one some optimism for future rehabilitation.

You have shown a degree of remorse and insight, and put the time from your arrest to good use.

Had I found the prosecution case proved, there would have been no escape from an immediate custodial sentence.

Davidson must also carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his internet activity for 10 years.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed after he was convicted of a catalogue of sexual offences in east Wales.

Chris Hood, 36, admitted three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and one each of taking an indecent photograph of a child and possessing an extreme pornographic image involving an animal.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to two counts of observing a person doing a private act and one each of voyeurism by recording a private act and voyeurism by installing equipment or constructing/adapting a structure.

Hood’s offences were committed in Newport (Gwent) and Chepstow.

The defendant was jailed for 26 months at Cardiff Crown Court.

He will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.

Description

A pervert loitered in bushes outside a primary school carrying out a sex act while children played.

Alemshah Amin hung around outside Sacred Heart Primary School, in Fenham, Newcastle, for several hours on two days in June this year, briefly interacting with a child on one occasion. On both occasions, he stayed until caught by staff.

When arrested he claimed he had just being going to the toilet despite the fact he could have walked to his home in just one minute. Anne Richardson, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "One two occasions he loitered in the vicinity of the school for several hours, hiding in bushes around the site and masturbating while looking into the school yard when children were playing.

"On both occasions he remained there until caught in the act by staff." He was arrested on the second occasion and interviewed by police.

Miss Richardson said: "He said, despite his home address being less than a minute's walk away, he had been caught short, desperate to use the lavatory. He then shook his penis to clean it and it became sore and he said he relieved the soreness by shaking it more with his hand."

Amin, 27, of Lotus Place, Fenham, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to two offences of outraging public decency. Because of time served on remand, he was given an 18-month community order with rehabilitation. He will also be subject to sex offender registration for five years and a sexual harm prevention order for the same period which bans him from waiting outside any school or educational facility for under-18s.

Recorder Richard Wright KC told him: "You have pleaded guilty to serious offences of outraging public decency. These are offences that involved you masturbating in pubic outside the Sacred Heart Primary School in this city.

"They were plainly sexual offences and you chose to commit them in the vicinity of that school quite deliberately, of that I am sure." The judge said alcohol consumption contributed to the offending but added: "There is also a sexual element to your behaviour which requires the public to be protected from you because I'm concerned that otherwise you may offending in a similar way in the future.

"These are offences that are so serious that, ordinarily, I would impose a prison sentence. However you have been remanded in custody for several months and you have served on remand a prison sentence approaching the length of any sentence I might impose."

Tony Cornberg, defending, said he has a learning disability and despite denials of the offence in a pre-sentence report, admits his guilt. He added: "He is isolated and has limited social skills."

Description

A worker later described as a "bad man" by the three-year-old girl he sexually assaulted has been jailed. Kevin Sillcox was carrying out work at the family's home when the incident happened.

Sillcox, 63, committed the offence - exposing his penis to the girl before removing her underwear and touching her - while working in her bedroom last year. The girl and her mother had been downstairs while he was working, but a court heard that at some stage she went up to play in her room.

On Wednesday, Newport Crown Court was told that Sillcox, from the Welsh city, was found out some time later, when the girl asked if the "bad man" would be coming back. She went on to describe what he had done to her.

Sillcox, of Commercial Road, denied the offences, claiming the allegations had been "fabricated". However, he was found guilty of sexually touching a child under the age of 13 following a trial, reports Wales Online.

In victim personal statements read out to the court by prosecutor Matthew Roberts, the girl's father said: "I am reliving the incident again and felt unable to help my daughter when she was in distress... We no longer feel safe in our own home. I feel I no longer know my daughter. She is less trusting and pulls away from me."

The father described the impact of the assault as an "emotional rollercoaster" and stated he tried to take his own life and had turned to alcohol. He added: "It's awful to think this man came into my daughter's home, that was supposed to be her safe space, and did this to her."

The girl's mother said: "The actions of Sillcox have greatly affected me and my daughter's life. Since he committed this crime I have been unable to sleep at night and I'm constantly afraid it will happen again. I am no longer able to trust people as before. It's torn me to pieces, I've never felt so isolated and alone... The trauma has made me feel things I had never felt.... I cry all the time and find it hard to get my head around how he came into my home and did this to the most vulnerable person in the house, my beautiful daughter."

The mother said her daughter was "cautious, scared and worried", hides away and finds it hard to socialise, which the mother described as "heartbreaking" to see. The court heard Sillcox had four previous convictions, none of which were sexual offences. His barrister, Alex Greenwood, said the offence was "relatively short in duration" and said there was no penetration involved.

Sentencing, Recorder Greg Bull KC said: "The effect on (the victim) and her parents has been significant, she has seemed to have a changed personality and is no longer the child she was. You have shown no remorse and chose to plead not guilty as was your right. You said it was a concocted allegation against you. I reject that allegation by you."

Sillcox was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely and will be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order at a later date.

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A pervert who filmed himself wearing lingerie while trying to have a sexual chat with a 12-year-old girl was actually talking to an undercover police officer.

Roy Drummond dressed in clothing that included a panty set, various coloured stockings, a pink corset and a baby doll nightie during a series of sickening online conversations over social media site Kik in October 2021. Newcastle Crown Court heard Drummond, who claimed to be a 19-year-old from Manchester, sent pictures and videos of himself dressed up and using a sex toy to the person he thought was a child.

But prosecutor Joe Hedworth told the court the fake profile had been set up by a covert police operative and the 12-year-old did not exist. Mr Hedworth said: "She said she was a girl aged 12. The defendant continued the
conversation and it was sexual from the off. He said 'girls in uniform are cute'."

The court heard the graphic chat went on for several days until Drummond was arrested. He denied having any sexual interest in children and said he got involved in the conversation through "stupidity".

Drummond, 35, of Condercum Road, Benwell, Newcastle, admitted attempting to have sexual communication with a child between October 7 and October 19, 2021. Recorder Abdul Iqbal sentenced him to 12 months, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements and 100 hours unpaid work. Drummond has to sign the sex offenders register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Recorder Iqbal told him: "You said you thought you were talking to an adult pretending to be a child. Whether that's true or not is debatable. It is clear you were communicating with someone who was telling you she was 12 and you were obtaining sexual gratification from explaining to her your own sexual interests."

Kate Barnes, defending, said Drummond has ADHD and is prone to "impulsivity and poor decision making processes".
Miss Barnes said Drummond poses a low risk, has fully co-operated with the authorities and can be managed safely in the community.

Description

A HORDLE man who sexually assaulted a woman on their first date was branded a “considerable risk” to women by a judge as he jailed him for more than three years.

Steven Christian (25), of The Pines, caused his victim “severe psychological harm” resulting in panic attacks and nightmares after the incident in Burley on 1st July.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Christian had been exchanging texts with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, ahead of their first meeting at a picnic spot.

The victim, who suffers from anxiety, had told Christian she felt comfortable meeting at the spot as it was familiar and safe.

Prosecutor Simon Walter told the court Christian had been “sweet and understanding” about this, his victim later told police.

After walking for a while, the pair sat down and Christian repeatedly attempted to kiss the victim, the court heard.

She continually rejected his “persistent” actions, but eventually gave him a kiss in the hope he would leave her alone.

However, Mr Walter explained, Christian then proceeded to sexually assault the woman by placing his hands on her breasts.

He then repeatedly tried to put her hands on his genital area.

Despite the victim continually asking him to stop, Christian then pulled down his trousers and underwear, exposing himself.

The court heard he then began pleasuring himself.

Mr Walter added: “At this point the victim was literally shouting ‘no’ at him.

“He eventually stopped and abruptly left, acting as if nothing had happened.”

He later sent her a message in which he said he was “really sorry” and added: “I messed up, I’m sorry for letting you down.”

The victim contacted police and, after his arrest, Christian told officers any sexual contact had been consensual.

Reading an impact statement to the court, the victim said the incident had taken “a major toll” on her mental health.

She had been suffering with panic attacks and sleepless nights and was forced to take time off from work.

She said: “I was left feeling frightened and unsafe [and] I am fearful of being taken advantage of.

“I felt exploited, vulnerable and used. I am easily startled and on high alert. I am unable to go to the Forest, even in the company of my family.

“It will take me a long time to trust others again.”

The court heard Christian has one previous conviction for the rape of a woman, which happened in 2018.

He was then sentenced to five years in a young offenders institution and added to the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.

He was on licence at the time of the sexual assaults, the court heard.

Defending, Laura Duff said her client expressed “the deepest remorse” for the incident and now understood that thinking he could persuade the victim to engage with him in sexual activity was wrong.

She said he was prepared to get help for this behaviour.

He had a strong support network, with his parents present in court, she said, and a job he could return to if he was given a community order instead of a custodial sentence.

Judge Peter Henry sentenced Christian to 38 months in custody with an extended five-year period, meaning he will be kept under supervision after his release.

He told him: “I have no doubt you pose a considerable risk to women.

“An extended prison sentence is required to adequately protect women from the danger you pose.

“You say you were overwhelmed with desire and that you couldn’t help yourself – I suspect that is a recurring theme with you.”

He added the victim had been deceived by his “insincere conduct” and added: “What happened was very far from sweet and understanding.

“Just imagine the fear and disgust and the sense of violation felt by the victim when you were doing the repugnant and self-centred act in front of her.

“This is undoubtably a case where there is severe psychological harm caused by you, which is aggravated by the fact you were still on licence for a previous conviction, and your targeting of a particularly vulnerable victim.”

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A 15-year-old girl was raped by a stranger who offered to charge her phone for her.

The horrific attack happened just two days before the teen started her GCSE exams.

Warren Richardson, 19, was jailed for almost five years at Newcastle Crown Court last week after pleading guilty to rape. After his conviction the victim's mum has revealed the devastating impact the attack has had on her daughter's life.

The mum, who cannot be named to protect her daughter's identity, said: "It's had a massive impact on her. It's every parent's worst nightmare," reports Chronicle Live.

The attack happened on May 21 last year. The victim was in Newcastle City Centre after going to a birthday party in Jesmond when she realised her phone was dead, her mum said.

Richardson, who was 17 at the time, started talking to her. They went to a nearby fast food restaurant to ask to borrow a charger. But when this was unsuccessful Richardson offered to charge the victim's phone at his home, where he raped her.

When the teenager did not return home her mum called the police to report her missing.

"It's not her to not come home., and it wasn't like her not to answer," he mum said. Then the next morning she came back and told her sister what had happened.

Richardson, of Cross Parade in Elswick, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to rape in July. Last week he was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison. He was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order and a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Richardson must also sign onto the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Det Cons David Ostle, who led the investigation for Northumbria Police, has praised the victim's bravery

He said: “This was an absolutely appalling offence and I am pleased that Warren Richardson has been convicted at court.

“This outcome would not have been possible without the amazing bravery of the victim, who along with her family have shown huge support and cooperation throughout this investigation.

“I sincerely hope that this outcome offers them some comfort, seeing Richardson behind bars as a result of his despicable actions. I also hope that the victim’s bravery can give others the confidence to come forward and speak to police."

However, the victim's mum said it would take her a long time to get over what happened.

"These should be the best years of her life. She should be enjoying herself and she's not," she said. "She just doesn't want him to do this to anyone else. That's why she went all the way with it."

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Paul Vickers, of Moreland Road in South Shields, was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of six child sex offences, including three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

The 39-year-old denied the offences but following a five-day trial in June, he was found guilty by a jury.

The judge in the case remanded Vickers in custody until he is due to be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, October 31.

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A predatory paedophile sexually abused young girls for his "own depraved sexual urges". He left his victims scared of potential violence and thinking they would not be believed if they were to report the assaults.

Gary Morgan, 59, of Newport, targeted his two victims during the 1980s and 1990s. The abuse involved him touching one victim's naked genitalia as well as her chest and her bottom.

A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard the defendant stopped abusing the girl after she shouted: "No" as he attempted to touch her again. In his sentencing remarks. Recorder Dyfed Thomas said: "You pathetically apologised and said you thought she liked it. She was scared because nobody said no to you but she as a child was brave enough to do so."

Morgan sexually assaulted the second victim on two occasions, the first of which involved him pinning her arms against her side, forcing her legs open, and pressing his body up against her. This happened a second time on a later date when he pushed her down, pinned her, and pressed himself up against her.

Decades after the abuse the victims contacted the police and Morgan faced a trial. He denied the offences and claimed the victims were lying but he was found guilty of six offences of indecent assault. The defendant, of Jackson Court, has no relevant previous convictions.

In a victim personal statement read out to the court by prosecutor Nigel Fryer the first victim said: "As a child I was constantly scared and recall feeling physical pain. This was due to the trauma.... I was worried disclosing what had happened would lead to violence. I have had to live with this since I was a child and I continue to live with this. It became a learnt behaviour.

"I find it difficult to ask anybody for help. I became a destructive teenager and lost trust in authority and adults. The abuse impacted my education and I could have done so much better in school if I didn't have to deal with this.... I suffer with nightmares. I constantly feel guilty and responsible for the way other people feel. I feel guilty for not saying something sooner as I could have prevented other people being abused by this man."

The second victim said: "I struggle to get my head around everything that happened to me with this man. As a child I was scared – scared of what this man was capable of and what it would lead to. When I think about what this man has done to me I automatically get emotional – it has stayed with me throughout my life. I was afraid of him – he made me feel weak and helpless and when the incidents happened I was in shock and so vulnerable."

In mitigation defence barrister Thomas Stanway said his client was "living a chaotic lifestyle" at the time of the offences and had difficulties with alcohol but had "turned his life around" after beginning a relationship with his current partner of 23 years. He said the defendant had been in consistent employment in the construction industry and was a "family man" and "hardworking".

Sentencing, Recorder Thomas said: "You are a sexual offender who has been convicted of being a predatory paedophile whose offences were opportunistic in nature. You used children for your own depraved sexual urges."

Morgan was sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a restraining order indefinitely and a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

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Robert Man, 43, is wanted in his home country to complete a jail sentence for abusing seven youngsters during a three-year period.

Some of his victims were reportedly groomed after he landed a job driving children to a campsite run by a humanitarian charity.

Man is also wanted for possessing indecent images of children. His youngest victim was just nine.

He is currently on bail while appealing an extradition order made by a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court in London in July.

Man wears an electronic tag and is under a 7am to midday curfew at his home in Newport, South Wales, which allows him to do night shifts at an Amazon distribution centre in Bristol.

The retail giant confirmed Man was an employee but refused to say if they were aware of his criminal history. A spokesman said: “We are investigating.”

Alarmingly, Man’s rented room in Newport is just 150 yards from Stow Park Community Centre, which hosts weekly martial arts classes for kids as young as four, as well as children’s parties and clubs for youngsters with autism.

Willie Clason, secretary and trustee of Stow Park, said he did not recognise Man and that he has no connection with the centre.

“We have refugees coming here for food parcels, but they are thoroughly checked,” he said.

One neighbour with children, who did not wish to be named, said they no idea of Man’s past.

“It is terrible that someone wanted for such dreadful things against children is living so close by,” she protested. “We should have been told.”

Man has three years and three months left to serve of a five years and eight months sentence imposed by the County Court in Cluj in his absence in January 2020.

He was originally sentenced to 17 years and four months’ imprisonment after he made admissions to prosecutors in Romania in 2017.

However, Man was released months later after an appeal court ruled there had been errors during the original prosecution and that he “had not been fully entitled to exercise his right to defence.”

A judge set aside his conviction and ordered a retrial, where he was found guilty of eight sexual abuse charges, including five assaults, two counts of soliciting a minor for “sexual acts” and one child pornography offence.

Description

A vile pervert caught distributing sickening child abuse images for a second time has been jailed.

In August 2021, Matthew Lumley was locked up for three years for distributing, making and possessing indecent images of children. He had more than 13,000 indecent images and had been sent some by a man showing his son being abused.

He was released from that sentence in February this year but despite being subject to a sexual harm prevention order, he was soon back offending in a similar way. He communicated with what turned out to be an undercover police officer who had set up profiles online, including on a Russian photograph sharing website on which users can upload sexual images of children.

year-old daughter and posted an email address, which Lumley contacted with a username including the phrase "loveboys1997".

The officer said he was interested in boys and girls aged from 0-10 and Lumley said he was the same and liked "crying and tying up". He went on to say he "loves torture and pain", adding "any age turns me on". Lumley also asked the officer if he could create a custom video for him including a child screaming.

Within a few days he was soliciting videos of the officers six-year-old daughter. Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said: "He described in detail what he would like to see."

Lumley, 26, of Kingston Park, Newcastle, went on to sent two category A videos to the officer, including of a two-year-old "tied up and gagged" and "in obvious pain and distress" being abused by a woman.

Miss Dowling said: "The conversation continued for a few more days, with the contents of the video discussed and the defendant suggesting he had videos of babies being raped. They continued to exchange grotesque sexual fantasies about the abuse and torture of children."

When he was arrested, police found 826 indecent images on his phone, including 307 of the most serious type, category A.

He pleaded guilty to distributing two indecent images of children to the undercover officer, two counts of breaching the sexual harm prevention order and three counts of making indecent images of children. He was jailed for three years with an extended licence period of a further five years. He continues to be subject to sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Tim Gittins said Lumley is a dangerous offender and told him: "They included images that can only be described as sexual torture and terror committed against those children of the most tender years, babies and toddlers."

The judge said while Lumley's autism might be a factor in his obsessive collecting of images and social isolation, it is not the sole or decisive behaviour in his offending. He added: "You remain an intelligent young man despite those difficulties.

"You attended mainstream school and college and gained significant qualifications, in one sense worryingly, in relation to ICT and cyber security. You remain deeply sexually preoccupied and preoccupied with underage children in a sexual way."

Matthew Purves, defending, said: "Most people would describe this as absolutely unimaginable offending when one looks through the descriptions given by the police officer who viewed the images.

"The defendant is trying to process his own behaviour but has to accept the only real mitigation is the fact he has pleaded guilty. All of the offences are online, there are no contact offences.

"He accepts he has a particular interest, something that has not been the case historically and there are routes of treatment and rehabilitation available."

Description

A man in his 70s has been sentenced to  a total of nine and a half years for multiple sexual offences hidden in ‘plain sight’ against an underage girl after years of grooming her.

Charles Buxton, 71, of North Sydmonton, Newbury, Berkshire, was sentenced after appearing at Norwich Crown Court yesterday (13 September 2023). He was sentenced to four years and two months for sexual activity with a child, two years for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity to be served concurrently and five years and four months to be served consecutively. He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offender Register. 

Buxton previously pleaded guilty to the offences which happened between 2009 and 2011. 

On Monday 25 November 2019 the victim reported to the police she had been sexually abused historically and groomed into a sexual relationship by Buxton who was in his late 50s at the time he met the victim and her family in Cromer.

The court heard that Buxton had started by buying the victim gifts in the early 2000s, such as sweets, money and cigarettes. Buxton gained her ‘trust’ through buying her things and making her think she was in love with him before carrying out sexual activity with her.

In her statement, which the victim read out in court, she describes the impact: “Years have passed, chapters of my life written, my face and body have changed, my family has grown. The wounds of my childhood still open and weep, impacting my life in so many ways. I have suffered with my mental health since the abuse started and still now, it is a constant battle. You took away my voice, you blurred the lines of love, stole my innocence and did it all hidden in plain sight from the world.”

Description

A sex offender has been locked up for 10 years after his victim bravely came forward to reports his crimes.

John Weeden, previously known as John Hawthorn, 56, of Elswick, Newcastle, came to Northumbria Police’s attention in 2020 after a woman came forward to report that as a child he had sexually assaulted her on several occasions. An investigation was launched, and Weeden was subsequently charged with three sexual offences.

He denied any guilt but was found guilty by a jury of his peers in July. And on Monday, a judge heard a powerful statement written by the victim, in which she spoke of her lifelong trust issues and the continued devastation this has brought her.

She said: “The events have left a scar on me and changed me as a person.” But looking to the future, she added: “I have finally got the justice I have waited for so long and I hope this man never gets the opportunity to ruin another child’s life, like he did to mine.”

Following her impassioned statement, a judge sentenced Weeden to 10 years behind bars. Detective Constable Lisa Herron, of Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding department, said: “I really am in awe of the victim’s courage.

"As a child, she was terrified into silence, and it took a lot of bravery for her to report and share the details of her abuse. But thanks to her strength and resilience, she saw her attacker charged, convicted and now sentenced for his vile crimes. I truly hope this sentence gives the survivor a sense of justice and comfort.”

She added: “I also hope that this shows others who have suffered non-recent abuse that it’s never too late for justice. You will be listened to, supported and we will do everything we can to ensure your abuser is put before a court.

“You’re not alone and you don’t deserve to suffer in silence while your abuser gets to go about their day-to-day life answering to no-one. We are always here.”

For support or more information on how to disclose sexual assault or rape, visit Northumbria Police’s website: Rape and sexual assault : Northumbria Police. To report any other type of historic abuse, contact police on 101 or report online via the force’s website.