Latest Offenders Newcastle

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Police have welcomed the prison sentence handed to a former prison officer who sexually abused two schoolgirls after he was finally brought to justice.

Pervert John Saunders indecently assaulted his first victim in the mid-1990s but was not prosecuted despite the young victim reporting his abuse.

However, he then preyed on another schoolgirl in 2018 and when she reported the abuse the following year the previous matter was re-opened.

Saunders, of Liverpool Road, Cross Heath, Newcastle, had denied two charges of indecent assault and one charge of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration but was convicted of all three offences by a jury in October.

The 68-year-old was locked up for 13 years with an extended two years licence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court last week.

Welcoming the sentence, DC Gary Cliffe, of Staffordshire Police, said: I am delighted with the sentence handed to Saunders and we hope this sentence is a reminder that we will continue to do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice no matter how long ago these attacks took place."

Saunders must serve half of the custodial term - six-and-a-half years - before he can be considered for release by the parole board. After his release he will serve the rest of the total 15 year sentence on licence. He was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

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Alan Hawkins, of North Shields, has previous convictions for indecent assault and possessing and distributing indecent images

A serial pervert is back behind bars after police found an indecent image of boys on his phone.

Alan Hawkins has been jailed previously for indecent assault and possessing and distributing indecent images.

When police went to the registered sex offender's home in September this year, they examined his phone and the first picture they found in his photo gallery was the indecent image.

The court heard it was of the most serious type, category A.

Now the 57-year-old, of Saville Street West, North Shields, who has 23 previous convictions, has been jailed at Newcastle Crown Court.

The court heard he was jailed for 18 months for indecent assault in 1997, got five years for possessing and distributing indecent images in 2008, three years for possessing indecent images in 2018 and a suspended sentence last June for breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

On September 30, police attended his home and the latest offence was discovered.

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A prison officer who demanded sexual favours from female inmates in return for privileges has been jailed for six years and nine months.

David Whitfield took advantage of 12 women over a five year period at HMP Low Newton, in Durham, BBC reports.

The jail is the North East's only all women prison.

Following a three-week trial at Teesside Crown Court, the 36-year-old, of Colman Avenue in South Shields, was found guilty of misconduct in a public office.

Whitfield was cleared of a charge of sexual assault on a prisoner.

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said Whitfield would enter one prisoner's cell while she was naked and brush up against her, the BBC reports.

The jury was also told the pair regularly engaged in sexual acts - although it did not progress to intercourse - and in return the prisoner would be given advanced warning of cell searches and confiscated items would be given back to her.

The trial heard Whitfield, who no longer works for the prison service, would also watch inmates through their cell hatch and indicate he wanted them to undress.

Many of the inmates were described as vulnerable having previously suffered abuse.

Recorder David Gordon sentenced him to six years and nine months in jail.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “The vast majority of our staff carry out their duties to the highest standard and we will not hesitate to punish any individual that breaks the rules.”

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A predatory taxi driver who sexually assaulted a passenger as she slept in the front seat of his car has been jailed.

Bozlul Hoque, 44, has been sentenced to eight years behind bars after he drove his 21-year-old victim to a secluded street and abused her in April 2019.

Newcastle Crown Court was told how the black cab driver had picked up the female student from outside a city centre bar in the early hours of the morning.

She got into the front seat and asked to be taken to her home address but she fell asleep during the journey.

The terrified victim awoke a short time later to find Hoque had parked in a secluded street and was sexually assaulting her.

She screamed at the driver who then transported her to her to a friend’ address where the victim reported what had happened to police.

The married father-of-three was arrested but denied sexually assaulting the woman and claimed she had been intoxicated and unable to provide him with her address.

But forensic examination found his DNA on the victim and he was charged with sexual assault and later pleaded guilty at court.

On Tuesday Hoque, of Croydon Road, Newcastle, was jailed for eight years at Newcastle Crown Court.

Following the case, the investigating officer at Northumbria Police praised the bravery the victim had shown throughout the investigation and subsequent court proceedings.

Detective Constable Joe Birkett said: “This should have been a five minute journey but we were able to use CCTV and mobile phone data to prove the victim was in the car for 30 minutes.

“Hoque tried to claim this was because of her intoxication but forensic analysis showed he had physical contact with her and the mountain of evidence against him resulted in a guilty plea.

“He was a licenced taxi driver who had undergone vulnerability training and was in a position of trust. His sole duty should have been getting his customer home safely.

“Instead he abused that position of trust and I welcome the significant custodial sentence handed to this sexual predator by the judge.

“This result would not have been possible if it were not for the bravery of the victim in this case and I want to take this opportunity to thank her for having the courage to come forward.

“We hope this sentencing can bring her some comfort and shows other victims of sexual assault that we will do everything in our power to put predators behind bars.”

In a victim impact statement read during the sentencing hearing, Hoque’s victim said her abuser took advantage of her ‘in the worst possible way’.

She said: “This assault on me occurred more than two years ago and yet I cannot shake the memory of this event from my mind.

“The nightmares are still happening, the night terrors still wake me up breathless and panicking, the anxiety of traveling in a taxi is still there.

“But for the last two years this man has denied what he did. He has lied continuously to the Police in his interviews and he has sought out every way to avoid being held responsible.

“I don't believe he has one ounce of remorse in his body. He is simply pleading guilty because the evidence against him is overwhelming and he has been backed into a comer.

“I can’t help wondering how many other single drunk females have climbed into his taxi like me and suffered similar things. I doubt I was the first but I hope I will be the last.”

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A NHS computer expert downloaded sick indecent images of children a second time during "extraordinary" delays in his case when police lost evidence.

Ross Morton was arrested as long ago as 2014 for having the illegal material but his case went off into the long grass when "exhibits went missing".

The evidence was later found by Northumbria Police but by that time Morton had gone on to offend again in the same way.

Now, after a further three year delay - and seven years after his initial arrest - he has finally been brought to justice.

However a judge hit out at the "extraordinary amount of time" it had taken the authorities to prosecute him.

Newcastle Crown Court heard it was in December 2014 that police went to his then-home in Sunderland and found hundreds of indecent photographs and movies on his mobile phone, featuring children as young as four.

He had also used search terms indicating he was seeking out such material.

He was released under investigation and then interviewed again in 2016 and asked about disturbing chats police found on the Kik platform, including reference to film of a six-year-old engaged in sexual activity.

Andrew Findlay, prosecuting, said Morton told police it was just role-playing and he faces no charges in relation to that activity.

He was released under investigation again and nothing happened until police went to his home in Longbenton, North Tyneside, in July 2018.

His equipment was seized and hundreds more indecent images were found, including some of the most serious kind and featuring children as young as four and five.

Mr Findlay said: "He was interviewed again and admitted accessing indecent images through the dark web as a result of the previous police investigation.

"He said he had not known the dark web existed until that point and said he was searching out of curiosity.

"He said he wanted to be more informed about what he was being investigated for and said it made him physically sick and not aroused."

Morton, 28, of Station Road, Gosforth, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images of children and possessing an extreme pornographic image and was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work. He must also do a sex offenders treatment course and will be subject to sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Recorder Jamie Hill QC told him: "The fact is children who are photographed or filmed are essentially being abused.

"The creation of those images is fuelled by the market of people who want to view them."

The judge added: "I'm struggling to understand how this has taken so long to get to court. You have been waiting for this day of sentence for seven years. That's an extraordinary length of time.

"I'm told the explanation is at some stage the police had lost the exhibits then re-found them.

"That seven year delay is tempered somewhat by the fact that three years ago the police found some more images which does you no credit, of course.

"Again there has been a three year delay since that point which is an extraordinary amount of time."

Recorder Hill said he would suspend the sentence as probation assessed him as a low risk of reoffending and capable of living a constructive life.

Stuart Graham, defending, said: "Through his actions, he has thrown everything away.

"He had a good job. That was suspended and he is in no doubt he will be sacked. He was an IT support expert for the NHS.

"If the police had done things right in 2014 he probably would not have offended again.

"It's seven years he has had this hanging over him. It all went quiet for two years from 2014 to 2016. He contacted the police several times trying to get hold of particular officers with no reply coming back. I don't know if it was embarrassment on the police's behalf for losing the exhibits.

"Then it was not for another two or three years that everything was back before the court again."

Mr Graham said Morton was "appalled" and felt "revulsion" at the images and he had been "exceedingly tearful", especially at the prospect of having to tell his family what he had done.

He added that Morton had been doing charity work and trying to make up for what he had done "including staying in the NHS in these difficult times".

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “We are committed to bringing cases to court in a timely manner and working with our criminal justice partners to help ensure this happens.

“We recognise that on this occasion there has been a delay. We are, however, pleased that justice has been carried out.

“We will ensure any learning points from this case are taken forward.”

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A paedophile network pervert who took illegal photos of a child was caught with thousands of indecent images of youngsters.

Adam Lumley exchanged thousands of photographs and videos with like-minded sex offenders online.

The 29-year-old, convicted of indecent exposure last year, had amassed his vile collection between 2013 and 2020.

Newcastle Crown Court he also distributed some of the material and was part of a network of paedophiles sharing images online.

Now Lumley, of Stanton Street, Arthurs Hill, Newcastle, has been jailed for more than three years.

Judge Julie Clemitson told him: "A large number of victims were caused great harm in the making of those images.

"People like you who trade in indecent images of children perpetuate the misery those children suffer as they are abused to produce those images for other people's sexual gratification."

Lumley pleaded guilty to distributing indecent images and possessing 2,611 of the most serious, category A, images, including 1,628 movies. He also had 1,674 category B and 3,021 category C.

The ages of the children ranged from babies to 15 year olds.

There were many thousands of other images on his devices and cloud platforms that police did not examine to see if they were illegal.

He admitted he planned to upload some pictures he took of a child doing a private act in exchange for more material from other users.

Lumley also admitted voyeurism, possessing extreme pornography involving an adult and a dog and possessing prohibited images of a child.

When he was interviewed by the police, he admitted he had a sexual interest in children.

Andrew Findlay, prosecuting, said: "He had spoken to others (on online cloud platforms) about their interest in children, fantasising about sexual activity with children and images were exchanged.

"There's clearly an active involvement in a network that creates and shares images of children."

Lumley was jailed for three years and two months and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and sex offenders registration for ten years.

The court heard he has lost his marriage as a result of his offending and he he has become very isolated, with most of his family distancing themselves from him as they are appalled.

Brian Hegarty, defending, said he had been candid about what he had done from the outset.

He added that Lumley has been viewing pornography since he was 13, soon after his dad died, his mum having died when he was 11.

Mr Hegarty said: "He was very isolated and spent most of his time in his room involved in what was thought to be gaming activities but was him looking at pornography.

"Initially he looked at adult pornography but the searches he conducted caused him to look at indecent images. It's a habit which has developed over a number of years.

"He accepts he had a significant number of images and videos of the very worse sort."

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A "vile" paedophile who subjected two young girls to a campaign of sexual abuse has been jailed.

Edward Brady, 61, from Heaton, indecently assaulted two young girls for more than 10 years where he forced the young girls to carry out sex acts on him and he sexually touched them.

He also placed a camera in a toilet roll holder in a bathroom to obtain footage of his victims for his own sexual gratification.

But the victims bravely came forward and Northumbria Police's Safeguarding unit launched an investigation.

After he was questioned by police, Brady was charged with two counts of indecency with a child, three counts of indecent assault and one count of voyeurism.

Brady of Coast Road, Heaton, pleaded guilty to all six offences and was sentenced to seven years and eight months at Newcastle Crown Court last Friday.

He was also given an indefinite restraining order and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which places strict restrictions on him as well as certain requirements he will have to comply with upon his release from prison.

Detective Constable Karin Mcmorrow led the investigation and hopes the sentencing can help the women move on with their lives.

Det Cons Mcmorrow said: "This has been such an awful case. Brady is a vile man and thankfully behind bars where he belongs. He exploited two innocent girls for his own sickening sexual gratification leaving his victims with a lifetime of emotional suffering.

"They have been so brave to speak out and I hope their strength can help encourage other victims who have suffered abuse - no matter when in their lives - to come forward.

"These victims are living a life sentence for what Brady has done to them but I hope the sentencing today can give them some closure."

Anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse - recent or non-recent - are urged to report it to police via the Northumbria Police website or contact 101.

There is also independent support and advice available through Victims First Northumbria.

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A young girl was repeatedly raped after her family pressured her to drop earlier allegations against her abuser.

When the vulnerable child finally plucked up the courage to report that she had been abused by Craig Wight, it seemed her nightmare would be over.

But in an "appalling" development, members of her family persuaded her it would be best if she withdrew the complaint.

The youngster did as she was asked but months later Wight subjected her to a series of even more serious sex attacks, including multiple painful rapes.

Now the 43-year-old paedophile, who groomed the victim by telling her he loved her, has been jailed for 15 years at Newcastle Crown Court.

Sentencing Wight, Judge Stephen Earl said it was "appalling" that the victim had been pressured into dropping the earlier allegations, which were of a less serious type than what went on to happen.

The judge outlined a series of despicable acts which he labelled "abhorrent abuse".

Judge Earl said: "He repeatedly told her he loved her and he spoke about how the relationship could develop more when she got to 16.

"He took advantage of her vulnerability.

"This is not love, this is a form of control.

"You don't love someone when you are 40-odd and they are (a child) and you are ... raping them."

The judge paid tribute to the victim for reporting what had happened to her.

He said: "It's an amazing testament that she's got the courage to report these matters.

"She has been failed by the adults in her life.

"She has felt isolated, out of place, vulnerable, emotional, a child unable to cope.

"These are phrases that burn themselves into your consciousness when you read them."

Wight, of Hadrian Court, Killingworth, North Tyneside, admitted 18 sex offences including three of rape, although he raped her "at least four or five times", the court heard.

Judge Earl told Wight he would have to serve two-thirds of the 15 year sentence and will be on the sex offenders register for life and subject to a sexual harm prevention order

The judge told him: "You had a clear warning when she made and retracted, through pressure, her first complaint.

"I can only express horror for the way you have callously acted towards her."

Judge Earl said there was "very little mitigation" in Wight's favour.

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Pervert Andrew Parsons was snared by paedophile hunters after turning up to a "secret" meeting with an underage boy.

The 51-year-old chatted to a "boy" called James on gay dating app Grindr, not realising it was a decoy profile set up by Dark Justice.

Despite being told James was only 15 and a virgin, Parsons asked if he was "discreet" after describing in detail the sexual acts they could do together.

When a meeting was arranged Parsons said it should be "kept a secret".

Prosecutor Lee Fish told Newcastle Crown Court: "The defendant asked if anyone knew that James was coming to his house and he said no.

"What then happened was members of Dark Justice and the police went to the agreed meeting point and the defendant was arrested."

Parsons admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming, in April 2017.

The court heard he has a previous conviction for sexual activity in a public lavatory.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced Parsons to 18 months behind bars. and imposed a sexual harm prevention order and told him he must sign the sex offenders register, both for ten years.

The judge told him: "James said he was a virgin and had never done this before.

"This did not deter you.

"You gave him your contact details, where you lived, well aware what you were doing was wrong.

"You asked if he was discreet and could keep a secret."

The court heard Parsons claimed he had "turned a blind eye" to the boy's age and was "disgusted" by child sex abuse.

Judge Adams added: "No sexual activity with a child did occur or in fact could have occurred. No child existed, it was a decoy.

"This is a sentence which cannot be appropriately suspended, although non-custodial options are available, it seems to me there has to be some form of deterrent in cases like this, where people take risks, not expecting to be caught.

"Had this person been a child, significant harm could have been caused."

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A pervert calling himself a “sugar daddy of alcohol” during sleazy communications with what he thought was a child was snared in a police sting.

Nathan Glover began chatting to a profile on dating app Badoo, with the other person initially advertising themselves as being 18.

However, when he was told they were 14, that didn’t put him off as it should have done.

The chat moved onto chat app Kik and became sexual, with Glover sending images of his genitals to the decoy profile, which was being run by police.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 27-year-old made sexual suggestions and asked for swimwear pictures of her.

He also offered to buy the “child” alcohol and asked what he would get in return.

Glover, of Talbot Road, South Shields, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to have sexual communication with a child.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lane said a police employee had set up a profile on adult site Badoo in July last year and Glover made contact the same day.

Mr Lane said: "There was some general chatting and the undercover operator made it known they were a 14-year-old child, though had signed up to the account as an 18-year-old.

"The defendant replied 'thought you looked very young to be 18'.

"The conversation continued, during which the defendant offered to buy alcohol for the person he believed was 14.

"He referred to himself as a sugar daddy of alcohol."

The court heard Glover asked what he would get in return for alcohol and the conversation was then transferred onto the Kik app and "quickly turned sexual".

Mr Lane said: "He asked for pictures of her wearing a swimsuit. The officer disclosed that the person was a virgin and he replied he thought it was sexy he could teach them."

Mr Lane said Glover sent a graphic picture with sexual suggestions before he was confronted by the police.

He told officers the conversation had "turned flirty and sexual" and confessed he knew it was wrong.

Glenn Gatland, defending, said Glover was a "socially isolated man" with a depressive illness who was mostly on his own except for the company of his cat.

Mr Gatland said: "He didn't go in there to look for an underage person."

Mr Gatland said Glover had talked about "cats and dogs" with the teen before the conversation turned sexual.

Judge Amanda Rippon sentenced Glover to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation and programme requirements.

Glover must sign the sex offenders register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for seven years.

The judge told him: "You were told the officer was 14 and you continued in conversation with that person, no doubt you believed that person was 14."

She added: "You did think you were inviting a 14-year-old girl to have sex with you."

Judge Rippon said Glover has never been in trouble before, has been assessed as a "low risk" of committing contact offences, is genuinely remorseful and that his significant depression was linked to the commission of the offences.

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A convicted child rapist caught with a hoard of indecent images said he had them as a "coping mechanism" to stop him abusing more youngsters.

Jordan Chambers was a youth himself when he was jailed for 57 months for raping a younger boy and molesting a girl.

A court heard he received no help or courses while in a young offenders institution to deal with his sexual interest in children, which remained after he was released on licence.

He was caught with hundreds of indecent images of children, some aged under 10, when police examined his phone.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he said looking at the illegal material helped prevent him from carrying out further contact offences.

It was in November that Northumbria Police's paedophile online investigation team went to his house after receiving information about his behaviour.

He initially denied having a phone but when officers found an iPhone charger plugged into the wall, he told them the device was under his bed.

An examination uncovered 157 of the most serious, category A images, 176 category B and 699 category C. There were also two videos, one of category A and one category B.

The court heard he had posted one of the images on Facebook, although he was not charged with distributing images, just three counts of making them between July and November, which he admitted.

He said he had stored the indecent material on a cloud storage app.

Nick Lane, prosecuting, said: "By way of explanation, he said he had a sexual interest in children and he used the images he downloaded via the Tor browser as a coping mechanism to make sure he didn't commit any further contact offences.

"He said following his previous conviction and since his release from custody he had received little or no help with regard to his sexual preference for children and had been unable to prevent himself looking at the images."

Chambers, of Elton Street West, Wallsend, had been jailed at Preston Crown Court in 2016 for raping a boy under the age of 13 and sexually assaulting a girl aged between 13 and 15.

He was 15 or 16 at the time he carried out those attacks, for which he was sent to a young offenders institution for 57 months, placed on the sex offenders register and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

He has been recalled on licence for that sentence, with his release date being October 31 this year.

For the latest, indecent images offences, he was jailed for 12 months, of which he will serve up to half.

Shaun Routledge, defending, said: "While he was serving his last sentence he asked on numerous occasions to go on the Horizon (sex offences) course. He has never been given a single sexual prevention course, despite getting 57 months.

"He said he didn't get on the course and other people did. The course was not available.

"It's the first thing he said to the police when he was arrested. He needs help.

"He is young and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."

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A convicted paedophile who dressed up as Santa and offered to pose for pictures with children in exchange for money has been sent back to jail.

Stephen Brown, 40, stood near the popular Fenwick’s festive window display in Newcastle city centre, where he offered to have his picture taken with youngsters while dressed in a red Father Christmas suit and fake white beard.

Police believe two people posed for a picture with Brown, who had a sign saying “get ya picture taken and leave Santa Claus a donation”, without realising he was a convicted sex offender.

Security staff at the department store raised the alarm with police after becoming concerned by the stranger hanging around outside.

It was then that police discovered he had been handed a lifetime sexual offences protection order in 2012 after he was jailed for five years for possession of indecent images and inciting a child to engage in a sex act.

Brown was immediately arrested by police on a packed Northumberland Street on Saturday.

He was later charged with breaching the order for the second time since being released from prison in January 2017.

Brown will now be spending Christmas behind bars after being jailed for six weeks at Bedlington Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Brown, of Fawdon, Newcastle, was jailed for five years in July 2012 after admitting a string of child sex offences.

A court was told how a teenage girl contacted police after an anonymous social media account befriended her and sent a string of sexual messages.

The user, later identified as Brown, encouraged her to perform sex acts and even threatened the schoolgirl when she refused to carry out his demands.

Brown was arrested at his home, where police discovered a number of indecent images of children during a search.

He was arrested and convicted of 14 offences including possession of indecent images, making an indecent image and inciting a child to perform a sex act.

Chief Inspector Steve Wykes, of Northumbria Police, praised the teamwork of Fenwick’s security staff and officers on patrol in the city at the weekend.

He said: “Stephen Brown would not have looked out of place on Northumberland Street this weekend dressed as Santa Claus.

“There has been a fantastic atmosphere in the city in the lead up to Christmas and thousands of people were in the area doing their shopping.

“Many people would have walked by Brown and thought that it was perfectly normal for him to be offering people the chance to pose for a picture.

“But security staff at Fenwick knew something wasn’t quite right and have contacted our officers who have checked his details and taken decisive action.

“Brown’s SOPO stated that he was not allowed any contact with children unless he had the consent of a parent or guardian who was aware of his convictions.”

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A man has admitted 49 charges including sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl and possessing nearly 250,000 indecent images of children.

Konstantinos Hrisos, 63, admitted the raft of charges when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested Hrisos, of Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, in September last year after discovering he had been downloading indecent images of children (IIOC).

Officers searched his home and recovered electronic devices which contained 246,829 abuse images – including 1,040 Category A (the most severe) images and videos, and a further 23,527 prohibited images.

Among Hrisos’s sick collection of images were ‘upskirt’ pictures he had taken in a park of two girls aged approximately five and 12.

During the investigation, NCA officers learnt Hrisos had also been abusing a seven-year-old girl for at least 12 months.

He had taken more than 2,000 images and videos of the victim as he abused her and admitted sexually assaulting her on nearly 30 occasions.

He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on 6 September.

Graham Ellis, NCA operations manager, said: “Konstantinos Hrisos is a danger to children.

“He’s gone from downloading images online, to photographing children in a park to eventually abusing a child. Hrisos’s offending has escalated in a way that the NCA is seeing in many other cases.

“The NCA knows that the scale and severity of this offending against children is worsening.

“We and UK police arrest around 450 child sex offenders a month and safeguard about 680 children a month.

“UK referrals from the tech industry of child sexual abuse material have jumped in recent years - from 43,072 in 2016 to 82,109 in 2017 and 113,948 in 2018.

“Behind every image is a child whose life has been utterly devastated by their abuse and men like Hrisos are perpetuating that suffering.”

Child Protection Charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation runs the Stop It Now! helpline which offers confidential advice to anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s behaviour towards children.

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A Catholic priest who sexually abused two teenage boys at a seminary where he taught has been jailed for 18 years.

Michael Higginbottom, 76, was found guilty by a jury of five counts of serious sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault following a re-trial.

The boys were abused as they boarded at St Joseph's College, a Catholic seminary in Upholland, Lancashire, which has now closed, in the 1970s and 80s.

During a two-week trial, jurors heard he 'regularly, systematically and horrifically' abused the boys.

Prosecutor David Temkin said: "They were both threatened with violence and both were struck with a strap or a belt."

The Crown Prosecution Service said he breached his position of trust 'in the most horrific way'.

Judge Andrew Woolman, sentencing Higginbottom on Tuesday, told him: "You were in the highest position of trust in relation to these boys, who you abused in a quite appalling way.

"I have no doubt that you specifically targeted these boys.

"These acts were accompanied, time after time, by threats or actual violence under the guise of a normal school punishment.

"The way you acted left them with a sense of shame and of guilt, as well as the sense that no-one would believe them if they complained."

The first victim came forward to police in 2016 to report he had suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse by Higginbottom between 1978 and 1979.

The second victim saw a TV news report on the initial trial in 2017 and recognised the priest because he sexually abused him too in the mid-1980s, the CPS said.

The boys did not attend the college at the same time and do not know each other.

But the CPS said they gave evidence of having suffered similar experiences when they were around the same age in Higginbottom's private quarters.

Wendy Chappell, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Michael Higginbottom carried out a series of violent sexual assaults, often using a belt to threaten or hit them if the boys were not compliant.

"He carried out the offences whilst in a position of trust within the school and the community as a priest and a teacher, which he breached in the most horrific way.

"Through the case Higginbottom described the allegations as 'total lies' and claimed he did not remember either of the boys.

"However, after we presented the overwhelming evidence against him before the court, the jury found him unanimously guilty of all the charges he faced.

"I would like to pay tribute to the two victims for their immense courage in coming forward and re-living their traumatic experiences by giving evidence against their abuser, with the first victim having to re-live it a second time at the re-trial.

"I hope that following todays sentence that they will be able to find some closure.

Higginbottom, from Newcastle, denied all the charges he faced.

But after the re-trial at Burnley Crown Court, he was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault in relation to the first victim, and one count of sexual assault in relation to the second victim.

Both victims can't be named for legal reasons.

The CPS said Higginbottom had originally been convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2017 of the offences in relation to the first victim, but faced a re-trial after they were quashed on appeal.

The re-trial included an additional charge in relation to the second victim.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Ollerton, of Lancashire Police, said: "This abuse has had a devastating effect on these boys throughout their now-adult lives and for many years."

The court heard Higginbottom would serve half his sentence in prison and half out on licence.

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A serial sex pest is facing jail after being caught perving in the women's toilets in a supermarket.

Brian Melucci startled a woman as she went to flush by leering at her from underneath the cubicle in Tesco Extra on Norham Road in North Shields.

The shocked victim tried to confront the pervert, but the 24-year-old repeatedly ignored her and quickly scuttled to the store's exit.

Melucci denied charges of observing a person doing a private act and breaching a sexual harm prevention order following the unsavoury episode on April 11.

However, he was found guilty on both counts following a trial at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Thursday and has been warned he will likely be sentenced to at least a year behind bars.

The court heard evidence from the victim who confirmed she entered the supermarket toilets at about 7.15am, and noticed the middle cubicle was occupied.

She said: "I knew there was someone in there because the door shut and I could hear shuffling.

"My phone pinged so I got that out and turned to the left to flush the string. As I turned I saw there was a head on the cubicle floor.

“His head was right under, it looked like he was on the floor. He had something in his hand but I could not see what it was.

"I thought it could be a child because you don’t expect to see a man in there."

The woman instinctively kicked her foot out and demand answers from Melucci. She quickly pulled her trousers up and opened her cubicle door to see him making for the exit.

She added: "As he walked past I thought good God, it’s a man."

CCTV footage was played to the court of the woman following Melucci through the supermarket, repeatedly trying to grab his attention.

She finished: "I followed him out and said excuse me, he totally blanked me. He was smug and sauntered out."

The woman insisted she was "100%" sure the face she saw beneath the cubicle was Melucci.

Giving evidence, the 24-year-old admitted he entered the women's toilets but insisted it was by mistake.

Melucci, of Norfolk Gardens, Wallsend, who has previous convictions for exposure, assault and criminal damage, claimed he had not been home that night following a party and was "extremely drunk".

He said: “I had not been home, I was extremely drunk. I didn't realise I had been in [the women's toilets] until I was arrested.

"I know I didn't do it, I was not absolutely mortal."

Jonathan Stirland, defending, insisted his client had been falsely identified as the man spotted peeping underneath the cubicle.

He said: "It's not the defence's case that somebody didn't look, it's the defence's case it was not the defendant.

On the charge of observing a private act for sexual gratification, Mr Stirland added: "You are making a quantum leap to conclude there could be no other reason why a person could find themselves in that situation."

But David Ward, prosecuting, insisted there was no-one else present in the women's toilets and there was only one possible purpose for Melucci to be spotted in the compromising position.

He said: “We have clear CCTV showing he is the person she's following, he accepts that.

"That's the person that had his head underneath the cubicle, that's absolutely clear unless the defence are suggesting there's a mystical person who can disappeared from the cubicle.

"It had to be for sexual gratification, there's no other reason for it.

"To suggest this lady is making it all up and lying, and there's someone else in there, is a flight of fantasy."

Chair of the bench David Dawson found Melucci guilty on both counts, and sent the case to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing on July 11.

Delivering the verdict, he said: “We're satisfied with all the evidence that only the complainant and the defendant in the toilets.

"We're satisfied it was the defendant peering under the cubicle, and we're also satisfied it was for his personal sexual gratification.

"There's no other reasonable explanation for these actions."