Latest Offenders Norfolk

Description

A West Winch man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and banned from approaching lone women in public.

Kelvin Morgan, 47, of Watering Lane, West Winch appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court last week and was found guilty of unwanted sexual touching of a female over 16 inside an address on 17 January 2024.

He was sentenced at the same court yesterday (Monday 12 May 2025) to three months in prison (which he has already served in prison since he was remanded last year). He has also been put on the sex offenders register for seven years and handed an interim Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

The CBO has eight conditions – half of which relate to carers and members of NHS staff. However there are four that apply to members of the public and they state that Morgan must not:

Description

A Fakenham man faces a possible jail sentence after admitting having thousands of images of the abuse of children aged as young as one.  

Stelian Radu, 34, pleaded guilty to making indecent images involving youngsters including 1,300 deemed to be category A, the most serious. 

Appearing at Norwich Magistrates’ Court he also admitted making 752 category B images and 692 category C.

Nichola Lamb, prosecuting, said the images involved children aged from babies to teens. 

Radu, of Warren Avenue, also pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited image of a child and 91 extreme pornographic images involving animals. 

He also admitted three charges of distributing indecent images of children including 19 category A images. 

Committing him to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court, District Judge Paul Booty said the possible jail sentence was outside the jurisdiction of his powers.

He rejected strict bail conditions including measures to limit online activities, saying it was a “backdoor sexual harm prevention order” and that Radu had not reoffended since his arrest in December 2023.  

He was given unconditional bail until he is sentenced on June 9.

Description

A man who raped and sexually assaulted women he met on a dating app described as 'predatory' has today (Thursday 24 April) been jailed for 12 years.

Jamie Kadolski, aged 24, of Ladysmith Road, Norwich, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court following a trial at the same court in November 2024 where he was found guilty of three counts of rape,  three sexual offences against one woman and a total of three sexual offences against two other women.

Kadolski was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison and three years on extended licence. 

Kadolski first came to the attention of police in January 2023 when a women who had met him on a dating app reported a sexual assault. He was arrested and questioned and released on bail while further enquiries were made. In September 2023 two other women contacted police to say they too had been assaulted by him.

Kadolski was charged in April 2024 and remanded in custody until his trial.

The court heard that some of the victims reported Kadolski wearing an ambulance service uniform to gain their trust before he assaulted them. Kadolski had previously worked as an ambulance call handler and a hospital healthcare assistant and had retained uniforms and ID cards associated with those roles even though he was not permitted to. In fact when officers attended Kadolski's home after his arrest they found an array of uniforms and medical equipment he was not entitled to have or use.

Kadolski was not a paramedic but had posted a photograph on social media of himself wearing paramedic epaulettes. He'd previously worked as a first aider at private events and manipulated that green coloured uniform to make it look like he was a paramedic.  The court heard how he also used stickers on his ID card to hide the more junior roles he had held in healthcare settings.

In statements read out in court his victims told of the impact Kadolski's attacks had had on them.

One woman said: "Almost every night I have these nightmares that Jamie's got into my house and comes into my room and rapes me over and over then I wake up, having just relived all of it again, and then have to go about my day as normal.

"I used to go out almost every weekend and had a very vibrant social life, now I'm lucky if I see my friends once through the month because I just do not feel comfortable outside my own house."

Another woman told how the attack affected a recent hospital admission. She said : "I demanded to leave because I was so triggered by the healthcare workers.

"Every worker had Jamie's face and every footstep was his. I am a wreck and a shell of who I once was.

"Wherever I go, I look for the exit and stay as close to it as possible. I have forgotten what it feels like to be safe"

Detective Constable Claire Floyd, who led the investigation, described Kadolski as "predatory and remorseless" and paid tribute to his victims for coming forward.

She said: "The incredible strength and courage these women have shown throughout the investigation and criminal justice process cannot be overstated.

"All have suffered truly traumatic ordeals at Kadolski's hands. It is thanks to them that he is now behind bars and no longer able to cause harm to anyone else.

“Although no sentence can ever make up for what happened to these women, I hope today's result can give them some sense of comfort that this dangerous and manipulative sexual predator will be in prison for a significant period of time."

Kadolski was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and indefinite Restraining Order and will have to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Description

A high-ranking RAF officer famed for his role in Royal Norfolk Show freefall parachute displays has been jailed for raping a young woman.

Flight Lieutenant Michael Reeve, 32, from Aylsham, has been sent to prison for five years and six months by a military court after the attack on a 23-year-old civilian after a formal dinner.

He was sentenced at the Military Court Centre in Catterick on March 28 following a conviction at trial for two offences of rape and assault by penetration. 

The sex attack happened during an event they attended on January 12 last year, at an evening which was supposed to promote the armed forces.

Reeve had taken the victim - who, with a friend, had been invited to the dinner - up to his room to show her his RAF memorabilia after she had shown an interest in joining the force.

It was then that he raped her.

After the victim left the room, she immediately confided in her friend and Reeve was arrested.

The pair had known each other prior to the dinner as the victim had been working where Reeve was posted.

The court martial heard that immediately after the attack, Reeve made comments to the woman where he had said "something along the lines of in the military women who engage in sexual activity are considered badly while men get points.”

A detailed victim impact statement provided at to the military court revealed what an "obviously profound effect" the attack has had upon her everyday life. 

The report added: “The tragedy of this case is that a 10 to 15 minute trip to your room has left two lives if not ruined but deeply affected.

"It has affected her psychologically, it has affected her confidence, it has at least temporarily defeated her career ambition to commission into the Royal Air Force, it has affected her ability to trust other people particularly fellow Service people and those with whom she might otherwise want to enter a relationship.

“She does remain optimistic that as time passes the effect of that evening will lessen.

“There is nothing that we can do that will undo the harm that has happened to those involved now in the case.

“But dealing with this case in a just and appropriate way will at least provide a foundation for both you and [name redacted] to hopefully move forward."

When asked if he understood the sentence, he simply replied "Yes, your Honour".

Reeve has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A man has been jailed for ten years for raping a man in a Norwich park.

Idrees Jaff, aged 39, of Berners Close, Norwich was sentenced today (Wednesday 19 February 2025)  at Norwich Crown Court.

It follows a trial at King's Lynn Crown Court in December 2024 where a jury found him guilty unanimously of two counts of rape of a male.

Jaff was sentenced to ten years in prison and a further four years on extended licence.  He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and will be deported.

During the trial the court heard how the victim had been walking near Chapelfield Gardens on the night of 10 June 2024, when he was spotted by Jaff. 

Jaff, who was unknown to the man,  then followed him into the park and raped him.

In a statement read in court the victim described the impact the attack has had on him and his family as 'unbearable'.

"At times I feel like I have lost my mind. This is not the life I want to lead and wasn't the life I was living before this happened.

"I have had terrible nightmares about this incident, mainly of seeing the suspect in court smirking. I will now never forget his face.

"The impact this has had on my family is unbearable. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have support around me. This is something no family should have to go through"

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Hayley Green, from Norfolk Constabulary's Safeguarding and Investigation unit said: "This was a very harrowing incident where a man was targeted in public by a stranger.

"Jaff is clearly a dangerous individual who showed predatory behaviour taking advantage of someone who was very vulnerable late at night.

"I would like to commend the victim for his incredible bravery and strength throughout the investigation and trial.

"Unsurprisingly he has been left struggling to come to terms with what happened, but I hope knowing that Jaff will be in prison for a considerable time will allow him to try and move forward from this devastating ordeal and start to rebuild his life".

Description

A Great Yarmouth man has today (Friday 24 January) been jailed for 18 years for raping a young child.

Daniel Russell, 38, of Tolhouse Street, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court after a jury found him guilty following a trial at the same court in November 2024.

He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a further 6 years on licence for two counts of raping a child under the age of 13, causing a child to watch a sexual act and making indecent images of children. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and is subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.  During sentencing Judge David Pugh described Russell as a dangerous offender who posed a continuing risk to children. 

Russell first came to the attention of police in January 2021 when he was arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images. These indecent images were not of the victim in this case - but while that investigation was ongoing, officers became aware of the abuse of the young child and Russell was subsequently charged with rape.

During the trial the court heard how the offences took place between 2016 and 2021 on train journeys when Russell would take the child into the toilets and show her pornography before assaulting her.

In a personal statement read in court, the victim's mother told of the emotional impact the assaults have had on her daughter.

She said: "She is more withdrawn and nervous around new people. She has had to have counselling and is likely to need more in the future as she grows up and has more of an understanding what she has gone through. 

"When she heard the verdict, she slept through the night for the first time in years. But we'll still be dealing with this for many years and the real long-term impact is not yet known". 

The victim’s mother also wished to thank the police and other agencies involved in the case for the support provided.

Speaking after today's sentencing Detective Sergeant Mark Carrier from Norfolk Constabulary's Child Abuse Investigation Unit said: “The victim has shown immense bravery in seeking and securing justice.

"While I know the outcome of this case won’t rid her of the memories of Russell's assaults, I truly hope today's sentence will provide additional strength for her to rebuild her life.

“I also hope this outcome will reassure other victims that they can feel confident about coming forward and that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents to police.”

Detective Constable Garry Hoadley from Norfolk Constabulary's Safeguarding Children Online Team, who led the investigation into the indecent images on Russell’s device reiterated;  “This type of offending is never victimless and can be an indication of wider abuse, as in this case.

“Each image represents a child who has been exploited and harmed in ways that will impact them for a lifetime.

"Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that those who seek to exploit and harm children, even indirectly, through the possession of indecent images will be held accountable.”

Description

A man travelled from Germany to Norfolk with the intention of having sex with a young girl he met through an online children's game, a court has heard.

Michael Shablinger, 36, spent months grooming the 13-year-old victim - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - after finding her on the video game platform Roblox.

Norwich Crown Court heard Shablinger, who had told the victim he was 21, met up with her in a park in Hethersett. He spent five hours with her, until she was tracked down by her mother.

Oliver Haswell, prosecuting, said the victim has refused to say what happened between them during the hours she was missing while at the park.

But a picture of the pair kissing was later found on a "secret" phone given to her by Shablinger.

Mr Haswell said the meeting at the park followed months of "grooming", which had started in May 2023 when she was just 12.

At 11am on June 16 2024 the victim told her mother she was "going to take the dog for a walk" with a friend. 

But when she failed to return the parent got her son to look for his sister, while she tried almost 20 times over a two-hour period to call her daughter.

The mother then went out to try and look for the missing girl herself, and found her in a park with Shablinger.

The defendant, who said he had "only just met her", then left the area on a bus.

The victim then lied to her mother about what happened, prompting the concerned parent to contact police.

Once home the victim claimed she felt unwell and went to her room.

But the mother later found her daughter "hiding something in her bed", which turned out to be a "secret" mobile phone given to her by Shablinger when they met up.

Looking at the phone the woman saw part of a live chat between her daughter and the defendant in which he asked her "do you regret Sunday?" and she replied "no".

There were also messages containing requests from him for "further meetings", a picture of them kissing and telling her to "hide the phone" from her mum.

Police were contacted and given the phone. It was also found to contain conversations about the defendant seeking a passport for the victim in order that she could "leave the country to be with him".

Shablinger was arrested by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport as he tried to board a plane to Munich on June 23.

Police seized his phone and found on it indecent images and videos of unidentified children, as well as indecent images of the victim.

Mr Haswell said analysis of his phone showed he had been chatting online with the victim for "some time" prior to them meeting up.

The prosecutor said "many" sexualised images and messages were exchanged between the two of them.

Mr Haswell said Shablinger encouraged and "instructed" the victim to commit sexual acts and recorded her as she did so.

He said the victim has refused to tell police what happened when she and Shablinger met and she even sent a message to him stating "be lucky, I lied to the police".

Shablinger, who was born in Austria but lives in Germany, appeared at court on Wednesday (January 9) after he admitted meeting a child following sexual grooming.

He also admitted sexual activity with a child and six offences of possession of more than 800 indecent images of children.

Three of those offences related to pictures and videos of the victim - including five category A, the most serious - and another three to unidentified children, including 346 category A.

Imposing an extended eight-and-a half-year extended sentence, made up of four and a half years in custody and four years on licence, Recorder Paul Garlick said it was a "very serious case".

Finding Shablinger to be a dangerous offender, he said there had been "deliberate targeting and grooming of a young girl" by the defendant whose intentions were "clear and sexual".

Ed Renvoize, mitigating, said the defendant accepted "this is an extremely serious case" but deserved full credit for his pleas to the offences.

He said Shablinger "was untruthful about his age" but insisted there was "no abduction or detention" in this case.

Shablinger was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders' register, both indefinitely.

He was also banned from contacting, or attempting  to contact, the victim directly or indirectly until further order.

Description

A "controlling and manipulating" man who murdered his partner has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years.

Adam Barnard, 41, strangled Tara Kershaw, 33, on 19 January in a house where the pair lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

At his trial, the jury was told how Barnard had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting Ms Kershaw the day before he killed the mother-of-two.

Norfolk Police said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which was conducting an investigation.

At a sentencing hearing at Norwich Crown Court earlier, Ms Kershaw’s family sat in the public gallery with a large framed photo of her.

Her sister, Tanita Salish, read an impact statement to the court where she claimed Ms Kershaw had been "let down by many people".

"We are told from a young age to trust the people in charge," she said.

"She was labelled a drinker and not listened to. We all know this could have been avoided."

Ms Salish said Ms Kershaw had used alcohol as a "coping mechanism."

Murderer 'manipulated professionals'

Before he was sentenced, the court heard Barnard was a sex offender who was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 in 2016.

His defence said in the time he had spent in prison so far, Barnard had shown remorse for what he had done.

Sentencing him to a minimum term of 19 years, judge Alice Robinson said Barnard had killed Tara in a violent rage.

She said: "You manipulated the professionals you spoke with into thinking you were the victim not her."

Police said they had previous contact with the couple, including a call made by Ms Kershaw at about 18:00 GMT on 18 January.

She phoned officers in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and told them Barnard had hit her on the lip.

Barnard was arrested on suspicion of common assault, taken in for questioning and released at 22:50, with no further action taken.

He claimed their engagement had been called off that day and he had "asked for the ring back".

The following day - the day of the murder - police safeguarding staff from MASH and an independent domestic violence adviser called her mobile three times to check on her welfare, with the calls unanswered, police said.

Barnard then approached an officer outside Great Yarmouth police station, shortly before 09:00 the next day, 20 January, and said: “I think I’ve killed my partner.”

He claimed he did not know how long he had pinned down Ms Kershaw and had attempted to resuscitate her, then covered her with a blanket and passed out on the bed.

Barnard told officers he woke up the next morning, panicked and left the property.

He claimed Ms Kershaw had assaulted him with a lamp while he slept and that he had been restraining her when she died.

A post-mortem examination found Ms Kershaw's death was consistent with compression to the neck and there was evidence of injuries to the bones of her neck that had taken place four to seven weeks, five to 10 days and less than six hours before she had died.

Det Insp Alix Wright from Norfolk Police, said while she could not comment on the ongoing IOPC investigation, "lessons will be identified and lessons will be learnt."

"Barnard preyed on Tara's vulnerabilities. He blamed her for his actions and his violence towards her," she said.

"Nobody should feel unsafe in their own home, and I’d urge any victim of domestic abuse to report their suffering and come forward so they can be helped and supported.

"Our thoughts today remain with Tara's family."

Description

A sex offender has been before a court again after a housemate told police about a secret phone hidden in a box of washing powder.

The phone was not registered with Stuart Baker’s police supervisor, who discovered on it TikTok and Instagram accounts.

He has now been given another jail term after he admitted breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Baker was a teaching assistant at Corby Business Academy when he was first arrested back in 2017. A parent – whose children did not attend Corby Business Academy – found messages from him on social media accounts.

It emerged he had been posing as a 14-year-old to groom young victims into engaging in sexual chat.

He later admitted to ten charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and five relating to the making and distribution of indecent images of children. He was jailed for three years.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which banned him from a range of behaviours linked to his offending.

But in September 2018 he was back before the courts again and was convicted of multiple counts of sexual activity with a child and a sexual assault on a boy. The contact offences pre-dated his 2017 charges and spanned a number of years. He was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to serve ten years in prison.

He was released after serving five years of his sentence and was closely supervised by a MOSOVO officer from Northamptonshire Police.

But he has repeatedly breached his SHPO and has received sentences of 36 months and 40 months for using undisclosed email accounts and an alias on social media since his first release.

He was recalled after his most previous breach and will not be eligible for release until at least 2028 when he will have to go before the parole board who will decide whether it is safe for him to be allowed back into the community.

He appeared before Northampton Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced after admitting three breaches of his SHPO including failure to notify his supervising officer of a phone, failure to disclose an email account and failure to disclose three social media accounts.

The court heard how Baker, now 47 and of HMP Bure in Norfolk, had been living with other adults in Northampton in May this year when another resident reported that he was keeping a secret mobile phone.

Prosecuting, Micaila Williams told the court that Baker had hidden the phone in a detergent box in the kitchen, which was discovered by police.

He provided the PIN to officers who discovered a Gmail account as well as TikTok, Instagram and Telegram profiles.

In mitigation, the court was told he was not using the accounts to communicate with children but with adult family members who had recently lost a parent.

He had also recently moved prison in order to access more help with his offending behaviour.

Her Honour Judge Lucking sentenced Baker to spend 10 months in prison, to be served concurrently with his present sentence.

Description

One of the three victims of a former film studies student, who has been jailed for 14 years for rape and sexual assault, said she now lives in constant fear of "a bogeyman".

Connor Yaxley, 30, informed one of the women he attacked that he fantasied about rape and has been told that he posed a “serious risk and danger to the public”.

He messaged the woman, who cannot be named, after raping her to say that “when my hormones are up, I simply cannot control myself”. 

He added: “I cannot keep hurting people. I’m scared of my own urges.”

Yaxley, of Sandown Road, Great Yarmouth, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and eight years on extended licence, after being found guilty of five counts of rape and one of sexual assault following a trial at Norwich Crown Court.

The offences all took place between 2017 and 2020 and included a period when he had been studying film studies at the University of Suffolk, based at East Coast College in Great Yarmouth.

In one instance, a woman had been asleep when she woke up to find him raping her. Yaxley claimed he had no recollection of how it happened and said he must have been dreaming at the time.

Another woman was raped at Yaxley’s address after she refused to have sex with him. She told the court that on previous occasions Yaxley had raped her while she was sleeping. 

Yaxley was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a third woman as she slept in an armchair at his address.

Sentencing him, Judge Andrew Shaw said: “It is a concerning feature that you seem to think it is okay to have sex with sleeping and unconscious women.” 

He said he had confided in one of of his victims that he had a rape fantasies and he thought he needed medical help.

“You said you liked to use her as a tissue and that crying girls turned you on,” said Judge Shaw.  

He said Yaxley continued to pose a serious risk and danger to women, adding: “There is no real mitigation here.”

He placed him on the sex offenders register and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for life that will also require him on release from prison to inform the police of all future relationships.

Description

A former police officer has pleaded guilty to sex offences after he was confronted by paedophile hunters outside his home in a Norfolk town.

Christopher Sheldrick, 56, of Suffield Road in Gorleston, was arrested on September 29 after being approached by a member of The Ghosts Online Child Protection Team.

He was then charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to breach a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register.

He was remanded and appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Saturday, October 5 where he pleaded guilty to all three offences.

Sheldrick is now due to appear before Norwich Crown Court on November 4.

Norfolk police confirmed that Sheldrick had been a police officer but had not served with them.

When confronted by the paedophile hunter group, Sheldrick admitted to them that he is a former police officer who has been out of the force for some years.

Sheldrick admits to the group in the video that he was fired from the force for a breach of misconduct and later he also says he served in the military.

A member of the group then began reading transcripts of the conversation between Sheldrick and someone who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

The person told him that they were 14 and Sheldrick asked her to "stick her tongue out" and made a suggestive comment.

Sheldrick confessed to sending the account a pornographic video telling her "she needs to learn" about sex.

He said in the video that he had been in prison for sex offences.

Additionally, when asked if he is sexually attracted to children he replies "Partly I suppose" before confessing to speaking to "three or four" other children who he says have sent him indecent images.

Description

A man has been jailed over his sexual relationship with a teenage girl who was 10 years younger than him, a court has heard.

Daniel Outing, 32, was 24 when he became sexually involved with a 14-year-old girl.

Norwich Crown Court heard after becoming involved with the teenager - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - he encouraged her not to go to school.

Outing also warned the girl not to tell others about their sexual encounters - which happened in the Wroxham area - as they would both be in trouble.

Matthew Edwards, prosecuting, said police were informed after the victim disclosed to a family member she had been in sexual relationship with the defendant.

Outing was arrested and his devices seized.

They were found to contain more than  700 indecent images of children, including 102 Category A images - the most serious - featuring children aged between two and four.

Also found were 247 extreme pornographic images featuring a woman and animals.

Outing, of no fixed abode, appeared in court on Thursday to be sentenced after he admitted six counts of sexual activity with a child between April 2017 and July 2018.

He also admitted three counts of making indecent images of a child and possession of extreme pornographic images.

In addition, Outing admitted an offence of failing to comply with notification requirements, in that he did not inform police he became homeless.

Before he was sentenced, the court heard a statement from the victim who said she had "not realised at the time how serious and wrong this was".

She said Outing "encouraged" her to leave school early so they could be together and said she "couldn't tell anyone about it".

He said if she did they would both "get into trouble".

She said it had an impact on her mental health and led to anxiety and depression.

The victim said she could not move on with her life until after the court case.

Judge Andrew Shaw imposed an extended 10-year sentence on Outing - made up of six years in custody and four years on licence - insisting he was a dangerous offender who presented a "significant risk" of serious harm to other young girls.

Judge Shaw said he his victim had suffered "substantial psychological harm".

Andrew Thompson, for Outing, said the defendant pleaded guilty at as early a stage as he could when it reached the crown court.

He said Outing has no previous offences of this type and does not have a significant criminal history.

He said the relationship was inappropriate and "should not have happened".

Mr Thompson - who pointed out the case had been extremely delayed - said Outing, who has dyslexia, is "disgusted... with the benefit of hindsight" and has seen "the error of his ways".

Judge Shaw also imposed an indefinite restraining order on Outing meaning he cannot contact his victim.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for life and made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Description

A Great Yarmouth man has been sentenced to a total of 18 years  - 16 to be served in prison and two years to be served on licence for historic sex offences against three children.

Peter Esherwood, 66, of Harfreys Road, Great Yarmouth, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today (12 July 2024) where he was sentenced for four counts of indecent assault, two counts of gross indecency with a child, one of sexual assault of a child and one count of inciting a child to take part in a sexual activity and failing to surrender. He previously pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty during sentencing.

The court heard that in September 2017 a woman disclosed sexual abuse by Esherwood when she was a child to another adult and police were contacted. Following an investigation by officers, two further victims of Esherwood came forward and spoke to police about being sexually abused by him when they were young girls.

Esherwood’s offending relates to three female victims from the late 1980s to the 2000s.

DS Ricki Peake said outside the court hearing that Esherwood had to be tried and convicted in his absence after selling his house, liquidising his assets and fleeing to Thailand after being charged for the offences while on bail awaiting trial in October 2022. Following conviction, Norfolk police and the CPS worked closely with Interpol and Thai authorities and he was subsequently arrested re-entering the country via Heathrow Airport in April 2024 and remanded for sentencing.

The victims’ statements were read out at court:

Describing panic attacks and depression which resulted in her losing her career, one of his victim’s states, ‘I will never forgive him for what he put me my family through’.

A second victim said she was physically and mentally exhausted and had suffered panic attacks and blocked out memories of her childhood as a result of his abuse.

A third victim said in her statement: “My innocence was shattered. My self-confidence annihilated. I know that I will never be able to escape my experiences, but I live in the hope, no, the belief, that one day I will find peace.”

DS Ricki Peake said: “The victim-survivors in this case have been incredibly brave coming forward and giving evidence to us. It can be immensely distressing with this type of crime to have to go through past traumatic events. Hopefully the sentencing will go some way to providing justice for what they have endured.”

Description

A 36-year-old man has been jailed for two years for multiple child sex offences.

Christopher Latimer of Meadow View Terrace, Marsham appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Monday (3 June 2024) and was sentenced to two years in prison and issued with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Latimer had previously pleaded guilty to three charges - engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity - against one teenage boy.

Latimer denied two counts of taking indecent images of a child, which the court ordered to lie on file. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

The offences came to light in May 2021, when a friend of the victim raised concerns about messages being exchanged between Latimer and the victim.

Latimer was a leader at a scout pack which the victim attended, and worked as a caretaker at victim’s school.

Investigations revealed Latimer had been sending the boy messages for between two to three years, and in early 2021 Latimer started to share sexually explicit content including messages, pictures and videos.

Speaking after the sentencing, DC Steven Rush said: "Latimer abused a position of trust in order to build a relationship with his victim.

“He was well aware of the age of the boy he was talking to and ignored several safeguarding practices when committing these offences.

“I would like to commend the bravery of the young people who spoke up and assisted the police with their investigation. It was an incredibly difficult time for them and we could not have secured this outcome without them.

“I hope this sentence sends a message of how seriously these kinds of offences are taken and help bring some closure for the victim and his family.”

Description

A "scheming individual" with an "entrenched" sexual interest in children who he preyed upon has been jailed.

Thomas Bulmer, 31, was just a teenager himself when he started offending by inciting a boy under 13 - who cannot be named for legal reasons - to engage in sexual activity while in a field in Norfolk.

Following that offence in 2006 Bulmer went onto commit a total of 25 other offences - mostly against people living in the Thetford area - over the next 17 years.

Norwich Crown Court heard in 2016 police became aware of Bulmer posing online under false profiles, both of which had incited children to send indecent images of themselves.

Bulmer had also distributed indecent images of children and caused other children to watch indecent material comprising the defendant touching himself sexually.

Stephen Spence, prosecuting, said the enquiry initially came to Norfolk Constabulary's Safeguarding Children Online Team (SCOLT) due to the volume of children reporting concerns.

Mr Spence said Bulmer had an "entrenched and continuing sexual interest in children".

He said it "manifested itself in the solicitation, making and distribution of indecent images of children, carrying out sexual acts in the presence of children, either physical presence or over the internet, attempts at online grooming and contact offences".

The court heard Bulmer committed two offences of inciting a child to commit sexual activity, in getting a six or seven year old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons to touch him sexually.

He also got another boy, who was 13 at the time, to send the defendant images of his genitals in exchange for pictures of teen girls Bulmer would send.

Bulmer, who also engaged in sexual activity in the presence of a boy, 10, who had been in bed, appeared for sentence earlier this month having admitted 25 sexual offences, including two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The defendant, from Harleston Road, Langmere, near Diss was handed a 17-year extended sentence - made up of 11 years custody and six years on licence - by Judge Andrew Shaw.

The court heard Bulmer, who was represented by Oliver Haswell, committed the first offence when he was only a child himself and had previously suffered abuse and a traumatic childhood.  

Mr Haswell said his guilty pleas had saved the victims from having to give evidence and he had shown some insight and remorse when assessed by the Probation Service.  

He said that since being remanded into custody, Bulmer had engaged positively and was now assisting other inmates with their literacy and mathematics and acting as a listener to those struggling within the Prison estate.

Speaking after the sentence, Sgt Naomi Harger from Suffolk Police said: "This was a horrific case regarding a manipulative and scheming individual. He preyed on children to satisfy his own perverse and deviant desires. 

"We are very satisfied with this sentence which I hope goes some way to reassure the public of the action we will take against those suspected of such offences."

She added: "We will do everything within our power to protect victims who are subjected to these potentially life changing acts of indecency purely for the gratification of others.”

The officer urged parents concerned about people their children might be in contact with to use Sarah's Law, or the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS).