Latest Offenders Oxfordshire

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A former Lidl worker who claimed that key evidence from a pair of pyjamas had been overlooked in his 2018 trial has had his appeal thrown out.

Justin Finnerty, then 22, was jailed for eight years and given an extended four year licence period after jurors at Oxford Crown Court convicted him of rape and sexual assault by penetration three-and-a-half years ago.

He raped the woman as she lay on his sofa, having invited her back to his Bicester home. His girlfriend was upstairs in the couples bedroom when he carried out his sick attack in July 2017. At his trial, Finnerty denied raping the woman claiming that they had had unprotected consensual sex several days earlier.

Lawyers for Finnerty asked the Court of Appeal on Tuesday to quash the Oxford jurys convictions, claiming that new evidence and alleged issues in how the trial was handled made them unsafe.

The new evidence was a report by a forensics expert, instructed by the bearded rapists legal team, questioning why Finnertys semen was apparently not found on pyjama bottoms worn by the victim on the night of the assault. It transpired that samples taken from the victim had been destroyed by the authorities.

Finnerty, formerly of Roman Way, Bicester, represented by Michelle Heeley QC at the hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice, argued that Judge Ian Pringle QC had failed to remind the jury of the defendants account when after being asked to by the 12-strong panel - he read from the victims police interview recounting her memory of the assault.

He suggested the jury was misled by inaccurate timings in a table of text messages he sent his girlfriend while downstairs with his victim, who was being sick. He claimed it meant the jurors were misled as to the amount of time he and the victim were alone together, giving the impression that it was for longer.

Rejecting the application for permission to appeal, Lord Justice Green said the new evidence the pyjamas could have been tested at the time and for whatever reason the defendants lawyers had not done so.

The new forensic report was based on a series of assumptions [about] what happened to the pyjamas that might be inaccurate.

The panel of three appeal judges said Judge Pringle, the trial judge, did not err in his handling of the case. We are clear none of it [the new evidence or grounds of appeal] casts doubt on the correctness of the convictions, Lord Justice Green said.

The Court of Appeal upheld the 12 year extended sentence, concluding: This was repeat offending upon a person in a vulnerable, incapacitated state. The pre-sentence report concluded [Finnerty] posed a danger to women.

We have read the pre-sentence report carefully and we conclude the judge was entitled to treat it as an important and persuasive factor in his own sentencing decision.

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The face of a Bucks sex pest who was jailed after asking "anyone want BJ?" on a swingers messaging app has been revealed. Police have released the mugshot of sex offender Stephen Owen, 60, after he was locked up for three years and two months on Friday 11 February. At his sentencing hearing at Amersham Law Courts, Owen, from Kidlington, Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. The court heard how Owen was slapped with the 10-year order after he was convicted of producing indecent images of children - but he then proceeded to breach the order the day after he was given it. The court order banned Owen from downloading private messaging apps without the police's permission and prohibited him from using fake names on the internet. While based in Bucks, Owen breached the order when he downloaded the app Fab Swingers - used for hookups and sexual communications - and posted a message asking "anyone want BJ?" After meeting a man for a sexual encounter, the court heard that Owen asked the man if he wanted to see sexual images of children. The man declined and called the police over to his concerns about Owen's proposition. The court heard how between June 6, 2021 and October 2, 2021, Owen breached the order multiple times by downloading and using private chat features on apps including Whatsapp, Tinder, Snapchat and Badoo. At the same time as his offending, Owen was taking part in a rehabilitation programme that was supposed to be educating him on the wrongs of sexual crime. Judge Catherine Tulk was unimpressed that Owen had started offending so soon after she had given him the sexual harm prevention order, sentencing him to 22 months in prison as well as triggering a 16-month suspended sentence he was serving from his previous conviction. Judge Tulk said: What is really troubling me is that his probation report is really positive. He was a star worker. But all the time he was doing that he was offending. While on the face of it he was complying with it, when one looks at it its clear it was not genuine.

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A rapist who filmed his sick abuse of a baby was labelled a monster to the innocent by his victims mother.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told paedophile Sam Burton: I hope you suffer for what you have done.

On Monday, Oxford Crown Court heard that 23-year-old Burton, who also pasted the heads of people he knew on child sex abuse images, still claimed he was not sexually attracted to children.

Jailing him for 14 years, Judge Nigel Daly imposed an extended sentence with the Abingdon man having to serve an extended four years on licence.

He will spend at least two thirds of his 14-year jail time behind bars before he is eligible for release.

Judge Daly told the defendant: Your actions were so depraved that, quite frankly, they defy belief.

Not only did you carry out the acts, you decided to record what you did. That, in the end, proved to be your downfall.

Prosecutor Michael Williams told the court Burtons vile abuse was uncovered last year when a video was found on his iPad showing him performing a sex act in front of a sleeping child.

Police officers trawled through the tablet computer, discovering a huge collection of child sex abuse images.

They included videos showing him raping a baby, explicit videos of a teen girl with whom he had previously been in a relationship and doctored photographs with the heads of children and an adult known to him pasted on to sex abuse victims.

The evidence pointed to him systematically searching the web for indecent material. He had downloaded from the internet 299 images and videos in category A, 211 in category B and 471 in category C.

In pre-sentence reports prepared by a psychiatrist and a probation officer, Burton was said to have denied having a sexual interest in children but was unable to say why he had carried out the abuse.

Matthew Rowcliffe, mitigating, said Burton was remorseful, had suffered from depression and was using drugs heavily at around the time he carried out his crimes.

Burton, of Sellwood Road, Abingdon, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to rape of a child under 13, sexual activity with a child, and making indecent images of children.

The defendant must abide by a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order for life.

He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

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A TEENAGER carried on having sex with his underage girlfriend despite a police warning.

But Jordon Brook was spared an immediate prison sentence at Oxford Crown Court as a judge said jail time would not address his behaviour.

The Oxfordshire man now 23 - was 19 when he struck up the relationship with the girl, who was in her mid-teens.

Prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said the teenagers began talking to each other over Snapchat. Their relationship quickly became sexual, with the couple meeting at Brooks fathers home. He told his father the girl was over-16.

In May 2018, a few months after they began seeing each other, the police served Brook with a Child Abduction Warning Notice. The order came after the girls mother found out about the relationship. The girl said that her boyfriend had begun to hit her and had started seeing another girl.

The police warned Brook to stay away from the girl. Mr Ward-Jackson said: It appears he ignored that warning and carried on seeing her. They exchanged sexualised messages.

By the following year, the girl was increasingly upset and told her mother the relationship had continued. Brook was arrested and, when interviewed, admitted to the police that hed kept on seeing his victim.

The court heard Brook had received two other Child Abduction Warning Notices in 2017 and 2019 relating to underage girls.

Mitigating, Kellie Enever said the case could not be likened to that of a man in his 20s or 30s grooming underage girls on social media.

In this young mans mind this was a relationship. He loved her and it was a relationship which of course he acknowledges he should not have carried on with, she said.

Brook had intellectual difficulties of his own, although Ms Enever said those mental health issues were not put forward as an excuse for his behaviour.

Judge Nigel Daly said he was not going to send Brook to prison as he did not think it would affect his behaviour.

Sentencing him to two years imprisonment suspended for two years, the judge ordered he complete a sex offender treatment programme and 180 hours of unpaid work.

The judge said: If you breach the suspended sentence, if you breach the requirements, you will be brought to this court and you will be in front of me and I know exactly what Ive said to you today and I tell you now I will send you to prison. Clear?

He noted that there had been a significant disparity in the ages of Brook and his victim. He said: Girls need protection not only from men but from themselves... at [that age] they are going through a very difficult period in their lives and they need protection.

Brook, of Cholsey, near Wallingford, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of sexual activity with a child.

He must register as a sex offender for 10 years. A sexual harm prevention order limits his access to digital devices for the same period of time.

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A SEXUAL 'predator' who abused a teenager girl after plying her with alcohol has been jailed.

Corey Reid, 24, of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a child and sexual assault and he was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

On a night in April of last year, Reid, who was sleeping rough in Banbury, met and befriended two teenage girls and a teenage boy in the town.

He gave them alcohol and when one of his victims became intoxicated, Reid took her away from the group and sexually assaulted her.

One of the victim's friends called police and Reid was found and arrested.

The victim suffered both psychological and physical injuries as a result of the assault.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Bryn Smith of the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, based at Banbury police station, said: Corey Reid is a predatory offender and poses a danger to children.

His interests are satisfying his own sexual urges towards children, with no thought of consent or their welfare.

The victim in this case has shown incredible bravery throughout this traumatic experience.

"She was vulnerable, not only by her age, but also being intoxicated and targeted deliberately due to this.

She is still terrified by Reid, who was a complete stranger, and no length of sentence will change that.

I commend her for her bravery, and I hope that this sentence will act as a stepping stone to a confident and fulfilling future which she fully deserves.

I would always encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault to come forward and report it to police.

You will be listened to and supported by experienced officers and staff, and we will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.

He was jailed for a total of five years.

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AN ABINGDON man has been given a five year jail sentence for a string of child sexual offences.

Linus Rickett, 20, of the Holt, pleaded guilty to the counts - involving boys between nine and 13 - and was sentenced yesterday at Oxford Crown Court.

He was also given a further three years on extended licence after admitting to 13 counts involving 10 boys.

Police say he was a 'prolific offender' who pretended to be a young girl and filmed boys using urinals.

Seven counts involved inciting boys under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted to three counts of voyeurism and three counts of making indecent images of a child (one in categories A, B and C respectively).

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Ali Driver, of Force CID based at Abingdon police station, said: “Rickett is clearly a prolific offender, targeting young boys to abuse for his own sexual gratification.

“Rickett committed these crimes by pretending he was a young girl of a similar age to the victims online and by filming boys using urinals.

“Crimes of this nature will not be tolerated in the Thames Valley and we ask that anyone who believes they could be a victim of this type of crime or knows a child that could be affected to get in touch.

“Cases of this nature will always be thoroughly investigated to ensure every effort is made to take them through the criminal justice system.”

Rickett will also be placed on the sex offender register for life and will be issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The offences took place between February 2017 and October 2018.

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A MAN who was the face of a shop in the heart of Witney has been spared jail after viewing thousands of sexual pictures of children. Ian Pilcher, 63, who for 30 years worked at Domino Menswear in Corn Street, was yesterday handed a community sentence at Oxford Magistrates Court for making (downloading) indecent images of children. The court heard Pilcher viewed the images to cheer himself up. Pilcher, of Apley Way, Witney, had pleaded guilty to downloading more than 5,000 indecent images of children. The court was told that Pilcher, who has been married for 34 years, had a preference for Category C images of young girls. Police seized a number of electronic devices from Pilchers home and he helped identify where to find material. John Berry, defending, said Pilchers interest in looking at the indecent images came during a difficult period of his life. He said: His son attempted suicide. His sister-in-law committed suicide. Both of these happened just a year before he began looking at these images. His employer had become unwell and Mr Pilcher was having to work very long hours. He was at a very low ebb and found that looking at these images cheered him up, to use his expression. Mr Berry said Pilchers obsession grew over time. He quoted Pilcher as saying: I was at a point I could not stop it. Im glad the police came along because I knew that would cause me to stop it. I knew what I was doing was wrong. Mr Berry said that Pilcher was yet to reach a full understanding of his desire to look at indecent images. He continued: He has some insight into his offending but Im not sure he fully understands why it started. He doesnt fully accept that he must have found the images stimulating. He has been to see a doctor and is receiving counselling. He better understands that, though he has not done anything to harm young girls, that this sort of behaviour has or could result in young girls being harmed. He is willing to work fully with anyone able to help him. District Judge Kamlesh Rana gave Pilcher an 18-month community sentence, which included 100 hours of unpaid work and a 30-day rehabilitation requirement. She said it was regrettable Pilcher was appearing in court after a life of previously good character. The judge added: I have to take into account the number of images and that, by viewing these images, you were condoning the exploitation of young children. District Judge Rana also ordered a sexual harm prevention order that will control how Pilcher accesses various electronic devices. Pilcher appeared in the Oxford Mail in October when he revealed that Domino Menswear, which had sold menswear and school uniforms for 34 years, was moving to Abingdon to escape soaring business rates. Pilcher, who was made redundant after the story was published, said at the time he was immensely sad after serving four generations of customers at the store.

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A SELF-PROCLAIMED playboy who preyed on two vulnerable schoolgirls has been put behind bars for 10 years.

Paedophile Lucas Irons huffed and puffed as Oxford Crown Court heard how he targeted the youngsters to satisfy his 'sexual ends' between July 2014 and January 2015.

Sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Peter Ross branded the 28-year-old dangerous and condemned him for his 'calculated and pre-meditated' offending.

He handed Irons an extended licence period of four years, warning the defendant he may have to serve all of his sentence in jail.

Judge Ross added: "It is clear from the evidence in this case that you were out of control. You were using networks of young girls as a means of targetting them for your sexual ends."

A jury of six men and six women unanimously convicted Irons of two counts of sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault.

But jurors were unable to reach a decision on a further count of sexual assault after more than five hours of deliberation following a trial last month.

Defence barrister Peter Du Feu told the court the sex offender, who appeared via video link from Bullingdon Prison, continues to maintain his innocence but 'respects' the decision of the jury.

He went on to claim Irons, who was hunted by police when he failed to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court after being charged, did not deserve to be branded a paedophile.

During the trial, prosecutor Kevin James Barry claimed Irons, of Ock Street, Abingdon, had a 'powerful sexual attraction' towards the schoolgirls.

The court heard he used social media to target one victim, lying about his age and convincing the 'incredibly naive' teenager he wanted a relationship.

Irons, a former manager of Oxford’s All Bar One, invited the schoolgirl to his home, where she felt she had no choice but to 'go along' with having sex with him.

The sex offender, who claimed he had thousands of Facebook friends, preyed on his second victim in Littlemore Park, sexually assaulting her after swaying her away from her group.

She was left 'disturbed' by the assault, fleeing the park to a friend's house, the court heard.

Wearing a blue shirt and trousers, Irons took to the stand during his trial to refute the allegations, swearing on the Bible before claiming he had been 'completely honest'.

Irons, who also claimed he worked at St Clement's bar Joe Perks & Co, was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and must pay a victim surcharge.