Latest Offenders Plymouth

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A Royal Navy sailor caught with hundreds of vile images of children has avoided jail. Twisted father-of-two Barry Ferguson, aged 40, downloaded videos of infants being raped or having sex with animals for more than seven years, a court heard.

He spent seven years getting pleasure out of children as young as 18 months being abused, some on films about 20 minutes long. But Ferguson, who is due to leave the Navy soon, walked out of Plymouth Crown Court with a community order.

A judge said that he had no previous convictions, had admitted his guilt and already sought counselling for his problems. Judge WIlliam Mousley added that Ferguson was also a carer for his disabled wife.

A Royal Navy sailor caught with hundreds of vile images of children has avoided jail. Twisted father-of-two Barry Ferguson, aged 40, downloaded videos of infants being raped or having sex with animals for more than seven years, a court heard.

He spent seven years getting pleasure out of children as young as 18 months being abused, some on films about 20 minutes long. But Ferguson, who is due to leave the Navy soon, walked out of Plymouth Crown Court with a community order.

A judge said that he had no previous convictions, had admitted his guilt and already sought counselling for his problems. Judge WIlliam Mousley added that Ferguson was also a carer for his disabled wife.

Read next: Drug dealers, knifemen and assaults on site of Plymouth school

He said: "Images include moving images and feature particularly young children and also children suffering visible pain and distress.

"Factors reducing the sentence is that there are no previous convictions, you have cooperated with the police from the word go, even before the devices were properly examined. You have already made significant efforts to address your criminal behaviour.

"I consider you could be dealt with more constructively by a community order requiring that you attend an accredited programme."

The judge said that Ferguson had sought help from a charity which helps internet sex offenders tackle their habits.

Ferguson was handed a three-year community order with a sex offender treatment programme and probation's Rehabilitation Activity Requirement supervision course. He was also ordered to pay the prosecution costs of 1,200.

Barry John Michael Ferguson, of West Down Road, Beacon Park, pleaded guilty to three counts of making or downloading indecent images of children between October 2015 and May 2021.

He had 332 images, including more than 300 films, in the most severe Category A, showing children being sexually abused. He had 13 images in Category B and two in Category C.

Piers Norsworthy, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police executed a search warrant at his home on June 2 last year after being told of indecent images linked to his IP address. He added that the images were discovered on his laptop and a computer hard drive.

Mr Norsworthy said that the defendant confessed to looking at indecent child images for seven or eight years, starting after the break-up of his first marriage. He read graphic descriptions of the content of some of the worst videos, including some 13, 18 and 25 minutes long.

They included children between 18 months and four years being sexually abused. The barrister said that Ferguson's search history showed that he had been searching for vile child images.

Will Willden, for Ferguson, said that he was due to leave the Royal Navy in June. Mr Willden said Ferguson had two children from his previous relationship.

He added: "He has been in the Armed Forces for some considerable time. He is on termination leave. The Royal Navy will look into this conviction and study Your Honour's comments. He will be discharged."

Judge Mousley ordered the forfeiture of the laptop and hard drive. Ferguson was handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will allow police to monitor his internet use and will be on the Sex Offender Register for the same period.

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A convicted rapist groped a woman and offered her cash for sexual favours. Horrible John Rollason, aged 68, has been found guilty by a jury of assaulting his victim.

She was left "disgusted, shocked and angry", a court heard. He was jailed 30 years ago for raping a woman after coshing her over the head and driving her to Dartmoor.

A judge has adjourned sentence for the new offence for probation and medical reports - but warned that he could be going back to prison. Rollason, a grandfather, has Type 2 diabetes and carries around an oxygen cylinder, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

The victim told the court that Rollason put his head into her chest and put his hand down her top, holding her close so that she could not break free.

Ed Bailey, opening the case for the Crown Prosecution Service at the start of his trial this week, said: "She felt disgusted, shocked and angry by what happened." He added: "He offered her some cash if she would let him continue."

The court heard that she managed to escape and fled the scene. The barrister said that she told some of her family and friends what had happened but did not call the police until more than 18 months later in August 2020.

Rollason, of Southern Close, Weston Mill, denied sexual assault on November 29, 2018. He claimed that he had put his head to her chest by accident - but admitted that he had complimented her on her breasts. Rollason denied groping.

He argued that he had a "smutty sense of humour" and was a "Benny Hill" type in reference to the risque comedian popular from the 1950s to the 1980s. But Rollason was found guilty by a unanimous verdict by the jury in less than two hours.

Judge Robert Linford released him on bail to return for sentence on April 13.

He told the defendant: "The fact that I am ordering reports and readmitting you to bail is no indication whatsoever of the sentence you will receive. You may leave and meet your wife outside."

Earlier, Mr Bailey had told the jury that Rollason had been jailed for six years for rape in 1992 - which the panel had not heard about during the trial. He said: "He was in Union Street posing as a taxi driver. He collected a female fare, drove her up to Dartmoor, coshed her over the head and then raped her."

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Dangerous and unrepentant paedophile Anthony Young, aged 71, drove the child to self-harm and left her suffering from panic attacks A nudist pensioner has been jailed for abusing a girl - driving her to self-harm and panic attacks. Dangerous Anthony Young, aged 71, used his interest in naturism as a cover for his paedophilia, a court heard. Unrepentant Young admitted sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in an incident not connected to his hobby. She told Plymouth Crown Court: "I was an innocent child and he used me for his own gratification and I hate him for what he has done to me. I have daily flashbacks and I am afraid that these will never stop." The victim said in an statement read by a police officer that she had self-harmed in the past and was on medication for post-traumatic stress disorder. Jailing Young for five years and four months, Judge Peter Johnson said: "You not only marred but you ruined that young girl's childhood and adolescence, leaving her with long-term problems. You do not accept what you have done. You certainly do not accept the harm which you have caused (girl's name). "You pleaded guilty but that was not a true admission of guilty nor an expression of remorse, far from it. You told the probation officer that you pleaded guilty 'just to get it over with'. You concealed being a naturist from your wife. That was a cover for your interest in young children and indeed a cover for your paedophilia." He ruled that Young was a dangerous offender, meaning he must serve two thirds of his sentence, or just over three and a half years. Most offenders are released at the half-way point. The defendant will remain on licence for a further four years, making a total extended sentence of nine years and four months. Young pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl by penetration between October 2010 and December 2013. He admitted sexual activity with the child between October 2010 and January 2014. Young, of Biggin Hill, Ernesettle, also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child in 2014 and 2015. The court heard there were 100 images with nine in the most severe category showing abuse. The identities of all the victims and alleged victims of sexual abuse are protected by law. Mary McCarthy, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that Young was acquitted of a serious sexual offence against a child at a trial in 2009. She added that police were told about the sexual abuse of the second girl in January 2014. The court heard Yong denied any offence. Miss McCarthy said: "Unfortunately at the time it was not proceeded with." The barrister said that Young made frequent sexual remarks and touched her sexually before the most serious offence. Judge Johnson said he had been grooming his victim. Miss McCarthy said that Young was arrested in May 2020 on suspicion of sexually communicating with an eight-year-old girl. She added that that case was not prosecuted but police found the old images on his phone and reopened the investigation. The victim said in the statement: "When he started abusing me I was too young to understand that it was wrong. From such a young age I was afraid." She added that her panic attacks left her in tears, struggling to breathe and with a pain in her chest. Michael Green, for Young, said that his client was open to sex offender treatment inside prison and then in the community. He also pointed to a delay in bringing the case. Young was also put on the Sex Offender Register for life and handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. It will limit his contact with children and allow police to monitor his internet use.

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A dance teacher serving 16 years in prison for sex offences has been jailed again for four years for raping a teenager in a hotel room when he was aged 26.

Brett Bullock, now 29, a former teaching assistant, raped the 18-year-old victim twice and then a third time as she slept in his hotel room in August 2019.

Plymouth Crown Court heard that hours later he had to report to police in Newquay, Cornwall, where he had been arrested on suspicion of rape and other sex offences.

The 29-year-old was convicted of sex offences against five girls in Newquay and in November 2020 was jailed for 16 years.

He was yesterday convicted of three rape offences against the 18-year-old victim in a hotel room.

Bullock was sentenced to four years in jail on top of the 16 years he is already serving and will now not be released until February 2034.

The court heard Bullock was arrested within hours of the Plymouth offence and was still in custody when he was due to answer his bail in Newquay in Cornwall.

When Bullock was first jailed in 2020 Judge Simon Carr said he was a 'talented and charismatic dance teacher who had considerable success taking young women through dance competitions nationally and internationally.

But Judge Carr said Bullock 'abused his position in the most appalling way.'

His 18-year-old victim yesterday told the court that the rapes had left her withdrawn and suffering from panic attacks and PTSD.

She said since the attacks she had been forced to quit her job and leave her shared house.

In a statement read to the court the woman said: 'This is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

'While the case has been ongoing I have not been able to start to recover.'

Judge Anna Richardson said he had raped the victim in a hotel in Plymouth twice.

The victim fell asleep but awoke to find Bullock having sex with her again at the Plymouth hotel.

The court heard that she had been drinking and dancing with Bullock that night but clarified that she did not want to sleep with him, according to Plymouth Live.

The woman managed to escape when Bullock fell asleep and she was able to tell a friend and hotel staff about the attacks.

Bullock was arrested in his bed and held in custody when he should have been answering police bail in Newquay on earlier sex offence charges.

Judge Richardson said the rapes had a profound impact on the victim and severely affected her enjoyment of life.

She said she considered Bullock to be a dangerous offender who is a risk to the public.

The Judge told the court that Bullock had carried out a pattern of serious sexual offending over a six year period from 2013 to 2019.

The court heard that Bullock met the victim at his dance school in Mount Wise, Newquay.

Bullock had engaged in sexual activity with her when she was aged just 15.

He was jailed for four years consecutive to his earlier 16 year prison term and Judge Richardson imposed a four year extended jail term because of the danger he poses to women.

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Geoffrey Rooney was jailed in 2015 for 14 years - but within months of being released he went on to make and distribute vile and sickening indecent images of children 'from a few days to eight years old' A former Royal Navy sailor who was jailed for raping a baby has now been jailed for further child sex offences - just months after being released from prison on licence. Geoffrey Rooney, of Moore Avenue, Bradford, was jailed in 2015 at Plymouth Crown Court for 14 years for abusing children. The then 39-year-old, who was from Devonport, pleaded guilty to a string of offences including the rape of a child aged under 13 and sexually assaulting girl aged under 13. The former Chief Petty Officer made hundreds of sex images of children which he shared with other paedophiles. After being released in January last year, Rooney made and distributed hundreds of indecent photographs of children. In December 2021 he pleaded guilty to two counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and breaching the terms of a sexual harm prevention order. Appearing at Bradford Crown Court today, 11 February, Rooney was given an extended prison sentence, consisting of eight years in jail and a further six years on licence. He must serve at least two thirds of the eight years before being considered for release. He has also been made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and place on the Sex Offenders Registry. A report by ITV News noted how Judge David Hatton QC said the images Rooney shared were "grotesque and defy comprehension". He said Rooney posed a "significant risk" to the public. The court was told that Rooney was caught after exchanging messages with two undercover officers on online platforms, using the nickname 'Yorks BL'. He tried to arrange a meeting with one of the officers in order to abuse what he thought was a fellow paedophile's young son. On a number of occasions he asked the officers to provide indecent images to prove they were not police investigators and sent the officers videos of children being abused. The victims in the videos were thought to range in age from a few days old to eight years old. Rooney, who had changed his name to Daniel Walker after his previous conviction in Plymouth, was arrested at his workplace in November. Police found more than 600 indecent images on phones and laptops. The court had previously heard how Rooney's offending took place between July and November 2021 when he was arrested in a joint police operation involving West Yorkshire Police and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit. When Rooney appeared at Plymouth Crown Court in 2015 he made no response as Judge Paul Darlow told the former Chief Petty Officer he had caused the "destruction of a happy home life" in relation to the family of two of his victims. Judge Darlow had said that Rooneys actions "demonstrate all the casual callous depravity of a predatory paedophile". At the time prosecutors said the former weapons engineer was arrested following the arrest of another man in January 2014 whose wife found indecent pictures on his mobile phone. The images were traced to Rooney who had asked the man to bring his own children to him for sexual abuse. It is understood Rooney had a decorated career which included a posting at Whitehall between 2009 and 2010 where his work included re-setting the nuclear codes each night. Rooney was interviewed and his mobile phone seized. He immediately admitted to his sexual interest in children and downloading indecent images of young children. The court heard Rooney had pleaded guilty to raping a girl aged under 13, sexually assaulting another girl aged under 13, taking indecent photos of children, making indecent photos of children, distributing indecent photos of children with other suspected paedophile, sexually assaulting a boy aged under 16 and possessing indecent images of children. Mr Beal explained how police discovered that Rooney had messaged other men "giving real time commentary" as he sexually abused one of the girls and sent nine pictures to dozens of men of him raping and sexually abusing the youngest child. The court heard Rooney had also taken pictures of the backside of another very young boy and forwarded them onto other suspected paedophiles.

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A churchgoer who ‘blighted the childhood’ of a fellow worshipper by raping her when she was just 12 has been jailed for 20 years.

Ian Symonds started grooming the girl more than a year before the rape attack in a pub car park and went on to persuade her to have a three-year under-age relationship with him.

He brainwashed her into believing that God approved of them having sex and told her that the Virgin Mary was only 12 when she and Joseph first slept together.

He used his position as a drummer in a church band to meet and groom her and they had sex around 100 times, mainly in his works van in beauty spots including the Stover Country Park.

The girl, who was 18 years younger than him, only started having doubts about him when she watched EastEnders episodes which included a child abuse story line. Her parents became suspicious when she was 15 and restricted their meetings but Symonds set up a joint Facebook page under false names which they used to exchange messages and explicit photos. He also recorded a string of car karaoke videos in which he sang along to love songs in his van before pointing at the camera and saying ‘and I mean you’.

When she ended the relationship, he falsely claimed to have cancer to arouse her sympathies. In fact, he was a healthy bodybuilder who spent hours at a gym.

She wrote a victim personal statement which said she has distanced herself from the church and still suffers flashbacks and psychological trauma.

She said she cannot bear to be given flowers or chocolates because it still reminds her of the gifts which he showered on her when he was grooming her.

Symonds, aged 40, of Douglass Road, Plymouth was found guilty of two rapes, five counts of sexual activity with a child and one of making indecent images of the girl by a jury at Exeter Crown Court last week.

He was jailed for 20 years by Judge Timothy Rose, who put him on the sex offenders’ register for life and banned any future contact with under age girls through a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He told him: “These were a series of profoundly serious sexual offences over three years. It is perfectly clear you developed a sexual interest and obsession with her.

“She was confused, as you would expect given her age and immaturity and the reality is that you brainwashed her into engaging in frequent and continued sexual activity.

“You bombarded her with gifts and comprehensively manipulated her in a way which blighted her childhood and has had a devastating effect on her emotional well-being.

“It was persistent and hugely damaging child abuse.”

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A navy sailor was yesterday convicted of raping a female colleague after a prosecco-fuelled 'naked mess' party.

Able Seaman William Stewart attacked the woman after she stripped down to her bra, showered her half-naked male shipmates in fizz and 'crashed' on his bed.

The pair were part of a group of sailors who had been out celebrating her birthday before returning to a Holiday Inn, Bulford Military Court heard.

Several sailors took their tops off and were sprayed with prosecco after someone shouted 'naked mess' before the woman went with Stewart to another room to get changed.

The victim said she later woke up to find the 26-year-old engineering technician 'fondling' her breasts. She said he then sexually assaulted a male sailor on the other side of the bed before raping her.

Stewart was found guilty of rape, assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity. He will be sentenced later this month.

The incident took place during a night out in the North-East while the sailors' ship was undergoing maintenance.

Prosecuting, Wing Commander Michael Saunders said: 'AB Stewart had recently joined the ship. They all had a significant amount to drink. [The female victim] was given a bottle of prosecco, as it was her birthday.

'[Videos from the conference room] show [her] pouring the prosecco over herself and onto some males with their tops off on the floor. One of them was AB Stewart.'

Giving her evidence, the female sailor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court: 'It was my birthday the day after. We were celebrating that and a couple of people were promoted, so we were celebrating that, too.

'We were all having drinks and everybody was having a good time. [Later on] we were all in the conference room, and we ordered pizza.

Naked mess' was shouted - it was just tops off... we all had a bit of the prosecco and I got a bit wet [from] the alcohol.

'I remember people laying on the floor when I had the prosecco... I was stood up with the bottle.'

The 'scared and confused' woman later awoke to Stewart, an engineering technician she hardly knew, 'fondling' her breasts and touching her.

She said Stewart then moved to the other side of the bed and sexually assaulted a male sailor who was also asleep before returning to her.

Stewart told the court martial all sexual activity with the sailors was consensual and instigated by them.

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This was the moment a pervert was confronted by paedophile hunters after travelling 250 miles to Stoke-on-Trent to stay the night in a hotel with a '14-year-old girl'.

The shocking footage was captured outside the Potteries Centre by The Unknown before being passed to police to ensure Lawrence Simms was brought to justice.

It shows the 54-year-old loner wearing a cap and a backpack as he's challenged outside H Samuel jewellers in Hanley by the exposers who quiz him about his online sex chats with the underage teen.

Bearded and bespectacled Simms had believed he was communicating with a schoolgirl when he arranged to travel half way across the country from his home in Plymouth to the Potteries to meet her.

In fact, the 'girl was a decoy who agreed to meet Simms near the blue clock - where he was later arrested.

The 27-minute clip - which was live-streamed on Facebook - starts with the hunters arriving at the scene on March 21, 2020 and confronting Simms.

Initially, the defendant is defiant as the stream starts.

A male hunter explains that he is to be arrested for the online grooming and trying to meet a child.

One of the group quizzes Simms - who has no previous convictions - about his 'intentions' after booking the hotel room.

He replies: "I booked the room for me, for one person. Me."

At points a member of the public can be heard repeatedly shouting: "Dirty b*****."

Another hunter - a woman - adds: "This is what happens unfortunately when you mess around with children online. Do you understand?

"You asked her to take pictures in her swimwear. Why would you want to do that? It's not a mistake, is it? You've been grooming her now for quite a while haven't you? For about a month I believe.

"Can you do me a favour? Stop talking to our children. Men like you make me sick.

"What's with you calling her cutie all the time? It's not your place to call her cutie, is it?

"You asked what she was wearing underneath her pyjamas.

"You have turned up today to meet this child. You have turned up here thinking that you were going to spend the night with this 14-year-old child.

"You are a disgusting scumbag. You have got yourself in a lot of trouble. People don't like people like you."

Simms repeatedly says he can't remember how many children he's been speaking to.

And when asked if he finds children sexually attractive, he replied 'not really'.

He then gets increasingly irate, adding: "If I was going to take her back, why would I book a room for one person. That one person being me."

After being accused of being a liar, he adds: "Have you ever heard of change your mind? I was always having doubts.

"I've got nowhere near the hotel room, I don't even know where the hotel is."

But the male exposer responds: "You travelled seven hours on a coach. You could have got off when the coach changed. That was the last chance to change your mind.

"You're here now to meet her where you arranged to.

"You're claiming that it was just some big innocent thing you were going to walk away from when you travelled seven hours across the country. You booked two or three weeks ago.

"This isn't something that has happened this morning and now you're going to change your mind this afternoon. When were you going to change your mind?"

After nearly half an hour, two officers from Staffordshire Police arrive on the scene and Simms is led away and put in a patrol car as the footage comes to an end.

A crowd that has gathered can be heard clapping amid jeers of 'dirty'.

Simms, of Keyham Road, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication and a second offence of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years for the attempting to engage a child in sexual conversation offence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Paul Cliff, mitigating, said: "He was already an isolated individual who lives alone in a one-bedroom flat.

"It has caused problems with his family. I would not go so far as to say they have rejected him, but it's not difficult to imagine the hurt, upset and resentment that they will feel.

"It's been a difficult 14 or 15 months for him."

Simms was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years, and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

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A Plymouth dad ogled vile images of children - including some the same age as his own daughter, a court heard.

Twisted Leigh Bell, aged 35, downloaded more than 100 images of kids, including more than 40 being abused by adults.

He used the messaging app Kik to ask a 13-year-old girl for an explicit video - though he said that it may have been someone posing as a teenager. 

Bell confessed his secret in front of his mother and stepfather when police executed a warrant at his home, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

He was also caught with an extreme pornographic image, involving an adult and a dog.

A judge handed him a community order, saying effective treatment was the best way of tackling his problem and protecting children in the future.

The court heard that Bell had already spoken to counsellors on the phone.

Judge William Mousley said: "In the images, some of the children are as young as five. In your police interview you admitted viewing more than 1,000 images, some of them involving even younger children.

"You admitted sending images and you admitted receiving them."

But the judge added Bell had shown remorse and admitted more than the police had found evidence of on some of his 27 devices.

Judge Mousley said that the defendant was a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation" and so could be handed a community order rather than a prison term under sentencing guidelines.

He also said that his stepmother would suffer from a lack of care if Bell was in jail.

Bell, of Citadel Road in the city centre, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child aged under 16 between January and November 2019. 

He also admitted three counts of possession of indecent images of children in all three categories between the same dates. He had 109 pictures, including 43 in the most serious category showing children being abused.

Bell finally pleaded guilty to having an extreme pornographic image.

Sam Castlehouse, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police received intelligence that an indecent image of a child had been accessed at an IP address linked to Bell's home.

He said police executed a warrant and seized 27 different devices, including tablets, phones and hard drives.

Mr Castlehouse said that Bell's mother had been at the address and he confessed to her that he had been looking at images of children.

The barrister said that he had also asked a 13-year-old girl to send him an explicit video of herself, though he told police that he doubted she was a real teenager.

Chris Cuddihee, for Bell, said his client had a daughter the same age as some of the children he had been viewing.

He added: "One of the first things he told me was that these could have been his daughter. He just never stopped to think about it."

The court heard that he was no longer with the mother of the child and was not allowed to see the teenage girl.

The barrister added that Bell had moved to Plymouth when he was 16 and had struggled to forge new relationships or friendships.

Mr Cuddihee said the defendant had not worked for two years.

He added that in the two years since his arrest he had contacted a charity which helps sex offenders six to eight times on the phone. 

Mr Cuddihee said that Bell had started using Kik for banter on football, music and women but had been drawn into pornography.

The barrister said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, was sent the image of the dog as part of a mass download.

Judge Mousley handed Bell a three-year community order with a sex offender treatment programme and probation's Rehabilitation Activity Requirement supervision course.

Bell must be on the Sex Offender Register for five years and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a decade.

That will allow the police to monitor his use of the internet. 

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A pervert sexually touched two underage girls and chatted to several more on social media - despite being warned by his own mother.

Tom Fletcher, aged 21, has been jailed for seven years for having full sex with a 14-year-old and groping a 15-year-old.

He contacted and groomed the girls over Snapchat and Instagram, persuading them to swap explicit pictures with him.

The younger girl ran away from home in her pyjamas to spend the night with him, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

The two girls he met have since been struggling to sleep and one has sought counselling.

Fletcher also contacted a string of girls over social media, paying compliments and asking for pictures. The youngest was just 11.

He carried on contacting underage girls even after he was warned off by his mother and a friend, the court heard.

Judge Anna Richardson told Fletcher that he contacted his first victim, the 15-year-old, on average three times a day.

She said of the second complainant: "You threatened self-harm, which was an attempt to emotionally manipulate her.

"Both girls have suffered the same sort of consequences of your behaviour. They speak of fear and anxiety."

The judge ruled that Fletcher posed a "significant risk of serious harm to the public".

Fletcher, of Bayswater Road, Stonehouse, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child, one of sexual communication with a child and one of inciting a child to watch a sexual act.

Peter Coombe, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Fletcher befriended the first girl in October last year through a group chat on Instagram.

He said the defendant paid her compliments, even though she told him she was 15.

Mr Coombe added that they also talked and messaged on their mobile phones.

The barrister said that she sent him explicit photographs at his request.

Mr Coombe added that she agreed to meet him and on the second occasion he touched her chest over her clothing in the street.

The court heard that the girl became upset when she realised that Fletcher was messaging even younger girls, aged 11 and 12, over Facebook. She told her mother and the police were called.

The barrister said that Fletcher's own mother and a friend separately saw the messages and warned him off sending more.

But Mr Coombe said that the defendant befriended a 14-year-old girl in January this year over Snapchat.

He added that Fletcher again asked her for explicit pictures and sent her three videos of himself performing an indecent act.

Mr Coombe said he persuaded her to run away from home wearing her pyjamas in February. He added she spent the night at his house and they had full sex.

The court heard that the girl switched off her mobile phone and her parents reported her missing.

He said that both the girls, whose anonymity is protected by law, had since had trouble sleeping.

Reading from statements, he said that one had sought counselling.

He said of the girl who spent the night with him: "She describes feeling fear and anxiety since it happened and has been worried that she would bump into him.

"She has had nightmares about what happened. The lack of sleep has affected her moods. She has felt a lot more uncomfortable if anyone touches her, with physical contact such as a cuddle."

Fletcher was branded a "dangerous prat" by a judge at the same court in October 2019.

Then aged 18, he admitted driving a moped dangerously past McDonald's and around the pedestrianised area of the city centre.

Fletcher was later handed a suspended prison sentence by driving despite the ban he was handed that day.

Ali Rafati, for Fletcher, said his client had been seen by both a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

He said that his mitigation was not to minimise the seriousness of the offences but to try and provide balance about the defendant.

Mr Rafati added: "He is someone who operates at a lower level and perhaps has a limited intellect. He is certainly immature.

"He is more aligned to the younger people he was contacting rather than those of his own age."

The barrister said that he had struggled to form relationships with women in his own age group.

Mr Rafati said: "Due for his want for a connection and a relationship, he found it easier to speak to younger girls."

He added that he had done will in prison since being remanded into custody in February.

Mr Rafati said: "He has been the subject of bullying and harassment while in prison. It is his intention to work with all agencies to try and prevent this sort of behaviour in the future."

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A sex offender who went on the run from the police claimed he was on a road trip, a court heard.

Luke Eames, aged 28, spent five months dodging officers trying to monitor his behaviour.

He went to Wales with his partner where he was arrested for attacking police.

Former computer shop owner Eames, with a record of distributing perverted images of children, has seen his road trip end in prison.

Judge Paul Darlow jailed him for 16 months for a range of offences at Plymouth Crown Court.

He told Eames: When you left your accommodation in March, you were in no doubt of your obligations to inform the police of your whereabouts, whatever your intentions were regarding this road trip.

Eames, being of no fixed address, was meant to contact the police once a week so officers could keep an eye on him.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements as a registered sex offender.

Eames also admitted two breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed in 2015 by having mobile phones which were not registered with the police.

That order was imposed when Eames, then living in Dartmouth, was jailed for possession and distribution of indecent images of children and perverting the course of justice.

He ran Conker Computers in Ivybridge at the time.

Eames had first been convicted of distributing indecent images of children back in 2010. He failed to comply with sex offender treatment designed to tackle his perverted behaviour.

Nigel Wraith, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said he had been registered with the police as living at Holmes Avenue in Efford from November 2017.

He added that police had a 999 call from his registered mobile phone on March 8 this year.

Officers attended Holmes Avenue to find that he had moved out two days before.

Mr Wraith said police caught up with him on March 30, when he said he was of no fixed address.

The barrister said that he was meant to tell the police his whereabouts every seven days but they heard nothing from him for five months.

Mr Wraith said Eames turned up in Pembrokeshire in August, when he was convicted of assaulting two police officers and criminal damage.

The court heard a neighbour had called the police because he was playing loud music at his accommodation.

Michael Green, for Eames, said it was an unusual case but he had spoken to the defendants fiancee and she had confirmed they had been on a road trip.

He disputed that Eames had been evicted from his home in Efford.

Mr Green added that his clients mother had confirmed he had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The barrister said: He is a young man who has had some difficulties in communicating with his offender manager.

Mr Green said Eames had no fixed address but had planned to settle back in Plymouth with his fiancee. He added that the defendant had spent the last four weeks in custody.

Judge Darlow ripped up the community order imposed by Welsh magistrates for the offences in Pembrokeshire. He resentenced Eames for 16 months for all offences in total.

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A sex offender who raided a pubs cellar to escape with booze worth 2,000 was caught after the landlord posted CCTV pictures on Facebook.

Alex Clough, aged 26, has been jailed for sneaking down the stairs of the Stoke Inn six times to grab spirits, cider and wine.

Clough also spat in the face of a police officer and failed to tell the authorities where he was living, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

He was locked up aged just 14 for attempted rape and robbery in 2007.

But Clough was caught after the burglary when landlord Steve Bowen posted a CCTV picture on Facebook.

Mr Bowen said today: Justice has been done.

He has used the crime to launch an appeal which has raised 200 for homelessness charity Shekinah.

Clough, recently living in Plymouth, pleaded guilty to burglary on December 15.

He also admitted assaulting a police officer in Andover on October 20.

Clough, also known as Sanders, pleaded guilty to failing to register his address with the authorities in that Hampshire town.

Jailing him for a total of seven months, Judge Paul Darlow said: You behaved in a repulsive manner. You then made all the right noises to probation and said you were going to turn your life around.

You show how much you regret your behaviour by going on to burgle the public house.

Judith Constable, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mr Bowen noticed the door to the stock room was unlocked following a busy Friday night.

She said he spotted that some of his shelves had been cleaned out.

Miss Constable added that an intruder had taken 21 bottles of spirits, including Smirnoff vodka, Gordons gin, and a box of wine and a box of cider.

The barrister added that CCTV showed a man going up and down the stairs six times to steal the alcohol.

Miss Constable said Mr Bowen posted the image on the pubs Facebook page and Clough was recognised by his parents.

The court heard he handed himself in to police.

Katie Churcher, for Clough, said he had mental health problems and had taken an overdose to end his life.

She added that he had stolen from the pub to try and repay a debt.

Miss Churcher said that he had just started a job doing paving and driveways.

Clough was sent into custody for five years in 2007 for robbing youths in the street. He also pushed a 14-year-old girl into an alley and tried to rape her.

Mr Bowen said after the latest case that he thought justice had been done.

The landlord posted on the pubs page that he loathed and despised Clough.

He added: He was just so brazen. It suggests he is never going to learn.

Mr Bowen said that he had to cancel the staffs Christmas party because of the burglary.

The landlord posted once Clough had been identified: You have robbed me of my Christmas.

He added: We will have a staff party but it is obviously a lot later and it wont be such a grand affair.

Mr Bowen said the pub had raised 200 for Shekinah to help people in need.

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A detective who worked in a child abuse investigation unit has been jailed for abusing a young girl and making "gruesome" indecent images.

Det Con Chris Maitland, of Widey View, Plymouth, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually touching a child under the age of 13.

He also admitted 12 charges of taking and making indecent images of a child.

The 40-year-old was jailed for five years and four months at Southwark Crown Court.

He is employed in the Met's sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command.

Maitland was originally arrested on 22 November last year on suspicion of possession and distribution of indecent images of children.

He was re-arrested on 15 March on suspicion of sexual touching, and later charged.

Scotland Yard said he was off duty at the time of the offences and is currently suspended.

When he pleaded guilty, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith referred to the material on his computer as "pretty gruesome".

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Two paedophiles from Devon who sexuality assaulted a child and livestreamed the abuse to an American paedophile via skype have been jailed today, 26th October.

Craig Forbes, 36 from Torquay and Sarah Gotham, 34 from Plymouth were sentenced to a total of 17 years at Plymouth Crown Court.

The pair were found guilty of multiple sexual assaults against a girl under the age of 13. Gotham was jailed for nine years and Forbes for eight years.

They came to the attention of police after the FBI arrested a man in Florida for the possession of indecent images of children, in Florida. Which led them to Kori Ellis, a paedophile in San Francisco who had struck up an online friendship with Gotham and Forbes.

Gotham and Forbes streamed the live abuse; the child victim was believed to have been drugged at the time to Ellis via Skype between December 2012 and March 2013.

First arrested in 2015, Gotham was bailed, with Forbes jailed for 20 months. Devon and Cornwall police travelled to San Francisco in 2016 to obtain a witness statement from Ellis, Ellis also positively identified Gotham as the woman she saw abusing a child via webcam. Forbes and Gotham were re-arrested and later charged.

Detective Sergeant Brian Slade, from the Devon and Cornwall Paedophile Online Investigation Unit, said he was pleased with the outcome of this case:

We welcome the verdict which has led to these depraved people being put behind bars.

Gotham and Forbes carried out horrendous acts on a vulnerable child. While Forbes admitted what he had done, Gotham has acted completely without remorse and has always claimed that she had nothing to do with it. Her defence, which the jury saw through, was that the woman on the live stream was someone else calling themselves Sarah and using her Skype account.

Forbes is clearly a very dangerous sex offender. However hard we find it as a society to believe that females can enter into such actions for their own enjoyment, the fact of the matter is that there is no excusing that both Gotham and Ellis are paedophiles who acted purely for their own pleasure.

Ellis was very open from the start. She gave an extraordinary account about her behaviour and what had happened with Gotham and Forbes. It is unusual for a paedophile to be so frank; she was a compelling witness although her evidence was clearly distasteful, and at times harrowing for the jury to listen to in court.

This was an incredibly complex case, and the police would like to thank both the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and our colleagues in the American law enforcement agencies, who couldnt do enough to help us.

It was also extremely rare for FBI agents to give evidence in person in a UK court. We would also praise the judge and jury in this case who sat later into the evening on a number of days to accommodate the time difference for USA witnesses.

Todays sentence is also testament to how hard our police investigation team has worked to overcome such obstacles to bring this case to court. This sends a very strong message that we will do everything we can to ensure that the victims of such heinous crimes are safeguarded and offenders are brought to justice.

Howard Phillips, Senior Crown Prosecutor, praised the assistance given by international law enforcement which brought these offenders to UK attention.

He said: With the assistance of San Francisco Police Department and the FBI, the CPS was able to secure witness testimony from an American prisoner who later gave evidence in court; that with technical evidence found on devices seized in the USA was used to present a strong case.

This case shows that wherever online sexual abuse is uncovered, we can work with international law enforcement agencies to pursue offenders and bring them before the courts.

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In 2017, (Then aged 14-years-old) Casey cooke from Plymouth was locked up for at least four years and three months after he admitted raping a boy aged six and sexually abusing a two-year-old.

Cooke had pleaded guilty to a total of five offences four of causing or inciting a child into sexual activity and one count of rape.

The court was told that Cooke was left in the company of a two-year-old boy.

The toddlers mother returned to the room to find the younger boys privates out of his nappy and appeared sore and red.

Cooke who was 13 at the time was then discovered to have been telling people at school that he had performed an indecent act upon the toddler.

Police were called and interviewed Cooke who in turn made a full admission.

At the time, with input from a number of authorities including the NSPCC, his school, social workers and the Plymouth Youth Offending Team, police agreed that a caution was the most appropriate course of action.

However the parents of the toddler were not content with the caution being offered.

His sexual offending continued and a few months later Cooke had gone on a trip with a six-year-olds extended family and other children.

He took the younger boy to a toilet cubicle where he performed two indecent acts upon the younger boy.

Later that month, Cooke had again gone with the six-year-olds family and other children to a fast food restaurant as a treat.

As they were walking home, the adult accompanying the children realised they could not see the teen nor the six-year-old.

Retracing his steps he heard screaming and found the six-year-old pinned against a wall, being raped by the teen who had his hand over the younger boys mouth.

When the very very upset boy got home he revealed that 14-year-old Cooke had also performed an indecent act upon him prior to the rape. He also finally revealed the previous sexual assaults on when the teen had urged him not to tell anyone.

Cooke was sentenced to four years and three months. His release date is due within next few months.