Latest Offenders Plymouth

Description

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. 

Description

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 serial sex attacker who forced himself on a 13-year-old girl 16 years ago has faced justice after she saw his photograph in a news report.

William Pope, 58, punched the girl and indecently assaulted her while she was walking near Truro in 2003.

The victim told Truro Crown Court the attack ruined her life and was "one of the worst things any child can go through".

Pope, who admitted indecent assault, was jailed for six and a half years.

Heather Hope, prosecuting, said Pope came up behind the girl and punched her in the face, knocked her to the ground and pinned her down before sexually assaulting her.

"She was absolutely petrified," Ms Hope said.

'I wished he had killed me'

The court heard the police were called but despite extensive inquiries, no suspect was found.

In 2017 Pope was convicted of a series of sexual offences and his picture was published on local news site, Cornwall Live.

The woman saw the report and recognised the former scaffolder.

In a victim impact statement she said Pope hit her so hard she struggled to eat for a week but the "real damage" was caused to her mind.

"I thought this man was going to kill me and for a long time I wished he had," she said.

Pope has previous convictions for sexual assault on a number of women and children dating back to the 1980s.

Sentencing him, Judge Simon Carr said: "You destroyed the life of a child for your own sexual gratification."

Det Con Joel Brown said the woman had shown "extreme bravery and strength".

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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.

Description

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.

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Steven Joyce preyed on four vulnerable boys when he should have been looking after them A twisted pensioner who serially abused boys at a north Devon boarding school in the 1980s had his too soft sentence doubled by senior judges today. Steven John Joyce, 66, preyed on four vulnerable schoolboys when he should have been guarding their welfare, London's Appeal Court heard. He cynically groomed the youngsters by giving them sweets and chocolate eggs, and encouraged them to think of him as a father figure. Joyce's job at the school was to act as "house-parent" with special responsibility for the pupils' pastoral care. One victim claimed Joyce had "ruined his life", Lord Justice Davis told the court. Another told how Joyce regularly took him out of his dormitory at night to abuse him. Joyce, of Erme Drive in Ivybridge, faced investigations in 1991 and 2011, but it was only in May last year that he was finally brought to book. He was handed a sentence of seven years and two months after admitting a string of sex crimes - including 11 indecent assaults and two attempts at buggery. But his case reached the Appeal Courtas lawyers for the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, called for a much tougher sentence. Lord Justice Davis ruled that the sentence was "far, far too low" - and doubled it to 14 years and four months. Joyce's own lawyers conceded that his sentence was "low", but insisted it was "not unduly lenient". Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Soole, took account of Joyce's age and poor health. But he ruled: "With all due respect to the judge, we have no doubt at all that this sentence was unduly lenient."

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A Plymouth rapist has failed to convince top judges that his convictions were unsafe and he should be set free.

Daniel Perkins, of North Road East, Mutley, was caged for eight years at Plymouth Crown Court on July 11 last year for for raping a fellow university student who was so drunk she was drifting in and out of consciousness.

As reported by The Herald, the court heard how 32-year-old Perkins walked the woman home and took advantage of her after she had collapsed on her bed.

Callous Perkins called her a “baby” when she complained of the pain and even asked her whether she enjoyed it after he had finished.

She was so traumatised she needed medication for anxiety and depression and felt she had to leave her course at Plymouth University.

Perkins' defence at trial was that she had fully consented and was a willing participant in all the sexual activity.

But it was Perkins who the jury disbelieved.

The case - which resulted in a jury convicting Perkins on all three counts of rape after a week-long trial - was examined again at London's Appeal Court yesterday.

Lawyers for Perkins, of previous good character, yesterday argued in court that the guilty verdicts were fatally flawed.

Key witness evidence undermined his defence and should never have gone before the jury, they argued.

But Lord Justice Hamblen said the Crown Court judge was 'entitled to conclude that the evidence was relevant to an important matter and was admissible'.

There was, in any event, 'substantial evidence on which the jury could be sure of his guilt', he concluded.

"For all these reasons, the renewed application for permission to appeal must be dismissed."

Perkins raped the woman three times after a night out at Club Envy, Plymouth Crown Court heard in July last year.

He had denied the offences, saying she was not badly drunk and had consented to sex on the night.

But a jury convicted him on all three counts after a week-long trial.

Sentencing him to eight years in prison, Judge Paul Darlow told Perkins: “She was clearly vulnerable, unable to resist. She was drunk and in and out of consciousness.

“When she could she made it clear to you that she did not consent to what was happening. The fact that you were under the influence of alcohol is another exacerbating factor.

“This happened in her own room, the very place where she is entitled to feel safest.”

Perkins shook as he was being sentenced. He mouthed words to supporters as he was taken away in handcuffs.

The woman had earlier told the court Perkins had walked her home and she had let him into her city flat to use the bathroom. She said she collapsed drunkenly on to her bed fully-clothed. But Perkins stripped her and had sex with her.

She said she was in pain while he had sex with her, but Perkins called her a “baby”. She added that he “talked dirty” to her, which made her feel “horrible”.

The woman said after he finished the defendant asked whether she had “liked it”.

Helen Hope, for the Crown Prosecution Service, read two statements from the victim – the second taken after the guilty verdicts.

She said the woman had suffered anxiety and depression and had to take medication which had affected her sleep and appetite.

The woman added she felt she had to leave Plymouth University and continue her studies in another part of the country. She had to start her degree all over again.

The victim said in the second statement: “I am not sure ultimately how I feel. Relieved or glad that it was not all for nothing? The investigation was traumatic.

Jason Beal, for Perkins, said the defendant had not “set up” the situation but taken advantage of the student’s drunkenness.

He added his university career was terminated as a result of the allegations.

Mr Beal said the defendant, who used to work at Pizza Hut, had no previous police cautions nor convictions.

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A mother has spoken of her anguish after a Jehovah’s Witness elder was jailed for systematically sexually abusing her young daughter.

David Dennis, 60, received a 12-year prison sentence after admitting 23 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault on a girl, committed over an eight-year period when she was aged 5 to 13.

The charges included:

1. Nine counts of indecent assault on a child under 13 years old
2. Twelve counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 years old
3. Four counts of sexual assault by penetration on a child under 13 years old

The mother of the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has now revealed her torment upon discovering the extent of the abuse and confronting Dennis in court.

She first learned of the abuse in June 2013, when her youngest daughter—now 19—confided in her 22-year-old sister that Dennis had touched her and forced her to perform sexual acts. The older sister then informed their mother.

“She looked white as a sheet; she said, ‘I have got something to tell you,’” the mother recalled. “My head just started to spin. I just started saying, ‘Are you sure?’ She said yes. She said, ‘I have been standing outside the door waiting. I just wanted to give you a few more minutes of normality.’ I was just devastated. She (the youngest daughter) came home. I looked at her and I said, ‘I am just so sorry.’”

The mother agonized for more than a year about whether to report the abuse to authorities. “She is a very shy girl. She’s not very confident,” she said. “She wanted me to keep it quiet. She wasn’t ready for people to find out. I had to wait for her to be ready.

“It got to the point where he was living his life like nothing had happened and she was suffering badly from depression. She couldn’t bear the fact that he was walking around and she was living in darkness.

“I tried to take my own life because I too suffered from depression. It just got too much, so she decided she wanted to go to the police. We didn’t tell anybody we were going to the police. We just went and did it.”

That decision initiated the legal process, and last month Dennis appeared at Truro Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to the offenses. As he admitted his crimes, Dennis blew a kiss toward the victim and her mother in the public gallery.

“I cried,” the mother said. “I just looked at him and I said, ‘Don’t do that. Just don’t.’ He is very manipulative. He messes with your head.”

The victim is now trying to recover, but her mother fears she may never lead a normal life. “She is bereft,” the mother said. “She suffers from anxiety and insomnia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since we found out she has been better. She has got the support of her family, but she is scarred terribly.

“It will haunt me to the grave. She doesn’t want a relationship with anybody. She always wanted to be a midwife. Now she wants to disappear and run off with the Navy.

“She was so scared about coming forward because he was so well respected in the community. She didn’t think anyone would believe her, but I never doubted her for a second. I couldn’t believe it of him but I never doubted her.”

Dennis, of Chawleigh Close, Gunnislake, will be registered as a sex offender for life and banned indefinitely from working with children.

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'Dangerous' fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant jailed for abusing three girl cadets James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop A fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant is starting a ten year jail sentence for abusing girl cadets after being caught and brought to justice. James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop. He was found guilty and jailed in his absence for ten years in December 2012. Police alerted Interpol and launched an international manhunt but in the end Reading was arrested in Bicester, Oxfordshire on Tuesday of this week. He was brought to Exeter Crown Court in custody to face a charge of absconding and his case was adjourned until next month to allow him to get legal representation. Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, ordered he appear before Judge Erik Salomonsen, who passed the original sentence, and warned him he could receive up to 12 months extra in jail. Reading was the sergeant in charge of the ATC at Okehampton, North Devon, where he organised parties and sleepovers. He assaulted one young victim after telling her she may be promoted if she went on night exercises with him and another on the eve of a Remembrance Day parade. He plied his victims with alcohol at the unofficial parties at the ATC hut where he hid his activities by putting bin bags over the windows as makeshift curtains. The sergeant invited boys to the parties but sent them on errands or into different rooms while he was carrying out his attacks. He offered one girl 50 to touch her chest and was caught red handed when one female cadet burst into the hut's kitchen to find him with a topless, terrified and hysterical 14-year-old. Reading, aged 37, of Knighton Road, Plymouth, denied eight offences of sexual activity with a child or inciting a child to take part in sexual activity but was found guilty in his absence by a jury at Exeter in December 2012. The offences related to a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds. At the end of his trial Judge Erik Salomonsen said:"The ATC fulfils and important role in the community and parents must know they can rely on them to look after their children. "It goes without saying this applies to their moral as well as their physical welfare and the highest standards should have been adhered to in relation to alcohol and the separation of the sexes during overnight activities.

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A PAEDOPHILE rapist who repeatedly assaulted two young girls has been jailed for 16 years.

Winchester Crown Court heard last week that one of the victims was only nine when Stewart Thomas McDevitt, 50, began abusing her.

McDevitt, from Amesbury, denied the abuse when he was arrested in March last year but was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault and two of rape by a jury sitting at Portsmouth Crown Court following a one-week trial starting on July 2.

He was cleared of a further three counts of indecent assault.

Speaking after the sentencing, DC Darren Ambrose of Wiltshire Police said: McDevitt preyed on two innocent girls, which had a long-lasting and devastating effect on them.

They have shown great courage in coming forward and speaking to police and we hope that this case will encourage any other victims of sexual abuse to report it.

McDevitt has continued to deny any involvement but the jury found him guilty and the prison sentence imposed today reflects the vile nature of his crime.

McDevitt, now of Barne Barton, Plymouth, was also made subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

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A MAN who sexually assaulted and took indecent photographs of a child has been jailed for three and a half years.

Julian Rimmer, aged 48, abused the girl and took pictures of her.

Judge Salomonsen said the girl was forced to pose sexually and smile while Rimmer took 40 photographs.

He added that almost 300 pictures of other girls were found on his computers.

He had denied eight offences but was found guilty by a jury after a week-long trial.

Judge Erik Salomonsen jailed Rimmer for 42 months for offences committed from 2009 until last year.

He said: “These offences reflect a course of conduct on your part when you sought to satisfy your clear interest in young girls.”

Rimmer, of Mount Gould Road, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault on a child, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of taking indecent photographs of a child and two charges of making indecent photographs of a child.

Rimmer will also have to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.