Latest Offenders Rotherham

Description

A man plied teenage girls with food and drinks and made them believe he was in a relationship with them before pressuring them into sex.

Bradley Joynson, 21, of Rotherwood Crescent, Rotherham, exploited four teenage girls and coerced them to comply with his sexual requests, telling them of his violent nature.

Joynson - who was 18 at the time - preyed on his victims after he met them through his friends and led them to believe he was in a relationship with them, collected them in his car, bought them food and drinks and then went on to have sex with them at his home. One of his victims was abused in his car.

The depraved teenager's offending first came to light when one of his four victims, who were all aged between 13 and 15, contracted a sexually transmitted disease and another went missing from home. Both circumstances led police to investigate and Joynson was arrested in April 2019.

He was later charged with 11 offences including rape and sexual activity with a child. He initially denied having any contact at all with his victims. Police were able to seize and download a number of devices and piece together conversations.

Joynson - who was classed by a judge as a "dangerous offender," was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for four-and-a-half-years for four counts of sexual activity with a child. All of the other charges will lie on file. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for eight years and a restraining order in favour of all of his four victims.

Reacting to his sentencing, DC Lisa Yates of Rotherham's Protecting Vulnerable People Unit said: "Joynson took advantage of four young girls, all of whom were particularly vulnerable due to their own personal circumstances.

"He preyed upon them for his own sexual gratification and used coercion and manipulation to get his own way. CSE [child sexual exploitation) cases are often complex, because victims don't realise they're victims until its too late.

"As well as the phone evidence, all four of Joynson's victims were prepared to stand up and give evidence in court. They gave compelling evidence in interview. I would like to thank each and every one of them wholeheartedly for their patience and cooperation - without them, Joynson would have got away with his actions.

"No length of sentence would ever compensate for what Joynson did, but I hope his victims can now begin to move on and find closure."

Description

Sheffield Crown Court heard on May 4 how Jordan Treck, aged 28, of Pitt Street, Rotherham, had known the complainants family and when she had stayed with him he had touched her private parts and had sex with her.

The complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stated: Jordan made me believe what he was doing to me was normal and if anyone found out they would hate me.

"As I got older I realised what he was doing was wrong and I started to resent him more.

"I felt really powerless and tried to think what I could have done to stop him doing this to me.

The youngsters mother stated that her daughter lost all confidence and her mental health suffered so badly she began self-harming and wanted to take her own life.

Prosecuting barrister Ian Goldsack said Treck was an acquaintance of the victims family who noticed a change in the youngsters behaviour and had picked up on her resistance to visit the defendant after he had been sending inappropriate messages.

Mr Goldsack added that a teacher had also noticed that the complainant had been upset and struggling and she disclosed that she had been sexually abused and the police were alerted.

Treck had touched the complainants private parts, according to Mr Goldsack, and on another occasion he had sex with her while using a condom.

Mr Goldsack said: She had dreams about what had happened and kept thinking about it and had felt suicidal.

He added: She said she could not get the memories out of her head and she just wanted it to stop.

Cleaner Treck, who worked at the Oasis food court, at Meadowhall, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child committed between September, 2017, and September, 2018.

The complainant stated: I find it hard to trust and I feel the impact of what Jordan has done to me will never go away.

Simon Reevell, defending, suggested Treck is immature and said the defendant is not someone whose intellectual function is commensurate with his age.

Judge Peter Kelson QC said he was satisfied Treck had also misused technical equipment as part of a grooming process.

He told Treck: You were a 23 or 24-year-old man preying on a young 13-year-old child and as part of it you used telephone equipment.

Judge Kelson said: Your victim, aged 13, has spent the next years in a very traumatised state that has resulted in her taking overdoses seeking to take her own life such is her mental confusion.

"You have robbed this child of her teenage years and I cannot by any sentence give them back to her.

Judge Kelson sentenced Treck to six years of custody with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his access to children and technological devices.

Treck was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order to further protect the complainant.

Description

A woman who twice had sex with a schoolboy has been jailed.

Laura Stephenson, 28, from Rotherham, exchanged "flirty" messages with the 15-year-old before they had sex at her home while her boyfriend was away.

Sheffield Crown Court was told the boy suffered mental health issues as a result of what happened in 2018.

Stephenson, who admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child, was jailed for 21 months and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

When interviewed, Stephenson admitted the pair had sex, but she argued it was consensual and although she felt guilty, attempted to blame her victim, South Yorkshire Police said.

Investigating officer Natalie Duffy said: "Stephenson claimed she knew her actions were wrong due to the boy's age, but this wasn't enough to stop her.

"Instead she presented a number of excuses for her perverse actions."

She added: "I would like to praise the victim for the tremendous courage he has shown throughout the investigation and court proceedings."

Stephenson, of Windmill Road, Rotherham, was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to pay victim costs of 140.

Description

The former peer Nazir Ahmed has been found guilty of serious sexual assault against a young boy and the attempted rape of a girl when he was a teenager in the 1970s.

Ahmed, 64, was found guilty on Wednesday of buggery against a boy in Rotherham, and twice attempting to rape a girl. Buggery was the legal term for the specific sexual assault at the time of the offences.

The former Lord Ahmed of Rotherham was charged alongside his two older brothers, Mohammed Farouq, 71, and Mohammed Tariq, 65, but both were deemed unfit to stand trial.

A woman told a jury at Sheffield crown court that Ahmed attempted to rape her in 1973 and 1974, when the defendant was about 16 or 17 years old, but she was much younger. The former politician was also found guilty of a serious sexual assault against a boy under 11 in 1972.

The jury was played a recording of a telephone call between the two complainants, made by the woman after she went to the police in 2016.

Tom Little QC, prosecuting, told the jury that the call was prompted by the man contacting the woman by email saying: “I have evidence against that paedophile.”

Ahmed claimed the allegations were a “malicious fiction” but the prosecution said the call showed they were not “made up or concocted”.

In the recording, the woman said to the man: “What they did to you was utterly wrong and it’s time now to seek justice for the little boy who could not protect himself.”

Ahmed, who denied all the charges, was found guilty on Wednesday of two counts of attempted rape and one of buggery.

Appointed a life peer by Tony Blair, Ahmed resigned from the Labour party in 2013.

His brothers Farouq and Tariq faced charges of indecent assault in relation to the same boy that Ahmed abused and, also on Wednesday, the jury found that they had carried out the acts alleged.

The judge, Mr Justice Lavender, bailed Ahmed to appear at the same court for sentencing on 4 February.

Rosemary Ainslie, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the verdicts clearly showed “that no matter the delay between the offences and the trial, and the defences raised, they could be sure that the accounts of the victims were credible and true”.

“One of these defendants held a position of power, influence and responsibility for some time in the House of Lords but this case clearly illustrates that where there is sufficient evidence, even in challenging cases, the CPS will bring a prosecution, put evidence before a jury and see rightful convictions”, she added.

A previous trial collapsed last year due to errors made by the prosecution. Ainslie conceded that “disclosure failures should not happen”, but the case showed the challenges faced in dealing with “huge amounts of information” and proper disclosure to the defence to allow a fair trial.

“But the case also shows our determination to admit problems, overcome them and pursue the case, and the court’s ability to ensure the defendants receive a fair trial and their victims see justice,” she added.

Description

Roland Kuru, aged 24, was arrested at Rotherham railway station after he had been communicating online with paedophile hunter groups pretending to be children and had arranged to meet one of them. Kuru, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to incite a girl aged over 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of attempting to incite a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and to one count of attempting to meet a girl aged under 16 following grooming. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years of custody and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, as well as made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for 12 years after committing 16 sex offences against two young girls over a period of more than 25 years.

Pensioner Ralph Gwynne (72) was convicted of nine offences of indecent assault of a child, six offences of sexual activity with a child and one of taking indecent pictures of a child.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Gwynne, of Willow Close, Bramley, touched one of his victim’s private parts at his home between September 1985 and March 1986.

He also touched another girl sexually and took indecent pictures of her when they were both in his car while it was parked in a layby between 2010 and 2012.

The court heard the victims have been subjected to nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety because of what Gwynne had done.

As he sentenced Gwynne on Friday, Honour Judge Steven Coupland, said: “You were somebody who took every opportunity you could to get away with it and abuse them for your own sexual gratification.

“She [the girl who was abused between 2010 and 2012] is subjected to anxiety that continues until this day. I am satisfied there are lasting effects because of what you did to her.”

Gwynne was banned from having any unsupervised contact or communication with a female child under the age of 16, unless it is unavoidable, or with the consent of the child’s parent or guardian and the approval of social services.

The judge told him he must not live or sleep in the same dwelling as any female child under the age of 16 or seek or undertake any employment, including voluntary work, whether for payment or otherwise which is likely to allow him unsupervised access to a female child under the age of 16.

Det Con Rachael Burgin, who led the investigation, said: “I am extremely happy with the verdict we have been able to achieve and Gwynne is now rightly behind bars where he can cause no further harm.

“An investigation was launched into Gwynne, who refused to take responsibility for the abuse he inflicted on his victims for his own sexual gratification, in January 2015 after the historic abuse was reported to police. He has now been found guilty of the crimes he committed and is being punished for his despicable actions.

“I would like to praise all of the victims for having the courage to come forward and report the abuse they suffered as children.

“South Yorkshire Police are committed to achieving justice for victims who have suffered from sexual abuse and I would like to encourage anyone who is, or has been a victim to please come forward and report it to police.