Latest Offenders SA

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A man from Brownhills has been jailed for 15 years for inciting boys on the internet to engage in sexual activity and for distributing vile and depraved indecent images of children.

David Brown, 59, had already pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children and one charge of distributing an indecent image of a child.

He had pleaded not guilty to four charges of attempting to cause or incite a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and two charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. However, he was found guilty following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court in March and was jailed on Monday (15 July) at Birmingham Crown Court.

As well as being given a 15-year prison sentence, Brown was placed on the sex offender register for life and will also be the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order For Life.

We received intelligence to suggest Brown was using the internet at his home to share indecent images of children and on 17 October, 2018 officers from our Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team attended Brown’s home and seized his digital devices.

Brown’s computers were forensically examined and found to contain 175 indecent images of children as well as internet search terms relating to the sexual abuse of children.

A vast quantity of online conversations were also retrieved with a considerable amount concentrating on the horrifying and systematic sexual abuse of children both in the UK and abroad. In one, he had instructed a man in Africa to carry out abuse in exchange for payment.

Description

A 74-year-old man who tried to meet up with a 14-year-old boy with a view to abusing him has been jailed for two and a half years after a National Crime Agency investigation.

NCA officers started an investigation into John Harrison, from Tipton in the West Midlands, after they identified he was exchanging indecent images of children on a social media platform.

He was arrested in February 2021 and had a number of devices seized before being released on bail.

While the NCA investigation was ongoing, new intelligence showed that Harrison was offending again, this time engaging with a 14-year-old boy on the same social media platform.

Officers found messages suggesting he was attempting to arrange sexual activity with the child. Indecent images of children in categories A to C were also discovered on his devices. Investigators found 482 Category A images, 960 Category B images and 2330 Category C images.

Harrison was arrested again and charged with offences including making indecent images of children, possession of prohibited or extreme images and arranging sexual activity with a child.

He pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court in March 2023. He was sentenced at the same court yesterday (26 June) to 30 months imprisonment.

Harrison was already on the sex offenders register after being convicted in 2014 for making and possessing indecent images of children.

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A PAEDOPHILE who thought his poor health allowed him not to comply with a court order has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Colin Boon, of Ashmore Close in Whiteparish, failed to register as a sex offender last year without reasonable excuse.

The 65-year-old was stung by online paedophile hunters at his previous home in Salisbury in 2018.

During his sentencing at Swindon Crown Court in 2021, it transpired that Boon had collected hundreds of child sex abuse images since 2006 and stored them on 26 devices.

The vile collection featured children estimated to be as young as 12 months.

As part of Boon's sentence, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

But Boon did not comply with this order and failed to complete his annual registration.

Boon pleaded not guilty to the offence but the court said he had tried to avoid the requirements and "suggested his health allowed him not to comply with a court order".

The blind paedophile sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Salisbury Crown Court on Thursday, June 20.

Boon must also pay £350 court costs and a £154 surcharge.

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A man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for non-recent sex offences.

David Marshall, 62, of Twydale Avenue in Tividale in the West Midlands was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Friday 7 June.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and one year on extended license after he was found guilty of 15 counts of indecent assault on a male person.

Marshall will also be added to the sex offenders register until further notice.

Description

A paedophile who carried out rapes against young girls and women over a period of nearly four decades has been locked up for more than 20 years. Brian Guest, aged 65 from Walsall, carried out his offending over a span of 37 years.

He was finally brought to justice after a complaint was made against him in October 2022. Several victims bravely came forward and reported him for rape and sexual assaults, which took place in a number of different settings.

An investigation was carried out by West Midlands Police and Guest was arrested, charged and went on trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. There, he was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault against his victims, which included children, in June last year.

On Tuesday, January 23, at Stafford Crown Court, Guest was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Det Sgt Nadia Cooper, from West Midlands Police's investigations team, said: "This was an appalling sequence of abuse in which Brian Guest abused his victims.

"Thanks to their bravery, we were able to build a case to bring him to justice and hopefully grant them some measure of closure. We would urge anyone who knows or thinks they were a victim of sexual abuse in the past to contact us and tell us your story.

"In doing so you could secure justice for yourself and others, as well as potentially protecting current or future victims."

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A "manipulative and predatory" man took indecent photos of a young girl in her swimsuit, a court has heard. Daniel Minton was descried as "sexually pre-occupied" and with little regard for sexual boundaries.

Swansea Crown Court heard 44-year-old Minton took the photographs of the schoolgirl in a hot tub at a location where the child had gone to drink alcohol and to "party" in 2021. Most of the photographs focused on the girl's groin area and partially showed her genitalia, and they were placed in Category C of the categorisation of indecent photographs.

Daniel Minton, of Penclawdd Road, Penclawdd, Gower, denied making indecent photographs but was convicted at trial. The court heard that following his conviction a probation officer had discussed with the defendant the possibility of him doing a community-based sex offender course, and he replied: "Do you want a load of dead paedos? Because that is what will happen."

Ian Ibrahim, for Minton, accepted the pre-sentence report "makes unpleasant reading" and said "it seems the author of the report and Mr Minton did not see eye-to-eye". He said it had been the defendant's evidence that he had consumed alcohol on the night in question, and he said Minton had then "foolishly" taken the photographs. The barrister added that the defendant's life had changed dramatically since the offending.

Recorder Mark Powell KC said he had requested a pre-sentence report into the defendant because of his concerns about the offending and the circumstances in which it had been taken, and he said the resulting report "makes very disturbing reading". He said an experienced probation officer had concluded that Minton was a "manipulative and predatory" man who took risk-taking to the point of recklessness, and that the risk could not be managed in the community. The judge said it was clear from what he had read, and from the evidence in the trial, that the defendant was "very ego-centric", had "distorted thinking" and was "sexually pre-occupied" with little regard for sexually boundaries.

Minton was sentenced to two years in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.

Description

A West Midlands man who posted videos of himself raping and sexually assaulting a young boy online has been jailed for nearly 12 years.

Aiden Foster, 22, from Wednesbury, made a series of child sexual abuse videos which were shared on social media site Discord.

The National Crime Agency worked with US law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led to Foster being identified.

Experts in the NCA’s victim identification team used facial comparison tools to confirm his identity.

Foster was arrested by NCA officers at his home address on 6 May this year.

His electronic devices were seized and NCA crime scene analysis investigators matched items at his address to those shown in the videos - including his jewellery, a distinctively patterned blanket and boxing trophies.

Officers recovered 771 indecent images of children across categories A-C (A being the most severe) from four of his devices.

They also found an Instagram chat in which Foster requested ‘horny pics of a 14-year-old’ from an unknown person and boasted that he could send videos of someone carrying out a sex act on him.

The children in this case have been safeguarded.

Foster pleaded guilty to 24 offences, including rape of a child under 13, at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 8 August.

He was sentenced to 11 years and seven months in prison, with a further four years on license, at the same court today (22 November).

He is also subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

NCA operations manager Holly Triggs said: “Aiden Foster is a dangerous offender who conducted the most horrific abuse against children.

“Chat logs showed he revelled in the ability to share material online – an act that will no doubt have contributed to the normalisation of such abuse among other paedophiles.

“The NCA is dedicated to combatting this global threat, working tirelessly to protect children and ensure that high harm offenders like Foster are put behind bars.”

Description

A paedophile had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl after she had "blacked out" while drunk and threatened to tell her family and friends if she stopped seeing him. He went on to have sex with the girl on two other occasions without using protection.

Stuart Barratt, 32, told the girl she looked "fit" after she sent him a photograph of herself in her bra on Snapchat. He later had sex with the girl in Builth Wells when she was intoxicated, after she had lost her friends on a night out.

A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on October 6 heard the victim and the defendant came to know each other and began speaking on social media. He went on to offer to buy her a tracksuit but she refused.

Prosecutor Ffion Tomos said the child went on a night out to Builth Wells with older friends and had consumed peach schnapps and Strongbow, which left her "eight out of 10" on a scale of intoxication. She was refused entry to a bar and lost her friends, before making her way through the town.

She was approached by Barratt who had sat down with her and kissed her. The victim "froze" and believed she "blacked out" at some point. When she came round, she found herself lying on the floor. The defendant had pulled her trousers down to her ankles, pulled her clothes and underwear to one side and penetrated her vagina with his penis, which she described as painful.

Following that incident, the victim said she felt pressured into remaining in contact with Barratt. Ms Tomos said: "He was manipulative towards her and said if she ended it he would tell everyone, she would lose her family and friends and people would hate her."

The court heard the defendant and victim had sexual intercourse on two further occasions in a field, during which he did not use protection. The victim later made a report to police and Barratt surrendered himself but answered "no comment" in his interviews.

Barratt, now of Fourth Avenue, Brownhills, Walsall, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child. The court heard he was of previous good character but had one conditional discharge for criminal damage.

In mitigation, Marian Lewis said her client was "in a bad place" at the time of the offences, was suffering with depression, was in debt and did not like his job. She said the defendant found the girl's appearance and personality attractive and it "was not based purely on sexual activity". The barrister added: "The defendant said she looked and behaved older than her chronological years.

Sentencing, Recorder Dyfed Thomas said: "You were the adult and you took advantage of a child sexually. In relation to submissions that she behaved older than her chronological years, the court does not take that into account in no shape or form. The law is there to protect children no matter how they act, and she was a child."

Barratt was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment. He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and to a restraining order of 15 years.

Description

Alan Barry, 44, of Leamore in Walsall, has been jailed for three years and four months after being found to have breached his sexual harm prevention order.

Barry, of Providence Close, who had previously appeared at Northampton Crown Court in 2017 for making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children, as well as arranging and intended child sex offence, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court last Friday.

At the time of his original conviction in 2017, Barry was placed on the sex offender register for life and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order(SHPO).

The sentence last Friday comes after officers visited Barry's Walsall home in January this year under the terms of his prevention order, where they found thumbnails of what appeared to be illegal sexual images on his mobile phone.

The device was seized for analysis by police, which revealed hundreds of still and moving images of children and extreme pornographic images as well as correspondence indicating that Barry was involved with receiving and sending these images.

In total, officers found 45 Category A images (deemed the most serious images), 13 Category B images, and 251 extreme pornographic images.

Detective Constable Claire Walker, from the public protection unit at West Midlands Police said: "Despite the horrendous nature of the material that Alan Barry possessed, he appeared to be quite ambivalent about the seriousness of his offences, denying when questioned that he had a sexual interest in children and instead attributing his behaviour to drug abuse and mental health issues.

"It is only right that he has received a custodial sentence and we welcome his conviction."

Barry was arrested in June this year and was convicted last week of possessing and distributing images of children, possession of extreme pornography and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

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A man has been jailed for 14 years after admitting sexually assaulting a child.

Stephen Harrison, 40, of Barrington Road, Salisbury, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on Tuesday.

Wiltshire Police said he had pleaded guilty to "multiple counts" of sexual assault on a child under 13 and an attempted rape.

The offences took place on various dates between 2015 and 2020, the court was told.

Det Con Dawn Rowan, from Wiltshire Police, said: "Firstly, I would like to praise the victim in this case who has shown bravery and courage well beyond her years in reporting this to police and ensuring this dangerous man is put behind bars.

"Harrison has shown little remorse for his despicable actions, continuing to lie through numerous police interviews before eventually pleading guilty in court.

"I am pleased that we were able to secure this conviction and see Harrison sentenced.

"We are committed to targeting individuals who commit such abhorrent crimes, regardless of how much time has passed since.

"I would urge anyone reading this who has experienced something similar to report it to police immediately - you will be fully supported through the process by specially-trained officers", she added.

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A serial sex offender has been jailed after he went off the polices radar for almost two weeks before being tracked down to Totnes.

Gary Taylor, aged 63, formerly of Salisbury and the Isle of Wight, but now of no fixed address, was required to tell police about his movements because he has a history of sexual assaults on vulnerable lone females and is a registered sex offender.

Taylor was categorised as a dangerous offender when he was jailed for a total of eight years and four months in 2015 for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman who had mental health issues.

He approached her while she was sitting on a bench in June 2014 and offered her a cigarette and whisky before taking a spot her to a bridge at Summerlock Approach where he was sleeping rough.

He went on to sexually assault her, leaving her traumatised. She told police Taylor was rank and she had told him to leave her alone. She later said she felt sick and terrified.

He also has convictions for sexually assaulting lone females on trains and was already on the register when he committed the offence in Salisbury.

Taylor admitted failing to comply with the sex offenders register.

He left his home on the Isle of Wight without informing the authorities on February 11 this year and did not turn up again until February 22, when he presented himself at Torquay police station but refused to complete the necessary forms.

He was eventually arrested in Totnes the next day and had apparently been living rough in Devon. He claimed he wanted to be arrested so he could get treatment for a hip condition.

Taylor has been jailed for nine months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: This was a deliberate failure to comply, in particular by leaving the Isle of Wight and going off elsewhere. It caused more than a little upset and concern because you went a significant distance from where the authorities had tabs on you.

Miss Caroline Bolt, prosecuting, said Taylor is on the register for life and required to notify police if he was away from his home address for more than three days.

He left home without telling the police in February before turning up in Devon, where he failed to re-register correctly at Torquay Police station on February 22 and being arrested in Totnes the next day.

Taylor was not represented but told the judge he had been confused by the law. He said he went to the police station in the hope of being arrested but had been turned away.

He said: I went to get arrested because I needed treatment for a broken hip but it was not until the next day that I got picked up for something else.

Description

A MAN from Salisbury has been jailed after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offences. 

John Devine, 52, is a registered sex offender and was on prison licence and living in Salisbury at the time of the offences was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to multiple offences which included:

• Make indecent images of a child (category A)
• Make indecent images of a child (category B)
• Make indecent images of a child (category C)
• Distribute an indecent image of a child (category A)
• Distribute an indecent image of a child (category C)
• Attempt to engage in sexual communication with a child
• Attempt to cause a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity
• Attempt to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity

Devine engaged online with a profile of a user who he believed to be a 12-year-old boy between September 2, 2021, and October 1, 2021.

The conversation was of a sexual nature and he encouraged the child to carry out a sexual act. 

The investigation into Devine was run in conjunction with the Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit in South Wales, and there was no real-life victim. 

No children had been abused. 

Following Devine's arrest, devices were seized from his property and more than 600 images along with videos of category A indecent images of children were located. 

The images were of the most serious abuse of children. 

In addition to the 12-year prison sentence, Devine must register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Det Con Sadie McCoy, of the Wiltshire Police Child Internet Exploitation Team, said: “Despite being on licence at the time of these offences, Devine has continued to offend. He is a risk to society and I am pleased the serious nature of his offending has been recognised and he has been given a lengthy prison sentence.

“I hope this investigation demonstrates Wiltshire Police's commitment to rooting out serious offenders like Devine within our community and ensuring they are put before the courts. We would encourage anybody who wishes to report child sex abuse of any nature to come forward and contact us – you will be supported by a team of professionals whose role it is to protect children from harm.”

Det Insp Mathew Davies, of TARIAN ROCU, said: “It is our absolute priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities.  Law enforcement operates across the internet and we will relentlessly seek to bring to justice offenders who use the web to facilitate the abuse of children. We are committed to combating child sexual abuse, safeguarding children and bringing those offenders who seek to abuse children to justice.

"If anyone has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I urge you to report it to your local police force via 101. We will always follow up on allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred. Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.

"If you have concerns about your use of the internet or inappropriate thoughts or behaviour about children or if you are worried about how someone you know behaves around children or are worried about their use of the internet then the Lucy Faithfull Foundation provide a free, anonymous and confidential Stop It Now! Helpline on 0808 1000 900 for advice, support and information.”

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A Salisbury man has been found guilty of multiple counts of rape and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Terry Newman, 52, of Cherry Orchard Lane, Salisbury, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment today (5/4).

Back in 2020, officers were called to an unrelated incident involving Newman, however, it was during this report that the victim disclosed historic sexual assaults and controlling and coercive behaviour by Newman.

On one occasion, Newman raped this woman whilst forcing her head down into a pillow.

On another occasion, Newman assaulted the victim, and controlled where she could and could not go, as well as controlling her finances.

Det Con Ryan Churchley said: “Firstly, I would like to thank the victim for the bravery she has shown in contacting police in relation to her ordeal. Not only that, but I’d like to commend her for the bravery she showed in the court room during the trial. After Newman pleaded not guilty, his victim was forced to relive her ordeal in a court room whilst being cross examined. I hope this sentence will provide her with some closure, however, I completely understand that no sentence will ever compensate for what he did to her.

“Newman would often consume alcohol before being violent and manipulative - nobody should ever experience what this woman has been through.
“I hope this case encourages anyone else in a similar position to come forward and report it to us. You will be fully supported by our officers and we will also be able to direct you to support agencies who can provide further, long-term support.”

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Luke Baker, 20, of School Street, Walsall, is accused of two counts of raping a boy under 13, and two further charges of inciting a boy under 13 to sexual activity.

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AN NHS surgeon who worked at University Hospital Southampton has been convicted of possessing "revolting and abhorrent" images of child sexual abuse.

Plastic surgeon Mansoor Khan was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) he was found to have 106 images - mostly of boys aged between five and seven - on his mobile phone and a hard drive.

Interviewed by NCA investigators the 54-year-old, who also worked at Salisbury District Hospital, admitted receiving the images from a contact on Snapchat.

But he claimed to have acted out of curiosity and had no intention of promoting, sharing or storing them.

The surgeon, who specialises in reconstructive surgery, breast surgery, body contouring and "facial rejuvenation", was charged with three offences of making and possessing indecent images of a child between December 10, 2020, and August 24, 2021.

They included 31 category A images - ranked the most serious.

He denied the offences but was convicted at Salisbury Crown Court following a five-day trial and is due to be sentenced on February 24 next year.

The court heard that Khan used encrypted sites to message others and repeatedly accessed child pornography using his mobile phone.

"By downloading these images he demonstrated a sexual interest in children and helped fuel the sickening demand for this kind of material.

"He denied ever taking screenshots of images on his phone, but our investigation showed this simply wasn’t true.

"The NCA continues to pursue offenders like Khan, to bring them to justice and protect victims of online child sexual abuse."

During the trial Charles Gabb, prosecuting, said Khan gave in to sexual temptation "many times over".

Referring to the category A images he added: "They are of the most revolting and abhorrent kind. They are just awful. You can rarely, if ever, expunge it from your memory."

Khan spent many years pretending to be a pillar of society but was nursing a "deep and sordid secret", the court heard.

Mr Gabb said: "In the privacy of those moments where he and his phone were together he thought he would never, ever be caught."

Khan, of Ridgeway Road, Salisbury, worked at University Hospital Southampton until October last year and has now been dismissed by Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.