Latest Offenders SA

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Gary Richards introduces Uiscedwr at the City Hall as part of the Salisbury Folk Festival. Richards co-hosted the event earlier this year only weeks after appearing in court on sex charges. DB1029PO9.

FORMER Salisbury College student support and welfare officer Gary Richards has been jailed for two years by a judge at Salisbury Crown Court for sexually abusing two 14-year-old girls.

Richards, 48, a high-ranking official with the Wiltshire Football Association and involved in running soccer tournaments for boys and girls, had admitted seven counts of sexual activity with the two teenage girls, including intercourse with one on one occasion.

Richards, of Bingham Road, Salisbury, also admitted possessing indecent images of children.

The court heard how Richards' daughter had discovered an image of one of the 14-year-old girls, who she knew, on her father's mobile phone, and had alerted her mother.

When confronted, Richards admitted what he had done and made "frank and full confessions" to the police when he was arrested in May of this year.

Prosecutor, James Newton-Price, said neither of the two girls attended Salisbury College, where Richards had been working teaching employment skills and as a student support and welfare officer. He added Richards knew one of the girls' mother, who also worked at the college and, on one occasion, he had e-mailed the woman on a work-related issue and the e-mail had been picked up by her daughter.

From this initial contact, Richards and the teenage girl began e-mailing each other, moving on to chat room messages and then Richards asking the girl for photographs of herself, including naked images.

Mr Newton-Price said: "She sent him ten images on her mobile phone and after telling her she was beautiful and sexy, he started sending her messages asking for them to meet up." The court heard after meeting and engaging in some sexual activity, Richards asked her about her friends and was later introduced to the second 14-year-old girl.

There were several meetings between the three of them at various locations and, on one occasion, Richards had sex with one of the girls while the other watched.

Mr Newton-Price said when Richards was arrested, police found indecent images of young girls - level one images - on Richards' computer. Peter Henry, defending, told the court Richards had made a full confession to police even before they had interviewed both girls.

Mr Henry added: "He has shown remorse and talks of his relief at confessing to these matters. He says he wants professional help.

"There was consent in these cases despite the ages of the two girls, neither of whom were sexually nave. The chat room talk was two-way traffic."

But Deputy Circuit Judge Pryor QC told Richards he had a duty to impose a custodial sentence.

The judge added: "These were young girls and, whatever is said about the part they played, they are of an age when they require protection, not the opposite.

"You were not in a position of trust towards them but the sexual activities involved, and length of the period they took place, requires a custodial sentence."

The judge sentenced Richards to two years in prison concurrent on all seven charges of sexual abuse, but no further penalty on the charge of possessing indecent images. He also disqualified Richards for an indefinite period from working with children, and placed him on the sex offenders register for ten years.

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ONE hundred and sixteen indecent images of children were found by police on computer equipment owned by a Roman Catholic parish priest.

Father Barnaby Dowling (46) was said at a Salisbury magistrates' court last week to have viewed various forms of pornography on the internet and to have used chat rooms and viewed indecent images of young girls.

Magistrates told the priest that what made his case more serious was that he had distributed some of the images to other users and, adjourning sentence for reports to be compiled, warned him that all sentencing options remained open including a prison sentence.

Father Dowling, from St Osmund's Church in Exeter Street, pleaded guilty to three charges of distributing indecent photographs of children, four charges of making indecent photographs of children and admitted one charge of possessing 14 indecent photographs of children.

Prosecutor Becky Abbott told the court that in October 2004, Devon and Cornwall police were carrying out an investigation and various individuals were identified on computer equipment they had seized.

Father Dowling's name was among them and Salisbury police executed a warrant at his address in Exeter Street.

Police took away a computer, a laptop and other computer equipment.

She said 73 pictures were found on the laptop, and in all 116 images were found, although only 40 of them were still accessible as Father Dowling had deleted the others.

The images were mainly of young girls, although one was of a boy.

Father Dowling admitted he used a screen name to receive images and had forwarded some on to other users, but only by prior arrangement.

Paul Jones, defending, said Father Dowling was extremely remorseful and embarrassed at being before the court.

Mr Jones said the offences were "low level" for that type of offence and involved a small number of images compared to many other cases.

He said the priest had deleted many images and had not received any financial gain from what he had done.

Mr Jones said: "He has been a parish priest for 22 years, the last three in Salisbury.

"He has now been told by the Church that he will be restricted to what he may do within the ministry and will not have anything to do with children.

"This will have an impact on the community which has been his life.

"Father Dowling has received considerable support from that community and from his parish. These offences took place during a difficult time for him.

"He had been diagnosed with cancer and there followed a period of depression. He, himself, needed support and fortunately he now is receiving that support."

Mr Jones handed to the magistrates a number of references and said: "This had had a devastating effect on him.

"Because of the media interest he will be in the public eye. He is going to be restricted in his duties and all this is greater punishment for him than anything the court can do."

Adjourning sentence until July 10, presiding magistrate Dr Pauline Tremlett told him he had been in a position of trust.

She said it involved a small number of images but the fact that he had distributed some of them made it a more serious matter.

She said: "We are aware of your genuine remorse and that it happened during a period of ill health, but we wish to protect the public and we wish to rehabilitate and reform you."

Father Dowling was granted bail until his next appearance on July 10.