Latest Offenders Southampton

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A RAPIST and paedophile who used live maggots during a sick attack on a woman is suing police for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

Evil Robin Frampton – also known as Robert Williams, above – is using legal aid to claim £15,000 damages even though he has a string of convictions for depraved sex acts dating back nearly 30 years.

Police arrested the 53-year-old from Hampshire for breaching the terms of the sex offenders’ register when he was visiting North Yorkshire.

Now Frampton’s lawyers say he had not committed any offence and was “humiliated”.

The case has already cost taxpayers £30,000.

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A MINISTRY of Defence police officer got his sexual kicks by filming teenage girls and children in the changing rooms of a Hampshire leisure centre.

Andrew Rayson, 32, would watch women and children swimming and then following them to changing rooms where he would use his mobile phone to record them.

In an adjoining cubicle either through a hole in the wall or putting his arm over the top he would snap his unsuspecting victims, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Tim Dracass said Rayson got away with his perverted behaviour for more than three years until January, when he went to Romsey Rapids.

A 16-year-old girl had just removed her bikini and was drying her hair when she glanced upwards and was astounded to see an arm and a bald head appear above the wall.

She then heard two clicking noises and told her boyfriend what had happened.

Rayson was challenged by the manager in the reception area after CCTV footage had been checked, but he refused to show anything on his phone.

Rayson drove off but his registration number was noted and it was discovered to be that of a vehicle on hire to the MoD Polices divisional support group at Gosport. It had been logged out to Rayson that day.

Rayson told his partner another police officer that he had run over his mobile phone and then got a replacement.

The court heard how she later helped police retrieve the phone but its SIM card had been transferred to another model.

That and computer equipment was seized in a search of Raysons home and police found other sordid images of other people he had targeted, who were unaware they had been filmed.

Mr Dracass said some of the footage lasted a few seconds, others were up to a minute in length.

The teenage girl said in an impact statement she had been left upset, embarrassed and sick by the incident, which had affected her sleep.

The fact he was a police officer had caused her concern.

Rayson admitted ten charges of voyeurism and asked for 20 similar offences to be considered, which involved five girls under 18 and one as young as ten.

He was jailed for 20 weeks, placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and banned from working with children.

Andy Houston, defending, said: He has lost everything his job, his friends, his partner and his home. He has not spoken to or heard from his partner and has moved back to his family in Nottingham.

He needs help and wants to engage in the sex offender group programme which is the best way to protect the public from this sort of behaviour.

But passing sentence, Judge Jeremy Burford QC, said only a custodial sentence could be justified and that a community order would not be sufficient.

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A former sandwich delivery driver has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 24 years for the rape and murder of 17-year-old Hannah Foster.

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, 41, a father of two, was found guilty at Winchester crown court today of the A-level student's murder, rape, false imprisonment and kidnap in March 2003.

Kohli shook his head slightly as the jury returned its four unanimous verdicts after five and a half hours of deliberations.

Sentencing him, Justice Keith said his crime was aggravated by "Hannah's vulnerability as a young slip of a girl, the terrible and appalling ordeal which Hannah must have gone through before you killed her, the wanton way you disposed of her body and the unimaginable grief to which you have subjected her family".

He told him: "It took a long time for you to be brought to justice but the law caught up with you in the end.

"The jury saw through your lies and you stand there exposed as a heartless and contemptible man who abducted and raped an attractive 17-year-old girl with everything to live for, and then callously and quite premeditatedly took her life so she would not be able to point the finger of guilt at you."

During the trial, the court heard that Kohli abducted Hannah as she walked down a street yards from her home in Southampton after spending a night out with friends. Terrified, she called 999 hoping an operator would hear what was happening, but the call was terminated when she did not speak.

The jury listened to a recording of the 999 call, in which Kohli was heard to tell Hannah "I want to fuck" before instructing her to keep her head down as his sandwich delivery van travelled out of Southampton.

She was raped in the van before Kohli strangled her when he feared she might identify him. He dumped her body beside a road in West End, Hampshire, and returned home to his wife and sons.

Hannah's body was found on March 16 in brambles off Allington Lane after being spotted by a 14-year-old boy from his mother's car.

Four days after the killing, Kohli fled the country, changing his name and creating a new life for himself in his native India.

Today's verdicts come nearly six years after the killing, during which time Hannah's parents travelled to India four times to put pressure on authorities for Kohli to be extradited.

Hilary and Trevor Foster today paid tribute to their daughter, describing their "overwhelming sense of relief" at the verdict.

Trevor Foster said Kohli had shown "not one iota of remorse for his actions", adding: "Today finally justice has caught up with him."

On the first trip the Fosters made to India, in July 2004, they found Kohli after a national appeal for help, but he fought his extradition for a further three years. He made a filmed confession to an Indian television station that he later retracted, saying it was made against his will.

He said in the confession: "I abducted, raped and killed Hannah Foster. I want to unburden myself and tell the truth (about) what happened that night. I was totally drunk that night. I strangled her and killed her."

Kohli said he had seen Hannah on the night of the murder but had not been stalking her. He claimed he was confessing "because I am already too tired to run here and there".

He was extradited to Britain in July 2007 and claimed he had been abducted, blindfolded and tied up on the night of Hannah's death and forced to have sex with the teenager.

During the trial he painted a picture of himself as a victim of a revenge attack orchestrated by a former colleague. Kohli said he owed the colleague £16,000 and had had an affair with his wife.

The claims were called "absurd" by the prosecution.

DNA belonging to Kohli was found on Hannah, and Hannah's DNA and blood was found in Kohli's van when it was seized. Her mobile phone was tracked moving along the M27 and M275 in Hampshire at the same time Kohli's Transit van was spotted on cameras.

CCTV footage from a garage placed his van three times in the vicinity of Allington Lane in the early hours of March 15 as he disposed of the body.

In a victim impact statement read to the court after the verdicts today, Hannah's mother, Hilary, said she would feel guilt for the rest of her life that she was not there to protect her daughter when she was murdered.

"Kohli ripped out my heart and stamped on it. When Trevor and I saw Hannah in the mortuary, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, there must be some mistake. The cold, battered and bruised body certainly looked like her, but where was the sparkle in her eyes?"

She added: "Our lives have revolved around our two girls, their wellbeing, personal interests and hopes for the future. On March 14 2003, our lives changed forever."

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A SERIAL sex offender who preyed on young girls has been jailed for 20 years.

Leslie West, 64, was locked up after being convicted of 15 sexual offences against children, including two counts of rape.

He was led from the dock at Southampton Crown Court with the words of Judge John Boggis QC ringing in his ears.

The judge told him: “At your trial you denied being a dirty old man but that’s exactly what you are – a disgusting, perverted, dirty old man.

“You are a danger to young girls because you won’t control yourself.”

The court heard that West, of Bracklesham Way, Sholing, Southampton, committed two sets of offences that were separated by a gap of 30 years.

Megan Topliss, for West, said the defendant was suffering from a raft of serious health problems, including angina and emphysema, but knew a prison sentence was inevitable.

She added: “My client recognises that a term of imprisonment is the only possible sentence and that it will be a long one.

“He was a man of previous good character.

Beyond that there is little I can say in the light of the jury’s verdicts.”

Miss Topliss said West was remanded in custody following his conviction last month and had begun to experience panic attacks.

She added: “He has become very depressed and is receiving medication.”

Sentencing West, Judge Boggis told him: “I’ve taken into account your age, the fact that you’re not a well man and the effect of a prison sentence on a person of your age.”

The defendant was jailed for ten years for each of the rapes. The two terms will run concurrently.

He was also handed prison sentences for the other 13 offences, which included indecency, sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and was jailed for a total of 20 years.

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A HAMPSHIRE teacher who admitted downloading indecent images of children and sexually touching a 16-year-old girl has been spared a jail term.

Michael Page was given a three month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and an 18-month supervision order for touching the girl.

Page, 41, was also given an 18-month supervision order for making and possessing the images.

He was banned from working with children and prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with any girl under 16 except his daughters.

Religious studies teacher Page, of Avon Road, Bitterne Park, Southampton, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Sentencing him at Southampton Crown Court Judge Derwin Hope said Page had abused his position of trust.

He added: “The incident involving the girl was not the most serious of offences, but she was a particularly vulnerable individual and the impact on her life has been particularly severe as a result. She was 16 and you were 40, which further aggravated the situation.”

James Newton-Price, prosecuting, said the victim had become afraid of leaving her house, lost contact with her friends and grew depressed.

Defending, Simon Gruchy,said Page had lost his job and was £30,000 in debt.

“Financially, things have, not surprisingly, taken a turn for the worse as a result of all this,” said Mr Gruchy.

Page, who had no previous convictions, was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and was told that his computer would be confiscated.

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A FATHER of two who was branded as a serious danger to teenagers has been jailed for more than seven years.

Peter Williams, 38, targeted boys over the Internet, befriending them to gain their trust and meeting them for sex.

Prosecutor Adam Feest told Southampton Crown Court that there was no suggestion Williams had forced the boys to commit sex acts but they were unsure of their sexuality and were persuaded to do more than they would have otherwise have done.

Williams abused two victims in his bedroom, the court heard. He had also travelled to London to see a 15-year-old boy he had groomed through an Internet chatroom but the youngster refused to answer his texts and the meeting never took place.

In impact statements, one boy said he felt "dirty" while the other said he felt "uncomfortable".

The London teenager said he became "wary" of Williams because of his suggestions.

Southampton Crown Court heard the human resources officer had been jailed for 18 months in December 2005 for offences against a 13-year-old, and it was through that investigation these offences came to light.

When officers went to Williams' home, they seized a computer and discovered he had downloaded more than 450 indecent images of boys.

Williams, of Harcourt Road, Southampton, admitted eight offences of sexual assault, sexual activity with a child, travelling with the intention of meeting a child following sexual grooming, and possessing indecent pictures.

Jailing him for seven years and four months, Judge Jeremy Burford QC referred to the pre-sentence report that assessed him as highly skilled in grooming victims. The probation officer concluded he had minimised the seriousness of his offending, and considered he posed a significant risk of causing serious harm to children, particularly teenage boys.

In mitigation, David Reid said the offences pre-dated the prison sentence and he had not been in trouble for more than three years.

"They were committed at a time his life had turned upside down. His marriage had fallen apart, he had been denied access to his children, and as a means of escape threw himself into the gay world. He accepts he did nothing to check his behaviour."

Following his release from prison, he had made good progress on sex offender treatment programmes. "He has worked hard to rebuild his life.

He has paid off considerable debts and has terminated what was a good job because of the hearing."

In addition to the jail sentence, Williams was placed on the sex offenders register and under the terms of a sex offender prevention order, cannot speak to or communicate with children under 16 except his two children with their mother's consent. He was also banned from using the Internet to contact children under 16 indefinitely.

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A FATHER-of-seven convicted of horrific sex offences against a young girl was branded a danger to the public as he began an indefinite sentence behind bars.

Patrick Keogh, 39, was told he would spend a minimum of eight years in jail before he would be considered for parole.

Judge John Boggis QC condemned Keogh, pictured, as "a dangerous predator"who represented a serious risk to young girls.

Jurors heard he had threatened to kill his victim if she told anyone about what he had done.

"These offences are absolutely despicable and the psychological damage to her will be profound and long lasting. Children must be protected from you."

Keogh, of Croydon Close, Lordshill, Southampton, had been convicted at the city crown court on six counts of rape, indecency with a child, sexual assault and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

He denied the offences and the judge said he still contested the convictions, which represented a breach of trust.

In addition to the jail sentence, he was also placed on the sex offenders' register, banned from working with children and told he must not be in the same house with a child under 16 without the prior approval of police.

Keogh had also been committed for sentence for burglary and taking a tipper truck without consent after he got into a compound on a Millbrook trading estate, grabbed the keys as well as a bottle of wine from the site office and drove the vehicle away.

He told police he had intended to drive to London to get drugs but went to his girlfriend's home where he scored.

He was jailed for 18 months for those offences and had a four month suspended sentence activated.

All the sentences run concurrently.

In mitigation, Robert Grey said Keogh had no previous convictions for sex offences and he had been an addict since 1991.

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A RETIRED Hampshire teacher who downloaded hundreds of sordid images of young girls has been spared an immediate prison sentence.

Kenneth Dunn, 58, claimed he had become obsessed in a desperate search for indecent pictures of himself taken 50 years before at his boarding school, which he feared might have been posted on the Internet.

He alleged that he wanted to find them so he could confront his abuser.

However Judge Derwin Hope slammed his defence, saying it defied belief.

Dunn, of Bassett Wood Drive, Bassett, Southampton, had pleaded guilty to 21 specimen charges of possessing indecent images. He was arrested after police raided his home with a search warrant, and when told of their suspicions that he had been downloading the gruesome images, he turned white and officers feared he was going to faint.

Prosecutor Roderick Blain told the city crown court that, when two computers were analysed, more than 1,400 images of girls from the ages of 12 down to babies were discovered.

The father of three, who taught electronics and physics at Taunton's College in Southampton before he retired this year, had trawled through notorious hard core sites to access the material.

Judge Derwin Hope, who read two psychiatric reports, accepted Dunn had been suffering from a depressive illness that had affected his character.

Dunn received a 12-month suspended sentence and has to attend an Internet sex group programme.

He has been banned from residing in a house with any child, working with children, and using a computer or online message boards without the approval of his supervising officer. He must also register as a sex offender for ten years.

In mitigation, James Leonard said that as a result of the case his character was in tatters and he had been publicly humiliated.

"The effect on him and his devoted wife has been catastrophic. He had been held in such high esteeem and the effect has been as bad as it could conceivably have got.

"At the time he was suffering from a major depressive illness and was simply not himself."

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A PREDATORY paedophile groomed and sexually assaulted four young boys while he was a Southampton publican, a court heard.

Paul Bedard plied the boys with alcohol, showered them with money, clothes and cigarettes to win their trust and then took advantage of them for his own sexual gratification.

The 63-year-old, formerly in charge of the Honest Lawyer, was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault, two counts of buggery, one of attempted buggery and one of false imprisonment.

Today he is beginning a 15-year jail term.

The sexual assaults took place over eight years from 1990 to 1998 while Bedard was landlord of The Hobbit and the Clowns and Jesters pubs in Southampton. His victims were aged between 11 and 18 years. Most of the offences took place while they were in their early teens.

During a trial at Southampton Crown Court a jury heard how unmarried Bedard befriended the boys through drinkers and other people at his pubs and would give them work and odd jobs, such as cleaning and glass collecting.

He then abused them on those premises after hours and at his homes.

Bedard, of Lodge Road, Portswood, appeared over a video link from Winchester Prison, and showed no emotion during a sentencing hearing.

Nick Rowland, mitigating, said Bedard was suffering from deteriorating health and was in a wheelchair after suffering a stroke. While conceding Bedard had shown no admission of guilt he asked the judge to take into account "for none other than humanitarian reasons" the state of a "man nearing the end of his life".

Passing sentence, Judge Derwin Hope told Bedard he had inflicted "moral corruption"

on each of the boys.

He said the psychological impact of the abuse on the victims was likely to be "profound"

and by forcing them to go through trial he had brought back painful memories with "deep feelings."

You continued to deny these offences in their entirety.

You've shown no empathy and no understanding as to how the offences have impacted on these victims."

DETECTIVES have praised the courage of sex abuse victims for coming forward and helping to put Paul Bedard behind bars.

And they vowed to fight for justice for other victims they believe may have suffered at the hands of the former Southampton publican.

Detective Constable Viv Wilson said she could only imagine how two of his victims found the strength to come forward to police more than ten years after the offences took place.

"This case proves victims can come forward many years later and get justice for what's happened.

"This was a predatory paedophile, who was calculating in the way he picked his victims."

She added the victims, who had found it difficult to lead normal lives, could now try to move on.

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A former social worker has been given a three-year community service order after he admitted having sex with a woman client who had a mental disorder.

David Cookson, 43, of Firgrove Road, Southampton, worked as a locum for Surrey County Council when the relationship took place in 2007.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Guildford Crown Court to two counts of having sex with the Camberley woman.

The council said it sacked him as soon as it found out about the offences.

The court heard the two offences took place between March and September 2007.

'Strict checks'

Graham Wilkin, the council's director of social care, said Cookson was employed through an agency.

As soon as the council discovered what had taken place, he was suspended and his employment was later terminated.

He said the second incident took place after Cookson was dismissed and it would now be up to the General Social Care Council to decide whether to remove him from the social workers' register.

"This incident should not have happened," said Mr Wilkin.

"However, Cookson's actions were not those of a responsible professional and we expect the highest standards at all times.

"Surrey County Council has strict checks in place that are rigorously followed before we employ anyone as a social worker and these did not fail in Cookson's case."

Cookson was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years and ordered to attend the Thames Valley sex offenders group work programme.

Det Insp Martin Goodwin said: "This was a very serious but rare offence which was handled sensitively by Surrey police officers and the Community Mental Health Team.

"In partnership with the NHS Trust and Surrey County Council we have prevented Cookson from continuing to work as a social worker." 

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A FATHER-of-six who mounted a campaign of sexual abuse against a girl, has been jailed for 13 years.

At Southampton Crown Court, judge Christopher Leigh QC told Christopher Peat the impact statements of the victim and her mother were among the worst he had seen for many years.

Peat, 39, of Magnolia Road, Merry Oak, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and three of indecency with a child.

The assaults began in January, 2002, and went on until June, 2007. It finally ended when the girl disclosed to her aunt what had been happening and burst into tears.

Don't cry' Prosecutor Richard Onslow said the first time Peat touched her, he told her "be brave, don't cry". He warned her that no one would believe her if she complained, and if she told her mother, she wouldn't love her any more.

On one occasion, Peat abused the youngster after he had forced her to watch a porn movie with him.

On arrest, Peat gave a "no comment" interview.

Mr Onslow then told the judge: "You have seen the impact statements and it doesn't need me to describe the shattering affect it has had on the girl and her family."

In mitigation, Stuart Jones QC said Peat admitted the offences at the first opportunity and had spared his victim the ordeal of giving evidence.

"He was brought up in a family where violence and sexual abuse were part of life, and he was the victim of a sexual offence when he was just eight. It's a painful fact he finds difficult to confront. It cannot justify but might provide some explanation for what happened."

In the pre-sentence report, Peat spoke of his self-loathing and disgust "They are the most important words in it because they indicate some awareness of the true enormity of his offending and its consequences."

He told the judge: "Whatever sentence you pass, he will serve it without visitors. Family life is over for him and his friends have jumped ship. The last words he said to me downstairs before we came into court was I'm sorry.'"

Passing sentence, Judge Leigh told Peat: "I have read the impact statements. I don't propose to refer to them because to do so might cause the victims even greater distress.

"Suffice to say they are among the worst I have seen for many years."

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BOSSES of a Southampton charity for the disabled knew about the sex crime past of a volunteer minibus driver for four years before he raped a client, an inquiry has revealed.

Stephen Browne was given "routine" and "extensive unsupervised access" to vulnerable disabled clients, including giving help with personal care and letting one client spend the night at his house. He even went on to become the charity's vice-chairman.

The inquiry found that despite being told by the police in 2001 that Browne had an unspent previous conviction for indecent assault, the charity's secretary and chairman failed to take adequate steps to safeguard the charity and its clients.

Neither did it adequately keep an eye on Browne's conduct, a Charity Commission report said.

The other trustees of the Southampton and District Sports and Leisure Association for the Disabled (SADSALAD) were also criticised for failing to implement protective polices and measures, such as carrying out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks when they became available in 2002.

Browne went on to rape a severely disabled woman and indecently assault another in November 2005 and is now serving at least ten years after being jailed early last year.

He was also convicted at the same time for a string of rapes and sexual assaults carried out in the 1970s.

The six-month Charity Commission inquiry found that secretary Roger Steels shared the information from the police about Browne with chairman Debbie Richards, but she also kept it secret.

Mr Steels told the inquiry that he thought the information was confidential.

Browne, 50, formerly of Fernside Close, Millbrook, was then allowed to become a trustee of the charity and its vice-chairman.

A third trustee who became suspicious of Browne's conduct towards disabled clients in 2005 reported him to police but also failed to alert other trustees.

The Charity Commission launched an inquiry when contacted by social services in December 2005 about Browne's sordid past.

It suspended Browne along with the three trustees, who have now resigned their posts.

Browne was later disqualified. He declined to take part in the inquiry.

Mr Steels said that he accepted the inquiry findings but insisted that he and Mrs Richards had been "hoodwinked" by Browne into believing that he was a reformed character and deserved a second chance.

Browne was working for other charities at the time he joined SADSALAD in 2000, Mr Steels said, and was a "nice fellow" who become the most popular volunteer.

Mr Steels added that SADSALAD had carried out checks on Browne, albeit inadequate ones.

Mr Steels, who still works for SADSALAD as a volunteer, said: "I don't feel uncomfortable working for the charity. They asked me to continue. This was a salutatory lesson we have all learnt from."

He said that he regretted taking on Browne. "I can't express the contempt I feel towards him," he said.

Mrs Richards declined to comment.

The commission noted that since its inquiry SADSALAD had implemented new procedures to safeguard disabled clients and had strengthened existing policies.

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A rapist freed early from prison murdered his disabled fiance after she taunted him about his criminal past.

Over a week later, with her body locked in an upstairs bedroom, David Tiley raped and killed her carer.

Tiley, 47, carried out a sickening sexual assault on his fiance Susan Hale before stabbing her in the head and chest.

Despite him being under police supervision, the murder went undetected as he continued to live as normal.

He then raped and stabbed carer Sarah Merritt, a married mother of two, when she arrived for a routine visit.

Tiley served a six-year sentence for rape in 1995 and was subsequently jailed three times for failing to tell police of his whereabouts as a sex offender.

He killed Mrs Hale and Mrs Merritt two months after being released early from his latest ten-month sentence.

Hampshire Police yesterday announced that an independent review of their procedures us under way after Tiley admitted both murders and was jailed for life.

Mr Justice Irwin told him he would never be released, adding: "The brutality and evil of what you did defies adequate description."

Tiley met Mrs Hale, who suffered from cerebellar ataxia - a rare degenerative brain disorder which caused her difficulties in walking - at an amusement arcade in Southampton last year.

He moved in with the 49-year- old mother-of-five, but was jailed last August for failing to tell police of his change of address. After his early release in January, the couple became engaged.

But on the evening of March 7, Tiley bludgeoned her in the head with a hammer after she taunted him about "something in his past", Winchester Crown Court was told.

Nick Hawkins, prosecuting, said Tiley then bound Mrs Hale's ankles and wrists with dressing gown cords before committing a serious sexual assault.

He then stabbed her four times, twice in the head and twice in the chest, before watching her die. Pathologists said she would have died "rapidly, but not immediately".

After covering her body with a duvet, Tiley turned on a fan to keep the bedroom cool and sprayed deodorant under the door to mask the smell of decomposition.

He then carried on his life as normal, visiting the amusement arcade and local shops. He also used Mrs Hale's mobile phone to send text messages to her friends.

Eight days later, 39-year-old Mrs Merritt made a routine visit to bathe Mrs Hale. Tiley brandished a knife, bound her wrists with material and told her Mrs Hale was dead.

He then took her bank card, demanded her PIN and left her gagged and bound while he went out to withdraw 150 from her account.

On his return, he removed the gag and "had a conversation" with the terrified woman while he smoked two cigarettes.

When she began to cry, he became angry, tore off her clothes and raped her before stabbing her twice in the neck with the same six-inch kitchen knife he had used to kill Mrs Hale.

Tiley was arrested two days later in Swanage, Dorset, where he was sleeping rough.

Mrs Merritt's 41-year-old husband Peter told the court he drove to Mrs Hale's flat when his wife failed to return home. Police were later called and made the grim discovery of the two bodies.

Shaking with emotion, Mr Merritt described how his family had been devastated by his wife's murder.

Tattooed Tiley sat impassively as Mr Merritt said: "Sarah didn't do anything to deserve such an end to her life. I now know what it means to be truly heartbroken.

"I cannot get the thought out of my mind of how scared and so very afraid she must have been that day and that I could do nothing to help her in her hour of need."

Mrs Hale's son David Chopra said his mother had been robbed of a natural, peaceful ending to her life.

Hampshire Police said Tiley had been considered a low or medium risk, but "short of 24-hour surveillance" there could be no guarantees that such a man could be prevented from reoffending.

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A SOUTHAMPTON police sergeant has been jailed for 15 years after being convicted of raping a schoolgirl.

Gary Clark, 48, was found guilty of a total of 17 offences - including ten counts of indecent assault on a female under 16, six counts of indecency with a child and one count of rape.

Clark, who was suspended from duty last August while investigations were carried out, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court this morning.

Detective Inspector Victoria Dennis, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "I welcome these convictions which follow a lengthy investigation by Hampshire Constabulary.

"Our thoughts are with the victim and her family at this time.

"I hope today's result will bring some level of closure to the victim and her family and that she can now start to rebuild her life."

He will now be subject to an internal police misconduct investigation.

Det Insp Dennis added: "Hampshire Constabulary takes any allegations of this kind extremely seriously and will investigate them thoroughly.

"It is extremely rare for a Hampshire constabulary officer to be charged and convicted of such serious sexual offences.

"At Kingston Crown Court today, Mr Clark was sentenced with a total of 12 years imprisonment and three years extended sentence for rape, the other 16 counts will run concurrently.

"The constabulary would like to reassure residents that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remains a safe place to live, work and grow old."

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A church minister who pleaded guilty to 35 counts of child abuse, including two charges of raping an 11-year-old boy, has been sentenced to life in prison.

The Reverend Simon Thomas, 44, of Hythe, Hampshire, admitted the charges at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard he had used internet chatrooms to groom his victims.

A judge said Thomas, a former minister at Hythe United Reformed Church, must serve a minimum of eight years before he is eligible for parole.

Thomas, who had worked in Hythe for 10 years and was married, was suspended by the United Reformed Church pending disciplinary proceedings.

The charges against him included inciting children to engage in sexual activity, meeting children following sexual grooming, indecency with a child, sexual activity with an 11-year-old and making indecent photographs of children.

"The same good social skills that made you a successful priest were used to harm those young boys and breach their trust" Judge Jeremy Burford QC.

Judge Jeremy Burford QC said that only a life sentence was appropriate for the serious offences of rape because it was not clear when Thomas would be "safe to be released back into society".

He said: "You used the internet through those years to contact and groom boys using a mixture of flattery and obscenity.

"The same good social skills that made you a successful priest were used to harm those young boys and breach their trust."

When police examined computers seized from Thomas' home they discovered a schedule of 1,200 names of people he had met on the internet, 97 of whom were boys aged under 16.

'Double life'

The material included details of the boys as well as comments about them.

Thomas also arranged to meet four of the boys in town centres and then drove them to secluded spots where he abused them.

The court was told that the 35 offences, which included 19 indecent images and video footage on his computer, were committed during a four-and-half-year period.

Judge Burford said that Thomas had led a "double life", which had deceived not only his family but his employers and congregation at his church.

"You have been convicted of serious specified sexual offences, there's no doubt there's a significant risk to young boys of serious psychological harm by you committing further offences," he added.

"You cannot blame the internet, these people will always find a way but you have to make sure to do everything possible to protect your children" Father of a victim.

On Friday, the mother of one of the victims urged families to make sure they supervise their children's use of the web at all times.

"I urge parents to take every care with their children's use of the internet and make sure they know what their children are doing at all times," she said.

"Children should never meet anyone they meet on the internet."

And the father of a 14-year-old victim said: "You cannot blame the internet, these people will always find a way but you have to make sure to do everything possible to protect your children."

Det Insp Adrian Prangnell, of Hampshire Police, said: "This has been a terrible but perhaps timely reminder to us all of the need to ensure our children can use the wonderful opportunities the internet offers in a safe and secure way.

"It is highly possible that there are other victims who are yet to be identified."