Latest Offenders Southampton

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A dog sitter was caught on camera trying to have sex with a Great Dane he was supposed to be looking after.

Graham Robinson was house-sitting the six-year-old pet while its owner and her 12-year-old daughter were on holiday, Southampton Crown Court heard.

The incident happened in Southampton, according to court documents.

Robinson was unaware they had installed a security camera so they could keep an eye on the property while they were away.

The daughter was watching some of the footage on a mobile phone when she saw Robinson try to penetrate the dog, the court heard.

The judge, Nicholas Rowland, described the defendant's actions as an "abomination".

Tom Wilkins, prosecuting, said Robinson, 51, of Shore Road, Hythe, was entrusted to house-sit the dog in May last year.

He added: "The video was left running so the owner could monitor the house.

"To her and her daughter's great distress, they saw the defendant attempt to penetrate the dog.

"It was recorded on video and it was quite plain what was happening."

In a statement read by Mr Wilkins, the dog's owner said she installed the camera because she had a "gut feeling" that Robinson would not "respect" the house.

She added that Robinson's act had "completely ruined" her daughter's birthday, which fell during the holiday.

"She has been left with horrifying images," she said.

"The dog has been jumpy ever since the incident and always looks sad. I feel sad and angry all the time."

Robinson, 52, of Shore Road, Hythe, admitted trying to penetrate an animal.

He told the probation service he had drunk ten glasses of spirits and two beers on the day and had also used cannabis, but had not touched alcohol or taken drugs since, the court heard.

Robinson, who was not represented in court, said: "I'm sorry I did what I did.  I can't believe it - it's shocking. I'm devastated."

Judge Rowland told the defendant he had committed a gross breach of trust.

He added: "You attempted to penetrate a dog that had been entrusted into your care. It was an abomination. It's incomprehensible to behave in this way."

After studying a pre-sentence report, the judge handed Robinson a two-year community order, including a requirement to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 40 days of rehabilitation activity.

He added that the defendant was almost sent to prison, saying it was a "close run thing".

It was not heard in court how Robinson ended up being chosen as the dog sitter.

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A 38-year-old man from Eastleigh has been jailed for 15 years for the rape and sexual assault of a child.

Andrew Paul Tucker, of Shaw Road was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday (4 January).

The nine offences, for which he has been imprisoned, took place between 2017 and 2023. At the time of the first incident, the victim was just ten years of age.

Upon his release from prison, Tucker must also then serve eight years on an extended licence, and will be subject to a restraining order and sexual harm prevention order.

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Elvis Williams, 63, of Mosaic Close in Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court (Tuesday 2 January), where he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his offences against a woman in her 60s.

Williams had previously pleaded guilty to two assaults on the victim, denying the charges of coercive and controlling behaviour, rape and intentional strangulation. A jury found him guilty of all offences at Southampton Crown Court on Friday 28 July following a five day trial. The court heard how on Saturday 4 March the victim ran from her home and asked for assistance from a nearby dog walker having been assaulted by Williams. Police were called and the victim told them that Williams had punched her a number of times and forced her to have sex with him.

She also reported how he had previously strangled her until she couldn’t breathe.

Officers arrested Williams and he was subsequently charged with rape, intentional strangulation, engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour and two counts of assault.

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A Southampton man has been jailed for supplying cocaine - and for having indecent images of children.

Marcel Witkowski, 24, appeared before Southampton Crown Court facing three charges of making an indecent photograph of a child.

Between July 31 in 2021 and October 4 the same year, he made three category B indecent images of a child, two category C images of a child, and one category A image of a child – the most serious kind.

The charge of making an indecent image relates to the file being on a device.

Witkowski admitted three charges of making an indecent photograph of a child.

He also admitted to supplying cocaine, a class A drug, and possession of cannabis, a class B drug.

Witkowski, of Scott Road, Southampton, was jailed for two years and four months and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and pay a victim surcharge.

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A 39-year-old man from Southampton has been jailed for three years for taking and possessing indecent images of children, voyeurism and possession of cannabis.

Adam Dervan, of Graham Road, Southampton was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday (7 November).

Some of the offences, for which he has been sentenced, took place in Fawley in 2014. At the time of his crimes, the victim was just eight and nine years of age.

His offending first came to light when SD cards, which contained the indecent images, were discovered hidden on top of a Venetian blind in a room he’d previously lived in.

Upon his release from prison, Dervan will be subject to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He is also now a Registered Sex Offender for life.

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A former university lecturer who came to London with a children’s book intending to sexually abuse a 6-year-old girl has been jailed. 

At the time of his trip to Stratford, 73-year-old Dr Keith Firman was on licence having served a six-year prison sentence for abusing another young girl. 

Using a chat platform under the username ‘Grandad’, Firman contacted a woman who claimed to have a six-year-old daughter. 

Firman arranged to meet with the mum in east London and discussed how he would abuse her daughter, prosecutor Deepak Kapur said. 

On May 26 this year Firman arrived in Stratford from Southampton armed with a children’s book to read to the child. 

However, the woman he had been speaking to was an undercover officer and Firman was arrested as he walked towards the house he believed the girl lived in. 

When officers checked his phone they found he had also been in conversation with another undercover officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl in Derby. 

During this discussion he referred to himself as ‘naughty teacher’. 

When interviewed by officers Firman said he knew this was going to happen and that he shouldn’t have come. He added that he “just couldn’t help himself”. 

Defending Firman at a sentencing hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday (October 26), Lynton Orrett said his client didn’t plan to sexually abuse the six-year-old girl when he travelled to Stratford. 

“He said all he would have done is read to the child, had the child on his knee and really used that occasion as, I wouldn’t say to break the ice, but as an introduction to that child on that day. Whether anything would have come later down the line the defendant doesn’t know,” Mr Orrett said. 

Throughout his life Firman had worked as a molecular biologist, researching nanotechnology and DNA. He also lectured at the University of Portsmouth. 

Firman, of Suttones Place in Southampton, was first outed as a sex offender in 2014 when he admitted 21 counts of possessing, making and distributing sexual photos of children. He was jailed for 15 months. 

Two years later, in 2016, he was jailed for six years for three counts of indecent assault against a girl in the late 1980s and 1990s. The girl was aged between eight and 10. 

Judge Timothy Greene said: “You are an intelligent man and you knew there was a risk that this was a trap but you were so desperate to abuse that 6-year-old girl that you took that risk anyway. 

He added that Firman seemed to think this abuse was “perfectly natural”. 

Judge Greene said: “You’re not really remorseful. You think you were tricked into committing these offences.” 

He sentenced Firman to four years and four months with an extended licence period of four months. 

Judge Greene also ordered Firman to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

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A man who pleasured himself in public went on to urinate in a police van after he was arrested.

Artur Wieladek exposed and touched himself in a sexual way in Totton Precinct.

A court heard people, including children, were around at the time.

The 42-year-old had been drinking and was spotted by a member of the public facing the public toilets and leaning on railings.

Prosecuting, Anisa Alrubaie said he touched himself for around ten seconds before he got dressed again and walked over to a bench.

But after being arrested, he urinated "all over the floor" of the police van, Ms Alrubaie added.

The van had to be professionally cleaned before it could be used again.

Wieladek, of Osborne Road, Southampton later pleaded guilty to criminal damage and outraging public decency.

At a previous hearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Wieladek argued he was urinating and had not been pleasuring himself.

But the magistrates found the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had proved its case.

The prosecutor added: “It was early on a Saturday morning and there were people around.

“Those people could have been badly affected by the incident including children.”

She said onlookers were “concerned that the defendant’s behaviour could escalate”.

Mitigating, Barry Keel said his client, a forklift driver in Lymington, is focussing on “being a constructive member of the community”.

“I know he has had some difficult conversations with his wife about being in court and the nature of the allegations.

“He is sorry for what happened and simply wants to put this behind him and get on with his life.”

Mr Keel said his client was “unable to put forward any real explanation as to why he acted the way he did” on the day of the incident in June last year.

Magistrate Gillian Norris said she would follow the recommendation by the probation service and give Wieladek, who has a previous conviction for a motoring offence in 2021, a 12-month community order.

He must complete 80 hours of unpaid work, 15 rehabilitation days and pay £85 court costs plus a £95 surcharge.

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A 42-year-old Southampton man has been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of child sex offences.

David Richman, of Landguard Road, Southampton, was convicted of four offences against a child under the age of 13.

Following the initial report in 2020, Richman was sentenced this morning at Southampton Crown Court. He has also been placed on the sex offenders register.

Following the sentencing, Police Staff Investigator Christopher Manning, from the Child Abuse Investigation Team, said, “First and foremost, I would like to praise this young victim for the bravery she has shown in ensuring this sexual offender has been brought to justice.

“Her courage also means that this offender is now behind bars and unable to abuse anyone else.

“I hope that this sentence goes some way to helping the victim move forward with her life.

“I also hope this sentence will reassure other victims that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents to us.

“We encourage others who have suffered this type of abuse to come forward and speak to us.

“We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and work hard to bring offenders to justice."

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A registered sex offender from Southampton has been sentenced for failing to comply with his Sex Offenders’ Register (SOR) notification requirements.

Michael Ide, 79, of Burgoyne Road, was ordered to sign the SOR in 1998 following his conviction for gross indecency with a child.

As part of his SOR requirements, Ide was prohibited to travel outside of the UK unless he notified police at least seven days before his departure. Earlier this year, officers received information which suggested that Ide had travelled to the Philippines in April and had remained there for a month, without notifying them.
Police attended his address arrested him on suspicion of breaching his SOR.

A search of his house was carried out under Section 32 of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and his passport was seized, which showed an arrival date in the Philippines of April 25th and a departure date of May 23rd. It was found that not only had Ide not registered this travel, he had also not registered his new passport – another requirement of his SOR.

Additionally, analysis of Ide’s mobile phone revealed that he had also been using Facebook Messenger under an alias. The name he was using had not been registered with police, which constituted a further breach of his SOR.

Ide pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 months in prison when he appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday (20 September).

PC Rebecca Wilshere, from the Western Offender Management team, said: “Ide is rightly back in prison for his blatant disregard of the conditions imposed on him.

“We take the management of sex offenders incredibly seriously, and invest significant resources into doing everything we can to keep the public safe.

“Officers closely monitor sex offenders and their movements allowing us to identify offences such as this.

“We can also examine their digital devices to ensure they are sticking to the legal requirements imposed on them. These orders are put in place to protect the public, and ensure that individuals do not re-offend.

“Where sex offenders fail to comply, as can be seen in this case, they can and will be returned to jail.”

A registered sex offender from Southampton has been sentenced for failing to comply with his Sex Offenders’ Register (SOR) notification requirements.

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A rape victim lured to a secluded area of a Southampton park said her attacker "changed [her] life forever".

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she has been given a “life sentence that I did not deserve” after being raped in Palmerston Park.

Rasario Raquel Dos Reis, 27, has been jailed for more than eight years after goading her into the cover of some bushes near Above Bar Street.

His victim was drunk and was only 19 at the time.

In a victim impact statement read out by prosecutor Tom Wright, the woman said: “The weekend that this happened to me was supposed to be a celebration.

“What he has done to me has destroyed my family life. My relationship has ended since this.

“I felt dirty. I drink much more regularly than I used to. I find this comforting and I don’t think about things when I’m drinking.

“I no longer feel safe working alone. I used to walk into town by my own before this point.

“I now feel freaked out if there are a lot of people around me.

“This man has changed my life forever. It is a life sentence that I did not deserve.”

Reis was jailed for eight years with a six-year extended licence period at Southampton Crown Court.

He was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order and must register as a sex offender.

The court heard the victim had been at a party the night before, and in an attempt to clear her head, went for a walk in the city centre at around 6.30am on February 19.

She then saw Reis, who claimed to be waiting for a coach to Oxford, and asked him the time.

The factory worker then “attached himself” to her, Mr Wright said.

He took her to a bench and began to pet her before leading her towards the park and into the cover of some bushes.

The victim, who had been sick less than an hour before, had been wearing her pyjamas and dressing gown and was “clearly intoxicated”, the court heard.

The attack was only stopped when a passer-by noticed what was happening and saw the woman mouth the word “help”.

Police were called and later arrested Reis at a nearby coach station, despite his efforts to change his appearance.

He denied that anything non-consensual had taken place.

Reis, of St Mary’s Street, Southampton later pleaded guilty to rape on the second day of his trial.

Mitigating, Francisca Da Costa told the court her client moved to the UK around a year before this incident from East Timor in Southeast Asia.

He worked two jobs, one in a warehouse packing fish and one in a restaurant.

Ms Costa added: “Though he worked hard in his time in the UK he struggled to make friends because he is one of the few speakers of his native language.”

She said he remembers the woman kissing him on the lips and the incident was “relatively short-lived”.

“He takes full responsibility for his actions. This incident is isolated in my submission and opportunistic.”

But Judge Christopher Parker KC said: “It will have been obvious to you that she was drunk and incapable of caring for herself at that time.

“If she needed anything at all from you it would only have been help. Instead, you took advantage of her.

“If she recovers from this ordeal in her mind it will take a very great deal of time.

“I have no doubt that if you were released any time soon you would pose a significant risk of doing exactly the same thing again to somebody else.”

The judge said Reis will likely be deported at the end of his sentence.

Claire Shawley, Detective Inspector of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary's specialist rape unit Operation Amberstone, said: “We have all heard in court today the lasting effects that this sickening crime will have on its victim, the likes of which the majority of us will never be able to comprehend.

“I want to acknowledge the courage of the woman involved in this case, both in reporting what had happened and for her support and co-operation throughout our investigation, without which we would not have secured this outcome today."

Operation Amberstone Detective Constable Laura Cook, who led the investigation, said: "This has been a harrowing experience for the victim to have to re-live, but her actions in reporting this have allowed us to take swift action and remove a dangerous predatory man off the streets of Southampton. 

“We are also incredibly grateful for the member of the public for intervening on that day and for staying with the victim until police arrived.

“Our priority is always securing justice for victims, and we worked hard to present a substantial case to the courts, resulting in Reis pleading guilty. I am pleased that he has now been jailed and hope that this result goes some way to helping the victim move forward with her life.”

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A nursery worker has been jailed for eight years for the rapes and sexual assault against two children in Southampton.

Declan Norman, 23, coerced one of his victims - who was 13 at the time - into performing a sexual act on him in February 2020, the court heard.

Further allegations that Norman raped and sexually assaulted a young girl between a period of 2014 and 2020 were also heard by a jury at Southampton Crown Court.

A separate investigation into these matters by Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Child Abuse Investigation Team found that Norman was in possession of a high volume of indecent images of children.

This followed a search of Norman’s home address in November 2021, where a number of electronic devices were found.

A laptop was seized and investigating officers discovered 88 Category A images – the most serious, 74 Category B images and 494 Category C images.

Norman, of Shinewell Gardens, Southampton, was found to be in the possession of 656 indecent images; albeit these were not deemed to be first edition images – so were not taken directly by Norman.

He was found guilty by a jury of rape against a child, sexual assault against a child and engaging in sexual activity with a child.

On September 7, Norman was sentenced to eight years with a further year extension.

He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period and on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

On sentencing Detective Constable Ella Knight, the officer in case, said: “The abhorrent offences committed by Declan Norman have, and will continue to have, a lasting impact on both the victims.

“My admiration for the victims and their parents is commendable.

“It takes a great deal of courage for people to come forward and speak to us about incidents of this nature, and that should never be underestimated; especially for those who have shown maturity beyond their years.

“I hope this case goes to show that regardless of how long ago a serious sexual assault, or sexual activity has happened, we will work tirelessly to relentlessly pursue perpetrators and provide specialist support to survivors.

“We want our communities to know that we stand with them and will do all in our power to bring the offenders of these horrendous crimes to justice via the criminal justice system.”

A spokesperson from Hampshire Constabulary said: “We encourage anyone who has been affected by sexual abuse to report this to police on 101 or via our online reporting tool.

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A 25-year-old man from Southampton has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of a number of child sex offences.

Dalton Wills, formally of Chettle Road, appeared at Southampton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 31 August), having been found guilty by a jury in July of four counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of rape and one count of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. 

He had previously pleaded guilty to two further counts of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of engaging in sexual communications with a child and two counts of possessing indecent images of a child (category A and C).

The court heard how Wills sexually assaulted the victim shortly after meeting her when she was 12 years old.  It also heard how he went on to rape her when she was 13 and continued to commit a number of other sexual offences against her.

A judge has now sentenced Wills to 13 years in prison as well as imposing an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.

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A man has been sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to sexual communication with a child.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 31 August), Phillip Trevor Cornock, aged 34, previously of Denzil Avenue in Southampton, was sentenced for attempting to communicate with a child under 16 for sexual gratification.

The court heard that Cornock exchanged messages, often of a highly sexual nature, between August and October 2022 with a boy he believed to be 14-years-old. He had also made arrangements to meet with the child in Southampton – although in this instance the victim was not real.  

Cornock was charged and appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday 2 August where he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to communicate with a child under 16 for sexual gratification.

Appearing at the same court yesterday, Cornock was sentenced to 14 months in prison, as well as being placed on the sex offenders’ register and being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a period of ten years.

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Sex offender Jordan Larcombe has been jailed for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The 27-year-old, of Landguard Road in Southampton, was initially handed the SHPO on 5 April 2017 after he was convicted of sexually abusing two teenage girls on the Isle of Wight.

Under the conditions of the SHPO, Larcombe is prohibited from using any phone or device capable of accessing the internet unless it can retain the internet history. He must also make the device available for inspection on request by police, and he must not delete any internet history or mobile phone use.

On 28 July this year, police officers conducted a visit to Larcombes home address where they examined his devices. He was found to have deleted his online search history a breach of his SHPO.

He had also failed to register 5 new online usernames with police, which amounted to a failure to comply with his sex offender register (SOR) notification requirements.

As a result, he was arrested and charged with breaching his SHPO, and five counts of failing to comply with his SOR requirements.

Larcombe admitted all of the offences, and was sentenced to 16 months in prison when he appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday 24 August this year.

PC Rob Thomas, from the Western Offender Management team, said: Larcombe is a prolific offender and is rightly back in prison for his blatant disregard for the conditions imposed on him.

We take the management of sex offenders incredibly seriously, and invest significant resources into doing everything we can to keep the public safe.

Officers will often make unannounced visits to offenders where they may be subject to an intrusive investigative interview process. This helps us understand an offenders routine, interests and behaviours so we can closely monitor them.

We can also examine their digital devices to ensure they are sticking to the legal requirements imposed on them. These orders are put in place to protect the public, and ensure that individuals do not re-offend.

Where sex offenders fail to comply, as can be seen in Larcombes case, they can and will be returned to jail.

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A SEX offender caught by online paedophile hunters was spared an immediate jail term because he suffers from cerebral palsy.

Anthony Albert Witts gets around with the aid of a walker and had to be helped into the dock at Southampton Crown Court.

Witts, 63, of Mansel Road East, Southampton, thought he was in contact with two 13-year-old girls.

But it was a sting carried out by members of a group set up with the aim of flushing out adults who try to groom children online.

Witts, who had no previous convictions, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in 2021 and engaging in sexual communication with a child in 2022.

Keely Harvey, prosecuting, said Witts sent naked and semi-naked pictures of himself to the people he thought were girls.

The first crime came to light after adult decoys identified and then confronted the defendant. He was arrested by the police and gave a no-comment interview but uttered the words: "I did not even realise."

The defendant was released under investigation and went on to commit the second offence.

Thinking he was in contact with another 13-year-old girl he told her not to be shy and said their contact should remain a secret.

Chris Gaiger, mitigating, said the defendant accepted he had been stupid - not just once but twice.

He added: "He can't give any explanation as to why he engaged in such behaviour again. He should have learned from the first time."

Judge Christopher Parker KC told Witts: "You plainly had a deviant sexual interest in children.

"You attempted to communicate with a 13-year-old girl, not knowing she was a decoy set up by vigilante paedophile hunters.

"When you were being investigated for that you did the same thing again with another supposedly 13-year-old."

Witts was handed a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was also made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Parker told him: "If it were not for the fact you have cerebral palsy, there is no question you would have immediately been sent downstairs to custody.

"It's difficult to fathom how you could have been so stupid. Had these been real children, the damage caused by you cannot be estimated."

Judge Parker said Witts would go straight to prison if he committed another offence, adding: "Be in no doubt, if I see you again there's no way out."