Latest Offenders Southampton

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A HAMPSHIRE police worker was snared by paedophile-hunters after sending "abhorrent" images to people he thought were 13-year-old girls.

Police resources co-ordinator Andrew Grimsted was cornered outside his Southampton flat by members of Justice for the Innocent after posting footage of himself performing a sexual act.

He appeared at Southampton Crown Court yesterday and was handed a three-year community order.

Last night Justice for the Innocent described the sentence as "diabolical", saying Grimsted was in a position of trust and should have been jailed.

A spokesman said: "The sentence fails to reflect the seriousness of his crimes and what could have happened had there been no intervention by a decoy."

Christopher Wing, prosecuting, told the court: "The offences came to light after Grimsted went on the internet and thought he was communicating with young girls aged 13 or so.

"In fact he was communicating with members of a vigilante paedophile-hunters.

"They attended his address and detained him in the car park outside his home. Police were called and he was arrested on suspicion of grooming a child."

Justice for the Innocent filmed their confrontation with the defendant and posted the footage online.

Grimsted, 50, of Millbrook Road East, Southampton, admitted three offences of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and three of attempting to have sexual communication with a child.

Richard Onslow, mitigating, said: "These offences were committed by a man of previous good character with a sensible job who ought to have known better.

"Fortunately there was no actual child, so the harm is lower than it would have been had the full offence been carried out."

Judge Gary Burrell QC described Grimsted's actions as "abhorrent" and told him: "Sending moving images to people you believed to be young girls indicated something seriously wrong with your thinking."

But he added: "You're of previous good character and I'm required by law to take into account."

Grimsted was handed a 36-month community order, which includes a requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The defendant was a civilian employee based at Southampton Central Police Station.

Speaking after the case a Hampshire police spokesman said: "His role involved planning resources and did not involve any interaction with the general public.

"He remains suspended from the role and subject to ongoing gross misconduct procedures."

Detective Superintendent Nigel Lecointe, from Hampshire Constabulary's Professional Standards Department, added: "The investigation into Andrew Grimsted uncovered his attempts to exploit what he believed to be vulnerable children whilst he was off-duty.

"Hampshire Constabulary expects the highest standards from its officers and staff and will take action against those who commit criminal offences or breach the standards of professional behaviour."

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A MAN who attempted to hide hundreds of images of children in a secret folder on his mobile phone has been jailed.

Christopher Roberts set up a password-protected area of his mobile in a bid to hide the images from police.

The 32-year-old told police he had forgotten the password when officers visited his home as part of a routine check made due to his previous sexual offences.

When the folder was unlocked, police found more than 500 images of children being sexually abused – with some believed to be as young as six.

On Friday, Roberts was jailed for more than two years at Southampton Crown Court.

Prosecutor Dan Sawyer told the court how Roberts was subject of a sexual harm prevention order after previously being caught in possession of indecent images of children.

Roberts was also convicted of attempting to contact a young teenage girl via social media in 2013.

Police visited Roberts at his home in March last year and asked him to submit his phone.

When officers could not access the password-protected folder, Roberts was arrested for not giving full access to his phone.

When officers inspected the device, they found five category A still images, four category B still images and 544 category category C images.

In an interview with probation, Roberts questioned the harm caused by him viewing the images, and claimed the victims were "often smiling".

Mitigating, Jamie Gammon, said Roberts had been open with probation about his interests.

He said: "There doesn't appear to be any attempt by him to hide his interests.

"He has had a rather frank conversation with probation officers and told them exactly how he feels."

In sentencing, Judge Robert Pawson was critical of Roberts and his views.

He said: "You say that they are not real victims and they are often smiling and it's not like they have been forced into it.

"That shows a complete lack of empathy on your part.

"Every time you download one of these images of a child being sexually abused you contribute to that person's misery."

Roberts, who is currently serving a sentence at HMP Dartmoor for the original breach of his order, pleaded guilty three counts of making indecent images of children.

He was jailed for two years and eight months.

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A hunt has been launched to find a missing sex offender who previously raped a teenage girl.

Christopher Clarke is wanted by police for breaching his sex offender's notification requirements.

The 38-year-old is on the sex offender's register after the rape and sexual assault of a girl, aged under 16, in 1997.

Officers have been carrying out a number of enquiries in Southampton to locate him and are now asking the public for help in finding him.

He is described as white, 5 ft 9 in, brown hair and may have facial hair.

Detective Inspector Howard Broadribb said: "We believe that Clarke is most likely to be in the Southampton area.

"We have not been able to locate him since he failed to report at a police station as part of his requirements as a registered sex offender.

"We have been carrying out a number of enquiries to locate him and are now asking the public for assistance in finding him.

"If you have seen him or know where he is, please call us immediately."

Clarke has previously been hunted by police for a similar offence.

In June 2018, he appeared among a Hampshire's Most Wanted list, put together by charity Crimestoppers.

An appeal was also launched for Clarke in December 2004 after an alleged assault earlier that year.

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A DISGUSTED judge said a paedophile possessed the worst indecent image he had heard of in 30 years of sitting in court.

Judge Nicholas Rowland told family man Kelvin Brookes the child abuse image was "abhorrent and horrifying" and sentenced him to 18 months behind bars during the 40-year-old's hearing at Southampton Crown Court.

Weeping, Brookes was told it was the actions of abusers like him that led to youngsters across the world being tortured for paedophile's pleasures.

The court was told that Brookes had been caught distributing 84 category A images to six online users.

Edward Phillips, prosecuting, said Brookes, who admitted the charges, was also found in possession of more than 150 different category A, B and C moving images.

One of the images was described by Mr Phillips as "horrifying" and Brookes had received 200 requests for the image.

In mitigation, Mark Ashley said although Brookes had downloaded the images he was unaware he had shared them.

"He has lost his family, his job and his home," Mr Ashley said.

"He was abused when he was younger and he was in a dark place when he viewed this material."

In sentencing Brookes, Judge Rowland said: "The image was abhorrent. It means that as we sit here children around the world are being abused for the gratification of people like you.

"In all my 30 years of sitting in court, I have never heard of such a horrifying image.

"It amounts to the torture of a young child.

"It's bad enough having to read about the image let alone think about the abuse this child suffered.

"It's said on your behalf you were in a dark place but no doubt this child was in an even darker one.

"A custodial sentence is exactly what a civilised society demands in this case."

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Eugene Tyrrell, 43, formerly of Hedge End, had been on the run for five years after being arrested for inciting sexual activity with a child.

Southampton Crown Court heard how, after a birthday party, Tyrrell, 43, met his 13-year-old victim and began talking to her online between December 2011 and 2012.

Prosecutor Fern Russell said: "It is clear the defendant was interested in sexual activity with teenage girls."

She told the court Tyrrell, 36 at the time, and his victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had begun talking about school, before he admitted he had feelings for her.

The court heard Tyrrell had also been in contact with a younger relative of the victim, although there are no charges relating to this.

Tyrrell admitted knowing the victim's age, but told police he only "asked her for sex to see her reaction" and didn't intend to meet her.

The court also heard a statement from the victim, who said she had self-harmed following the incident. It read: "I was young and vulnerable and Eugene Tyrrell preyed on this.

"It led me to become depressed... I have been taking medication for depression ever since.

"All these years he has been free to live in South Africa."

Ms Russell added that the cost of bringing Tyrrell to justice would have been nearly £10,000.

Mitigating, John Dyer said this was an isolated incident, adding that Tyrell, a funeral director, had been "very lonely at the time – intimate relationships were infrequent".

Mr Dyer said: "He went back to South Africa and clearly from the reference of his employer in South Africa he is a good worker and highly respected."

Sentencing Tyrrell to 21 months in prison for three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one of failing to appear in court, Judge Rowland said: "This offending has contributed to quite a significant condition [the victim] has been suffering with from an early age."

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A SOUTHAMPTON dad has been jailed for making and sending "highly disturbing" images of children.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Graham Andrew Davis used different aliases to chat to people online - and posed as a teenager himself.

Defending, Andrew Houston also told the court how Davis had watched porn since the age of 13.

He added that he had been encouraged by others to expose himself online at the age of 13 - but that he hadn't done so because he didn't have a webcam.

The court heard how Davis had posed as a 15-year-old while chatting to others on the internet.

On one occasion he had sent images of a child which he pretended were of himself, Judge Peter Henry was told

Davis, of Golden Grove, pleaded guilty to making 17 still images and one moving image, making still images.

The 28-year-old was described as of "good character" and had no previous convictions.

The court heard that he has "accepted that he needs help," and that he knew his behaviour was "disgusting and hurtful".

But the court also heard that he "doesn't understand how children are abused in the making of these images" - or that they are being "sexually abused in or for the market".

He was sentenced to 20 months in jail for making category A images and distributing category B images.

Davis cried as he was handed the sentence and led from the dock.

Addressing Davis, Judge Henry said: "Quite clearly you were sending images of very young children pretending that you were at a very young age and the chats are entirely sexual - what you would like to have done to you as a child and what this man would like to do to a child."

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POLICE found 58,000 "inappropriate" images on the laptop of a convicted paedophile, a court heard.

Pensioner Malcolm Webster is back behind bars after committing his fourth child sex offence and must now tell the authorities of his whereabouts for the rest of his life following his latest conviction for distributing videos of children being abuse.

The 69-year-old, pictured, who was previously jailed in 2000 for sexually assaulting youngsters and in 2013 for possessing images, was caught after officers carried out an inspection of his electronic devices.

Southampton Crown Court heard drawings of children, as well as thousands of prohibited pictures were found, including computer generated images of young people.

Prosecutor Daniel Sawyer said more than 7,000 illegal pictures were found, as well as indecent movies.

During the investigation police seized a computer tower.

While this was being examined, Mr Sawyer said, Webster purchased a laptop which was later found to have 58,000 "inappropriate but not chargeable images".

Mitigating, Mark Florida-James said Webster wanted to apologise to his friends.

Judge Nicholas Rowland said: "Only because of people like you are that these young children are being abused and the misery that it causes them. If you did not distribute the images, they would not be abused."

Webster, of Leaside Way, Southampton, admitted making indecent images, distributing indecent photos and possessing prohibited images.

He was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order was made.

Following Webster's conviction, a spokesperson for child protection charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation said: "If you are concerned about what you are looking at online, or the online behaviour of someone you know, you can call the confidential and anonymous 'Stop It Now' helpline on 0808 1000 900 for advice, support and help to stop. Or visit stopitnow.org.uk to find out more."

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A CONVICTED paedophile was caught failing to register his devices to be monitored by police, a court heard.

Aaron Hutter was initially caught using internet chat rooms to contact young children by specialists using a fake profile.

Their investigations in 2015 uncovered evidence that he had also built up a collection of more than 1,000 indecent images of children as young as five – and some clips involving animals.

But three years on and despite being ordered to comply with a sexual harm prevention order, the 24-year-old admitted twice not registering his console and deleting his internet history on his iPhone.

Southampton Magistrates' Court heard that in May, Hutter failed to make the mobile phone available upon request to police and that he restored the factory settings on the phone.

He also didn't register the name he was using on his Xbox.

Previously, Hutter was handed an eight month suspended prison sentence for numerous charges of possessing indecent images.

At the time, Southampton Crown Court was told officials from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) used a fake profile of a ten-year-old to snare him.

He was traced talking to a ten-year-old girl on social media and email.

Police raided his home and seized computer equipment containing 1,103 images – including 158 of the worst category, it was heard.

When sentencing Hutter, Judge Peter Henry said the images were "disturbing" and added: "No-one said you were directly involved in the abuse of these children but people are involved and they are in it to make money and in it to share these revolting images with people like you.

"The real victims are these young children."

Hutter, of Spring Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to the charges and was made the subject of a community order, which includes the requirement to complete 100 hours unpaid work within the next year.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.

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A SOUTHAMPTON man has been jailed for asking a 12 year old girl for sex.

Reice John Wills was described as an "isolated young man" in a "sad place" - and convicted at Southampton Crown Court after he was caught messaging the girl on Facebook.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Wills contacted the girl on messenger in July this year - making obscene suggestions of how they could celebrate the girl's thirteenth birthday.

But it also heard how Wills spent time in the attic of his mother's house alone - and had a history of being bullied.

The court was told how the 24 year old suffers from a limp, a speech impediment, cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

Richard Tutt, mitigating, said Wills knew he had been "extraordinarily foolish" but that he was "remorseful" and had acted out of "desperation."

He added that Wills is "quite an isolated young man" with "only one loyal friend" and said: "He has been bullied throughout his life. It has made him socially isolated and tends to spend a lot of time inside.

"His self-confidence is quite low, his self esteem is quite low. He has access to the internet. It's easy for him to get gratification from younger girls.

"The reason he has done that is because of the way he has been feeling about himself."

Mr Tutt went on to say Wills had "no intention of doing anything" with the girl he messaged - and that he has "struggled to form age appropriate relationships."

But he also said that Wills "fears for the future" and is keen to find "purpose in life," - concluding his mitigation by saying Wills "is in a sad place and it's from that position that he comes from."

But handing the two year eight month sentence to Wills, Judge Parker said Wills had "specifically targeted a 12 or 13 year-old girl as she was a relatively easy target."

He added: "You are either in denial of the fact that you have an unsavoury interest in teenage girls or you have no understanding or insight into that concern of yours in children.

"It is obvious that you are sexually active. You pose a significant risk of serious harm to these girls and it's very difficult to see how long that will last.

"Either you recognise or not what you have done causes very serious harm to young girls."

In the summer of 2016 Wills, of Blackthorn Road Southampton, pleaded guilty to causing a child of under 16 to watch a sexual activity and asking her to undress.

He was handed a 12 month suspended sentence.

On October 19 this year Wills was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, breaching a sexual harm prevention order by deleting internet history, having unsupervised contact with an under 16-year-old, and failing to comply with notification requirements.

On his release he will also have to serve an extended licence period of six years' supervision from the authorities.

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A MAN faces prison after sexually assaulting a woman outside a Southampton bar in a late night, drunken attack.

Tomasz Adam Boron twice attempted to touch his victim below the waist with his hand as she waited outside The London Hotel, on Oxford Street.

As she pleaded with him to stop, the 38-year-old grinned as the woman took a picture of him to give to police.

Southampton Magistrates' Court heard Boron had been out drinking with his colleagues but made a "horrible mistake" when he tried to get close to the woman.

Prosecutor Ryan Seneviratne told the court all options should be open to the court when considering what Boron's sentence should be - including prison.

He said: "This was a serious sexual offence on a stranger outside a bar...when bouncers at the bar saw what happened they asked him to leave.

"The woman shouted at Boron twice to stop and that's when the bouncers became involved."

The court heard that the following morning Boron woke up with "a big headache and a hangover" as he began to piece together what had happened the previous night.

Will Day, mitigating, said: "He made a horrible mistake and has committed a very nasty offence on that young lady.

"He will accept any punishment for his actions.

"He is sorry and deeply ashamed by his behaviour."

Mr Day added that once the police were called by the victim, Boron waited for them to arrive and was arrested outside the bar at around 10.30pm on August 4.

In his interview, Mr Day said, Boron, of Millbrook Road East, Southampton, admitted attempting to sexually touch the woman.

He also told the court that while Boron was waiting, the victim took pictures of him, in which he was smiling at her.

During his hearing, Boron pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a female.

He will now sign on to the sex offenders' register.

A pre-sentence report detailing Boron's behaviour will be compiled by members of the probation team before he is sentenced at the same court next month.

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A PAEDOPHILE who fantasised about kidnapping Madeleine McCann has walked free after being caught with child abuse images.

Barry Shaw, 38, argued he would lose his spot at university if he was put behind bars.

It comes after Shaw was jailed in 2012 after investigators searching his laptop uncovered the largest collection of indecent images from the most extreme category ever.

The court heard he had fantasised about kidnapping toddler Madeleine McCann and downloaded thousands of horrific child sex abuse images, showing disturbing acts including between adults and children as well as bestiality and sadomasochism.

He has now moved to Southampton and was caught by officers again who discovered he downloaded an image of a teenage girl dressed in stockings and underwear before moving it to the recycle bin of his laptop.

Shaw was convicted at Southampton Crown Court after admitting one count of making an indecent photograph of a child.

Shaw has previously been jailed after fantasising about kidnapping missing toddler Madeleine McCann.

Eve Shelley, defending, said Shaw had "deep-rooted issues" with the images and was estranged from his family.

She said: "He was failing in his studies, that led him to have an increase in his low mood and an increase in his stress.

"The way he dealt with that was to access pornography."

Rose Burns, prosecuting, said Shaw was arrested after a search at his property in July last year. At the time he was already serving a 24-month community order for breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Gary Burrell QC gave Shaw a 24-month community order and ordered him to carry out 15 days of rehabilitation requirements.

He said Shaw was "addicted to porn and has been for a while".

He added: "The worrying thing is it seems you have a sexual interest in children. That is worrying for the community and those who are close to you.

"Here you are again, with a picture of a little girl dressed up in a bikini or underwear that is of course illegal.

"If you continue to behave like that or access those images you are going to destroy yourself."

The University of Southampton, which is part of the Russell Group, refused to comment after the case and also refused to confirm what Shaw studies.

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A FORMER parish council chairman who raped a teenage girl and sexually assaulted boys has been jailed.

Mark McCormick, who was the chair of Bursledon Parish Council, previously pleaded guilty to 14 indecent assaults between 1997 and 2011 charged against him at Southampton Crown Court, on the second day of his trial.

These include the rape of a 16-year-old and inciting boys under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity.

Today, the 49-year-old was jailed for 17 years by Judge Nicholas Rowland.

Judge Rowland said: "Many of your victims were vulnerable, they came from a destructive home and you knew that and took advantage of them.

"You controlled them and manipulated your victims.

"They were excited about being associated to someone who was living a glamorous lifestyle"

McCormick became a prominent figure within Bursledon, but it is understood he stepped down from his public role in 2017, after he was re-elected chairman of the parish council in May 2016.

The parish council last year posted a vacancy for a councillor after McCormick resigned from the post.

In 2016, he was at the forefront of a bitter fight between the parish council and the Bursledon and District Community Association (BDCA) after the parish council were effectively evicted from their offices by the BDCA, which managed the building.

McCormick was also a freelance DJ.

He was sentence for one count of rape, three of indecent activity with a child, three counts of multiple incidents of indecent assault on a child, five of indecent assault on a male person, one of sexual assault and one count of taking indecent photographs of a child.

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A DANGEROUS sex offender is back behind bars after she abused a youngster for the third time. Jacinta Brooks sent dozens of sexually explicit messages to a 12-year-old girl, telling her to send indecent, nude images of herself for the 41-year-olds sexual gratification. Brooks, who was formerly called Duncan Smart but now lives as a woman, was described by the victims mother as a pathetic excuse who left her daughter haunted by her disturbing behaviour. It was the third time Brooks had attacked a child under the age of 16, after having unlawful sex with a girl and indecently assaulting another. Jailing Brooks for a minimum of 11-years, Judge Nicholas Rowland said Brooks was a danger to children. Southampton Crown Court heard Brooks was bought to justice after officers investigating a different sexual allegation seized devices from her home. Berenice Mulvanny, prosecuting, told the court Brooks had deleted messages, but captured screenshots of parts of the conversation. This led to Hampshire Constabulary unearthing further communications, as well as sexually explicit images of the victim. Miss Mulvanny said: Brooks knew the girl was underage but sent her sexual messages. The defendant originally pretended to be a 14-year-old boy but soon admitted [her] real age. When Brooks was interviewed by officers she gave answered no comment except saying she couldnt argue about being attracted to children. Further searches on her devices also found her to be in possession of hundreds of indecent images of children, ranging between the most and least serious categories. In a victim impact statement, the victims mother who cannot be identified for legal reasons said: The fact that I cannot protect my daughter from this pathetic excuse of a [person] will haunt me forever. She added that her daughter had been forced to leave her school and had suffered terrible trauma as a result of the incident. Brooks was released in 2016 after serving more than 10 years in prison and in an institution after she attacked a child in 2003. Mitigating, Robert Harding said that because technology had changed so much in the past 15-years, Brooks had struggled to understand social media and online networking. As part of her sentence, a sexual harm prevention order was made, with the requirement that should Brooks ever make an online social media account or email address all details and passwords must be handed to the police before they are created. PC Leon Simon, said: Brooks is a dangerous individual and we are pleased this case has now come to a conclusion. Brooks, of HMP Winchester, pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of possessing indecent images. She was jailed for six years, extended by five years.

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Police say a convicted sex offender who went missing from Southampton has been found in Poole.

Police launched a hunt for 49-year-old Leonard Ayres, who has schizophrenia.

Officers urged the public not to approach him as they say he has no medication with him, which could "cause him to act in an unreasonable manner".

Police say Leonard has been convicted of sexual offences in the past.

He was last seen at his supervised living accommodation at 9.45pm on Sunday night.

He lives in Lordshill, Hampshire but also has links to Poole.

Leonard is managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements.

He was convicted of sex offences in 2001, and in 2006 was convicted of sexual activity with a child, and has served sentences for the offences.

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A CHILD abuser who carried out multiple attacks on his seven-year-old victim has been jailed after judges at the Court of Appeal overturned his sentence. Antonio Lawrie, who worked as a sports coach in the city, had initially been handed a suspended sentence for his crimes against the youngster. Following his trial at Southampton Crown Court, a top judge said the 22-year-old should not be sent to prison as he would be taken advantage of inside. However, the Crown Prosecution Service launched an appeal, describing the original sentence of two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, as unduly lenient. He was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation activity, and put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. Now Lawrie faces three years behind bars following the hearing yesterday in London. Lawrie, an ex-apprentice at Hedge End-based firm My Coaching, denied all seven counts of assault by sexual touching, none of which happened in his coaching role. When My Coaching, which delivers further education programmes for teenagers, learned of the allegations, Lawrie was sacked. My Coaching were later praised for Hampshire Police for their actions. During his trial the young victim was forced to give evidence. Lawrie was reported to the police when a witness saw him with his hand under the victims dress. The court heard former Cantell School pupil Lawrie attacked the child at least 16 times during six-months of abuse. After a jury returned a guilty verdict in April, Judge Gary Burrell QC told the court that due to his complex learning difficulties Lawrie would struggle in prison. He added that it would be unjust to send Lawrie directly to custody because he would be taken advantage of physically and mentally. At the sentencing hearing in June, Jon Swain, mitigating, said: Certain sections of society will say he must be punished and locked up with the key thrown away. But they are not aware or have the knowledge of what his needs are. They know nothing about his life but make up opinions of what he has done. The solicitor general, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence to the court of appeal. He said: Lawrie carried out a campaign of sexual assault against a young girl, and I hope that she will take some comfort from the increased sentence today. Lawrie continues to pose a threat to other children, and it is therefore important that he serves an immediate custodial sentence.