Latest Offenders Stafford

Description

A traumatised young girl was left suffering nightmares and serious "mentally torturing" problems after she was "led down a dark path" of sexual abuse that "twisted" her brain.

She "went off the rails" because of what happened to her and she felt that she had lost everything because of the "constant trauma" of her ordeal, a court heard.

Daniel Holmes, 33, formerly of Grimsby, was convicted by a jury of attempted rape of a girl under 13, sexual assault and assault by penetration during an incident in the town. The verdicts came after a trial at Grimsby Crown Court that ended on March 7.

Craig Lowe, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court that the girl was left with injuries after the sexual abuse. She told the court in a statement that she would have to live with the impact of what happened to her for the rest of her life.

She said that the sexual abuse "twisted my brain" and she "went off the rails" because of it. "This man has ruined my life," she said. "He has taken everything away from me. His actions have changed me as a person. He has taken my innocence."

The life that she was born to have had been taken away from her. "My relationship with men has been warped because of him," she said. "I have lost out on my future."

She suffered nightmares of Holmes and she had "always felt dirty". It was "mentally torturing" and she struggled with this daily. "I was led down a dark path of what I thought was normal," she said.

The girl suffered "constant trauma" in her life. "My life has been in pieces because of what happened," she said. She and her family had to try to put together that which Holmes smashed. "I know that this will always be with me," she said. "For me, it's a life sentence."

Dale Brook, mitigating, said that any offence of this sort was likely to cause some psychological impact on a victim but the girl said in her first statement: "All in all, I'm better now." The offences happened on a single occasion.

"These are incredibly serious offences," said Mr Brook. Holmes had no previous similar convictions. "There has been a lack of offending since the incident took place a few years ago," said Mr Brook.

Holmes had two warnings for arson and shoplifting when he was aged 14 and 15, the court. There were two references for him. "The references talk about him in very positive terms," said Mr Brook.

Judge Richard Woolfall told Holmes: "You took away her innocence. She has had to endure the memory of that. As a result of what you did to her, she hates herself and she feels like everything has been taken away from her. She has lost her self-worth.

"These are very serious offences indeed. You are in denial. There is no remorse that you have expressed. You have maintained your innocence. You maintain that she is not telling the truth.

"There is, therefore, no remorse. I can't make any reduction because you haven't expressed any remorse. There is an element here of targeting a vulnerable child."

Holmes, recently of North Street, Cannock, Staffordshire, was jailed for 13 years. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order. He had been in custody on remand while awaiting sentence following conviction but he was originally on bail.

Description

A child sex offender from Newcastle-under-Lyme has been jailed.

Paul Leon, aged 63, of Kidsgrove, was given a 10-year sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Thursday 17 April after he was previously found guilty following a trial of two counts of sexual assault of a girl.

The offences happened more than five years ago before the victim bravely came forward and told someone what happened to her.

We started work to build the case and questioned Leon in custody. He denied everything and continued to deny it until a jury deemed him guilty following a trial in November last year.

As part of his sentencing, Leon was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A paedophile who was locked up for abusing young children has died behind bars.

Convicted sex offender Ian Smith was serving a 21-year jail term at HMP Stafford when he died from Covid.

He was admitted to hospital after vomiting and suffering from a high temperature.

But the prisoner - who had received Covid vaccinations - died three days later.

The 62-year-old was jailed in 2021 for a string of sex offences against children - including a girl as young as six.

An investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman was launched in the wake of his death.

It found that the inmate's care at HMP Stafford was of a 'good standard' and 'equivalent' to that which he would have received if a free man.

No issues of concern were raised, a report from the ombudsman read.

Smith died at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on April 10, 2023.

His cause of death was recorded as Covid infection, with a previous diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 'contributing to but not resulting' in his death.

Smith also had a long-term diagnosis of multiple myeloma - a type of blood cancer which develops in plasma cells in the bone marrow.

The paedophile was initially sent to HMP Durham after being jailed for child sex offences in November 2021.

He received two Covid-19 jabs before he was locked up.

Smith was given a terminal cancer diagnosis on December 14 but declined treatment and said he did not want any follow-up appointments.

Two days later, he was transferred to HMP Stafford.

The report read: "Smith reported to a nurse that he had a new diagnosis of bone marrow cancer.

"He said that he initially refused treatment but that he had since changed his mind.

"Healthcare staff arranged for his care to be transferred to Staffordshire hospitals."

A care plan was then created by healthcare staff and was frequently reviewed.

Smith - who also had asthma - started oral chemotherapy on February 3, 2022.

A nurse completed a cancer care review for him and a palliative care specialist nurse reviewed the paedophile in May.

Smith was moved to Stafford's specialist care unit and a pain management care plan was drawn up in June.

He received a Covid booster vaccination on August 16 and was discharged from the specialist care unit back to the prison wing on September 15.

The report read: "Healthcare staff recorded that his pain relief was working well, and his chemotherapy appeared to be going well.

"He continued to see the palliative care specialist nurse at least once a week."

The sex offender was admitted to the Royal Stoke University Hospital after having a high temperature and vomiting on April 7.

He died in hospital three days later.

The report read: "The coroner accepted the cause of death provided by a hospital doctor and no post-mortem examination was carried out."

NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to examine Smith's care while at HMP Stafford.

The report, which was published in March, read: "We found that the clinical care that Smith received was of a good standard and equivalent to that he could expect to receive in the community.

"The clinical reviewer found that Smith’s COPD was managed in line with national guidelines throughout his time at Stafford.

"She also identified no concerns regarding his clinical care related to COVID-19."

It added: "We found no non-clinical issues of concern. We make no recommendations."

A coroner ruled Smith died of 'natural causes' at an inquest held on February 29 last year.

In 2021, Teesside Live reported that Smith befriended women who had children or access to children in the Middlesbrough area.

He would gain their trust before carrying out his sick crimes.

The court heard that Smith spent years in prison for indecent assaults on male and female victims - including on girls under the age of 14.

He also had a previous conviction for possession of indecent images of children.

Description

Pervert Gary Cookson has been jailed after he lied to his girlfriend about his seedy past. The 27-year-old failed to tell his new partner that he had previously been caught with child abuse images and was convicted in 2023.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he was left alone with her two-and-a-half-year-old child. And at one point he dried the youngster off and dressed the child who started calling him 'Dada'.

This placed him in breach of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and the notification requirements of the sex offenders' register. Now Cookson, of Talke Road, Chesterton, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

The court heard he failed to comply with the notification requirements between January 1, 2024 and February 12, 2024 when he started a new relationship. The next offending happened on February 15, 2024 and involved him going on apps which he was banned from using. His phone was seized and Snapchat was found on the device. He failed to notify his user name as he was required to do.

Cookson then failed to comply with his notification requirements by not informing the police he was staying in a house with a 17-year-old child for 12 hours or more. He also deleted a TikTok message.

The final spate of offending involved him failing to register a Snapchat user name and breaching the SHPO by deliberately concealing a mobile phone.

Cookson pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a SHPO and four charges of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders' register.

Rashad Mohammed, mitigating, said Cookson 'found himself in a lonely state'. Mr Mohammed said: "He felt he was isolated. He went on to Snapchat. He activated an account. The matters spiralled out of control. He failed to stop to assess the consequences of his behaviour.

"There is no evidence of any actual harm done. His phone was interrogated. There is no suggestion there was any material that would cause the authorities any concern.

"At the time he showed a great deal of immaturity. He failed to properly recognise the seriousness of the court order. He does ask me to express to you his regret and his remorse.

"He has been in custody since October 24, the equivalent of just over 10 months. It has been a real eye-opener for him . It has been a wake-up call for him, the level of violence he has seen in person."

Mr Mohammed added that Cookson has two children and comes from a respectable family. Recorder Robert Smith said: "You knew full well what you were not allowed to do. Your primary sexual interest seems to be with female children. The risk of harm was extremely real and significant when you were drying off a naked two-and-a-half year old.

"You were extremely persistent in the way you flouted the regulations. You manipulated your way into a position of trust in a family home with an infant child.

"You need to learn a lesson. You need to learn to abide by the terms of the order or you will be sent to prison."

The judge made a deprivation order for the devices seized.

Description

A child sex offender who raped a number of survivors has been convicted in court following a robust investigation by officers from our public protection unit.

Jamie Carnochan, 27, of Stafford, was found guilty on all the counts he was charged with following a trial at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday (2 April).

We started investigating him in 2018 after one of the survivors bravely came forward and told officers what he did.

Officers began a robust investigation to gather evidence of his crimes and uncovered a number of other survivors. Some of them were children at the time of the offences and others were over 18.

We worked extremely hard to get all of the evidence needed and to support the survivors as much as possible.

Carnochan was charged with two counts of raping a girl, three counts of raping a woman and two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl.

A jury deemed him guilty of all of the crimes because of the evidence that was presented in court.

He has been remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing date.

Description

A child sex offender who committed non-recent offences against a number of victims in Staffordshire has been jailed for 14 years.

Martin Wynne, 50, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, was convicted of his crimes following a four-week trial which concluded last November at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

The offences happened in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Wynne was reported to us in 2020. Since then, we’ve been working hard to gather all of the evidence needed to charge him for his crimes and to support the survivors.

Wynne was charged with 18 offences, including 15 counts of indecent assault on a boy, two counts of inciting a boy to commit an act of gross indecency and one count of gross indecency with a boy.

A jury found him guilty of all 18 offences.

On Tuesday (18 February), Wynne was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court to 14 years imprisonment.

Description

Connor Behan has been convicted of a string of sexual offences following a seven-day trial at Chester Crown Court. 

On Wednesday 18 December, Behan was found guilty by unanimous verdict of counts of multiple rapes of a girl under 13, multiple sexual assaults by touching of a child under 13, and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child on multiple occasions.

He was found not guilty of an additional count of sexual assault by touching of a child under 13.

The 33-year-old of Heath Avenue, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, has since been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced on Friday 31 January.

Cheshire Police launched an investigation into the abuse in October 2022, following a disclosure made by the victim to a teacher at her school.

The jury heard how Behan had sexually assaulted the victim on multiple occasions, starting in May 2019, when the victim was just seven years old.

As part of the investigation, a seminal detection dog was deployed which found traces of Behan’s semen on a blanket owned by the victim.

Behan was immediately arrested and subsequently charged.

Description

A man has been sentenced to 10 years after he admitted raping a woman in Stafford.

Abiola Raji, 32, of Stafford, was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 23 January) after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to raping a woman.

At about 8pm on Sunday 21 April last year, a woman was walking near to the Vine Hotel on Salters Street when she was approached by Raji and attacked.

We carried out urgent enquiries to track him down and support the survivor as soon as it was reported later the same night.

We issued an appeal for information and looked over CCTV from the scene, leading to Raji’s arrest on 1 May the same year.

Officers worked hard to gather all the evidence available to take Raji to court, where he eventually pleaded guilty to the offence.

He was sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment, with an extended license period of thee years and four months. He was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A man has been jailed for 12 years after he was found guilty of multiple child sexual offences.

Stephen Prestidge, 58, of Burton-on-Trent, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment last Friday (13 December) after being found guilty at the same court on Tuesday 10 December. 

He was found guilty of four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, three counts of causing/inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three counts of sexual assault on a female. 

Prestidge has also been put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The offences took place in Staffordshire. 

Description

A child sex offender from Burton-on-Trent has been jailed for nine years after the survivor bravery came forward.

Liam Stephen Wood, 19, of Burton, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing/inciting a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child at an earlier court hearing.

On Thursday (7 November) at Stafford Crown Court, he was jailed for nine years, with a five-year extended license period, put on the Sex Offenders Register for life, issued with a restraining order against the victim for the next decade and subject to a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

He was arrested in May 2024 after the survivor, a girl, bravely came forward and told someone about what Wood had done.

Officers from our child protection team (CPT) launched an investigation and managed to secure the charges against Wood, despite him denying his crimes on interview.

Description

A sex offender who committed a series of historic sex offences in Staffordshire dating back decades has been convicted. Dean Hearson, of Brown Edge, a village in the county, was put on trial charged with 15 counts of indecent assault on a male and four counts of indecency with a child.

The offences were reported to Staffordshire Police in 2018, but dated back to the 1990s and early 2000s. Once reported the Staffordshire force’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team launched an investigation.

The 55-year-old was found guilty of the 19 charges at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (October 16). He has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A child sex offender from Staffordshire has been convicted on 25 counts following a trial in court.

Nicholas McCabe, 57, of Ipstones, Staffordshire, was found guilty by a jury following a nine-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court today (Thursday 29 August).

He was convicted on:

• Eight counts of the rape of a girl under 16
• Four counts of the rape of a woman
• Eight counts of the indecent assault of a girl under 16
• Three counts of sexual assault on a female 13 and over
• Two counts of sexual assault on a female

The court heard how McCabe inflicted a campaign of abuse on the survivors between the 1990s and 2000s in Staffordshire.

When one of them bravely came forward and told us what happened in July 2020, we started work to compile all of the evidence possible to take McCabe to court. More survivors then came forward to support the investigation.

McCabe was questioned in custody and denied the offences.

Investigative Officer Janine Shropshire and Detective Constable Diane Sproston from our rape and serious sexual offences unit (RASSO) worked tirelessly to support the survivors and managed to secure 25 charges against McCabe in 2022.

Our evidence was substantial, leading to a jury finding McCabe guilty on all 25 counts in court.

He will be sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 11 October 2024.

Detective Constable Diane Sproston and Investigative Officer Janine Shropshire said: We would like to recognise the courage the survivors in this case have shown in coming forward and helping us gather the evidence needed to convict McCabe of the heinous crimes he committed.

Without their bravery and resilience, this result would not have been possible.

While this result does not repair the immeasurable trauma that has been caused to the survivors, we hope it gives them a sense of closure that McCabes lies did not work and he will now face justice for what he did.

Description

A child sex offender has been jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of his crimes in court.

Andrew Lucas, aged 56, of Shareshill, south Staffordshire, abused the survivor a number of years ago before the survivor bravely came forward and told people what happened.

We brought Lucas in for questioning, where he denied all of the reports.

Specialist officers worked to support the survivor as much as possible whilst evidence to support the case was gathered, leading to a number of charges being secured against Lucas.

In an earlier hearing at Stafford Crown Court, a jury found Lucas guilty of ten non-recent child sexual offences, including:

• Six counts of indecent assault of a boy
• Four counts of gross indecency with a boy

At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (14 June), Lucas was sentenced to eight years behind bars.

Description

A sex offender who abused multiple survivors in Staffordshire has been jailed for 14 years.

Michael Lee Price, 22, of Burton-on-Trent, appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court today (Friday 14 June) and was sentenced after he was found guilty of ten offences at an earlier hearing, including:

• Two counts of rape of a girl
• Three counts of sexual assault of a girl
• One count of sexual assault of a boy
• One count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
• One count of causing a child to watch a sexual activity
• One count of possessing extreme pornographic images
• One count of making an incident photograph of a child
• Price also pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

In July 2022, one of the survivors bravely came forward and told an adult what happened to her. She told them that Price had raped and sexually assaulted her.

After we started work to investigate Price for his crimes, more survivors came forward and gave their own accounts.

He was arrested, questioned in custody and charged with a number of sexual offences. He continued to deny his crimes until a jury at Stafford Crown Court found him guilty back in April this year.

Today, he was sentenced to 14 years behind bars with an extended license period of three years. He was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

Pervert Neil Darlington used artificial intelligence to blackmail 'children' into sending him nude photos of themselves. The 'isolated' 51-year-old downloaded images of children as young as three being raped and abused.

And in February this year his offending escalated and he engaged in sex chats with two schoolgirls online. However, he was in fact talking to undercover police officers.

He asked them to send naked pictures of themselves and when they finally relented and sent clothed pictures he used AI technology to alter the images so they were naked. He then blackmailed the 'youngsters' to send him genuine pictures of themselves with nothing on or he would send the pictures he had manipulated to people they knew.

Now Darlington has been jailed for 12 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. He was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and was placed on the sex offenders' register for the same period.

The court heard on February 14, Darlington, using an alias, chatted online with an 11-year-old girl from Norwich. He said he was 16. The conversation very quickly became sexual.

He was unaware it was an undercover officer and he sent her a picture of his private area and a video of himself performing a sex act. He persisted in asking the child for sexual images of herself. But she sent a picture of herself clothed. He altered the image using AI technology and sent her the image back of herself naked. She said, 'Oh my God, please delete that'. Darlington said, 'How many boys you know would like to see this'? She said, 'Please do not show anyone the photo. I am scared'.

He told her to take a naked selfie of herself. She told him she was at school and was going to cry. But he sent her a screenshot of a conversation of him offering to show her picture to someone else. She said, 'Why would you do this to me? I have been nice to you'.

Darlington told another girl he was 16 and then changed his age to 25. He engaged in sexualised conversation with her between February 5 and 12. He sent images of his private area and a video of himself or someone else performing a sex act.

He sought sexual images from the child. She eventually relented and sent a picture of herself clothed. Darlington again altered the picture using AI technology. She begged him not to show it to anyone. But he asked her for a naked picture of herself naked or said he would distribute the image to her family or friends.

Darlington said he was going to kill himself when he was arrested on February 22.

Police found indecent images of children at categories A, B and C and pseudo images of children on his phone. The children were aged three to 15. The images showed children as young as three being raped.

Darlington, of Mayer Avenue, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to two charges of blackmail; three charges of making indecent photographs of children; making indecent pseudo images of children; two charges of attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity; and two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Robert Holt, mitigating, said Darlington had never been in trouble before. He said: "There have been a poor run of events in the last 10 years and he became isolated and did not communicate with many people. He has fallen into a vicious trap."

He said Darlington was remanded in custody over the weekend which led to him suffering an angina attack and being a high risk of a stroke. Mr Holt said: "The defendant tells me the last four days have been horrific. They have terrified him."

He said Darlington's viewing of images began in 2021 but escalated in a two-week period this year when he began to engage in chat rooms. Mr Holt added: "He accepts his responsibility for this. His remorse is genuine."

Judge Michael Maher said blackmail is 'one of the ugliest crimes and is rightly regarded by the public with loathing and contempt'. He said: "Causing a child to watch a sexual act is a precursor to you blackmailing the children for genuine sexual images. I regard the blackmail as a serious aggravating feature. In this case you sought to take advantage of the perceived vulnerability of your child victims and you used embarrassment as the leverage to secure genuine sexual images of the children for your perceived sexual gratification. Your intention was manifestly clear.

"I regard the blackmail aspect as a serious aggravating feature. This sentencing exercise should have a deterrent aspect to it. I cannot impose anything other than a sentence of immediate imprisonment."