Latest Offenders Tidworth

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A MAN has been jailed for 10 years after sexually abusing two children and possessing more than 2,000 indecent images of children.

William Smith, 69, formerly of Oak Close in Tidworth, but now in prison for previous offences, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on April 19.

He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 13, three counts of making indecent images of children (316 graded as Category A, 693 graded as Category B and 1,473 graded as Category C) and one count of being in possession of 79 prohibited images of children.

The 69-year-old was also given a sexual harm prevention order and will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Smith was initially investigated by another police force due after communications were found where Smith was openly discussing the sexual abuse of children.

He believed he was speaking to another sex offender, but it was actually an undercover police operative.

Smith was subsequently arrested when he travelled to meet this contact with the intention of committing further sexual offences. He was later jailed for those offences.

Following this arrest, Wiltshire Police were informed of potential offences committed in this county, including the fact that Smith had revealed details of children he had abused in Wiltshire.

Officers executed a warrant at his home address in Tidworth and seized devices for further evidence. They also made contact with the families of the children they believed he had abused.

Police say the found more than 2,000 indecent images of children that had been downloaded by Smith.

Detective Constable Justine Parsons, from Wiltshire Polices Child Internet Exploitation Team, said: When Smiths mobile phones were examined, we uncovered more than 2,000 indecent images of children which he had downloaded, including 316 which were categorised as depicting the most serious abuse of children.

Our enquiries also led us to two people, one of whom is still a child, who were sexually abused by Smith and they very bravely told us what had happened to them, re-living some very traumatic and upsetting experiences they had been subjected to.

I want to pay tribute to these two victims and their families. We know how incredibly hard it is for people to speak out about sexual abuse, particularly when this is something which has happened to them as young children, and I applaud their bravery and resilience during such a difficult time.

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A Wiltshire man who sexually abused two girls over a number of years has been jailed.

Semi Tuilovoni Lave, 31, from Tidworth, was found guilty of six counts of rape of a child and one count of sexual assault of a child by touching, following a four-day trial at Salisbury Crown Court.

On Thursday (February 3) he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The court heard his offending came to light in July 2020 when his young victims bravely reported the abuse and police arrested Lave.

Detective Constable Claire Heathcote, from Wiltshire Polices Public Protection Department, praised the victims for the way they had handled the case.

She said: We know how incredibly difficult it can be for victims of sexual abuse to tell someone about what has been happening to them, especially when the victims are children.

Once these girls took the very brave step of reporting these horrendous crimes, we have worked hard to ensure they have been able to receive the relevant help and support they need, particularly when they had to re-live that abuse giving evidence in court due to the fact that Lave refused to admit his actions.

We welcome the verdict in this case and todays sentence and I hope it provides some reassurance to the victims that justice has now been done.

I also hope it gives others the confidence to speak out if they have been the victim of similar crimes. If you dont yet feel ready to speak to the police, then please just tell someone you trust. There is help out there and you dont have to suffer in silence.

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A PAEDOPHILE army officer with a distinguished military career has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being caught filming naked children on a beach just three months after being spared a prison sentence for similar offences.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Smyth, pictured, who was based at Tidworth, was caught filming girls as young as 18 months old, on a beach in Pembrokeshire while on holiday with his wife and two sons in August.

The 43-year-old, who was in charge of a battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was already subject to a community order for secretly filming children aged between five and 16 years old at swimming pools and supermarkets near his barracks between January 2011 and November 2012.

He put a micro camera in shopping baskets to take shots up childrens skirts and took pictures over the top of changing room cubicles, then uploaded the content onto film-sharing websites.

After admitting six charges of distributing, six charges of taking and four charges of making indecent images he was given a community order when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court in May. He had downloaded more than 5,000 images, with 205 images and four videos in the most serious level four and five categories.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer QC considered his distinguished military career and glowing references when sentencing him. But three months later Smyth, who now lives in Nailsea, Bristol, was spotted filming a six-year-old girl changing on the beach.

Police found two cameras hidden in his car that he had used to film naked children over a four-day period while on holiday with his family.

James Hartson, defending, said Smyth had served his country with distinction and would be dismissed from the army immediately, losing a pension pot valued at 1.1m.

Judge Paul Thomas said Smyth had serious psychological and sexual problems and was a devious and calculating individual who will not be stopped except by the deprivation of your liberty.

You have lost a great deal; your marriage, your high flying career and your social status, he added.

Smyth, who changed his name to Mark Radway during the first police investigation, admitted 16 counts of making indecent images of children when he appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Monday.

He was jailed for 16 months for the Tidworth offences, ten months for the fresh offences and four months for breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.