Latest Offenders West

Description

Myles Allan, 44, snapped two images and two video clips of the womans thighs while she sat at her desk in an office in West Lothian.

Allan - who had a short stint in charge of Berwick Rangers - claimed he had taken the pictures accidentally by brushing his hand against his phone in July 2019.

But he was found guilty of a voyeurism charge following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year and sentence had been deferred

Allan, from Dunfermline, returned to the dock to hear Sheriff Graham Primrose QC state that he had committed a serious offence within the workplace.

The sheriff said: You were found guilty after trial of the offence of voyeurism.

I noted during the trial the complainer herself stated she did not consider there to be a sexual element to the offence.

Instead she considered against the background of you being reprimanded about your performance that day that the taking of the images were designed to humiliate her rather than to provide you with sexual gratification

Allan was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and a supervision order for nine months and also ordered to pay his victim 400 in compensation.

Allan started his football management career at Burntisland Shipyard and Dundonald before moving on to Sauchie and Rosyth Juniors.

He then joined Berwick Rangers as a first team scout in 2016 and was later promoted to first team coach.

After leaving the Shielfield Park outfit Allan, a married father-of-two, was appointed to the coaching staff team at Jeanfield Swifts womens team in March 2019.

During the trial, the football coach admitted taking the pictures following an argument between him and his boss but said he had immediately deleted them.

He was caught out after copies of the images were uploaded from his phone to his work laptop through the iCloud function.

He was then sacked from the firm soon after and after handing back his computer equipment a ex-colleague subsequently found the images stored within a folder on the laptop.

Allans former manager, who cannot be identified, told the court she was made aware of the images and had felt disgusted and humiliated on viewing them.

She said: They [the images] were taken of the top of my thighs when I was wearing a dress. My legs are under my desk and showing my underwear.

When my colleague showed me I was shocked and I was in disbelief it was there. I felt disgusted, humiliated and very angry.

How could he think it was as acceptable to do that? I felt physically sick at what I should do.

I trusted him and I felt betrayed.

After contacting her husband the woman called in the police and Allan was subsequently arrested and charged.

Allan was found guilty of operating equipment beneath the clothing of a woman with the intention or enabling himself or others to observe her genitals, buttocks or underwear and did position a mobile phone and take two photos and two videos showing the legs and underwear of the woman at a premises in West Lothian on July 16, 2019.

Description

A taxi driver subjected a young woman to a terrifying sex attack in her own street after he found her outside a takeaway and asked if she needed a cab home. The victim had been on a night out with friends in Ashby town centre when Asif Hussain struck.

The 23 year old victim said she thought she was "going to be raped" by her 44-year-old attacker, who was jailed for 15 months by Derby Crown Court. Hussain, whose cab was registered with Leicester City Council, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on the day of his planned trial.

The sentencing hearing was told Hussain left his victim "hysterical from sobbing" and hyperventilating from shock and fear after the attack in November 2019, report DerbyshireLive. Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said Hussain had agree of a fee of 20 after seeing his victim standing outside a takeaway and had asked if she need a cab home.

He then dropped off one of the woman's friends in Derby before driving to the victim's home, near Swadlincote. It was just as she was about to leave the vehicle that Hussain struck.

Mr Achurch said: "She went to leave the vehicle and he forcibly grabbed her by the face."

He added: "She was saying 'no' on several occasions and described him making 'sexual moans' while he continued while she was frozen in fear. She opened the door and ran into her home where he mother described her as being 'hysterical from sobbing, hyperventilating' and she told her mother he tried to rape her."

Mr Achurch said DNA from the victim's clothing was linked to the defendant and to his red Toyota Prius. A victim impact statement was read out in court in which the young woman said she "no longer feels safe on my own street" as a result of her ordeal at Hussain's hands.

Handing down his sentence to the married father-of-one for 15 months, Judge Shaun Smith QC said: "This is about a 23-year-old woman who got into a (then) 41-year-old man's taxi and trusted that taxi driver to take her home, be polite, take her money and go to another job. The public are entitled to know that when they get into a taxi they will not be assaulted in this or any other way and the public must be protected.

The judge added: "She thought she was going to be raped or seriously hurt and felt effectively powerless, she said and that's because you wanted to satisfy your own sexual desires. I would be failing in my public duty if I did not send you to prison."

Hussain, of Vicarage Road, in Sandwell, West Midlands, has no previous convictions or cautions, the court was told. In mitigation, Mohammed Latif, representing the defendant, said that his client had since been disowned by his former wife, who he had been with for almost two decades - but was now remarried and has a nine-month old infant with his new partner.

"He has disgraced himself in his community, among his work colleagues and within his own family," said Mr Latif. "It is plain that the defendant feels completely embarrassed by his conduct, fully accepts his responsibility for it and the impact it has had on her."

Hussain stopped working as a taxi driver after his arrest and was instead a delivery driver, added Mr Latif. Judge Smith also ordered Hussain to be placed on the sex offender register for a period of 10 years.

Description

A MAN has been jailed for attempting to meet what he thought were two young girls for sex after grooming them online.

Martin Garrigan, 32, of Barton Road, Bognor, was arrested by Sussex Police officers in September 2020 in Hotham Park, near his home.

Garrigan had been waiting to meet what he thought were two teenage girls, but had been talking online to adults posing as the children.

He pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with children at Lewes Crown Court on June 30.

Garrigan was given a four year sentence and will also be a registered sex offender for life.

He was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefinitely, severely restricting his access to children and to digital communications devices.

Detective Constable Jordan Holmes of Sussex Police said: "Garrigan was blatantly seeking to meet young girls for sex and may well have persisted in this and other ways but fortunately we received information from members of the public and his activities were rapidly ended."

Description

A mental health nurse who sexually assaulted a vulnerable patient while working at a psychiatric hospital has been spared a jail sentence.

Richard McLellan attacked the woman while she was being treated for a mental disorder at the capital’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital in 2019.

McLellan, 38, was found to have engaged in sexual activity with the woman by placing his hand underneath her underwear while he worked a nightshift at the city hospital.

McLellan denied the allegations against him but was found guilty by a jury following a three day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

The jury found McLellan not guilty of charges including making sexual comments to the woman, touching her genitals and inducing the woman to perform oral sex on him.

The disgraced staff nurse has since been sacked from NHS Lothian and he is due to appear in front of a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary panel in the near future.

A spokesperson for NHS Lothian said they wanted to “extend our full sympathies to the victim in this distressing case”.

McLellan returned to the dock for sentencing on Friday where Sheriff Donald Corke told him he had been “convicted by the jury of an offence of sexual breach of trust of a mental disordered person”.

The sheriff said: “This behaviour was a gross breach of trust by you. You were the complainer’s key worker and you were tasked that night to keep her safe.

“Instead you took the opportunity to engage in sexual activity. You have expressed no remorse for what you did.

“You should be in no doubt custody is an option. [However] I am willing to impose a community payback order as a direct alternative to custody.”

McLellan, from Bathgate, West Lothian, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He was placed under the supervision of the social work department for three years and handed a conduct requirement that bans him from contacting the victim.

His name will also be forwarded to Scottish Ministers for inclusion on the list of those banned from working with children or vulnerable people in the future.

Defending Advocate Mr Kennedy said his client continues to deny the offence but is “accepting of the jury’s decision”.

He added: “The consequences of this conviction for Mr McLellan are both personally and professionally devastating.

“He has been dismissed from his employment and he will be sanctioned from his professional body where he will submit to further humiliation and disgrace by that.”

Tracey McKigen, Services Director for the Royal Edinburgh and Associated Services at NHS Lothian, said: “We extend our full sympathies to the victim in this distressing case.

“Whilst we can’t comment on individual members of staff, current or former, we want to offer reassurance that as soon as we become aware of a serious criminal allegation, we will take immediate and robust action in the interests of patient safety, which is always our top priority.”

McLellan was found guilty of being a person who provided care services to a mental disordered person and did engage in sexual activity with them and did place his hand underneath her underwear at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on January 21, 2019.

Description

A man who used Snapchat to contact teenage girls and coerce them into sexual activity has been jailed. Belal Hussain first contacted a 15-year-old girl via the app in June last year, meeting up with her in his car in West Bromwich.

The 34-year-old saw the girl again, along with another 15-year-old girl, later that month and pressured both into sexual activity with him before giving them money.

The girls recalled their traumatic experiences, including feeling pressured and scared by Hussain, to specialist West Midlands Police officers.

They quickly checked Hussains Snapchat account to identify him, and arrested him last September. Police seized electronic devices as evidence in court after Hussain refused to co-operate during interviews.

He also refused to provide passwords for any of his phones or devices. Despite this, officers continued with the investigation and charged him.

Hussain, of Jesson Street, West Bromwich pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He was jailed for three years and six months.

He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offender register for life.

Investigating officer PC Adrian Jackson said: This horrific exploitation and grooming of two teenage girls has had a devastating effect, with one of the girls attempting to take her own life.

Im relieved that she pulled through and even had the strength to speak out against the man who assaulted her, but I know the lifelong impact his actions will have had.

"We supported the girls throughout the investigation and partner agencies, including The Horizons Unit of Sandwell Childrens Trust.

"It was down to their courage in coming forward that we were able to convict Hussain and we hope this will provide some sense of justice following their traumatic ordeals."

Description

A BT worker has been jailed for 22 months after pleading guilty to possessing more than 124,000 indecent images of children.

Ashok Rana, 41, of Langley Green, Crawley, was handed the immediate custodial sentence at Hove Crown Court.

The court heard that due to the large number of indecent images, police officers had to stop categorising them.

Indecent images of children are classified as either Category A, Category B or Category C, with Category A the most serious.

The court was told that Rana had 201 Category A images, with 76 moving images, 68 Category B images, 27 of them moving images, and in excess of 124,000 Category C images.

He had pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.

The court was told that Rana cannot help himself and was unable to control himself when it came to possessing indecent images, with many of them of children as young as three years old.

In jailing Rana, a manager with telecoms firm BT, the Recorder, Ms Sarah Elliott, said she had read the case with care.

I have looked at this case [and] it is a tragic one, she said, telling Rana that this type of offence puts children at risk.

She added: While these offences are reprehensible in all other respects you are a decent member of society with a supportive family, who ought to be making his mark in a positive way.

Ranas sister sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing and broke down in tears when sentence was passed.

Rana also admitted he was in breach of a four-month sentence, suspended for two years, previously imposed by Lewes Crown Court.

He was also in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and the court was told that Rana used six devices without the required monitoring software.

Ms Elliott jailed Rana for 12 months for possessing the Category A images, eight months for breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order and activated the suspended sentence for two months, with all sentences to run consecutively.

She also jailed him for eight months for possessing the Category B images and four months for possessing the Category C images, to run concurrently.

Rana was told he will spend half of the 22 months in custody, and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

Description

A rapist from Littlehampton has been jailed after attacking a woman in Lewes, police have revealed.

Sussex Police said Glen Noone, 33, of Lammas Close, Littlehampton, was sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on Wednesday, May 11, having been found guilty of the rape of the woman at an address in Lewes.

He was jailed for seven years and will be a registered sex offender for life, police said.

Detective Constable Jo Barber said Noone forced himself on his victim 'in a vicious and opportunistic attack'.

DC Barber added: "She has shown incredible bravery and patience in supporting our investigation throughout.

Her evidence in court was key in securing this conviction and with her support we have been able to bring him to justice. When Noone is released he will be under strict conditions and will be monitored by police and the probation service.

It is important that anyone who has been affected by this type of offence understands that we are here to support them and we will always seek justice wherever possible."

The prosecution, authorised by the CPS, followed an investigation by detectives from the East Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit.

At sentencing, his Honour Judge Rennie told Noone that he had been convicted on the 'clearest evidence of rape', adding: "Your brutish actions have had a profound effect. Your victim did absolutely nothing wrong and in no way was any of what you did her fault.

You decided to have sex with her whether she consented or not and putting her through this trial was another cruel and cynical twist which compounded the harm already caused."

Description

A MAN has been found guilty of exposing himself to a little girl while on a milk float and sexually assaulting another child.

Convicted sex offender Edward Walton, 55, was found guilty on April 8 of six charges following a trial at Hove Crown Court.

The first charge related to an incident between 2004 and 2006 when he exposed himself while on a milk float. He was found not guilty on a separate count of causing the child, aged about 11, to watch pornography.

In respect of the second girl, he was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and two counts of causing her to watch pornography when she was aged nine or ten.

Walton showed no emotion as the jury foreman read out the guilty verdicts, all of which were unanimous decisions.

The offences took place between 2004 and 2015 at addresses where he was living in Littlehampton and Barnham respectively, police said after the trial.

Following the conviction, Jack Talbot, defending, told the court Walton was currently serving a custodial sentence at HM Prison Littlehey, Cambridgeshire, for several serious sexual offences.

At the end of the trial, the judge, the Recorder Mr Anthony Hawks, thanked the jury for its public duty.

This was a difficult case, he said.

Walton will be sentenced at Hove Crown Court on June 10.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE rapist has been jailed for almost a decade for sexual offences against a young girl.

Ronald Didd, of Potters Mead, Littlehampton, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, March 11, having previously admitted one count of rape and three counts of other sexual activity against the teenager.

He will serve a custodial term of seven and a half years, plus a two and a half year term on extended licence.

The 62-year-old will be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) severely restricting his access to female children.

He was also handed a Restraining Order prohibiting him from contact with the victim or her family.

Both of those Orders will take effect for ten years on his release from prison.

Didd had previously lived in North East Kent and in the Battersea and Croydon areas of South London before moving to Littlehampton.

Detective constable Jason Berney of the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: "Didd met the victims vulnerable family and over a period of time two years ago he manipulated them in order to allow him unrestricted access to a child and commit the offences while she was staying in his home.

"He caused great harm and fear to the victim, who was very brave to provide her evidence to police and support the investigation.

"Following our investigation Didd was left with little option but to enter guilty pleas to the charges.

"The victim in this case really needs to be commended for her bravery, as this was extremely traumatic. He manipulated her family and left her isolated and vulnerable and yet she still had the courage to speak out against him."

Friday, March 18, is National Child Exploitation Awareness Day, when Sussex Police pledge to continue to protect those most at risk and prevent harm by questioning behaviours, looking again and convicting perpetrators.

The force has urged residents to contact them if they are worried about a neighbour, friend or family member.

Description

A WEST Sussex man has been given a seven-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl at an air show 18 years ago.

David Conrad, 57, of Pepper Lane, Ashurst, was sentenced at Brighton Crown Court on November 18, having been convicted of indecent assault on the child while they were spectators at the Shoreham Air Show in August 2003.

He will also serve a further year on extended prison released licence and will be a registered sex offender indefinitely.

Sussex police investigator Amber Evans said: ‘The girl was at the show with her family and Conrad, who also knew her, were sitting with each other in the crowd when he attacked her, without anyone else being aware.

‘She did not report the attack to anyone at the time and only 14 years later did she feel able to talk to the police about it.

‘We were still able to investigate and seek justice, and to give her access to sources of specialist advice and support.

Description

A teacher has been jailed for grooming and having sex with a 14-year-old pupil she became "infatuated" with at the school where she worked.

Fatinah Hossain, 25, claimed she was pregnant after the schoolboy tried to end the relationship that had lasted several months.

She even offered to pay the boy to get him to drop the charges, police said.

After being released on bail last June, Hossain launched a campaign of harassment against the boy and his family in a bid to stop the police probe.

Using fake social media accounts, Hossain tried to manipulate other children with threats made against at least one other youngster to warn them off speaking to officers.

She also threatened the boy and his family using fake names and added she would pay him to 'drop the charges', according to Sussex Police.

After being charged and appearing before magistrates in October 2020, Hossain tried to set up a member of the victim's family by pretending to an underage teenager online.

She set up a string of fake social media accounts using different names - including one pretending to be a 14-year-old girl.

Hossain then sent messages to an adult member of the boy's family in a bid to try and get him sacked from his job and even made false reports to police to try and get him arrested.

This campaign continued until March this year when police were shown evidence the allegations were false.

Hossain was then charged with perverting the course of justice along with one count of sexual activity with the boy while in a position of trust.

She had been working as a teaching assistant and cover teacher at the school in Horsham, West Sussex.

At Brighton Crown Court this week Hossain was sent to prison for five years and four months and will be a registered sex offender indefinitely.

Judge Jeremy Gold told Hossain as he jailed her that she “embarked on quite a remarkable campaign of harassment” that was “relentless, wide-ranging and malicious” following the “persistent nature of penetrative [sexual] activity over time”.

She has also been issued with a restraining order to last indefinitely, banning her from any contact with the teenage boy and several others, as well as stopping her from entering certain areas of Horsham.

Hossain, who lives in Horsham, will be on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years after she is released from prison.

Detective Constable Leigh Rankin of Sussex Police said today (Fri) after the sentencing that Hossain spun a "web of lies and manipulation".

The detective added: "This was a prolonged and distressing campaign and we are glad that justice has now been done for the boy and the several other people who became entrapped in Hossain's web of lies and manipulation.

"Hossain was first arrested in June 2020 following a report that she had groomed and had sex with a 14-year-old boy from a school in Horsham where she was working as a study supervisor and cover teacher.

"A sexual relationship continued for several months during which she continued to manipulate the boy's emotions, including claiming that she was pregnant after he had tried to end the relationship.

"Hossain was initially released on bail for further investigation. Following this the victim, his family and friends suffered a prolonged and complex campaign of behaviour against them in an attempt to derail the investigation and avoid justice."

DC Rankin said Hossain tried to manipulate other children and threatened at least one not to speak to police.

The officer said: "Using fake social media accounts Hossain attempted to manipulate other children, with threats being made against at least one other child should they speak to the police.

"Through fake names she made significant threats of harm to the boy and his family and said she’d pay him to 'drop the charges'.

"Hossain was charged with offences in October 2020 and was bailed by magistrates. She then created a number of fake social media accounts using different names including that of a 14-year-old girl.

"Using this particular account, she fabricated messages between her and an adult family member of the boy.

"She then used these fake accounts in an attempt to have the family member lose his job. She then went on to make multiple false reports to the police from further false accounts in an attempt to get the adult family member arrested.

"Hossain continued to attempt to make false reports to police until March 2021, when evidence was received to show that all the allegations against the family were falsified by her. This led to her being further charged and remanded until she was convicted."

Description

former doctor has been sentenced to life imprisonment for a series of sexual offences against five young people in Brighton, West Sussex, Hampshire and the West Midlands between 19 and 25 years ago.

Robert Cameron Wells, 69, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years, at Hove Crown Court on Monday 6 September.

He had been convicted in July of two counts of indecency with a boy aged eight, and attempting to possess an indecent image of a child, all in West Sussex in 1998.

He had previously pleaded guilty to 16 other offences:

- One offence of indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl in West Sussex in 1998, while supposedly conducting a 'pre-abortion' examination of her at his surgery in Portslade:

- One offence of indecent assault on a woman known to him, aged 18 in 2002 in Coventry;

- Two offences of rape, and seven offences of indecent assault on a girl aged nine in 2001, one in the West Midlands, the rest in Brighton, and four offences of taking an indecent photograph of a child, all against the same girl, one in the West Midlands, the others in the Brighton area

- One offence of indecent assault on a woman aged 18 in Southampton in 2002. He had already been convicted of sexual offences against her in 2004 in Hampshire, but the Sussex Police investigation uncovered new video evidence of him assaulting her, accessible because of new technical developments since then.

All the offences involved evidence that Wells used drugs to help ensure compliance in his victims.

Wells was sentenced at the same court on 6 September.

In relation to the three offences to which he had pleaded not guilty the court heard that that Wells drugged the boy at a birthday party, took him to another location and forced him to abuse a girl as she appeared sedated on a bed.

The prosecution, authorised by the CPS, followed an investigation by detectives from the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit.

Wells was already serving two sentences for sexual offences against other young people in Hampshire and South Wales as a result of separate investigations by those police forces.

Wells was a GP in Brighton and Hove until his arrest in 2003 and subsequent conviction and sentencing in 2004 to 15 years for sexual offences against young girls in Hampshire. He was struck off as a doctor after that case.

In April 2017 at Cardiff Crown Court he was sentenced to seven years for four indecent assaults against three young girls.

In sentencing Wells on 6 September, Judge David Rennie called him a monster and said; "You turned out to be the stuff of and the creator of nightmares... You have done incalculable harm to a lot of people who trusted you, and your abuse went on for years.

What you chose to do to these survivors shows you have not the slightest concern for other people or the harm that you inflicted when you decided to carry out these crimes. Lives have been devastated. Your perverted sexual appetite appears to know no bounds."

Detective Constable Owen Watkins of Sussex Police said; "Wells was clearly a systematic and serial sexual abuser of young people, using his charm and air of professional distinction to lure them into a sense of false security, for his own gratification.

"Only one of the victims was abused by Wells acting in his official capacity as a doctor, but the others came to know him, whether through family or work, because of his role and were clearly influenced by his status.

"These convictions, and his previous convictions, show how his appalling record goes over many years and it is reassuring for his victims, and for the wider community to know that he is going to be in no position to continue preying upon innocent people for many years to come.

"His victims in this case have given full support to the investigation. One of them, now in his thirties, gave evidence in court, and the others were ready to do so. We admire the strength and bravery shown by all of them, which was so crucial in ensuring that justice was done.

"We are also grateful to our colleagues in the Hampshire Constabulary for the assistance they have given us in this complex investigation.

Description

A SCOTS Scoutmaster who had a secret 10-month sexual relationship with a schoolgirl has avoided a jail sentence.

Paedophile Lewis Ala Findlay, who led a troop in the Scouts, was 23 years old at the time and his victim was just 15.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that the girl, who had known Findlay since she was 12, had initially thought his interest in her was "one of support".

But in November, 2018, at his home in Bo'ness, West Lothian, while his girlfriend was abroad and his mother was also away leaving them alone in the house together, the Scout leader made advances as they sat on his bed watching a film - telling her "just let it happen".

Prosecutor Alex Kirk said the girl was hesitant and uncomfortable, but agreed to sex "as she didn't want it to be awkward".

The following month he had full sex with her again, this time in his car parked in a layby, and the situation developed to the point where the girl thought they were "seeing each other".

The court heard they had sex "a couple of times a month" in Findlay's car parked in laybys on back roads in Stirlingshire and West Lothian.

In early 2019 the girl confided in another adult about what had been going on, and he encouraged her to report the matter.

After she refused, he reported the matter himself and Findlay was afterwards suspended by the Scouting Association.

However the girl denied everything when interviewed by police and social workers.

After a break of a couple of weeks the incidents resumed, but around the end of August Findlay started buying the girl lingerie and sending her pictures of it.

The court heard that on one occasion she dressed up in lingerie, which she had not wanted to do but when she said "no" Findlay asked her repeatedly and she eventually agreed.

Mrs Kirk said: "This incident made her realise how much older the accused was."

She ended the relationship and blocked Findlay on Snapchat, but he continued to contact her using texts and Facebook Messenger, which "alarmed" her.

One "lengthy" message concluded with "a list of 50 things he stated he loved about her".

Mrs Kirk said that by then the girl was "stressed and didn't know what to do".

In November 2019, scout leaders were "made aware" of the messaging and concluded that a sexual relationship was going on.

Police were again called in, and in February last year Findlay was charged.

Now 24, Amazon worker Findlay, of Bo'ness, pleaded guilty to stalking the girl and having unlawful sexual intercourse.

Advocate Niall McCluskey, defending, said Findlay had "craved" the girl.

He said: "He describes how he fell for the complainer, and he accepts he should not have acted on his attraction to her."

"He fully acknowledges that as the adult he ought to have know better, and regrets that he didn't act appropriately when he realised he was developing cravings for her."

He said Findlay was due to become a father in October, following "a longstanding relationship with his partner".

He produced a reference from a youth leader, stating that since 2015 Findlay "had begun volunteering on major national projects" and was "steadfast and true".

Mr McCluskey said: "I understand he was involved in a project called Heart and Soul, which involved the National Youth Assembly, linked to the Church of Scotland."

Sheriff Simon Collins QC sentenced Findlay to 300 hours of unpaid work, placed him under social work supervision and on the sex offenders' register for three years, ordered him to take part in the Scottish Government's "Moving Forward, Making Changes" programme for sex offenders if directed, and banned him from having any unsupervised contact with children under 16.

He said the offences had been "an abuse" of Findlay's "position of relative seniority" in the Scout Association.

Sheriff Collins said: "Although unlawful because of your respective ages it is not suggested the complainer did not consent to the sexual activity. I have seriously considered whether the public interest requires that you be given a prison sentence."

"With some hesitation, I am satisfied that it does not, and that there is a proper community-based alternative."

Findlay, who had arrived at court with a bag packed for jail, refused to comment to a reporter as he walked free from the building.

A spokesman for the Scouts said: "The Scout Association is aware of recent court proceedings involving Lewis Findlay

"The Scout Safeguarding Team worked in conjunction with statutory agencies to share relevant information and Findlay was suspended from his role with the Movement in December 2019 when concerns about his behaviour came to light.

"We can confirm that he will never volunteer with us again.

"The safety of all our members is our number one priority. It is at the heart of our decision-making.

"We carry out stringent vetting of all adults who work with young people and work together with statutory agencies and other parties to share relevant information to ensure the safeguarding of young people in Scouting.

"We require everyone at Scouts to work to a strict code outlined in the 'Young People First' Code of Practice."

Description

A West Sussex man has been sentenced for sexual offences against a young girl.

Richard Tallis, 54, of Bolsover Road, West Tarring, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 30 July, having pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to six counts of sexual assaults in the Chichester area on a girl aged under 13, known to him, between seven and 15 years ago.

Tallis was sentenced to a total of 17 and a half years.

He will also be a registered sex offender indefinitely and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) severely restricting his access to children, to last until further court order.

The prosecution, authorised by the CPS, followed an investigation by West Sussex Safeguarding detectives, who worked with local authority childrens' services to ensure that no children were at any further risk.

Detective Constable Angela De Vivo of the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit said; "Tallis had systematically abused this very young girl over several years, causing her deep and lasting distress. Only three years ago did she feel strong enough to come forward and report what had happened to her.

"We admire her courage and resolution in doing so and in supporting our investigation all the way, and in being ready to give evidence if needed.

"Please contact us at any time if you or anyone you know has been the victim of such offences. We will always investigate, and can arrange for you to have expert support and advice."

Description

A man who travelled to try to meet someone he thought was a teenage girl for sex in Crawley after online contact, has now been given a prison sentence.

Richard White, 44, unemployed, of Timberlands, Storrington, was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday 1 July, having pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to attempting to arrange a child sexual offence.

He will be a registered sex offender for ten years and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, also for ten years, severely restricting his access to children and computers, both to last until further court notice.

The prosecution, authorised by the CPS, followed an intelligence-led investigation by the Sussex Police Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), working closely with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).

Communications devices were seized when POLIT officers arrested White in a car park at Crawley in December 2019.

Detective Sergeant Lisa Heaton from SEROCU, said: “This was a successful operation where the extensive and strong collaboration between Sussex Police’s Online Investigation Team and the South East Regional Crime Organised Unit ensured White was brought to justice. It also shows the lengths of depravity that White would go to in an attempt to conduct child sex abuse. Law enforcement operates across the internet, and we will relentlessly seek to bring to justice individuals who use the web to facilitate the abuse of children.”

POLIT Detective Inspector Andy Harbour said; "This arrest followed a proactive, intelligence-led investigation, part of our continuing priority to protect children from sexual exploitation from those who seek to do them harm."

“If you have been a victim of child sexual abuse, or have information about anyone else who has, please contact us either online or by calling 101. We will always follow up allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred. Victims can talk in confidence to experienced Investigators and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.”