Latest Offenders West Sussex

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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."

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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.”

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A PAEDOPHILE who kept childrens leotards in his home to indulge his sick fantasies was back in court for possessing horrific child sex abuse images.

Mark Grindon had nearly 47,000 indecent images of children and images of extreme pornography including bestiality at his home near Horsham.

He had been ordered not to keep computer devices without monitoring software after his earlier convictions.

Previously, The Argus revealed how the pervert had an interest in girls wearing ballet costumes.

He sought out social media profiles of young girls, aged between 11 and 15, from across the country.

His first conviction was in 2016, but a later search at his home found he had stashed items behind a false shelf in his bathroom, including camera phones, a GoPro camera, a girls leotard, a camcorder, and a child sex doll.

Now the unemployed 37-year-old was back in court where it was revealed he was using the alias Eddie Gardener on an online dating site to contact with women who have children.

He was sent back to prison for 13 months for admitting possession of 46,986 indecent images, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and breaching the notification requirements of being a registered sex offender.

Police said his latest sentencing followed a time-consuming forensic examination of Grindons digital devices, seized when he was arrested in 2019.

It resulted in the discovery of the indecent images and his further sentencing.

In November 2016 Grindon had first been convicted at Chichester Crown Court of making indecent images of children.

He was given a suspended prison sentence and as well as being a registered sex offender, he was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), severely restricting his contact with children and computers and requiring him to clear any such contact with supervising police officers.

Police said checks showed he had looked at more than 30 girls on Instagram, mainly wearing ballet or leotard outfits, but there was no evidence he had contacted the girls.

PC Louise Giles said: "This further sentencing shows that we will continue to seek out evidence, even though it may be a time-consuming process, to bring such offenders to justice in order to protect the community.

"Grindon has been known to use an alias Eddie Gardener in online dating profiles, to contact women with access to children.

If you have had contact with him, please contact us either online, or by calling 101, quoting reference 47190112747."

Grindon, of Swallowfield Close, Mannings Heath, near Horsham, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on May 17 to 13 months in prison.

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A former police sergeant has been jailed for a second time after admitting sexual activity with a boy and possessing indecent images.

Phillip Patterson, 34, was sentenced to six years in prison and will be a registered sex offender for life.

Sussex Police say Patterson's latest offending came to light during a routine visit in 2018 as part of his terms.

Judge David Rennie at Hove Crown Court said Patterson was "dangerous".

Patterson, of Alexandra Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, already served a prison sentence for possessing more than 50,000 indecent images of children.

He resigned from his position with the police force on the day of his arrest in 2010.

'Online grooming'

Det Con Vicky Jones said: "During a routine visit in 2018 to Patterson as part of their role to monitor registered sex offenders in the community, colleagues found on his mobile phone references to indecent material about children.

"The phone also contained evidence of his online grooming and sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy, a relationship which the boy confirmed when we traced him."

He had already been given an eight-week suspended sentence in October 2016 for a previous breach of his sex offender notification requirements, and in September 2018 was given a 17-week custodial sentence for the further breach of the registration requirement which came to light in the police visit earlier that year.

In sentencing Patterson, Judge David Rennie said: "Some people reach for the idiotic justification that 'they're only pictures'.

"In all of these pictures, a child is having their innocence destroyed. Secondly, the 13-year-old, you groomed him and led him into your dark world of paedophilic abuse. I have no hesitation in concluding that you are dangerous."

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A retired teacher who directed a production at a Horley theatre after being convicted of possessing indecent images of children has been jailed for committing further offences.

David Gallichan, 63, directed a production of 'Amadeus' at The Archway Theatre that ran between September 27 and October 8, 2016. At the time he was subject to a suspended sentence and Sexual Harm Prevention Order for making and possessing indecent images of children.

The play did not involve any children and a theatre spokesman said "control measures" were in place to protect any children using the theatre.

Gallichan, of Haywards Heath Road, Balcombe, has now been jailed for 18 months for committing further offences. He attempted to communicate with a young girl online, and failed to tell police he had a computer which he used without monitoring software.

The Archway Theatre spokesman said: "We take the safety and security of adults, children and vulnerable adults as the utmost priority and remain fully committed to continue to work with both internal and external partners and safeguarding authorities, to ensure that our policies and practices are up to date.

"At the time David Gallichan was given a suspended sentence, the Archway Theatre Council of Management worked closely with the police and Surrey safeguarding team to put control measures in place.

"He was not permitted to attend the theatre when any children's activities were taking place and was not allowed unsupervised access. David is no longer a member of the Archway Theatre."

Gallichan was jailed on September 10 at Hove Crown Court for attempting to make contact with the girl. He also discussed his fantasies with other adults online, and spoke to teenagers online using the secret laptop.

PC Louise Giles, from Sussex Police, said: "Gallichan still attempted to speak with teenagers online even after his previous conviction. He kept a laptop without telling us, which did not have the necessary monitoring software installed.

"He expressed his fantasies about nudist camps with teenage boys, setting up profiles and characters for several years to engage with adults and young people in sexual conversations online.

"He imagined being a daughter or stepdaughter and would pretend to be people to get them to talk with him sexually.

"When we found out about this, as a result of proactive police checks, we got a warrant and searched Gallichan's home. He then admitted that he had hidden a laptop in an outdoor shed."

PC Giles said there was no evidence to suggest Gallichan had engaged in sexual activity with others, directly or online, but said the former school teacher was a "menace" who sought to manipulate others.

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This is the face of the sick perverted man who pretended he was a specialist doctor to sexually assault a "vulnerable" pregnant woman in hospital and he has just lost an appeal to cut his jail sentence.

Gregory Boyle, from Mount Close, in Pound Hill, tricked his victim into believing he was a cardiologist while she was in a bed in hospital and he touched her intimately and inserted a "probe" into intimate parts of her body, before a nurse walked in and raised concerns about who he was.

Boyle, 59, was jailed for six years and four months at Croydon Crown Court in May, having previously pleaded guilty to to assault by penetration and sexual assault.

On Thursday (November 9) he appealed the length prison term, but three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London ruled he deserved every day of his sentence for the "serious" crimes.

Boyle visited his pregnant victim when she was being treated at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH), in Farnborough, Kent.

Prior to the horrific sex attack, the victim's partner had undertaken building work at Boyle's Crawley home and confided in him that she was pregnant and had a heart condition.

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A sex predator that raped a woman multiple times has been sentenced to 12 years in prison

John William Chesher, 44 of Horsham, Sussex appeared at Hove Crown Court where he was found guilty of:

• Three counts of rape
• Sexual assault on a female by penetration

The court was told that Chesher had another conviction on his record dating back to September 1997 when he was found guilty for the indecent assault of a female child aged under 14

Chesher was sentenced to a total of 12 years imprisonment.

He was told that he must register as a sex offender for life.

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A PAEDOPHILE who made a fake social media account to groom a 12-year-old girl has been jailed for four years.

Phillip Jackson, pictured, made a Facebook profile pretending to be a band member from Bars and Melody, who rose to fame through television show Britain’s Got Talent.

The 38-year-old landscape gardener, from Wisborough Green, began messaging the girl in 2014 and sent her indecent images of himself, later persuading her to send nude pictures to him.

The girl’s mother found out and notified police immediately.

When officers arrested Jackson they seized his laptop, on which they uncovered more than 500 indecent images of children.

Jackson was found guilty of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possession of indecent images of children earlier this month, and was given four years in jail.

He will also be a registered sex offender for life.

He was also issued a sexual harm prevention order, severely restricting his access to children and computers.

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AN UNEMPLOYED man has been jailed after raping a teenage girl.

Reece Pettitt attacked his 17-year-old victim at a hostel in Horsham where they were both living at the time.

The 20-year-old invited himself into into her room where he began to make unwanted sexual approaches.

He ignored her repeated pleas to leave before carrying out the rape.

Detectives said Pettitt and victim barely knew each other.

Pettitt, of Charrington Way, Broadbridge Heath, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment at Lewes Crown Court following the incident in October 2015.

He will also be registered sex offender for life.

He was found not guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice in Crawley in April last year in relation to this case.

Detective Constable Nicky Beard said: The victim in this case was vulnerable and showed real courage in reporting this matter and giving evidence at court.

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A MAN who sexually abused a child after grooming her via mobile phone has been jailed.

Robert Barnes sent the girl sexual images of himself via text messaging service Whats App and unsuccessfully tried to get her to do the same.

The 28-year-old, of Farhalls Crescent, Horsham, then abused her at his previous address in Nicolson Way, Sevenoaks.

He was arrested at this address on June 12, 2014 after concerns were reported to police.

Barnes refused to comment during police interview but officers seized his mobile phone which contained evidence of the messages he had sent his victim.

Following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, he was convicted of three counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16, two counts of intent to entice a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of grooming.

Barnes, who met the victim through an acquaintance, was sentenced on August 20 to five years and six months in prison, and must sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Detective Constable David Turner, of Kent Police’s public protection unit, said: ‘Barnes has groomed his victim with the intention of committing sexual offences against her.

"He knew exactly what he was doing and has exploited a young and vulnerable person for his own gratification.

"He will now have plenty of time to reflect on his actions and I hope this sentence offers some comfort and reassurance to the victim and her family."

Sussex Police ask the public to help them detect the signs of child sexual exploitation, which involves the manipulation and/or coercion of young people under the age of 18 into sexual activity.

Young people may be expected to engage in sexual activity in exchange for things such as money, gifts, accommodation, affection, status, food, drugs or alcohol, police say.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "A significant difficulty for parents and agencies seeking to protect children is that this is a form of abuse which is often misunderstood by victims and outsiders as consensual.

"Victims can be tricked into believing they are in a loving relationship, but the law is clear - no child under the age of 18 can ever consent to being abused or exploited."

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A paedophile, branded "calculating and predatory", has been jailed for 15 years for a string of sex attacks on girls as young as six years old.

Andrew Hocking, 57, of West Sussex, sexually assaulted four girls, aged between six and 12, from 1976 to 1990 in Gloucestershire and Hampshire.

He was found guilty of one count of rape and six indecent assaults following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

Sussex Police said Hocking showed "no genuine remorse" for his actions.

"Hocking stands out as cold, calculating, predatory and ruthless," said Det Con Chris Smith.

"Despite the strong evidence against him, he put the victims through the ordeal of having to recount their episodes of abuse."

Media appeal

Detectives discovered records of allegations of indecent assaults on a seven-year-old girl at his home in Alveston, Gloucestershire in 1976 and 1977, while they were investigated him over the making of indecent images of children.

Police were contacted by three woman claiming they had been attacked, when they were aged six, seven and 12, by Hocking at his address in Fareham, Hampshire, in the 1980s and 1990, following an appeal for information.

Following a trial, Hocking was convicted of one count of rape and six indecent assaults and cleared of one indecent assault.

The 57-year-old admitted making indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography at an earlier hearing.

He was ordered to be put on the sex offenders register for life.

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A shop worker has been jailed after finally admitting to owning more than 2000 indecent images of children as young as four on his computer.

Adam Clements, of Butts Road in Southwick, has been sentenced to a total of two years and five months imprisonment after pleading guilty to seven charges of distributing indecent images and videos of children and five offences of making indecent images of children.

The 26-year old also pleaded guilty at the same hearing at Lewes Crown Court on Monday to further offences of making and distributing indecent images of children committed while he was on police bail.

Clements will be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for the rest of his life which will severely restrict his access to computers and will have to sign the sexual offences register on his release from jail.

Detective Sergeant Martin Harmer said: "Clements had denied his offending throughout, until Monday's hearing, and his eventual guilty pleas and conviction are testament to the extensive enquiries undertaken by our team.

He had over 2000 indecent images of children on his computer, and had distributed over 100 of them. The images depicted children aged as young as four and some were in the most serious category of images. "