Latest Offenders York

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A PAEDOPHILE has had his jail sentence increased to more than 13 years after a woman broke her silence of half a century. John Arthur Fairburn, now 74, abused her for years, starting when she was nine years old, Nick Adlington, prosecuting, told York Crown Court. Some years after he stopped abusing her, he sexually assaulted two other girls, starting when they were seven. He was jailed for five and a half years months for that abuse in November 2020. Only when the woman saw reports of that case did she feel able to go to police and reveal what Fairburn had done to her when she was a child. I wish I had spoken up when I was younger, she said in a personal statement. It may have saved others. No apology can make up for his depraved actions. She said the shame and embarrassment she suffered because of Fairburn at times still overwhelmed her some days. He took advantage of my innocence and naivety for a long period of my childhood. I felt so ashamed when the significance of what he had subjected me to, she said. She had managed to speak to her GP when she was a young woman and received counselling but found it so difficult to speak about what had happened to her that she had stopped the counselling early. Fairburn, formerly a farmer in Deighton south of York, pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecently assaulting the woman, starting when she was under 13 and after a gap of a couple of years, when she was aged 13 and 14. The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris said: This was wicked offending. It must be met with condign punishment. He jailed Fairburn for eight years, to be served after he finishes the sentence he received in November 2020 for the abuse of the two girls. On that occasion, he pleaded guilty to 10 charges of sexual assault and one of inciting a child to sexual activity. Fairburn is now serving a total sentence of 13 and a half years and will have an extra year on parole when he is released. He was also made subject indefinitely to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order banning him from contacting the three victims, and will be on the sex offender register for the rest of his life. For him, Kevin Blount said: He feels great personal shame for what he has done. There is evidence of genuine remorse. Fairburn had admitted what he had done to the police and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity before the courts in both cases. The abuse of the two girls that started when they were seven was over a period of four years, York Crown Court heard in November 2020. One of the girls had had difficulties before he began abusing her.

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A paedophile who subjected a girl to two years of 'grossly' abusing her also threatened to rape her after saying she was his 'ideal woman.

Leonard Roberts "grotesquely" subjected her to numerous different types of abuse during "totally outrageous" behaviour, HullLive reports. When his victim revealed what she had gone through, Roberts told police that "he was a piece of s*** and deserved to die", Hull Crown Court heard.

Roberts, of Gypsey Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, admitted 11 sexual offences, including two of sexual assault, four of sexual activity with a child and others of penetrative sexual activity with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing a child to watch a sex act.

Charlotte Baines, prosecuting, said that on April 26, the girl revealed to members of her family details of the sexual abuse that she had suffered from Roberts over the previous two years. Roberts told police: "Whatever she said, I have done it." He repeated this five or six times.

The girl said that the abuse had "got worse over time" and he repeatedly sexually and intimately touched her. "This made her feel very, very uncomfortable," said Miss Baines. Roberts committed a sex act in front of the girl and watched pornography in her presence. "He made threats of sexual violence towards her and threatened to rape her," said Miss Baines. "He told her that she was his ideal woman."

Roberts, 41, told the girl: "You deserve to be raped." The girl felt scared. When Roberts was arrested, he told police that "he was a piece of s*** and deserved to die" and that he was "in desperate need of love, affection and stimulation".

The girl said in a statement that it had been very difficult to cope with what had happened. "I have been trying to hide what he did for so long," she said.

"He told me that he was doing what he did to me because he fell in love with me. It has affected my mood. I have lost interest in all the things I liked doing. I am depressed all the time. I feel happy that it is over. I wish this had never happened."

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Roberts had never challenged the girl's account of what happened. "This behaviour is unexplainable and it's disgraceful," said Miss Scott. "He is deeply sorry for his actions and for what he has done and he knows how much he has hurt her. He is truly, truly remorseful.

"He appreciates that he needs serious help. He feels that he doesn't even deserve the help that he has been offered. He wishes that, if he could turn back the clock, he would never have these thoughts."

Roberts had no previous convictions and had previously worked as a factory worker before up that job to become a full-time carer for his parents. Judge Mark Bury told Roberts that he behaved "grotesquely" towards the girl. "You grossly abused her over a two-year period," said the judge.

"You threatened to rape her. On one occasion, you said she deserved to be raped. Can you imagine how that would make a young girl feel? It's grossly inappropriate. She wants you to know how much you have hurt her. This went on regularly many times over two years. There were many types of abuse. There was verbal abuse that you uttered towards her, really horrible things that you said to her. You were told to stop but you carried on.

"It's clear to me that you are ashamed of your behaviour. There is great remorse, as well there might be for these totally outrageous acts of sexual abuse."

Roberts was jailed for eight years and will have to register as a sex offender for life.

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Robert Humble was jailed for a second time in 2021 after police found out he had files named naughty boys on his laptop. An elderly paedophile has been handed a fine for failing to inform authorities about a gold credit card. Robert Humble was sent to prison for two years and six months in 2019 for causing or inciting a male under 16 to engage in sexual activity, making indecent images of children and possessing illegal images. The 72-year-old, was jailed again in 2021 after police found out he had files named naughty boys on his laptop. Humble appeared back in court on Friday May 13 for sentencing for failing to comply with Sex Offender Register notifications. According to Teesside Live, he admitted not telling police about his new Visa Gold Credit card despite a requirement to do so as part of being on the register. Teesside Magistrates Court heard how police attended Humbles home in Beaufort Close, Guisborough, on January 18 this year to speak the pensioner about unrelated alleged offences. Prosecutor Saba Shan told the court that during a police interview the officers found the credit card and asked Humble if he had notified the authorities, to which he replied Im sure I have. However it was later confirmed that it had not been registered, which Humble accepted. Helen Sabiston, mitigating, said it has been an oversight by Humble, who suffers from Parkinsons disease, and the first time he had breached notification requirements. However the court was told Humble had twice previously breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in 2021. On that occasion his computer was checked as part of the order. Two files were found in the recycling bin which were named naughty boys and naughty boys 2. The court was told how Humble said he deleted them to avoid being the old me and being a sexual predator. Humble was fined 80 by magistrates for the breach of notification requirement over the credit card. He was also told to pay 119 in costs and a victim surcharge.

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A CONVICTED child sex offender has been jailed again for a string of offences.

Michael Fletcher-Flint who was imprisoned for two years in 2018 after a court heard how he used dating app Grindr to send explicit pictures to a 12-year-old boy who was in fact a decoy was sentenced on Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court for four offences.

The 52-year-old, of Bonet Lane, Brinsworth, admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child and one each of sexual assault and inciting a child to engage in a sexual activity.

The offences were all committed in the Barnsley area between 2007 and 2009.

Fletcher-Flint (pictured) was jailed for 15 months and will also have to sign on the sex offenders register for ten years.

In 2018, he pleaded guilty to counts of attempting to engage a child in sexual communications, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and possession of a bladed article.

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A Harrogate paedophile is facing a long prison sentence for the systematic sexual abuse of a young girl.

Neil Michael Stubbs, 26, was convicted of 13 separate offences this week following a four-day trial at York Crown Court.

The jury heard that Stubbs, of Kingsley Park Road, Starbeck, groomed and sexually abused the youngster over a prolonged period.

They found him guilty of all 13 charges, including one count of attempted rape of a child under 13 years of age, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault, possessing indecent images and several counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said that some of the offences including engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity were specimen counts, meaning they happened on multiple occasions.

He said that Stubbs would perform lewd acts on himself in front of the girl and got her to perform sexual acts on him on at least six occasions.

Stubbs also pestered her to send him naked photos of herself, added Mr Newcombe.

Following his arrest, police seized Stubbss phone on which they found indecent images of children, including some naked photos of the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Some of the other images were rated Category A the worst kind of such material.

Mr Newcombe said it showed that Stubbs had an unhealthy obsession with children.

The jury returned their verdicts yesterday (Thursday, April 28). Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, adjourned sentence to August 15.

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Craig Richardson had already been jailed last year for targeting what he thought was a young girl online, but after his release he once again tried to meet young girls around Christmas.

Both the girls he thought he was meeting were actually paedophile hunters, groups set up online to snare paedophiles and report them to the police.

One of the groups confronted him at Castleford Bus Station as he attempted to meet a young girl who didn't exist.

Just before Christmas in 2021, he started a chat with a 'girl' going by the name of Nicky. She told him she was underage from the start of their conversation, prosecutor Bashir Ahmed told Leeds Crown Court.He asked for a photo of her, but then quickly began making sexual suggestions, including asking her for pictures of her on the toilet.

He arranged to meet her on January 3 but was confronted by members of Fighting Against the Evil, who livestreamed the sting before the police arrived.

Richardson, of School Street, Castleford, gave no comments during his police interview.

However, the 36-year-old had already been communicating with 13-year-old 'Lucy', a fake decoy profile posted by hunter group Hunted and Confronted UK.

Again he made sexual suggestions and asked her to send photographs. He was confronted by the group before being taken away by the police, but he also refused to comment during that interview.

The court was told Richardson has eight previous convictions for 12 offences. This included attempting to incite a child into sexual activity in 2017, and again in 2021 when he was jailed or 18 months and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Held on remand at HMP Leeds, he appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link on Friday, where he admitted nine new charges relating to grooming youngsters over the internet, including counts of attempting to incite a child into sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual activity and breach of the sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Mitigating for Richardson, Jane Cooper said: "There's not a great deal for me to say. In terms of his personal mitigation, this is a defendant with learning difficulties. He is an isolated individual who became more isolated from his previous conviction."

Judge Tom Bayliss QC deemed that Richardson posed a serious risk of causing harm to children.

He said: "You went to Castleford Bus Station and I'm quite sure with the object of putting into practice what you were trying to arrange."

He gave him an eight-year sentence with an extended four-year licence period. He also gave him a SHPO of indeterminate length, limiting his internet use.

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A “DANGEROUS” rapist who “uses his charm to do what he wants” has been jailed.

Ian Mark Whittaker, now 24, put a cloth over the victim’s face to keep her quiet and grabbed her round the neck during the Christmas rape.

Afterwards he used emotional blackmail to try and stop her going to the police, York Crown Court heard.

For two years she didn’t tell officers, but finally she got the courage to do so and Whittaker was convicted.

In her victim personal statement, she said she will never recover from what he did.

“She describes him as a dangerous man, dangerous through his charm and presenting well,” said David Lamb, prosecuting. “He uses that to do what he wants and thinks he will pull the wool over everyone’s eyes with his charm.”

Summarising the statement, the barrister said Whittaker had tried to turn others against her and made “empty promises” that he would admit his guilt and not put her through the ordeal of giving evidence.

But he didn’t and she described “being interrogated in a crown court full of strangers and the defendant forcing her to explain details of the disgusting things he had put her through,” said Mr Lamb.

During the trial “he didn’t show an ounce of remorse, he didn’t even have the decency to look at her,” the barrister said.

She had trusted him and “he had abused that trust and manipulated it to his advantage.”

After the rape more than three years ago, he claimed she would “ruin his life” if she went to police and told her she was “damaged as a result of the rape and no-one else would want her,” said Mr Lamb.

Judge Simon Hickey said the rapist had used emotional pressure to try and prevent the victim going to the police.

In the trial, the jury read several messages sent by Whittaker to the victim about the rape which the judge described as confessions.

They heard how, in a separate incident, Whittaker had put a cloth over the victim’s face and poured water over it.

Whittaker, of Bransholme Drive, Clifton, was jailed for six years and nine months, put on the sex offenders’ register for life and banned from contacting the victim in any way or posting on social media about her, also for life.

He had denied rape but was convicted at trial.

The judge said there was another side to Whittaker and quoted a reference from the defendant’s stepfather which described him as hard-working with good technical skills.

After being made redundant during the pandemic from his security job at York Hospital, he had become a delivery driver.

He had matured in recent times, said the reference.

Defence barrister Katherine Robinson said Whittaker had wanted to go in the Army but would now be unable to do so.

He had no previous convictions.

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A man has been given an extended 23-year-sentence after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences in Kirklees.

Adnan Afzal (35) who lived in the Dewsbury area was sentenced for six sexual offences including rape at Leeds Crown Court on Friday (April 22).

The 34-year old was sentenced for rape, attempted rape, and sexual assaults on his victim which took place between 2017 and 2019 in the Kirklees area.

One of the sexual assaults took place when the victim was a young teenager.

He was jailed for 17 years with an extended licence period of six years making for a 23 year term in total.

Afzal was arrested in by officers from the Kirklees Police Child Safeguarding Team in 2019 after the offences were first reported by the victim and her family.

He was found guilty of all six offences by a jury following a four day trial at Leeds Crown Court.

DC Samantha Smith of the Kirklees Child Safeguarding Team, said: I want to praise the courage of the victim in this case in coming forwards and reporting the offending Afzal subjected her to.

We welcome the sentence he has received which reflects the very serious nature of his sentencing and his refusal to admit his crimes against his victim and put her and her family through the ordeal of a trial.

Victims of sexual offences will always be listened to and we will do all we can with partners to support them, investigate reported offences, and seek justice for them.

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Paedophile hunters trapped a convicted sex offender who thought he was exchanging messages with a 13-year-old girl. He had asked the girl if he could watch her in the shower and see pictures of her in her school uniform and underwear.

Seedy and obsessed Alistair Tough had been given a "golden opportunity" in the past to tackle his sick urges but he ignored it and brazenly sent sexually-charged messages to the fake girl. He knew the risks that he was taking because he told the decoy teenager that he "could get shot for talking to her", Hull Crown Court heard.

Tough, 58, of Spring Road, Market Weighton, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child between November 17 and December 9, 2020 and failing to register his details as a sex offender on January 3 last year. Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that Tough was given a one-year suspended prison sentence at Hull Crown Court in March 2019 for two offences of making indecent images of children and he had to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

He had been found in 2018 with 518 of the most serious Category A images of children, 544 in Category B and 354 in Category C, most of them movies. The latest offences were discovered after police were contacted by a paedophile hunters group to say that Tough had been having sexualised conversations on Facebook with a fake 13-year-old girl.

He sent messages to the decoy girl, who told him that she was 13, and he said that he "could get shot for talking to her". He told her: "Don't forget to delete our messages before you go to sleep."

Tough asked the girl to send him a picture of her in her pyjamas and later asked for one of her wearing underwear. He told her that he was looking for a girlfriend and asked her to send photographs of herself in her school uniform. Tough later asked her if he could watch her in the shower and asked her to send a picture in her school uniform. When the fake girl sent a picture, Tough replied: "Pretty pic." He was required to register his details as a sex offender every year but failed to do so.

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that no actual indecent images had been sent or received and Tough did not ask to meet the fake girl. He had suffered from a lot of problems since childhood and had become isolated and lonely. "His two daughters are the only members of his family who are still in contact with him, because of his offending," said Miss Scott.

"He has been living alone for a long time. 2009 is the last time that he lived with someone. He is an isolated and lonely man. He was trying to find friendship. He looked in entirely the wrong place."

Tough was in very poor health, had suffered four heart attacks and was awaiting a possible liver transplant and a heart bypass operation.

Judge John Thackray QC told Tough: "You were given a golden opportunity by the court in March 2019 to resolve the obvious and very serious issues that you have and you have gone on to commit very serious offences.

"There was no actual harm here because what you thought was a 13-year-old girl didn't exist. You thought you were communicating with a 13-year-old child. You intended sexual harm to a 13-year-old child. The offence is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified."

Tough was jailed for eight months and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

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A Catholic priest has been locked up after being found guilty of sexually abusing six boys in his care. Father Patrick Smythe was locked up for seven and a half years after a jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts after a trial at Leeds Crown Court. Jurors heard how Smythe, 79, preyed on three of his victims during swimming trips to the former Leeds International Pool.Smythe also targeted boys in his care while on a retreat at a hostel in North Yorkshire. A judge who sentenced Smythe told the pensioner he had told a "pack of lies" to the court during the trial.Judge Simon Batiste said: "The offences involved six different complainants who were at the time of the offences aged between 12 and 16. "You are a Catholic priest. "During the trial you denied any criminal wrongdoing whatsoever. "You took an oath on the Bible - the book that you have purported to have used to preach from for many years - and then told a series of falsehoods and lies that the jury have seen through. "In short, your account in relation to these matters is a pack of lies." Smythe, 79, of Manor Square, Otley, was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault and one of attempted indecent assault. The offences were committed around four decades ago. Three of the victims provided statements to court describing the lifelong suffering the abuse had caused them. One described how it led to him abusing alcohol from an early age. He said: "I never felt able to discuss the issue with my family because of the shame and anxiety and fear it caused me to feel. "I hope that as a result of the trial, after 45 years, I can finally move on with my life in a more positive direction." Another victim described Smythe as "a beast". He said: "He used the church to get within touching distance of young boys." A third victim said the abuse caused him to lose faith in the Catholic church and that he feared he would never see Smythe be brought to justice. He said: "I told myself that if he was never judged in this life then he will get his judgement before God when he meets his maker." Smythe showed no emotion as he sat in the court dock during the hearing. In addition to the prison sentence, he was told he must go on the sex offender register for life. Susannah Proctor, mitigating for Smythe, said: "He has given his life to the church. The church are his family. "I have no doubt that from today the church will withdraw that support for him. "That is something of his own making." Judge Batiste paid tribute to the victims as he imposed the sentence upon Smythe. He said: "For some of these boys it is evident that the impact of your abuse was significant and has lived with them until the present day. "I pay tribute to the six victims in this case who have shown great bravery and fortitude to give evidence against you." After the case, Detective Inspector Vicky Alexander, of Leeds District Safeguarding Unit, said: Smythe abused his position of trust to systematically exploit the victims as children over a number of years. His actions will have had a lasting impact on the victims lives, and we commend the considerable courage they have shown by coming forward as adults to report the offences and support the prosecution that has seen him brought to justice. We will always treat sexual offences of this nature very seriously and we have specialist safeguarding officers who will support victims throughout the investigation and court process. This was a lengthy and complex investigation which saw safeguarding officers from Leeds and Wakefield painstakingly building up a detailed evidential picture which has resulted in Smythe being convicted. We hope it will provide some degree of comfort to the victims to know that he has now had to answer for his actions.

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A paedophile thought that he was having "naughty chat" online with a 12-year-old girl and had a series of "graphic and explicit" conversations about sex with her but really it was a decoy girl and he was trapped.

Perverted sex offender Luke Alder later tried to talk his way out of trouble by pretending that he was actually only trying to catch other sexual predators through his sexualised messages. He was caught with stashes of sickening child pornography that involved children as young as two, Hull Crown Court heard.

Alder, 30, of Eastgate, Goole, admitted attempting to cause a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to communicate sexually with her between August 14 and 21, 2020.

He also admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing prohibited images of children on September 15 last year.

Stephen Robinson, prosecuting, said that police were alerted by the regional organised crime unit that Alder had been having sexual conversations with a decoy internet profile of a 12-year-old girl on a children's chat account. He asked the fake girl if she had ever had a boyfriend and told her that he would be her boyfriend.

He asked her intimate questions and asked her for a photograph. The decoy sent a picture of her in pyjamas but Alder told her to take them off and asked for a picture of her topless.

On another day, Alder quickly asked the girl if she wanted "naughty chat" and whether she might become pregnant if they had sex. He made sexual suggestions and asked her to send a picture.

Alder was arrested on September 15 last year and police found 19 indecent images of children and two videos in the most serious Category A on his computer equipment, 18 images in Category B and eight in Category C as well as 38 prohibited images of children.

"Some of the images showed children in pain or distress," said Mr Robinson. Some of the children were aged as young as two years old, with others aged up to 15.

During police interview, Alder claimed that he was trying to catch other sexual predators by having sexual conversations online. Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that no actual contact with a child took place because of the sexual communication.

"This was a decoy but he was engaging with the decoy as though he was speaking to a 12-year-old girl," said Miss Baines.

Alder had no previous convictions and had suffered problems over the years. Judge Sophie McKone said that Alder was not communicating with a real child but he began a conversation with someone that he "very much hoped to be 12" and the conversations were "graphic and explicit" including talk about sex.

"It's very clear that what you intended was some form of sexual communication with this child," said Judge McKone. He clearly had a "sexual interest in children" despite what he had claimed to the probation service. The indecent images showed real children.

"They really are being abused, some child somewhere is being abused," said Judge McKone. "You have contributed to the abuse of that child because, wherever there is a market out there that you feed into, children will continue to be abused. You intended penetrative sexual activity."

Alder was jailed for three years and he was given a sexual harm prevention order for life. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.

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A CHEF who tried for three years to evade justice for sexually assaulting a woman has been jailed. Mustafa Akgol forced his way into a womans home and sexually assaulted her, York Crown Court heard. A jury heard they were strangers to each other. After police had identified him as the attacker and he was charged, Akgol went on the run and had to be arrested on a bench warrant. The woman had to give evidence against him twice as he denied committing any sexual offence. But the second jury to try his case convicted him of sexual assault and today he is serving a three-year prison sentence. He will be on the sex offenders register and disbarred from working with vulnerable people and children, both for the rest of his life. Judge Simon Hickey told him: A young, vulnerable woman in her own room was assaulted by you, forcing your way in. Akgol, 45, of Redbarn Drive, Osbaldwick, denied sexual assault. He followed court proceedings with the help of a Turkish interpreter. The woman told the juries she was at home on the evening of January 14, 2019. She heard a noise on the stairs and went to her door. A stranger was standing there. Before she could do anything he put his foot in the door and forced his way into the flat. She retreated backwards to her bed where he sexually assaulted her. Throughout he only said Ssssh, the court heard. Later the same evening he returned, making it clear that he wanted her to perform a sex act on him. She told him to leave and he did. I was shaking like a leaf, she said. Forensic scientists found Akgols DNA on the womans bra, as well as unknown DNA, York Crown Court heard, and the woman picked him out of a police ID procedure following his arrest. Akgol stood trial for the first time in November, but legal problems meant the case had to be abandoned before the jury was asked to consider its verdicts. After the first set of jurors was discharged, Akgol went on the run but was later arrested. He stood trial again in February. In the witness box he denied going to the womans bedsit, and said he had spent the evening at another flat in the same building. He falsely claimed the faces the police chose to go alongside his in the ID procedure were of a different ethnic group to his. But police showed the jury the 12 photos that had been used. He also claimed he hadnt understood the questions in the police interview. But, the jury heard, a Turkish interpreter had sat next to him translating the questions for him.

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A computer support technician was found with sickening images of child abuse and bestiality after a major investigation into "extremely disturbing" online messages.

IT expert Jeffrey Birkett now realised that real children were involved in the abuse and it was "beginning to dawn" on him just how troubling and disturbing it was. He slipped into looking at the images after he became isolated during lockdown but the evidence against him was "robust", Hull Crown Court heard.

Birkett, 47, of The Oval, Pocklington, admitted possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography on August 21, 2020. Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said that the National Crime Agency intercepted messages that were "extremely disturbing" and contained indecent material.

"An investigation was launched into who had actually been dispatching these messages," said Mr Welch. They were later traced to Birkett's Pocklington home but no charges had been brought in relation to that matter. His computer equipment was, however, seized.

Two Category C indecent images of children were found as well as 10 extreme pornography bestiality images and 40 videos. David Godfrey, mitigating, said that the offences were troubling and disturbing and it was something that Birkett needed help to tackle.

"He readily appreciates that his behaviour has brought considerable shame on him and those around him," said Mr Godfrey. "He recognises that for every child, there is a victim. There is some difficulty of thinking. He is somebody who is finding it very difficult to articulate why he did what he did."

The evidence that the investigators found was "robust" and he had pleaded guilty. Birkett worked in the IT industry and had been married for six-and-a-half years, as well as being previously married.

He became isolated during lockdown and was "really struggling" at the time. He had no previous convictions. Judge Michael Slater told Birkett: "I accept that it's beginning to dawn on you how serious these matters are. It's clear to me that you are both contrite and extremely apprehensive of today's proceedings and so you should be."

Birkett was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence, 150 hours' unpaid work and 30 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. His computer equipment will be forfeited.

"Should you breach it in any way, you will be brought before me and you will have a hard job persuading me not to send you immediately to prison," said Judge Slater. "You are treading a tight rope here, should you have any feelings or desires to commit any similar offences in the future, and you have been suitably warned."

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A convicted paedophile has been jailed for attempting to shoot a neighbour who discovered his criminal past. Arthur Hodgson, 75, tried to shoot Lee Harker twice after he learned Hodgson had been jailed in 2017 for sexually assaulting young girls. Judge Peter Kelson QC said the former East Riding of Yorkshire councillor had "taken exception to people learning about your previous sex offences". Hodgson was jailed for 21 months after he admitted firearms offences. Hull Crown Court heard Hodgson, who represented the South East Holderness ward until 2016, had moved to the city after being released from jail "for a quiet life". Judge Kelson said following his move he had fallen "into disrepute" with some people in his new neighbourhood after they learned of his previous offences. The judge said as a result he had "decided to take the law into his hands". The court heard Mr Harker did not see Hodgson shoot at him but heard sounds, which he thought was children throwing stones. Prosecutor Imran Khan said one witness said it sounded "like a BB gun". He told the court when Mr Harker learnt he was the target of the shootings he feared for his life and that of his daughter's. Judge Kelson said Hodgson had caused Mr Harker "serious psychological harm" as a result of the incident in February 2021. Hodgson, of Main Street, Great Hatfield, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence.

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A perverted and "sexually motivated" woman who was "obsessed" with the private parts of young boys has finally been jailed after long delays of more than a year.

Calculating and manipulative Diane Wade targeted five different boys aged between seven and 17 while she "masqueraded" as someone who was interested in just horseplay. There were 14 different incidents of "masochistic" sexual abuse over an eight-year period, Hull Crown Court heard.

Wade, 45, of New Burlington Road, Bridlington, was convicted by a jury of three offences of sexual activity with a boy under 16, one of sexually assaulting a boy under 13 and three of sexually assaulting a male. She denied the offences, which took place between December 2010 and December 2018.

Wade had been convicted after a trial as long ago as March 2, last year but sentence had been repeatedly adjourned for more than a year after various problems arose.

Judge John Thackray QC told Wade: "Your offending followed a familiar pattern. You were obsessed with male genitalia. Your offending was sexually motivated, with a masochistic element."

Wade "masqueraded" over the years as someone who was merely getting involved in harmless horseplay. "It most certainly was not," said Judge Thackray.

There were five victims aged between seven and 17 and the sexual behaviour spanned a period of eight years. Some of the charges involved multiple incidents.

"There were 14 separate incidents of sexual abuse," said Judge Thackray. Some of the incidents involved "shades of an abuse of trust" or grooming and there was a "significant disparity in age" between the boys and Wade. One of the victims was allowed to drink alcohol as part of the behaviour leading up to the offending.

One of the boys was homeless and struggling with drug addiction at the time of the abuse. "Not only did you cause, on occasions, immense physical pain but you have left the victims with worries over their fertility and very significant trust issues," said Judge Thackray.

Wade had suffered a very difficult background that had "rightly been described as wretched".

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that Wade had no previous convictions and the fact that she was in custody at New Hall Prison, near Wakefield, during the pandemic had a "significant impact" on her. "She has been on remand throughout the entirety of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Miss Baines.

"She had a very difficult start in life and was subjected to physical violence at the hands of her father."

Wade became pregnant during her "formative teenage years" and had a "lamentable start in life" that had caused problems. "Intellectually, she is not the most sophisticated," said Miss Baines.

"She was assaulted very recently in prison. Others were made aware of who she was in custody, which makes her a particularly vulnerable prisoner. She has had a wretched life."

Wade was jailed for five years and was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. She will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Wade had been cleared by the jury of four offences and a not guilty verdict was entered on another charge on the direction of the judge.