Latest Offenders York

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A former East Yorkshire pub landlord has been jailed after he targeted and sexually assaulted three young women after he repeatedly pestered them and tried to "shower" them with cash or lavish gifts or holidays.

The victims of sex-obsessed Gerald Ellis felt powerless to speak out, but they finally did so when he was prosecuted for having indecent videos and images of children, Hull Crown Court heard.

Ellis, 64, of Primrose Drive, Filey, admitted three offences of sexual assault against one woman and two offences of assault by penetration against her between December 2013 and May 2016.

He also admitted sexually assaulting a second woman between January 2016 and December 2017 and two offences of sexually assaulting a third woman between November 2016 and March 2020.

Claire Holmes, prosecuting, said that the offences against the three young women came to light after Ellis was sentenced at Hull Crown Court in September 2020 for three offences involving downloading indecent images of children.

The case was reported in the press. "On learning of that conviction, the three complainants came forward," said Miss Holmes.

Ellis' behaviour towards the first of the women included repeatedly touching her intimately.

He trapped her against a wall and she was unable to move. He kissed her but she managed to push past him and told him to get off her. Other people saw Ellis intimately touching her.

She later described the incidents as "horrible" and she said that she came forward to report them because she did not want Ellis to do the same thing to anyone else.

The offence against the second woman happened when Ellis lunged at her and tried to kiss her. "She pulled back," said Miss Holmes. The woman later said that she had been very affected by the press report of Ellis looking at indecent images of children and this "broke her heart".

The incidents involving the third woman included hitting her on the bottom over her clothes when he passed her. He offered her £1,000 to sleep with him but she refused. The woman found the sexual assault behaviour of Ellis "weird and uncomfortable". During police interview, Ellis denied the offences.

Ellis admitted separate offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and breaching his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender following the indecent images conviction.

These involved allowing a girl to stay at his home when he should not have done and having an iPad that was not registered with the police.

Simon Reevell, mitigating, said that Ellis had pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial. "For everyone, this is a sorry and unfortunate business," said Mr Reevell. "This is the end of a sorry period."

Judge Alexander Menary said that Ellis "targeted" the three women and "showered them" with gifts and money, including "expensive items" such as a mobile phone, a horse and holidays abroad.

"These offences are so serious that only immediate custody can be justified," said Judge Menary. "There have been no further contact offences since these offences were committed."

Ellis, who was already in custody on remand, was jailed for three years and two months and he was given a sexual harm prevention order for 12 years. He was given a 15-year restraining order and must register as a sex offender for life.

During the previous court case in September 2020, the court heard that Ellis, known as Gerry, watched videos of children being abused, including a girl of four or five being raped. Another showed a boy and girl, aged between eight and 10, being forced to perform sexual acts.

Police seized his laptop in March 2019 and videos and images were found.

Ellis, at the time, had been drinking excessively, including up to 15 pints a day, the court heard that day. His wife left him and he turned to pornography.

Ellis was given a two-year community order at the time, with rehabilitation days, and he had to register as a sex offender for five years.

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Jonathan Walker, 34, from Liversedge, Kirklees, subjected a young girl to “appalling offences” between 2005 and 2007.

Following an investigation by Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Unit, Walker was found guilty following a trial at Leeds Crown Court in August.

On Wednesday (Sept 25), the 34-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison for sexual offences against a child.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Natalie Green, of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Unit, said: “The appalling offences Walker committed against a young girl has affected her deeply, and illustrates the dreadful impact this can have on a victim.

“I would personally like to thank her for her bravery throughout this process and I hope the conclusion of this case brings her some closure on an extremely difficult time in her life.”

“I hope this sentence also provides a reminder to victims that we take all reports of sexual offences seriously and in confidence no matter when they happened. All reports will be thoroughly investigated by our specially trained officers who will also provide you with support throughout.”

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A teenage predator who sexually assaulted a woman who was "in a state of sleepiness" has been locked up.

Liam Short, 22, was 19 when he attacked the woman who had gone to bed after taking a sleeping tablet. Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday that the woman believed Short had filmed the incident after noticing "flashing" of a light during it. It was said police have not recovered any video of the incident.

The court heard Short also told her in messages the next day he felt "awful" about what had happened.

Short was found guilty of sexual assault by penetration following a trial at the court. He was acquitted of four counts of rape and a sexual assault charge. His brave victim faced him in court as she read her victim personal statement. In it, she said: "Emotionally, I have anxiety in situations where there are males of a similar age to me. I suffer sleeplessness and wake up sweating and short of breathe...I'm in fear of being alone, despite having cameras installed.

"I have a fear of going out alone and being in small spaces and a fear of showering or bathing unless a female friend is in the house in case someone breaks in and attacks me. I am a shell of myself...I have developed an unhealthy relationship with food and have lost a significant amount of weight. I struggle to perform some day to day tasks due to feeling faint."

The woman said her relationships have suffered due to the attack, and she has moved jobs a number of times because of the number of males working with her or the lack of accessible exits or CCTV. She added: "I can go weeks with no contact with family or close friends in case they pressure me to leave the house."

Mitigating, Jayne Beckett said in relation to the messages exchanged, Short was "admitting doing something wrong and the jury found that he did something singular wrong."

She added: "It is difficult to read anything more than that because there are no specifics of what he was admitted."

The court heard there was no evidence that Short knew the woman had taking sleeping medication. Ms Beckett said a pre-sentence report author found Short has a lack of insight into his offending which say they could be due to a "lack of maturity."

She said: "They think that he is not, and probably never has been, the mot sophisticated individual adult. He presents as looking younger than his years. He is someone who has engaged very well in terms of cooperation with the report and he has on more than one occasion expressed willingness to look inwards and seek self improvement..."

Recorder Mullarkey jailed Short, of Burns Hill, Addingham, for three years and referred to the messages sent after the offence when he said: "I am sure to the criminal standard that these were messages exchanged between the two of you. You say you felt awful and hate yourself for what you did and it was disgusting...You accepted when interviewed there was consensual sexual activity but denied filming her.

"In her victim impact statement, she described the profound impact your offending had on her."

The judge said Short had attacked the woman when she was "in a state of sleepiness" before jailing him and making him the subject of sex offender notification requirements for life. He also made Short the subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim for 10 years.

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A "prolific" sex offender who was arrested after an indecent image of a child was uploaded to Snapchat has been jailed for six years.

Liam Crosby, of Harewood Rise in Keighley, was found guilty of numerous sex offences against children after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

These included making and distributing indecent images of children and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Crosby, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in custody with a three-year extended licence period.

'Victim's bravery'

Bradford Crown Court heard he was arrested on 11 July 2022 following a referral from the National Crime Agency after an indecent image of a child was uploaded from a Snapchat account linked to him.

West Yorkshire Police said his phone was seized, and further indecent images of children and numerous sexualised communications with children were found.

After he was charged and summonsed to court in relation to a number of offences, police received information that Crosby had been linked to similar offences involving a 15-year-old victim.

He was further arrested and another device seized, and police found more images and sexualised communications with children.

He was charged with additional offences and remanded into custody.

Det Sgt Craig Stevens, of the Bradford District Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "He is a prolific offender who deserves to be behind bars for a long time.

"The victim has shown immense bravery throughout this process, and I hope the conclusion of this court case brings them some closure on an extremely difficult period in their young life."

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A convicted sex offender is facing another jail sentence for depraved online sex chats after he was snared for a third time by a paedophile hunter group.

Alan White, 62, previously of Richmond but now of Bedale, contacted what he thought to be a 14-year-old girl who was actually an adult member of an online vigilante group posing as a child, York Magistrates’ Court heard today.

He was subject to a strict court order at the time to curb his online activities following previous convictions for similar behaviour.

Prosecutor Martin Butterworth said that on September 3, North Yorkshire Police’s child online safety team were contacted by a paedophile-hunting group in South Wales who said that “a man called Alan” had been engaging in sexual chats with an adult decoy on an internet platform called RandoChat.

The decoy had pretended to be a 14-year-old girl and gathered incontrovertible evidence which was provided to police who turned up at White’s home in South End Avenue.

During his arrest, they noticed a Samsung tablet on his bedside table. When an officer checked the tablet, the RandoChat social media platform was open with the screen clearly showing the sordid sex chat with the adult decoy.

Mr Butterworth said the sex chats began on October 31, when White, under the nickname “Chalky”, sent a message to the decoy who said she was 14 and from Cardiff.

“The conversation became sexualised, with a request (by White) for a topless picture,” added Mr Butterworth.

“The conversation continued over a couple of days.

“Chalky then asked the ‘child’ to perform a lewd act and engage in sexual activity.”

Mr Butterworth said a further message in the chatroom was subsequently deleted by White, who was charged with attempting to cause or incite a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, attempted sexual communication with a child under 16 years of age and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He admitted the offences when he appeared in court today, but magistrates decided that the offences were so serious that sentence should be transferred to the crown court.

The prosecution outlined White’s track record for similar offences, starting in 2018 when he received a 12-month suspended prison sentence at Teesside Crown Court for offences including sexual communication with a child and possessing indecent images of a child, after being snared by another adult decoy from a group called Keeping Kids Safe.

In February 2021, at the same court, he received a 28-month jail sentence and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order after he was again trapped by “paedophile hunters” while trying to talk to underage girls online.

In that case, White contacted a user in an online chatroom in December 2020. The user immediately said she was a 14-year-old girl.

Despite this, White told her she was “gorgeous” and that he’d like to kiss and touch her, then asked her to take her clothes off and touch herself in a sexual manner.

He also asked her for naked pictures, promising he would later delete them.

White will be sentenced for the new offences at Teesside Crown Court on September 16.

He was remanded in custody until then.

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A sex offender described as a “danger to young children” has been jailed for over 18 years for sexually attacking a young girl.

David Gray, 50, from Batley was was sentenced to 18 years and eight months at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday (August 29) after admitting two serious sexual assaults against a young girl.

They were reported to police in January of this year, prompting an investigation by dedicated Kirklees child safeguarding detectives. Gray was swiftly arrested following the report and then charged.

He pleaded guilty to the offence at a hearing at Leeds Crown Court in June and was remanded in custody for sentencing. Investigating officer Detective Constable Natalie Green, of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Unit, said: “Gray clearly poses a significant danger to young children, and we welcome the strong sentence handed down by the court.

“The appalling offences he committed against a young victim has affected her deeply, and starkly illustrates the dreadful impact these crimes have on victims. I would personally like to thank the victim and her family for their courage and strength during the investigation and for coming forward and speaking of the crimes committed by Gray.

“We continue to urge victims of sexual assault to come forward, no matter when the offending took place. All reports will be thoroughly investigated by our specially trained officers who will also provide you with support throughout.”

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A private maths tutor who sexually abused a vulnerable teenage boy has been jailed.

Holly Rouse-Sweeney, aged 37, tutored the boy online before organising to meet him at her former Nottinghamshire home.

She then had sexual contact with him on several occasions – despite being aware he was under the age of consent.

Police were called in May 2023 when the boy’s mother found inappropriate WhatsApp messages on his phone.

After Rouse-Sweeney was arrested, officers found several incriminating diary entries on her laptop in which she detailed the abuse and even referenced the boy’s true age.

She later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a boy, and four counts of causing a boy to engage in sexual activity.

Rouse-Sweeney, of Hebden Bridge, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (9 August) and was jailed for six years.

She was also added to the sex offenders’ register and made the subjection of a sexual harm prevention order which will tightly restrict her activities when she is released.

She was also handed a restraining order forbidding her from any future contact with her victim.

Rouse-Sweeney had claimed that her actions had been influenced by a long-standing mental health condition.

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A MAN has been locked up for more than nine years after admitting multiple serious sexual assaults against a child.

Christopher Holdsworth, 38, appeared at Bradford Crown Court by video link from HMP Leeds to hear a powerful statement read by his victim.

The statement said the victim’s life had been “ruined”.

After being confronted about his behaviour Holdsworth denied any wrongdoing and threatened to beat people up for “spitting out lies”.

Holdsworth was jailed for nine years and six months by His Honour Judge Colin Burn, put on the sex offender’s register for life, and made the subject of an indefinite restraining order banning contact with the victim.

A sexual harm prevention order will be set at a later date.

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Police discovered over 2,000 disturbing images or videos of children on a man's mobile phone following a tip-off from the National Crime Agency.

The collection included 1,638 pictures and 404 videos totalling 2,042 with 653 of them falling into the most severe category, Hull Crown Court was informed.

Jay Fleming, 26, from Bridlington, pleaded guilty to three charges of creating indecent images of children between April 2021 and March of the previous year. Prosecutor Michael Masson revealed Fleming was apprehended in Bridlington due to information provided by the National Crime Agency.

It was suspected that indecent images of children had been shared via Snapchat. Images were located on a mobile phone, including 382 picture files and 271 videos in the gravest Category A, as well as 614 images and 99 videos in Category B, and 642 images and 34 videos in Category C.

However, Snapchat had not been installed on the phone. Fleming made complete and candid admissions during his police interview, reports Hull Live. Emily Hassell, defending, stated there was no evidence to suggest that Fleming had tried to contact or had contacted children directly. He had no prior convictions and was assessed as having a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Tahir Khan KC admonished Fleming in court, declaring: "You accessed from the internet indecent images of children. Found on your device were a large number of Category A images and also Category A videos. Category B and Category C images were also found on your device as well.

"If you had not pleaded guilty to these offences, I would have sent you to prison for 18 months but you had the good sense to admit what you did.

"That makes a difference to a sentence of custody that I can suspend and a sentence of custody that would require you to go down those steps. I have a duty to protect the public, and children in particular, given the nature of the offending."

Subsequently, Fleming was handed down a one-year suspended prison term, coupled with a rehabilitation requirement lasting 30 days. Additionally, he is subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will be listed as a sex offender for a decade.

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A convicted rapist will be almost 90 years old before he can be considered for release from prison after a he was put behind bars for 27 years.

Skipton man Charles David Pratt, now 71, was convicted by a jury at Bradford Crown Court of a catalogue of serious sexual offences against three female complainants who must not be identified for legal reasons.

Judge Ahmed Nadim highlighted the courage shown by Pratt’s victims in reporting his historical sexual abuse of them. The judge told Pratt: “They are deserving of the gratitude of this court and society as a whole for the courage they showed in reporting you to the authorities and bringing you to justice and in the process reliving the most painful of memories."

The court heard that Pratt, of Keighley Road, Skipton, committed offences of rape against the two women and a girl often when he was under the influence of alcohol. Judge Nadim said Pratt had also used violence to overcome any resistance his victims may have offered to his sexual demands.

He said: “In short Charles Pratt you are a violent and callous man. In order to meet your perverted sexual needs you do not recognise or respect any societal or moral boundaries. As a result of your conduct three lives have been blighted. The damage you have inflicted upon each of your victims is immeasurable."

Pratt, who had no previous convictions, was found guilty by the jury of several rape offences and other sexual allegations. Judge Nadim explained that Pratt would have to serve at least two-thirds of his 27-year jail sentence behind bars before his case could be considered by the Parole Board.

He explained: “This means you will serve at least 18 years imprisonment before that reference to the Parole Board can take place."

Pratt was also classed as “an offender of particular concern” which means he had an extra 12-month licence period added onto his sentence. He will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

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Britton started offending in 2014 and was arrested in September 2022. There was a suppression order on his name until he pled guilty in September 2023.

Adam Robert Corden Britton (born c. 1970) is a British-born Australian crocodile expert and zoosadist who in September 2023 was charged with 60 offences relating to sexual abuse and torture of animals and possession of child abuse material. He has pled guilty to the charges. 

He had searched for dogs on the website Gumtree Australia, claiming to rehome them, and telling their former owners that they were thriving in his care, when in fact he had already sexually abused and killed them. He is known to have sexually abused 42 dogs, of which 39 died.

As of 25 September 2023, Britton faces 60 charges, which relate to using child abuse material as well as bestiality, to which he has pled guilty.

Sentencing was supposed to occur in December 2023, but was postponed to February 2024, and subsequently postponed again to May 2024. In May 2024, sentencing was postponed for a third time due to the presiding judge's scheduling conflicts for 11 July 2024. His sentencing was postponed once more until 8 August 2024. Britton was finally sentenced on 8 August 2024 to 10 years and five months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years. His sentence was backdated to his arrest in April 2022. He was also banned from purchasing animals and having them on his property. Judge Grant stated that his conduct "… involved a degree of depravity and reprehensibility which falls entirely outside any ordinary human conception and comprehension."

In a letter written from prison and read by his lawyer Britton stated he took "full responsibility for the demeaning crimes" acted upon the dogs. He also stated "I deeply regret the pain and trauma that I caused innocent families and consequently to my family, friends and members of the community affected."

"I let you all down. I'm truly sorry. I now acknowledge that I've been fighting a rare paraphilic disorder for much of my life. And that shame and fear prevented me from seeking the proper help I needed." Britton wrote that he would seek "long-term treatment."

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A man who made covert explicit videos of teenage girls and women has been jailed for three years.

Luke Greenfield, 25, of Trinity Lane, Beverley, claimed the recordings were consensual, but was later charged with 18 counts of voyeurism.

He was also charged with three counts of having sex with a female under 16, two counts of making indecent images and two counts of taking indecent images.

Greenfield pleaded guilty to the charges shortly before his trial had been due to start.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and handed a five-year restraining order at Hull Crown Court on Thursday.

'Inexcusable crime'

Police launched an investigation last year after a woman reported that Greenfield had made an explicit video of them without her consent, and when she confronted him, "he’d threatened to publish it online".

Officers later found a camera and other electronic devices, along with more than 30 explicit videos of 27 girls and women on a mobile phone.

The victims had been filmed at Greenfield's home and place of work, Humberside Police said.

Officers identified two teenage girls and several of the women, who said they had no idea Greenfield had taken explicit videos of them.

Det Con Daniel Radford, who led the investigation, said: “It is without a doubt that Greenfield is a dangerous sexual offender who manipulated women and girls for his own predatory desires.

“Highly calculated, Greenfield lured the women and girls to his home and made false promises to them about future plans and endeavours, when really he had an ulterior motive.

“Whilst I am pleased he eventually admitted to his inexcusable crime, sparing the victims the upset of a trial, Greenfield showed no remorse for his unforgiveable actions throughout the entirety of the investigation."

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Two men have been sentenced as part of a long-running investigation into the sexual abuse and trafficking of girls in West Yorkshire.

Ebrahim Pandor was jailed for six years for trafficking a girl when she was aged 13.

Another man, Amjad Hussain, was jailed for 10 years in his absence for raping the same girl when she was 18. West Yorkshire Police said efforts to locate Hussain were continuing.

The sentences meant 28 men in total had been jailed as part of Operation Tourway, police said.

The operation has been investigating the sexual abuse and trafficking of eight females in north Kirklees between 1999 and 2012.

Pandor, 44, of Highdale Road and Hussain, 45, of Lee Street, Ravensthorpe were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court earlier.

Police said as part of the operation, jail terms totalling almost 400 years had been given out to the 28 men.

The force said during trials, jurors had "heard repeated stories about how vulnerable victims were targeted and groomed by their abusers who treated them almost as commodities".

Speaking about Hussain, Det Ch Insp Oliver Coates said: “Clearly it is a matter of regret that Hussain was sentenced in his absence today and inquiries do continue to locate this convicted sex offender.

“Officers have been working with partner agencies to locate him and are keeping an open mind as to his whereabouts."

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Simon Pritchett needed to go and 'get some fresh air' at the coast instead of sitting in his room looking at images involving child abuse, Hull Crown Court heard.

Pritchett, 46, of Withernsea, East Yorkshire admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing extreme pornography, involving animals.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that police were alerted about images on the internet, including Snapchat, in February 2022 and they went to Pritchett's home. 

They seized his mobile phone, laptop and a computer and hard drive.

'All four were found to have illicit images in varying numbers,' said Mr Hammersley.

There were 157 images of children in the most serious Category A, 82 in Category B and 91 in Category C. There were also images of bestiality.

Pritchett originally denied distributing the images and he had been due to face a trial on August 27 but that charge was dropped. 

He claimed that he was sent images by a stranger but closed them and sent them back, telling the person on Snapchat to 'f*** off'.

He later denied knowledge of the indecent images and having a look at them and claimed that he had been sent links but that, when he realised that they involved children, he deleted them.

He admitted having an interest in bestiality.

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Pritchett pleaded guilty and he was willing to comply with a community order.

He had no previous convictions.

Judge Mark Bury told Pritchett: 'I suggest you get out more. 

'What you have been doing over an 18-month period is downloading and retaining indecent images of children and extreme pornography images.

'You have no history of contact sexual offending. There is no suggestion that you are a risk of it.

'You must understand that the seriousness of this offending is that each image that you have possession of represents an image of an abuse of a child. 

'Okay, you didn't take the photograph of the abuse and you, even less, were not the abuser but if there wasn't market for this sort of offending, then fewer children would be abused in the first place. That's why it's serious.'

Pritchett was prepared to admit that he had an interest in bestiality. 

'You need to stop doing that as well,' said Judge Bury. 

Pritchett lived in a coastal area and there were plenty of things that he could do to 'get some fresh air and meet people' rather than 'sit in your room and access images like this'.

Pritchett was given 30 days' rehabilitation and a five-year sexual harm prevention order. 

A deprivation order was made for his computer equipment.

'It's very important that you put behind you this offending,' said Judge Bury. 

'If there is any repetition of it, next time it won't be a community order, it will be a prison sentence.'

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A convicted UK paedo who served five years for his disgusting crime is currently touring Ireland in a camper van - and is heading for the west of Ireland.

The English man informed Garda in Ireland upon his arrival in the country that he would be travelling the country in a camper van for three months and is set to leave the east of the country with his intended next stops set to be around the Wild Atlantic Way including a possible stop in Galway.

56-year-old Neil Wood was sentenced in 2019 to five years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16. Wood, from Knaresborough, was also given a 15 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and was then also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely after his 3 June 2019 sentencing.

The convicted paedo landed in Ireland in June 2024, and, according to a source, informed Gardai in Bray of his intention to stay for three months in Ireland. Wood was also reported as travelling the south west of the Ireland, before heading to the west.

Wood is obliged to sign in with local Gardai at every location he visits, with Gardai furnished with details on the make, colour and registration of the camper van in which Neil Wood is travelling the country. Failure to register with Gardai as he travels will lead to his arrest. It's also known that Wood will be arrested should he make advances to young girls.

Speaking in June 2019 about the sentence handed to Wood, investigating officer Detective Constable Rebecca Prentice of Harrogate CID said: "Neil Wood has caused the victim and their family unimaginable distress and upset.

"The sentence handed to him reflects the seriousness of the offence he committed against an innocent child. I’m also pleased that the court saw fit to place him on the sex offenders register and impose a sexual harm prevention order on him, reflecting the severity of his offence."

"I would like to take this opportunity to also thank the victim for coming forward and showing incredible bravery throughout both the investigation and trial. I hope the result provides the victim and family with some sense of closure, allowing them to move on to more positive times.

"Finally I hope that this result reassures and provides confidence to anyone who may have been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward and report it to police.

"It doesn’t matter when the abuse happened, whether it’s happening now or occurred decades ago. Even if it is not possible to put an offender before the courts, it’s important that you are offered the support and advice that is available."