Latest Offenders Yorkshire

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A MAN caught by a vigilante group trying to make sexual online advances to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been spared prison.

Daniel Mark Cheeseman, 26, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court today (THURS) for two offences he committed during a five-week period last year.

Cheeseman had previously admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child by sending an explicit image.

The court heard how Cheeseman was confronted at his place of work in Kendal by members of the vigilante group, who live-streamed the encounter on Facebook and contacted police. It emerged he had been in regular contact with what he thought was a 14-year-old boy but which was actually a decoy used by the group.

After reading a background report and references, Judge Peter Davies told Cheeseman he would not receive the professional help he needed in prison. A 12-month jail term was suspended for two years.

Cheeseman, formerly of Kendal, and now living near Harrogate, must complete an accredited sex offender treatment course, 100 hours unpaid work and rehabilitation. He must sign the sex offender register, and abide by the strict terms of a prevention order, both for 10 years. This has got to stop. This us your opportunity to stop, Judge Davies told him.

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The victim of an Ackworth paedophile who has been jailed for child sex offences says she is uncertain if she will ever recover from her horrific ordeal.

Mark William Allen, 31, was given a 12-year sentence at Leeds Crown Court for sustained abuse of the girl dating back to the early 2000s.

Allen, who was living in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, at the time of his arrest, was found guilty after a trial in which his victim, who is now 25-year-old, was forced to give evidence.

Granted lifelong anonymity, she told the Express: “My life has been so badly affected that I’m not sure I can ever move on from this but at least I can rest better at night knowing he isn’t able to harm any other children.
“I struggle day to day with severe anxiety disorder, depression and PTSD-like symptoms.

“I have been heavily medicated for some years due to the significant trauma I’ve sustained.”

She said Allen was a family friend whom she met when she was just six and he began acting in a ‘overly friendly’ manner which escalated over time, showering her with gifts and complements.

By the time she was 11, she said he was coercing her into sexual abuse which lasted for the next three years. However, he would swear her to silence, telling her he was in love with her and that he would be in trouble if anyone found out.

His victim added: “As a child I found it difficult to keep secrets from my family, knowing it was wrong but also wanting to protect the man that had by then become my ‘boyfriend’.

“It sounds crazy now as an adult but it was such a difficult situation for a young girl to comprehend that I didn’t really realise the ramifications of his actions until I was much older.”

It was only when she was told in 2013 that Allen was jailed for other sexual offences that she was able to build up the courage to tell the police of her own experiences.

Speaking after Allen’s conviction, Det Insp Vanessa Rolfe of the Wakefield District Child Safeguarding Team, said: “Allen committed some horrendous abuse against a very young and vulnerable victim and we are pleased this has been reflected in the substantial sentence he has received at court.

“He clearly poses a real danger to children and I hope his victim will take some comfort that he has been brought to justice and is answering for his crimes against her.”

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A rapist who is transitioning to female has been locked up for life after sexually assaulting inmates in a women's prison .

Karen White, who was born a man but identifies as a woman, raped two women and stabbed her neighbour before sexually assaulting two inmates in HMP New Hall in Flockton, near Wakefield .

The 'predatory' and 'manipulative' 52-year-old was branded a 'significant risk of serious harm to children, women and the general public' at Leeds Crown Court today.

White, who was previously called Stephen Wood and David Thompson, had cross dressed in the past but only began gender reassignment when she was remanded into custody.

While on remand in the B wing of the female prison and wearing a wig, makeup and women's clothing, she sexually assaulted two inmates between September and October last year.

Christopher Dunn, prosecuting, described the defendant as 'allegedly' transgender.

He said: "The prosecution say allegedly because there's smatterings of evidence in this case that the defendant's approach to transitioning has been less than committed.

"The prosecution suggest the reason for the lack of commitment towards transitioning is so the defendant can use a transgender persona to put herself in contact with vulnerable persons she can then abuse."

White, of Elphin Court in Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, was first arrested after attacking a 66-year-old neighbour with a steak knife last year.

White threatened: "I'm going to kill you"

The victim was accused of trying to kiss White and 'slobbering all over' her before being stabbed with a knife.

White threatened: "I'm going to kill you. If I don't do it now, you won't know when or where but I am going to kill you."

Two women then came forward with rape allegations. One was raped while pregnant and another was raped repeatedly, causing internal injuries and her to fear she could not have children in the future. Both women had tried to take their own lives as a result of the rapes.

While on remand, White approached an inmate in the queue for prisoners to get medication.

Mr Dunn said: "The complainant, while waiting, felt something hard press against the small of her back. She turned around to see the defendant stood there. She could see the defendant's penis erect and sticking out of the top of her pants, covered by her tights."

Another inmate told how she was in the prison workshop with White when the defendant was making 'inappropriate comments about blow jobs'. White then grabbed her hand and put it on the defendant's left breast with the words: "Oh look, they're not real ones."

White later told a probation officer she 'could abuse a child and think nothing of it' and said she needed 'to be put in hospital or she would abduct a child and kill it'.

'You represent a significant risk of serious harm to children, to women and to the general public'

White was found guilty of one count of wounding following a trial at Bradford Crown Court and later pleaded guilty to three counts of rape against two women and two counts of sexual assault against inmates.

She had previous convictions for indecent exposure, indecent assault and gross indecency committed against a 12-year-old and a nine-year-old boy.

Now in men's prison HMP Leeds in Armley with shoulder-length blonde hair, she was locked up for life with a minimum of eight years and 116 days, of which she will serve half before being eligible for release on licence.

Judge Christopher Batty said: "You are a predator and highly manipulative and in my view you are a danger.

"You represent a significant risk of serious harm to children, to women and to the general public."

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A TEACHER who incited people to abuse their own children for his sexual gratification has been jailed for 12 years.

Richard Clark pleaded guilty to 26 offences and asked for 54 others to be taken into consideration when he appeared at York Crown Court today (Tuesday, September 11).

Using fake digital accounts, he contacted people on Skype in the UK, the United States and Nepal and incited people to take sexual images or abuse their siblings, children or grandchildren and record it for his own gratification.

In one case he contacted a 15-year-old boy and encouraged him to carry out sexual acts on his cousins, aged one and two.

Clark, of Topcliffe Road, Sowerby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to charges including 10 offences of arranging or facilitating child sex offences and 12 counts of inciting or causing indecent images of children.

Clark, 29, also tricked boys at a school into taking indecent images or video of themselves, whilst using fake social media accounts in which he posed as a teenage girl.

The teacher also kept a record of his victims, categorising them based on their appearance, the size of their genitalia and comments about the ways that he had abused them.

The court heard on Monday a witness statement from a parent of one of the boys in which she said he had “robbed them of their youth” and left them unable to trust male teachers.

A witness statement from the headteacher of the school where pupils were targeted said the school had employed school nurses, psychologists and counsellors to deal with the impact of Clark’s actions on students and teachers, but he feared some students would never recover from their ordeal. Others were likely to miss out on opportunities to go to high-ranking universities because of the emotional and mental ordeal they experienced prior to their exams.

Clark also pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of indecent photographs of a child and one of possession of an extreme pornographic image.

This morning, Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Clark: "These offences reveal you to be manipulating others to abuse children like some kind of malign puppet master.

"You incited offences of familial or incestuous abuse against children. These activities have been traced worldwide."

Judge Stubbs said his crimes revealed him to be a "persistent predator", whose victims felt trapped by fear of exposure. He added: "The victim statements which have been referred to in court show how you have robbed your victims of confidence, character and potential life chances."

He handed him a sentence of 12 years, to spend a further eight years on licence. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which he will remain on for the rest of his life.

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'I don't usually have to deal with children, I deal with villains,' says judge

A former soldier and his accomplice who raped an underage girl when they were teenagers have been jailed for four years each, in what the judge said was one of the most difficult cases of his career.

Brandon Bowmaker, 21, and Callum Dowson, 22, attacked the girl on a railway line near Guisborough, Cleveland, in 2012 after threatening to leave her in the woods in the dark.

The girl told police she had already had consensual sex with Bowmaker with Dowson nearby before they both demanded sex with her, which she refused.

Aisha Wadoodi, prosecuting, said the girl was scared when they said they would abandon her, particularly as she was unfamiliar with the area, which by then was pitch black.

She repeatedly asked them to stop as they raped her, with both youths repeatedly swapping over, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Bowmaker, a former infantryman, was 15 at the time while Dowson was 16.

Judge Sean Morris, sentencing, said the victim and Bowmaker were too young to have consensual sex before the rape.

Children will be children and they will experiment and explore, he said.

He added: This has probably been one of the most difficult cases I have dealt with.

I dont usually have to deal with children, I deal with villains.

Addressing the defendants in the dock, he said: You are men now, all three of you as the pre-sentence report describes, were children.

Their victim read a statement from the witness box expressing how the ordeal had psychologically affected her and led her to self-destructive episodes.

Although she said life was too short to hate the pair, she said: It is now time you paid for what you have done.

They denied the offences but were convicted by a jury last month.

Nigel Soppitt, defending Bowmaker, of Woodhouse Road, Guisborough, said the former soldier was good at his career, which he has now lost.

He said: He is a thoroughly decent man these days, he had made a huge mistake in his early teens, he knows he has to be punished for that.

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A former primary school headteacher has been locked up for more than seven years after admitting to grooming and committing sexual offences with a teenage boy in Derbyshire.

Robin Scott, 53, was in charge of Woodlesford Primary School in Leeds at the time of the offences when he preyed on the vulnerable youngster in Glossop.

The offences were committed in the Glossop area against the youngster - who cannot be named for legal reasons - and do not relate to anyone at the school.

Scott appeared before Derby Crown Court on Monday, July 23, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child and one of meeting a child following sexual grooming.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Steve Bruce, who led the investigation said: Robin Scott groomed a young man and then engaged in sexual activity with him on a number of occasions.

Im pleased we have been able to get this result in court and hope it shows just how seriously we treat offences like this.

Scott was initially charged with ten counts of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual grooming, between February 2017 and June 2018, when he appeared before Chesterfield magistrates court in June.

He later pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child and one of meeting a child following sexual grooming which was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service and he was dealt with for these charges alone.

The 53-year-old, of Wycar, Bedale, North Yorkshire, was sentenced to seven years and four months of custody.

Prosecuting solicitor Becky Allsop told a previous Chesterfield magistrates court hearing offences came to light when Scott was spotted with the 15-year-old victim and police were contacted.

The defendant had been accused of initially being in contact with the youngster via social media from when the boy was 13-years-old, according to Mrs Allsop.

Mrs Allsop added that when matters allegedly became more sexual the youngster was allegedly taken by Scott, who is a headteacher, to a Travelodge.

Defence solicitor Julie Page had told the magistrates court hearing Scott had spoken to the youngster who had complained about family issues.

Ms Page said Scott accepted he knew the complainant and that they met through a chatroom.

Scott also claimed it had been a difficult time because his own mother has dementia and she has been living in a home and his father was struggling to cope, according to Ms Page.

The magistrates court had heard Scott was also having to make redundancies at his school.

Ms Page said Scotts initial contact with the teenager had not been sexually motivated.

She said: He had met a young boy and put himself in a vulnerable position and he compromised his own position by providing guidance and support.

Following the case, Det Sgt Bruce added: It doesnt matter how old a victim is, what the circumstances are, or how much time has passed. I would urge anyone who may be a victim of sexual abuse to contact the police, or one of our partner agencies.

When we receive reports like this, we put all of our efforts into safeguarding vulnerable people and making sure people like Robin Scott face justice for their crimes.

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A child rapist released early from prison was found working on a children's amusement ride, a court has heard.

Stephen Wilson, 60, had served six years of a nine-year sentence for a string of sexual offences against children when he was released from prison on December 6, 2017.

Wilson was made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order, which prohibited him from working with anyone under 16, either in a paid or voluntary capacity, without the explicit permission of police.

However, on March 29 this year a detective from Humberside Police spotted Wilson operating Wacky Races, a popular amusement ride on Bridlington's promenade.

'He was physically lifting them out'

Phillip Evans, prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, said: "The defendant was the operator of that amusement. In that capacity, he was helping children off the ride. He was physically lifting them out."

Wilson later claimed the ride was aimed at older children, but Mr Evans said the officer was quite clear about what he saw.

"DC Marsh said they were between three and five years of age," said the prosecutor.

Officers waited for a "discreet moment" before moving in to arrest Wilson so as not to cause undue alarm to parents.

Wilson, of Winston Court, Bridlington, pleaded guilty, at the first opportunity, to breaching the sexual offences prevention order.

He had sexually attacked children before

Mr Evans gave the court details of the most relevant of Wilson's 22 previous convictions for 67 offences.

On December 7, 2010, at Grimsby Crown Court, Wilson was convicted of one count of rape of a child under 16, two counts of gross indecency with a child, and one count of indecent assault on a child under 16.

Dale Brook, for Wilson, said his family had disowned him following those convictions, resulting in an "isolated existence".

Since his arrest, Wilson has remained in prison, which has he has found "exceptionally difficult", said Mr Brook.

"He has been bullied," said the barrister, before admitting a pre-sentence report was "an almost entirely gloomy document".

Mr Brook made clear, however, that Wilson's motivation for working on the ride was purely financial. Wilson needed to earn money to furnish his flat, he said.

'You are anything but trustworthy'

The barrister appealed to the Recorder Richard Woolfall to hold back from jailing his client, pointing out his poor mental health and a knee complaint that requires surgery.

However, Record Woolfall said Wilson must have known working on a children's ride would put him in breach of the order.

"It appears to me you did not tell your employer of your history," he told Wilson, referring to the earlier convictions.

"It is right that parents would think anyone operating such a ride would be trustworthy. You are anything but trustworthy.

"There is compelling evidence that your risk of sexual harm is unmanageable in the community."

Wilson was jailed for two years, of which he must serve around half before he is eligible for release on licence. The sexual harm prevention order continues indefinitely.

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Mark Birtles picked up his victim, who was then aged under 18, one evening in April last year and drove to a remote area before raping her.

The 20-year-old, of Laburnum Road, Mexborough, was arrested that month after the girl went to hospital and reported what had happened.

Birtles was found guilty of rape following a three-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court, which ended on Friday, and was jailed for six years.

He was given an additional one year prison sentence for breaching a suspended sentence for harassment, though this will run concurrently with the other sentence.

Detective Constable Cheryl McCorkell, who led the investigation, said: "Birtles had offered the victim a lift one evening last April before he stopped in a remote area near Bolton-upon-Dearne and raped her.

"She has shown immense courage in coming forward and reporting what happened and was forced to endure the trial after Birtles continued to deny his guilt, despite the substantial evidence gathered against him.

"I'd like to thank and praise the girl for showing such strength and bravery as she gave evidence during the trial. The conviction is a testament to that and I hope that knowing Birtles is behind bars for the next six years goes some way in helping her to move forward with her life."

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A NORTH Yorkshire man who groomed and had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl after meeting her at a Midland riding school is now behind bars.

Stuart Moreland, 37, from Northallerton, has been jailed for nine years after admitting admitted six charges of sexual activity with a child.

The court heard that following the offences the young victim had become a shell of her former self.

The story came out after the victim revealed to someone at the school what had been happening to her in August this year.

Robert Davies, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said Moreland, who was married and a father himself, had initially sent flirtatious texts to the teenager and had challenged her to kiss him the next time they met.

He added: What took place between them then developed into a full sexual relationship for many months.

Mr Davies said on one occasion a sexual act had taken place in a field and that Moreland had told the victim to delete texts he sent to her, although police were able to retrieve some of them.

When quizzed, the teenager said it was her first sexual experience and she had been sworn to keep the relationship a secret.

The victims father told the court her ordeal had greatly affected their lives and the family had struggled to cope with the consequences.

A loving and carefree teenager has been replaced by an angry and bewildered child, he said.

"She is a shell of her former self.

Passing sentence, Judge Kirstie Montgomery told Moreland: She was described by her family as being quiet and dedicated to her passion for horses.

"You were a married man with a child at the time you began to abuse her.

"You were audacious and arrogant in the way you abused her telling her to delete texts that would trace the relationship.

"You used a form of emotional blackmail to ensure her silence. You exploited her, groomed her and sexually abused her.

"It has had a devastating effect on that family.

The judge said it had also been an aggravating feature that Moreland had a previous conviction for having sex with a teenage girl in 2000 at a youth club.

Alison Scott Jones, defending, said: He understands the blame rests fully on himself.

"He is remorseful for his behaviour.

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A PERVERT music teacher who kept a vast collection of indecent images of children was caught after accidentally posting a picture of naked girls on the social media site Pintres.

Kenneth Nelson, 55, was investigated after officers received a tip-off from the national Child Exploitation Online Protection police squad.

They had been alerted after Nelson posted the picture of two naked girls on the popular social media platform.

Nelson, who worked at a number of different schools, confessed he had done so by accident but pleaded guilty to owning a sickening horde of child porn.

The fact is you chose to search out such images and view them, you did it quite deliberately, you did it repeatedly

- Richard Wright QC

The shamed teacher escaped jail today fleeing court with his face covered by a maroon knapsack, emblazoned with the phrase Youth and Childrens Sing Choirs.

York Crown Court heard how officers attended Nelsons home on June 14 and arrested him after unearthing 16,297 vile images over several devices including pen drives, flash drives, a computer tower and a laptop.

The majority were rated Category C which included erotic pictures of naked children but he also had images of children being raped and sordidly abused.

The father-of-one, from Wistow, North Yorkshire, who split from his wife following his arrest, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing a prohibited image of children.

Recorder Richard Wright QC, who described Nelsons stash as an enormous number of images, sentenced him to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

He told Nelson: You had become quite literally obsessed with viewing images of that type.

The fact is you chose to search out such images and view them, you did it quite deliberately, you did it repeatedly.

The judge added: The reality is all of these children were being abused and exploited by people like you who view these images for their own perverted, sexual gratification.

Joe Culley, prosecuting, said: He admitted searching for pre-teen pornographic images for excitement adding that Nelson felt ashamed and disgusted by his behaviour.

The prosecutor told the court aggravating features in the case were the high volume of images and Nelsons deliberate internet searches.

Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks, defending, said, at the suggestion of police, Nelson had written to the parents of people he had previously been teaching to explain these proceedings.

Nelson was also handed a community order with a 20-day rehabilitation requirement and made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order to prevent him working with children and placed on the sex offenders register.

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A YOUNG man is today a convicted rapist starting five years in jail because he didnt listen to a woman saying no.

Max Liam Gregory, 21, showed no emotion as the victim told York Crown Court how his actions had left her in a bottomless pit, made her suicidal and given her more than a year of panic attacks, anxiety, depression and other problems.

She had told the jury how she had tried to push him off her and repeatedly said no as he raped her. He had responded by saying just two minutes, its fine and just 30 seconds, come on.

Gregory had claimed to a jury that he had cared for her by visiting her regularly in the week after the rape in his home in Escrick Court, Escrick, in July 2015. But Recorder David Dixon said his visits were also to try and stop her reporting him to the police.

York Crown Court heard she eventually spoke out after he went on holiday with his girlfriend.

The judge told Gregory: It was abundantly clear to you she was not consenting. You continued on regardless. You have heard the impact that you caused on her simply by not listening to the word no. In simple words, if you had listened, you wouldnt be here, she wouldnt have had the horrible time she has had, all down to you not listening.

He jailed Gregory for five years, put him on the sex offenders register for life and made a restraining order, banning him from having any contact at all with the victim for the rest of his life.

Gregory had denied rape but was convicted by a jury unanimously after two hours and 40 minutes in retirement.

Reading aloud a victim impact statement in a voice at times choked with tears, she said that after the rape: I then started to go into a bottomless pit. I started to get anxiety attacks. I still do.

She was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, suffering flashbacks, nightmares and waking up in sweats.

Her work was affected and her condition progressed until she wanted to isolate myself from the world. She said: It got too much. On December 8, I arranged everything for my suicide.

She decided to put her affairs in order, but then saw her doctor who referred her to a home treatment team who helped her and continue to visit her daily.

I think about it (the rape) every day. I dont want to think about it any more, she concluded.

At the end of the hearing, the judge said she had been very brave to read her statement in court.

Gregorys barrister Geraldine Kelly said the womans mental problems may not have been entirely due to Gregory.

His girlfriend and family were standing by him and had attended his trial. He had never been in trouble with the police before and had committed no offences since.

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A YOUNG man had an "appalling addiction" for viewing indecent images of children, a court heard.

A judge told "immature and naive" Oliver Vause, 20, that he needed to grow up.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Vause: "Maybe now you know how desperately serious this is. Behind every one of these films and stills is some poor child being abused.

"These children are being abused only because there are people like you who want, and-or pay, and-or share these images.

"It must stop or you will be going to prison for a long time."

But the judge said a deterrent sentence could not be given in every case.

He added: "Everybody has spoken extremely highly of you. The probation service has rightly identified the public will be better protected in the long term if you can be helped, rehabilitated, and weaned off this appalling addiction that you have."

Prosecutor Richard Walters told Bradford Crown Court that Vause, of Midgley Road, Burley-in-Wharfedale, had pleaded guilty before magistrates to 16 charges of possessing hundreds of indecent images, between November 1, 2013, and May 13, 2015.

They included five videos - two at the most serious category A level, two at category B and one at the least serious category C level. Two charges related to category A still images, three stills at category B and four category C stills.

Mr Walters said there were two separate "roll up" charges involving 287 category B still images and 184 category C stills. Vause had also pleaded guilty to one charge of distributing an indecent image. Mr Walters said the Crown accepted it was possible that image had been sent by mistake.

Vause admitted a charge of failing to comply with a notification requirement, as a registered sex offender, by failing to notify police he resided at an address where a child under 18 was living, between February 24 and 26 this year. Mr Walters said the defendant had spent a night at his 18-year-old girlfriend’s address, where her 16-year-old sister was also present.

Mr Walters said it was a technical breach and there was no suggestion anything untoward took place.

The prosecutor said Vause was a man of good character before these offences.

Vause' solicitor, Nick Leadbeater, said the probation report on his client was very good.

Judge Durham Hall sentenced Vause to a three-year community order, with a 60-day rehabilitation activity requirement and supervision. He granted a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, to monitor the defendant’s use of the internet, and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of computer equipment.

The judge told Vause: "You are only 20, but you know better. You had a nasty habit. It’s got to be stopped and be resolved."

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A Dewsbury man has been jailed for 10 years after he sexually abused a six-year-old girl.

Leeds Crown Court heard after Nile Akram’s offending came to light he broke down and said: “I need help. I’ve got a thing for children.” He said he wanted to kill himself.

Abigail Langford prosecuting told the court that Akram, at the time aged 19, had let the youngster use his Playstation on January 22.

By chance she was being treated for a urine infection that day and when her mother later checked her for any soreness she mentioned something had happened to her when she was alone with Akram. He had told her not to tell anybody.

Her mother then used a teddy bear to get her to show her where he had touched her and what he had done.

When Akram was arrested he told officers he realised he had a sexual interest in children when he was about 10 or 11. He had started kissing the little girl and had progressed to other offences and knew what he had done was wrong.

Gillian Batts representing Akram said many of the offences against him came as a result of his own frank admissions to the police.

He had developed from looking at child pornography on the internet in the past to the physical offences involved.

“It is rare to come across somebody so very frank about their own problem. He acknowledges his wrong and the damage he has caused, his guilty plea is the best demonstration of that.”

“He knows he is going to receive a lengthy custodial sentence. What he wants is assistance, he is still only a young man and does not want to be the person he is.”

“One can imagine the effect on the complainant and her family.”

Akram, now 20, and of no fixed address, admitted four offences of oral rape, six of sexual assault and one charge of engaging in sexual activity. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Jailing him Judge Tom Bayliss QC said he had shown “remarkable insight” into his “deviant sexual tendencies” and had been candid with the police and courts, but they were serious offences.

“You began by looking at images on the internet when you were very young. You started by kissing this girl and then escalated to touching her and then these terrible acts occurred and you put pressure on her not to tell anybody.”

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Court hears he groomed girls with "truth or dare" games

A convicted sex offender has been jailed for nine years after he abused two schoolgirls following a game of truth or dare in his home.

Sentencing 50-year-old Carl Robert Whitehead at Leeds Crown Court Recorder Andrew Haslam said he had initially befriended the girls through their interest in his pet dog and then groomed them.

You developed your association with both of these girls on social media such as Facebook and contacted them over their mobile telephones.

He said Whitehead even paid for a top-up on one girls phone and they began visiting his home.

One text message suggested he had offered them alcohol although he knew they were not old enough to drink, being 13 and 14.

Recorder Haslam said a friend of Whitehead advised him to end the association and even contacted the police and they repeated that advice but he ignored them.

I am satisfied you ignored that advice because you wanted to develop an association with both girls, although you knew they were under 16, for the specific reason of taking sexual advantage of them.

You did that solely for the purpose of satisfying your own sexual desires. I am satisfied you groomed these girls for your own sexual purposes.

He said it did not matter who suggested the game of truth or dare it developed as you wanted it to. There was kissing then he suggested they remove their clothes and finally his touching them sexually.

Recorder Haslam said he believed Whitehead at least tried to go further, because he had subsequently bought them pregnancy testing kits and there was no other reason for that.

He had also put the girls through a trial and accused them of fabricating their accounts which had added to their ordeal. His behaviour had clearly had a psychological impact on them.

Whitehead, of St James Street, Heckmondwike, was found guilty by a jury on four charges of sexual activity with a child.

Kirstie Watson prosecuting told the court had previous convictions for indecent exposure in 1988, 1989 and on April 15, 2011 as well as a conviction for gross indecency with a six year old child in 1990.

Mathew Harding defending Whitehead said he still denied any offence against the girls.

He had already found his experience in prison difficult being subjected to bullying.

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A VIOLENT and sadistic paedophile who 'pranced and posed' semi-naked in ladies underwear while sexually abusing two children has been jailed for 15 years.

Derrick Hooley, 69, dressed up in black suspenders, a basque and French knickers to degrade and humiliate his young victims.

He was labelled 'a thoroughly nasty deviant' by the judge sentencing him last Thursday.

Hooley, a retired coach painter with Keighley and District Buses, was unanimously convicted of all 17 charges against him by a jury at Bradford Crown Court.

They involved the 'sustained, routine and relentless' sexual abuse of a boy three decades ago and the similar abuse of a girl over the same period.

The boy, now a man in his 30s, had been 'wholly destroyed' by Hooley, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said.

Hooley, who wore dark glasses and earphones during the trial, remained impassive in the dock as the jury's verdicts were returned.

A victim statement by the male victim said he had been robbed of his childhood and had recurring nightmares.

He still leapt out of bed taking swings at the man 'as though fighting him off'.

Hooley, of Main Street, Farnhill, abused the children in Skipton in the mid to late 1980s.

He was convicted of 12 offences of indecent assault and indecency with a child, relating to the boy, and five charges involving the girl, including indecent assault, indecency with a child, and taking an indecent photo of her.

During the trial the jury saw photographs of Hooley 'prancing and posing' semi-naked in women's underwear and male pouches.

His passion for photography cemented his downfall when the police seized pictures of him in what the judge described as 'a variety of fairly interesting positions'.

"This case is about a thoroughly nasty, deviant man who happened, inappropriately and cruelly, to parade naked and in women's clothing," he said.

Hooley told a pack of lies to the police and the jury when the evidence against him was overwhelming.

He told the court he was posing in frilly pants and bras to see if they fitted for 'a fancy dress do'.

Another outfit, of skeleton body paint, French knickers and a white cape, was to wear at a Halloween party, he claimed.

Hooley, who was born in Ilkley, had never been in trouble with the police before, his barrister Robin Frieze said.

He had been a self-employed sign writer and then worked at Airedale General Hospital, in Steeton.

During the trial, the male victim said he went to the police when Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse was made public in 2013.