Latest Offenders london

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A north London hotel worker raped a hotel guest and sexually assaulted other women by touching their feet as they slept.

Ahmed Fahmy, 45, abused his position as a member of staff at the Anchor Hotel on Golders Green’s West Heath Drive to carry out his sick offences, targeting two members of the same group in January this year.

On Thursday, Fahmy was convicted of one count of rape and three sexual assaults, one of which had taken place while he was working at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Newham in March 2022.

Police on Friday warned that there could be more victims, and urged them to come forward if so.

Hendon Magistrates Court heard how a group of four women were staying at the Anchor Hotel when they became separated on a night out with three of them returning.

When they got there, they realised they did not have the room key, and Fahmy demanded one of the women withdraw £80 from a cash machine so that she could stay in another room.

She got into bed fully dressed apart from her shoes and awoke to find Fahmy licking her foot.

She told him no and to go away, but she was then woken a second time to find him doing a similar thing. The woman kicked him and again told him to go away.

Later that morning, the fourth member of the group arrived back at the hotel and told Fahmy she had lost her key. He manoeuvred her into his bedroom where he raped her.

The offending came to light when the women moved to a different hotel immediately after. One of the women again was separated from her friends in Regent’s Park and became distressed.

A park staff member called the police but she could not tell them where her new hotel was, with officers suggesting they go back to the Anchor Hotel where they hoped to find contact details for her friends.

She then started crying and told the officers that she could not return to the hotel as the manager had raped her.

During the course of the investigation, detectives linked Fahmy to two other non-recent sexual assaults, which largely centred on him touching women’s feet, including a sex attack on a woman while on a date in 2008 in Wembley’s Alliance Close.

Met Detective Constable James Gomm, who led the investigation, said: “Fahmy displayed a clear pattern of offending where he abused his position as a hotel worker to get close to his victims and carry out his crimes.”

DC Gomm praised those who had shared what happened with police, saying: “Your bravery has helped put a sexual offender behind bars and protect other women.

“There may be other victims of Fahmy and, if so, I would urge them to get in contact with police immediately – you will be listened to and provided with support.”

Fahmy will be sentenced at the same court on September 20.

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A musician who raped a 13-year-old girl on her birthday has been jailed. Everton Grossett has been convicted after several indecent assaults were found proven by the jury at Inner London Crown Court.

The 38-year-old of Mayall Road, Brixton, was convicted of rape, one count of indecent assault, and another count of indecent assault in relation to five separate incidents after a trial this July. Court documents show the sick predator originally faced 13 child sex offence charges in relation to the same victim during his first appearance at Croydon Magistrates' Court in June last year.

Public records show Grossett is registered as a director on three music companies, with his occupation given as a producer and sound engineer. One of those companies, D3G3OFFICIALS, shares the same name as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram accounts where Grossett appears in short music clips, and is listed as 'Management' on a UK drill video featuring three rappers.

The trial heard how Grossett fed his sexual desires by sexually assaulting the young victim, telling her to 'be quiet' during the abuse then bribing her with money for sweets. After the rape, the victim bled and struggled to explain it to her mum, but it wasn't until she confided in her sister, that his sickening crimes came to light.

In her impact statement, the victim recalled being 'happy and confident' before the abuse started on an 'unforgivable, life-changing night at the hands of Everton Grossett'. The survivor said: "This has been a very long journey, to finding the strength and courage to report it. It took me a long time to tell anyone. I carried it with me, and only me."

She also thanked her sister for 'giving her the strength' to speak out. "Sometimes I dream about the past events and wake up angry, and then spend the whole day trying to hide it from others," she continued, adding: "I hope you [Grossett] are never able to hurt anyone else."

Defence counsel Ms Farrelly conceded there had been 'a course of conduct' and an element of violence, due to the bleeding, but argued the offences should be taken in the context of Grossett's 'difficult' home life. The barrister also cited Grossett's 'good character' since the horrific abuse.

The court also heard Grossett has his own children, aged 12 and 17, but had not been allowed to see them since his conviction. The mother of those children submitted a positive character reference, describing him as 'an exceptional father'. Arguing that Grossett was 'rather exceptional', Ms Farrelly called on the judge to give him 'quite substantial' mitigation.

Jailing him for six years and eight months, Judge David Richards told the predator: "It's clear to me, you could not control your appetite or compulsion to abuse [the victim]."

Grossett will serve half of a two-year sentence for one multiple incident count of indecent assault, then two-thirds of a consecutive four-year eight-month sentence for rape. He will serve a concurrent 12-month sentence for another count of indecent assault.

Description

A prolific child abuser and rapist has been jailed as part of the ongoing commitment by the Metropolitan Police to investigate child abuse and protect women and girls from harm.

Dulon Miah, 35 (08.09.88) of Tower Hamlets was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, 10 July. Miah was previously found guilty at the same court in April of 18 counts of sexual assault over a 14-year period against two victims, including rapes.

Met officers began investigating Miah in 2022 after one of his victims bravely came forward and told police they had been abused from the age of six-years-old over the span of a decade. Both female victims were known to Miah.

Description

A semi-professional football player has been jailed for the rape of a woman after a night out in Shoreditch. Nathan Ashton, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the attack having denied raping the victim, saying the sex was consensual.

The rape took place in the early hours of a night in 2023, after Ashton and the woman had been at a bar in Shoreditch with a group of friends. The woman and her two friends left the bar and were offered a lift home by Ashton.

She reported to officers that Ashton had been touching her inappropriately throughout the night, leaving her feeling guarded and vulnerable as a result. Once they arrived at the address in Romford, Ashton decided to stay with the three women.

They all ended up going to bed and fell asleep in different rooms, after which Ashton entered the victim’s room and raped her.

The woman reported the attack to police and officers launched an investigation. Ashton was brought in for questioning at a local police station and denied the claims of rape, maintaining that the sex was consensual. The jury found otherwise. Ashton, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 16 years in prison at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, July 16.

Detective Sergeant Ben Wallen who led the investigation, said: “Our officers were meticulous in their investigation against Ashton and secured a great outcome as a result. The victim-survivor is extremely brave reporting this to the police and we encourage all victims to come forward and speak with our specialist officers to help remove these prolific offenders off our streets.

“We remain dedicated in providing support to rape victims and protecting women and girls from predatory offenders, and I would encourage anyone who has been a victim to go to the police.”

The Met Police has said it is trying to change the way they investigate rapes. A spokesperson said: "At the heart of our new approach in investigating rape, the Met have a greater focus on the suspect’s life, with a shift away from the ‘credibility’ of the victim-survivor. This means that the victim goes through a less invasive process when reporting an incident such as rape, which officers know is already an incredibly difficult time for them."

Description

A sex offender raped a jogger at knifepoint during a four-day spree of violence against eight women after he was allowed to walk free from a secure hospital.

Louis Collins, 29, hit the woman over the head and forced her to the ground in Marble Hill Park in Twickenham, south-west London during the hour-long attack on Aug 21 last year.

Brandishing a knife and a broken bottle he said dont scream, nobodys going to help you, before tearing her clothes off and assaulting her, the court heard.

Two women began to approach after they heard the victim screaming for help, but Collins yelled f--- off or I will kill you and they left.

Patricia May, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Collins was let out of Lambeth Hospital without supervision on Aug 18 last year after doctors agreed he could have an unescorted absence.

Shattered my sense of security

Shortly after being released, he groped a woman at Clapham Common station as she travelled up the escalator.

Collins later returned to the hospital past his curfew, but despite this was allowed to leave again on Aug 20.

That day he attacked and attempted to rape two other women, sexually assaulting four more and threatening to kill another, before raping the jogger at around 8am on August 21, Ms May said.

At Kingston Crown Court, Collins pleaded guilty to 27 charges including rape, attempted rape and sexual assault between August 18 and 21 last year.

Siobhan Molloy, mitigating, said Collins, of Croydon, south London, claimed voices in his head had told him to carry out the attacks. However, a doctor said Collins did not show signs of a psychotic illness.

Pleaded guilty to all charges

In a statement read at court the victim said: On August 21, my world turned upside down. What happened on that day shattered my sense of security, trust in people and justice.

The victim said she had waited 18 months for professional counselling to help her deal with the trauma.

A spokesman for South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, responsible for Lambeth Hospital, said: We strongly support the courts decision today in sentencing Louis Collins who pleaded guilty to all charges.

These are appalling crimes, and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

We have completed a thorough internal investigation and continue to do our utmost to improve our services.

Collins will be sentenced on Tuesday.

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A man has been jailed after he met a woman in Romford, became physically violent towards her and raped her in her home. Sam Price prevented the woman from leaving her house during a sustained period of intimidation and abuse which took place over a week.

Price, 25 (05.05.99) of Central Park Avenue, Dagenham appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 5 July where he was sentenced to ten and a half years' imprisonment for rape, and two counts of assault. He also received a lifetime restraining order and will be added to the Sex Offenders Register.

On Sunday 16 July 2023, Price met a woman and exchanged details with her. Within a matter of days of meeting her, the abuse started. Price punched her repeatedly, bit her, and subjected her to various other attacks and threats. As well as these attacks, he also raped her.

The ordeal lasted for seven days, before Price left the property and the victim managed to call her friend, who notified police. Officers arrived at the property. They acted swiftly to collect CCTV evidence, witness and victim statements. This led to the arrest of Price, within days of the report.

Price was arrested at an address in Central Park Avenue following covert work by the local manhunt team and subsequently interviewed on Wednesday, 26 July by detectives from the Met’s East Area Public Protection Unit.

He was found guilty of rape and one count of assault following a trial at the same court following the conclusion of a trial in April. Price had earlier pleaded guilty to another count of assault.

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A paedophile teacher jailed last week for years of sexual abuse was still running art classes for a local charity when police began investigating his perverted crimes.

Stephen Beck, 73, of Anerley Road, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to 12 years in prison after being convicted of 15 historic sexual offences against former male student.

“That was my biggest concern,” said the mother of the former student he abused. “He was still holding art lessons.”

By the time Beck was arrested in 2019, he had been running art classes at Anerley Town Hall for 20 years.

In 2009, the News Shopper reported that he had received a Jack Petchey Leader Award for his art classes for Bromley children. At that time, they had already been running for 11 years.

The Crystal Palace Community Trust (CPCT), which now runs the Town Hall, said in a statement: “We can confirm that Mr Beck was suspended with immediate effect as soon as the matter came to light, at which time we understood the matter was now a police investigation.

“The trust cooperated fully with the authorities and provided them with all relevant information during their investigation.”

The charity's development manager Elaine Harrison said in an interview that the trust did not even come into existence until 2001.

Mr Beck was already running his classes by then and had begun abusing his victim – a teenage boy -  in 2000.

Judge Deborah Charles said in court last week that Beck had been working as a caretaker at the Town Hall at that time. One of the attacks even occurred inside the Town Hall.

Bromley Council did not comment on these claims.

Mrs Harrison said that by the time CPCT took over the building on a 40-year lease in 2017, Beck’s classes had already been running for years for Bromley Council.

“All of us, when we heard the news of Mr Beck’s suspension, were very shocked and distressed. It’s an awful, awful thing,” she said.

“We suspended him immediately but we were actually told not to conduct our own investigation because it can hinder or influence the police investigation.”

“The room in which we held the art class is right in the front of the building,” she said. “A large room with several doors. The doors were never closed.

“All our staff who work with children have a DBS check. Staff are never left alone with children. We just don’t do that.”

Beck would have passed any DBS check as his offending was not uncovered until his victim, then in his 30s, finally came forward in 2018.

Mrs Harrison said she was unaware, until she was informed by the News Shopper, that one of his offences had happened inside the Town Hall.

We asked Bromley Council whether it had conducted any investigation of its own into Beck’s time working at Anerley Town Hall.

It said the building had not been council-run for more than 20 years.

It was converted into offices in 2003 and became known as the Anerley Town Hall and Business Centre.

Bromley did admit that it had employed Beck at Bromley Adult Education College, which it runs.

“We were obviously saddened to learn about these historic offences and are pleased that justice has now been served,” a spokesperson said.

“Whilst the investigation did not involve the council, it is a matter of public record that the offender was employed by Bromley Adult Community College, teaching only adults, for a period of time over a decade ago, including on a sessional basis.

“We remain fully supportive of any police investigation and are sure that the police would make contact if they needed to do so.”

Beck, who claimed at trial to have been a friend of David Bowie, had his own failed pop career, having released a single called For The Love Of You in 1975, under the name Steve Beck.

He was well-known in Anerley for painting shop signs and restaurant menus.

The court heard he began “grooming” his victim at age six or seven but did not start abusing him until he was a teenager.

He abused the boy every two or three weeks for years.

He will serve up to eight years in prison and the rest of his sentence on licence. He will be required to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

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A serial rapist is facing a possible life sentence after a terrifying attack on a vulnerable woman he lured to his hotel room just months after being freed from prison.

Peter Ramsey, 38, was locked up in 2012 for 12 years after viciously beating and raping a legal secretary he had met on an online dating website.

Set free from prison, Ramsey struck again on May 15 this year when he was staying at a Best Western hotel in Wembley.

The predator offered the vulnerable woman help when she was in distress in the street, and invited her to his hotel room.

There, he overpowered the woman and strangled her while forcing her into sex.

At Harrow crown court on Monday, Ramsey appeared via videolink from HMP Wormwood Scrubs to plead guilty to rape and intentional strangulation.

This is a rape where there is non-fatal strangulation embedded in it, said prosecutor Usha Shergill.

It facilitated Mr Ramseys actions, by him being able to overpower the complainant and temporarily strangle her.

Judge Noel Lucas KC ordered a dangerousness report for Ramsey ahead of sentencing in September, and told him: You are likely to receive a very significant sentence for this repeat offence of rape.

Ramsey was convicted in 2012 for raping a woman he met the previous August on dating website plentyoffish.com.

The former personal trainer, then 26, knocked the womans front teeth out when she refused to give him a goodnight kiss, and left her with shocking facial wounds among 21 separate injuries.

Giving evidence at his trial, the woman said they had enjoyed a good date in Brixton but Ramsey switched as they got to her doorstep.

I thought I was going to die, she told Inner London crown court.

Ramsey was snared by DNA evidence and his use of the womans stolen Oyster card.

He was found guilty of rape, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and theft, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

At Mondays hearing, Ramseys barrister David Smith requested the courts intervention to secure him extra protection in prison.

It has now become known he is in prison for rape, and he is very concerned about his safety, he said.

Things are starting to be said to him, and we hope the governor will take notice and reconsider his status on the general wing.

Judge Lucas asked for a message to be sent to the prison governor that Ramsey must have adequate safety while behind bars.

The court also heard of Ramseys partner who is planning to collect his car once it is released by police.

Ramsey has been remanded in custody until sentencing for the latest attack on September 4.

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Met officers acted swiftly on information provided by the National Crime Agency to safeguard children and arrest a Hackney man who has been jailed at the Old Bailey.

Information was passed to the Met by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which led to the arrest of Adam Shine, 25 (7.5.99) at his home in Digby Road, Hackney on 6 February.

PC Lindsey Luscombe, of the Met’s Online Child Sex Abuse Investigation Team, policing Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “The information provided by the NCA linked Shine to indecent images of children.

“While reviewing his phone, officers quickly identified that Shine had used the Omegle website for three separate video calls with two 11-year-old girls and an 8-year-old girl in April 2023. On each call, Shine masturbated on camera and encouraged the girls to expose or touch themselves sexually.

“Met officers used clues in the videos, which had been recorded and retained by Shine, to locate and safeguard an 11-year-old child in the UK.

“In addition to his custodial sentence, Shine also received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Along with the requirement for him to sign the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely, this will help to protect other children after he has served his prison sentence.”

Despite extensive efforts, the two other children, believed to be in the United States, have not been identified, in part because of the limited information provided by Omegle which shut down in November 2023. Information has been passed to American authorities.

Anyone with information about similar offending, whether it happened recently or not, is encouraged to report to police by calling 101 or online. To remain anonymous, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers.

Shine, who worked at an adult store in central London, pleaded guilty on 3 March at the Old Bailey to engaging in sexual communications with the three children as well as causing them to engage in sexual activity, He also pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the (online) presence of the children. He did not meet any of the victims in person.

He was sentenced at the same court on Friday, 14 June, to four and a half years’ imprisonment.

Description

A sexual predator who made a 14-year-old girl drunk on her birthday so that he could rape her has been jailed.

Khayrul Islam, of Ropley Street, Tower Hamlets, was known to the victim’s family when he contacted the teenager on her birthday and invited her to his home to celebrate.

The child went and was given alcohol until she was drunk, which is when Islam attacked her.

She managed to run away, leaving behind some of her belongings, and she cried out that she had been raped.

Members of the public came to help the girl and flagged down a passing police car.

As the girl was shocked, she couldn’t remember the address she escaped from but Islam’s phone number was used to trace his address.

The 29-year-old was arrested that same day on suspicion of rape.

Detective Sergeant Michael Dixon, of the Met’s Central East Safeguarding Team covering Tower Hamlets, said: "Khayrul Islam is a dangerous sex offender who deliberately targeted a young vulnerable girl and lured her into a situation where he could sexually assault and rape her."

Appearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday (June 5), Islam was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault by touching against a 14-year-old girl.

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order with strict conditions that will allow the police to monitor him for 15 years.

Islam had previously been convicted following trial at the same court on January 8.

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A man has been convicted of multiple sexual offences committed against a teenage girl who showed incredible bravery in coming forward to speak to police.

Colin Moore – 57 (04.06.66) of Grove Lane, Southwark was found guilty of four counts of rape and five counts of indecent assault following the conclusion of a trial at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 24 May. Moore was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at the same venue on 9 September 2024.

The court heard how Moore took advantage of the girl who was under the age of 16 at the time the offending started in 1995. Moore’s abuse took place over the next four years at locations in west and central London.

The girl, by now an adult, came forward and reported the abuse to police in 2020. Moore was arrested and subsequently charged with numerous offences.

Description

A world-renowned classical music conductor who pleaded guilty to child sex offences, including messaging someone he believed to be a 14-year-old boy, has been spared jail.

Jan Latham-Koenig had admitted arranging sex acts with someone he thought was a teenager, but was in fact an undercover police officer, London’s Southwark Crown Court had heard.

On Tuesday, the 70-year-old was given a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, by Judge Alexander Milne, who told him he has been “humiliated in the public eye”.

The judge also told him his successful career means that, unlike other defendants who may be “unknown before and unknown after, that is the not case for Mr Latham-Koenig”.

Latham-Koenig, from Belsize Park, north-west London, had previously pleaded guilty to three charges.

He was sentenced to 14 months each for attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and also arranging or facilitating the commission of a sexual offence with a child between December 9 2023 and January 11 this year.

He was also given 10 months’ imprisonment for engaging in sexual communication with a child.

All sentences are to run concurrently.

Latham-Koenig was made an OBE in 2020 for services to music and UK-Russian cultural relations.

He has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and all the BBC ensembles.

The judge, who described Latham-Koenig’s actions as “deeply worrying behaviour”, told the court: “This is a gentleman of 70 years of age who has a long and distinguished cultural career behind him.

“I would give credit for the pleas and at an early stage.

“I accept that there is clear remorse on the part of the defendant and that he has suffered – effectively this would have brought his career to an end.

He is humiliated in the public eye
- Judge Alexander Milne at Southwark Crown Court

Latham-Koenig had used a dating app to make contact with someone he knew as Jacob.

He believed Jacob was a 14-year-old boy, who was in fact an undercover police officer.

Their conversations became sexual and Latham-Koenig gave him a train ticket to Victoria station in London so they could meet but instead the conductor was arrested.

No child was physically put at risk at any stage, the court heard.

The judge said: “What is clear is that, from the latter part of last year, he entered conversations on a dating app, accepted to be frequently used by bisexual and homosexual men, to strike up conversations with a person whom he believed was Jacob, a 14-year-old boy.

“Jacob did not exist.

“He was an undercover police officer.

“The conversations were of a sexual nature on a number of occasions.

“At one stage the defendant sent Jacob a photograph of a naked penis.”

The judge noted there were discussions about keeping their conversations secret.

Latham-Koenig was “particularly concerned” that Jacob’s mother should not know about it.

The judge added: “He believed Jacob was gay.

“He gave Jacob a train ticket to Victoria for travel for where they were to meet.

“It is clear that the defendant in these conversations – the defendant, who is 70 – had lied about his own age.

“He said he was 49.”

The judge said that “fondling between them was discussed and there was discussion of them going further than merely talking”.

Jacob was “encouraged to delete the electronic messages and any electronic trail between them”.

The judge also said that “a gift in the form of a train ticket was provided”.

Prosecutor Bill McGivern said the contact began on a dating app before moving on to WhatsApp messages.

Mr McGivern said that at one point during the conversations: “The defendant said he was a conductor in classical music and was dying to meet someone like Jacob.”

Defence counsel Eleanor Laws said the case has had a “devastating effect” on Latham-Koenig, who has suffered “a loss of his career” which was something he “worked very hard at and was his great passion”.

He is also dealing with the “feelings of distress” and “upset” he has caused to his family and has not shown “self-pity or a lack of understand as to what needs to be addressed”, according to Ms Laws.

She added that Latham-Koenig’s friends, who say he is “kind, humble and generous with his time”, are sticking by him and he has taken “considerable steps to address his offending behaviour”, including undergoing intensive therapy.

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A man from Surrey Quays, who sexually assaulted a young girl, has been jailed for four years and six months.

Ahmed Deq Mohamed, 20, who has a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a child under thirteen, violated another victim on June 16, 2023.

Police arrested and charged him just five days later, with forensic evidence and the victim’s “compelling video account” helping to convict him.

Detective Constable Oliver Colville, who led the investigation, said: “I would like to praise the victim for initially coming forward to police, and for reporting this repulsive behaviour from Mohamed. 

“The compelling video account provided by her assisted with the forensic evidence that we had, making it enough to convict Mohamed.”

Mohamed has been sentenced to four years and six months in jail with twelve months on license after he appeared at Inner London Crown Court on May 22. 

He was previously found guilty of sexually assaulting a child under thirteen by penetration, following a trial at the same court.

He will now also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A former Rotherham taxi driver has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting two girls more than 20 years ago.

Adam Ali, 43, attacked the girls between 2001 and 2004.

Sheffield Crown Court heard he repeatedly assaulted one victim, threatening to leave her stranded if she did not do what he told her.

Formerly known as Razwan Razaq, Ali was found guilty of four counts of rape and three of sexual assault after a trial.

He is due to be sentenced on 28 July.

'Clear message'

Ali was prosecuted as part of Operation Stovewood, the National Crime Agency's investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse and exploitation that took place in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Liz Fell, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), praised the victims in the case for coming forward.

She said: "It is because of their evidence that we were able to secure a conviction and bring their abuser to justice.

"I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside law enforcement, will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse takes place."

Ali was previously sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in 2010, after being convicted of committing offences of a similar nature.

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A shameless paedophile who sexually abused schoolboys in a cupboard has refused to apologise for his sickening crimes.

Richard Gaines was back at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, May 14, after a seventh victim bravely stepped forward and reported him to police after reading newspaper articles about his offending - MyLondon reports.

In 2019, the 79-year-old former geography teacher at St Martin's Preparatory School, in Northwood, North West London, was convicted and jailed for five years and two months for a string of offences against six boys dating back to the 1970s.

The predator's modus operandi was to offer sex education, show them porn mags, then take them into a storage cupboard where he would sexually abuse them.

On Tuesday, the court also heard about allegations of 'recent internet offences', but there was no update on the police investigation. Outside the courthouse, a reporter from one of our sister titles, MyLondon asked Gaines if he wanted to explain the so-called 'circumstances' at the time of the abuse.

However instead of apologising he repeatedly refused to explain or say anything to his victims, and then called the reporter a "really rather persistent little so-and-so'.

Prosecutor Edmund Fowler told the court the latest victim broke their silence after reading about the case, recognising the 'almost identical' abuse. The victim recalled being asked to look at pornography in the cupboard, along with younger and smaller boys, before Gaines abused them for around 30 minutes on two occasions between 1973 and 1977, the court heard.

Mr Fowler said it left the victim so traumatised and racked with guilt that they struggled to make friends and felt they could only work in solitary jobs. At a pre-trial hearing, Gaines admitted two counts of gross indecency with the child, bringing his total number of convictions for the historic abuse to nine, and his known victims to seven.

Mr Fowler explained the maximum penalty for the specific offence at the time, in the 1970s, was two years, but these days it would fall under laws against sexual activity with a child, which could earn a sentence of around six years. The prosecutor argued Gaines fell into the highest level of culpability under current laws due to the grooming, abuse of trust, and disparity in age.

'Fun for all'

Gaines - who still "shows very little remorse" - accused his victim of looking for a payout and even described his sickening abuse as "fun for all" during an interview with a probation officer. Defence counsel Richard Davies interpreted his 'very little remorse' as 'some remorse' as he called for a suspended sentence and a doorstep curfew.

The barrister said his client had already served a sentence, and argued, accounting for the legal principles of totality and concurrency, the jail term in 2019 would not have been much longer for an identical offence.

Mr Davies said: "The real point I can put forward in mitigation, is the fact he has served a prison sentence previously for other boys in the same circumstances."

Mr Davies also said Gaines was needed at home to care for his sick wife and had suffered from cancer himself. He added: "This is someone who could be dealt with in the community, but monitored to make sure it does not happen again in his life.

'Repulsive observation'

Sparing him custody, Judge John Robins said his "hands are tied" by the previous conviction and five-year sentence Gaines served from 2019. The judge concluded his sentence would "not have been much longer" had the latest offence been added to the indictment before the previous judge, and therefore it did not warrant another immediate jail term.

Judge Johnson told Gaines: "Your pre-sentence report shows very little remorse, and your perversion was demonstrated when you described your offending as 'fun for all'.

"Your remark that this man came forward for compensation is a repulsive observation... Having said those things, in many ways, my hands are tied by what has happened to you since this offending."

"I have to sentence you as the facts are and the law is before me, and it gives me no pleasure that you will not be returning to prison. The victim may be disappointed in this, but he will appreciate the law.

"I was appalled to see in your license report that it is alleged you were still committing internet offences when police visited you... Those alleged offences took place relatively recently."

Suspending his 18-month sentence for two years, the judge added: "I cannot think of a worse case of this type of offending, taking into account the ages of the victims and the abuse of trust... I hope you are thoroughly ashamed of yourself for this offending."

Gaines was also ordered to complete the Horizon sex offenders programme and to do 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirement. He will also pay costs of £1,000. The court also heard a civil action is apparently underway, which may allow victims to receive compensation. Legal firm Irwin Mitchell previously said it had been instructed by one victim to help them access specialist support.