Latest Offenders london

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A FORMER deputy head teacher at a prominent London school previously attended by royals has pleaded guilty to financially rewarding Indian teenagers for sending him indecent images of children.

Matthew Smith, 34, from East Dulwich, admitted to 22 charges, including having instructed teenagers in India online to abuse younger children while he was working in Nepal.

The “prolific offender” who appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday (20) will be sentenced on August 4.

Smith, who briefly worked at the £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school in London where Prince George and Princess Charlotte once studied, was arrested in November last year after investigators discovered that he had been sharing abuse material on the dark web during his stay in Nepal.

He was online at the time of his arrest, speaking to a boy living in India and asking him to send sexual images of a younger child, in return for money, the National Crime Agency said.

Officers recovered more than 120,000 indecent images of children which the Oxford University graduate had saved on a laptop, SD card and on his phone.

Smith was remanded in custody, charged with five offences, including causing the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.

Investigators established that Smith had paid the boy and another teenager, also based in India, £65,398 to abuse children over five years.

He worked in orphanages and non-governmental organisations across India between 2007-2014 before he shifted to Nepal where taught at Kathmandu’s British School.

He returned to London in July 2022 and started working at Thomas’s Battersea where he was a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care before he was fired two months later.

Investigators found that Smith would instruct the young men via chat logs to perform sexual acts on boys and would send them images and videos as examples of ones he would like to receive in return.

He also told one of them how to befriend children and build their trust with a view to abuse them, the NCA said.

Information and evidence of potential offending by Smith against children while working in India have been shared with relevant law enforcement partners.

However, there is no evidence to suggest he committed offences against children based in Nepal or Britain.

Claire Brinton, a specialist in the Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service said Smith’s crimes were “particularly disturbing” given his role as a primary school teacher.

“Thousands of images and videos were recovered from his devices which showed an appalling catalogue of sexual abuse being perpetrated on children,” she said.

A Thomas’s Battersea spokesperson said the school was “shocked and appalled beyond measure” by Smith’s actions and thanked the investigators for bringing him to justice.

His employment at the school, which began in September 2022, was terminated soon after it learned of the charges against him in November, the spokesperson said.

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Two men who kidnapped two women have been jailed and one will be on the sex offender register for life. 

The Met said both men laughed in their police interviews when shown CCTV footage of their attack and told the officers the women had consented.

At around 5.30am on July 16, 2022, both Dhari Alshammari, 28 of Hester Road, Wandsworth, and Badr Alhadidi, 39, of Talbot Street, Birmingham, targeted two women in a nightclub along Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, first approaching them on the dance floor. 

CCTV footage inside the club showed Alshammari pour a vodka into some glasses while Alhadidi waited for the women outside the toilets.

All four left the club around 6am when Alhadidi and Alshammari forced the victims into a car.

They drove the women to an address at Beauchamp Mansions, Kensington. Further CCTV footage nearby showed Alshammari drag one of the victim-survivors along the pavement. Both were forced through a doorway where they collapsed.

Inside the property Alshammari raped one of the women. After he went to a nearby McDonald’s to order food before returning to his home address.

Later that morning, Alhadidi drove the woman to a petrol station in another area of London and left them. 

One of the victims reported to police they had been on a night out and couldn’t remember a portion of the evening. She stated she remembered being pinned down in a car and sexually assaulted in a room.

Officers began an investigation which led them to identify and arrest the two men two days after the attack.

Alhadidi was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for kidnap at Isleworth Crown Court last Wednesday.

Alshammari was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years for rape and kidnap. He will be on the sex offender register for life. 

Detective Sergeant Tony Larkin, who led the investigation, said: “Alhadidi and Alshammari are two predators who set out that night with only one sinister intention in mind. 

“They had a clear plan of how they were going to target the victims and thought they could get away with it. 

“They’ve shown no remorse and have no idea how much harm and distress they have caused. 

“The CCTV footage reviewed as part of our investigation was harrowing and showed real violence and monstrous treatment of the victims.

“I would like to thank the victims in coming forward and reporting this to police, they have been extremely brave.”

Description

A landlord who secretly filmed his female lodger in the bath and had thousands of indecent images of children on his phone has been jailed. Oliver Fay, 45, had been subletting one of the rooms in his council flat to the woman for at least three years after she saw it advertised online.

Fay covertly recorded her in intimate circumstances whilst she was sleeping and in the bathroom. Various images showed that on some occasions he had hidden his mobile phone in a small black vanity drawer and the end of the bath.

Fay was caught when the National Crime Agency (NCA) received information that linked him to uploading indecent images of children to the internet. When the police went to Fay’s home address in Bethnal Green, east London, several of his electronic devices were seized from his bedroom and were examined whilst he was in custody.

There was a total of 9,831 indecent images of children, including 1,200 of which were the most serious category. Whilst reviewing his phone officers quickly identified that he had been recording his lodger.

Fay was arrested at the address for voyeurism and indecent images offences. He pleaded guilty in January, and was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for six counts of voyeurism between September 2019 and August last year when he appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.

Fay was also jailed for three counts of making indecent images of children of category A, B and C and received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Category A refers to images involving penetrative sexual activity, while category B are images that involve non-penetrative sexual activity.

Category C includes any other indecent image that does not fall into the other two categories. He will also be required to sign the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.

Sentencing Fay, Judge Caroline English told him: “Anyone involved in such imagery, whether in the production, distribution or simple download is quite literally plummeting into the depths of depravity. Make no mistake, anyone who downloads or views such imagery is complicit in the abuse of those children because you provide and perpetuate a market for such material. You should be thoroughly ashamed.”

Investigating officer PC Lindsey England said: “Oliver Fay used his mobile phone to take images of his lodger over a period of at least three years. This was the grossest violation of her privacy and it cannot be overstated how horrific it must have been to learn that her home had not been the safe place she thought it was.

“I would like to commend her bravery and I hope that she can now begin to find a degree of closure and move forward with her life."

PC England added: “Fay’s sexual interests and predatory behaviour is deeply concerning and he paid no regard to the distress and humiliation that this would cause. I would like to encourage anyone who has concerns that they have been secretly recorded to please contact the Police and they will be supported."

Description

A SEX attacker broke into a woman's home through an attic before tying her to a chair and trying to rape her at knifepoint.

Karan Pullock, 37, was described as "truly dangerous" individual after attacking the victim at her home in Hackney, London.

Pullock had entered the victim’s flat through an attic on June 30 last year, a court heard.

Once the victim returned home later that day, she noticed the blinds had been drawn and her dog was unusually quiet.

Pullock then emerged from a darkened room armed with a knife and grabbed the woman.

She bravely tried to fight him off, but he overpowered her before holding a knife to her throat.

The sick offender then threatened to kill her as she continued to scream in fear.

Pullock then took the frightened victim into her bedroom, where he tied her to a chair and demanded money.

He began to cut the victim’s clothes off before sexually assaulting her and attempting to rape her.

Shortly after, Pullock called the Met Police and confessed to the incident with cops rushing to the scene to arrest him shortly after.

Pullock, of Hackney, East London, has been jailed for 12 years and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

He pleaded guilty on January 18 to attempted robbery, attempted rape, sexual assault and threats to kill.

The victim said: “There are days where I struggle to get out of bed. Not recognising the person I once was. I wonder what the point is, where I no longer have the confidence to live like I used to.

"To live in a city like London and constantly be in fear feels hopeless.

“I’m a grown woman who is now scared of the dark. I feel embarrassed trying to make plans to see friends, or client meetings and having to work around this.

"In the winter months, it makes this basically impossible."

Detective Sergeant Matthew Cooksey said: “Pullock is a truly dangerous individual who planned a terrifying attack on the victim for no reason other than his own gratification.

"I am glad that he pleaded guilty and spared the victim from having to relive the experience at court.

"He will now spend a significant period behind bars. We are working hard to prevent violence against women and girls and we will continue to remove these dangerous offenders from the streets of London.”

Description

A sex offender has been jailed after being caught by plain clothes British Transport Police officers assaulting a teenage girl on the London Underground.

Abdulrizak Ali Hersi, 32, and of Invicita Close, Limehouse, was found guilty of sexual assault at Inner London Crown Court on 5 May.

The judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison and a ten year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prevents him from intentionally standing behind or next to any female he doesn’t know in a public place.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.

On 11 October shortly before 5pm, plain clothes officers on patrol on the Piccadilly Line observed Hersi board a train at Green Park and stand near the doors.

At the next stop a family got on the train and moments later Hersi sexually assaulted the 13-year-old daughter. Officers quickly intervened and took Hersi off the train at Leicester Square and arrested him.

Inspector Sharon Turner said: “Our plain clothes teams are specially trained in identifying dangerous sexual offenders like Hersi, who will do their level best to commit such crimes without notice.

“In this case, the victim and her family didn’t even realise what was happening until our officers quickly intervened.

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A man who hid devices at his flat containing over a thousand indecent images of children has been jailed.

Warren David Manners, 45, of Sowerby Close, Eltham was jailed two years and eight months at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday.

He had pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of indecent images of children and three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. 

Manners was already a registered sex offender having been convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

He had been issued with a sexual harm prevention order which prohibited him from being in possession of digital devices or devices that enable access to the internet without notifying a local unit.

On March 22, Met officers executed a search warrant at Manners’ address. 

Manners initially denied owning any phones, tablets, or laptops, but officers found a total of 32 digital devices hidden throughout his flat including a cupboard with multiple locks.

Officers also found hundreds of still photographs of children inside the flat. 

Officers established that 21 of the digital devices seized contained indecent images of children. 

Manners was charged and attended Bromley Magistrates’ Court on March 23. He pleaded guilty at his first hearing and was remanded in custody. 

Met detective James Cronin said: “Manners is by his own admission a paedophile who has repeatedly ignored court orders put in place to help him desist from his criminal behaviour.”

Description

A student has been jailed for distributing extreme child pornography after he messaged other offenders claiming he wanted no teens only babies.

Police said that Ethan Payne, 19, of Tollington Road, who studied microbiology and worked part-time in a bakery, was found to possess more than 900 indecent images.

An investigation uncovered that Payne interacted with other offenders online sharing experiences, fantasies and extreme pornography.

At one point, Payne is said to have spoken about sexually abusing dogs.

The teenager was jailed for four years, with an extension period of three years, on May 2 at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

He has also been issued with a ten year sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

An investigation by the Mets online child sex abuse and exploitation unit in Camden was launched after police received three separate referrals for uploads of indecent images of children on Snapchat, Instagram and Discord.

The material was uploaded from 2021 to 2022 and were linked to Ethan Payne.

Detectives obtained a warrant and on October 12, 2022, arrested Payne at his home address on suspicion of distributing indecent images of children.

Paynes laptop and mobile phone were seized during the search of his home.

Police said that the material on the devices showed Payne to be a dangerous sex offender obsessed with necrophilia, paedophilia, animal abuse, murder and torture.

On the laptop and mobile phone combined, officers found pornographic images in categories A to C, with A being the most extreme.

There were 430 Category A, 247 Category B, 125 Category C and 157 extreme pornography images.

Payne was subsequently charged with the following:

• Three counts of possession of an indecent image of a child
• Two counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image / images portraying an act of intercourse / oral sex with a dead or alive animal
• Four counts of distributing an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child
• One count of being an offender 18 or over causing / inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
• One count of encouraging/ assisting in the commission of an either way offence believing it will be committed (Serious Crime Act 2007)

He pleaded guilty to 10 of 11 charges on November 15, 2022.

One charge of possession of an extreme pornographic image was later dropped as it was considered to be a duplicate offence.

Investigating Police Constable Lydia Kelly said: There is no doubt that Payne is a danger to children and to animals.

He is focused in his depravity on the most vulnerable and the sharing of his material online has fuelled other paedophiles.

It is right that he has been jailed, his abhorrent behaviour has no place in society.

Description

A twisted sex offender who kidnapped a three-year-old girl in his camper van and subjected her to horrendous abuse has finally faced justice. Robert Frid, 78, had lured the girl to his van under the pretence he needed help before driving away and dumping her in the street in Bracknell afterwards.

The incident, which occurred in 1986, went unsolved for 37 years until his DNA was discovered on his victim’s underwear after Thames Valley Police reopened the investigation. Frid, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnap and one count of indecent assault and has now been jailed for 10 years.

The sick paedophile is already in jail for other unconnected sexual offences and will not be considered for parole until 2027. The sentence for the Bracknell offences will run consecutive to his previous convictions, which include the abuse of another young girl.

Head of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Investigation Review Team, which investigates unsolved homicides and serious sexual offences, Peter Beirne said: “This was an horrendous attack on a three-year-old girl, who was playing outside with friends when Robert Frid kidnapped her in Bracknell.

“Frid approached the girl, claiming that he needed help with his vehicle. When the girl followed Frid into his VW Camper Van, he drove off. While in the campervan, Frid indecently assaulted the girl, before asking her to exit the vehicle and leaving her on her own. She was later found by member of the public and taken home.

“Advances in forensic science enabled our team to reinvestigate the case. Frid was linked to the crimes when his DNA was found on the victim’s underwear. It is in excess of one billion times more likely that Frid had contributed to the DNA found on the victim’s underwear, than if he had not contributed to the DNA discovered.

“Facing such strong evidence, Frid pleaded guilty to the kidnap and indecent assault of the girl. I’m pleased he will spend a considerable time behind bars, and after 37 years the victim now has justice. This is why my team come to work, to solve the most serious of historic crimes and secure justice for the victims and their families.

“Frid’s conviction is the twentieth that our team have secured against offenders for the most serious historic stranger attacks on woman and young girls. We have also convicted six offenders for murders across the Thames Valley.

“We will continue to reinvestigate these historic cases and use the advancements in forensic science to develop new evidence to bring offenders to justice.”

Description

A serial flasher has appeared in court after he was caught masturbating on a train again.

Bobby Garande, 29, appeared in court on Thursday April 6 after he pleaded guilty to masturbating on a Thameslink train on October 14, 2021. 

The sex offender is already serving a 27 month sentence at HMP Thameside for masturbating in front of a woman on the same train line on October 12, 2021. 

On that occasion he peered at the woman through a gap in the seats while fondling his crotch. 

The woman took a photo of him and when Garande got off at Bromley South she followed him until police arrived and he was arrested. 

Garande, from Thornton Heath, had also previously exposed himself to a woman on the number 50 bus in Croydon while two children were sitting directly opposite him. 

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court he pleaded guilty that on October 14, 2021, he outraged public decency. 

He was given a prison sentence of 26 weeks, which will be added to the 27 month sentence he was already serving. 

Garande has around 20 criminal convictions, ten of which are for sexual offences. 

Description

Alvin Tuitt a 24-year-old man has been jailed for ten years for raping a 12-year-old girl in a disabled toilet at King's Cross last year. 

Paedophile Alvin Tuitt, from Lewisham, stalked his victim - who was travelling from Maryland station in Newham to King's Cross - on October 10 last year. 

After approaching her at Maryland station, Tuitt leant her a power pack to charge her phone and paid for her onward train ticket

He accompanied her on her journey and upon arrival to Kings Cross, took her to a disabled toilet where he raped her and then attempted to rape her again. 

She reported it to police later that day and Tuitt was arrested, charged and remanded within 24 hours of the offence taking place.

He was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to rape and attempted rape.

The judge sentenced Tuitt to 10 years' imprisonment for rape, with a five-year extended sentence on licence, and eight years to run concurrently for an additional count of attempted rape on the same girl.

He is also subjected to a life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order and notification requirement for life.

The judge commended the victim for her bravery in coming forward and reporting this to police.

Detective Constable Mark Pink said: 'The victim in this case was 12 years old and was extremely vulnerable.

'She has been extremely brave in telling police what happened and providing testimony to assist the investigation. The effect that this incident has had on her life and that of her family cannot be measured.

'Tuitt is a predator with a previous conviction for a similar offence and he rightfully now faces a long time behind bars.'

Description

A man has been jailed for multiple sexual offences in Hackney and Enfield after a tenacious investigation uncovered a trial of offending.

Carl Adimado, 34 (13.02.89) of Enfield appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, 4 April where he was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment that will be followed by three years and six months on licence.

He will also be placed on the sex offender’s register for life and will be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order with stringent conditions in place to safeguard the public.

The sentence relates to 22 counts of up-skirting; five counts of sexually assaulting a child; four counts of exposure; two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child; two counts of sexual assault and two counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

Adimado had previously pleaded guilty to 37 charges at the same court on Thursday, 8 December 2022.

PC Lee Ravens of the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit said: “Carl Adimado is a predatory offender who has committed a variety of indecent offences, in high volume, against women and girls. He was clearly not going to stop until caught.”

An allegation was first made to police in July 2022 by a woman reporting that on 10 July 2022, a male had ‘up-skirted’ her [recorded under her skirt] in a supermarket close to Seven Sisters Road.

An investigation was launched by officers from the Predatory Offender Unit within the Met’s Central North Command.

CCTV at the offence location was examined and the suspect was quickly identified as Carl Adimado who, at that time, worked at the supermarket.

On the day he was identified, Adimado was arrested by officers at his home address. Following police interviews he was released on bail.

Not certain that this was a single, isolated offence, officers examined additional CCTV and identified a further 16 offences against eight separate victims in just one day.

Adimado was charged, by post, for these 16 offences.

Examination of Adimado’s mobile phone recovered a significant volume of indecent images of children along with a large number of videos showing him exposing himself, touching himself in public and sexually assaulting school girls, who were in uniform, on their way to school.

Adimado was arrested for these additional offences and was remanded in custody. He later pleaded guilty to the 16 offences of up-skirting.

But the investigation was not over. The school uniforms worn by the child victims in the videos allowed officers to establish their schools and officers went on to identify each child. They were interviewed in the presence of their parents and when all of the victims had been spoken to and appropriate support was in place, Adimado was charged with a further 21 offences; bringing the total to 37.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court on 8 December 2022, Adimado pleaded guilty to the 21 new charges and was remanded in custody for sentencing.

PC Ravens added: “This case clearly demonstrates the need for offences of this type to be reported to police. Just one brave woman coming forward has made it possible for us to remove a dangerous and callous sex offender from the community where he was offending against women and schoolgirls, as well as to identify and support other brave yet vulnerable victims.

“I applaud her actions and hope that this case encourages other women to come forward and report incidents of this type in the knowledge that such reports will be taken seriously and investigated fully.

“If you have been a victim of any level of sexual assault, please do report it to police, at the very least so that we can support you – at best so that we can also remove predators to a place where they are no longer a danger to women and girls.”

Description

Alan Luckhurst groped two 17-year-old students that were working with him in hair salons.

A “predatory” hairdresser that sexually assaulted two teenagers working in his salon has not been sent to jail. Alan Luckhurst, who is an award-winning hairstylist, assaulted two 17-year-old girls in two separate salons in Twickenham in 2017 and Sutton in 2021.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the father-of-two had been charged and bailed for the initial groping, before the second occurred.

Luckhurst may have other victims, the Met has said. The force is now appealing for them to come forward.

Married man Luckhurst told Kingston Crown Court he was “just a tactile person”.

However last Monday he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

A 17-year-old girl told authorities about the sexual assault which took place when she was on a placement at the Twickenham hairdressers.

Luckhurst was removed from the establishment following his arrest. Having been charged in October 2019, he then founded a new business in Sutton in Greater London.

Two years after that another 17-year-old girl went to police and said he’d sexually assaulted her when she was an apprentice in the salon.

The teenager said she was touched by Luckhurst within a matter of weeks of starting at the business.

He felt the breasts of the first victim repeatedly and also put his hand between her legs.

Luckhurst also put his groin against her bottom.

The second victim also had her breasts groped by Luckhurst, who made her touch him between his legs.

With the exception of one incident where he forced his hand under the second victim’s bra, all of his offences involved groping over the girls’ clothing.

Following a trial in January, Luckhurst was found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault and two counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

Additionally, the hairdresser of Worcester Park, south-west London, received a sexual harm prevention order preventing him from employing anyone under 18 or acting as their boss.

The sex offender won ‘Retailer of the Year’ in 2013 while manager of a salon in Richmond, in the south-west of the capital.

Detective Constable Natalie Alchin, who led the investigation into the stylist, said: “Luckhurst completely abused his position as manager of these young women and took advantage of being alone with them during their time at work.

“It is clear that the offences he committed have had a serious and significant impact on both their personal and professional lives.

“They have shown tremendous bravery, both in coming forward to police and then giving evidence at court.”

DC Alchin noted that officers believe that there could be other young victims of Luckhurst’s “predatory behaviour”.

She said: “We believe there may be other young women who may have worked with Luckhurst and been victim to his predatory behaviour.

“We would urge anyone who believes that to be the case to come forward and speak to us. We have specialist support in place and will listen to everything you have to say.”

Description

A twisted paedophile who took pictures of himself abusing two young children has been jailed as the families of his victims speak about their horrible ordeal in waiting five years for justice to be served.

David Collins, 52, had abused two young children over a period of several years and was found with hundreds of indecent images of them, including selfies taken as he was carrying out the sexual assaults. Following a trial at Croydon Crown Court, he was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault by touching of two children under 13-years-old.

He has now been jailed for five years for his clever and conniving behaviour, which has torn apart the lives of his victims and their heartbroken families. Speaking to MyLondon, one family member said that they had been crushed by his actions and that the five-year long wait for a conviction had impacted the victims mental health.

His first victim, who MyLondon will refer to as Child A to protect their anonymity, first came forward with the abuse in 2017, after confiding in a schoolfriend. Their mum soon became aware, and as preliminary investigations into Collins began, Child B came forward and informed ]their] parents that they too had been abused.

Collins, a former game developer for Sony, had sexually assaulted his victims while they were sitting on his lap, using an iPad as a smokescreen to cover his actions. Upon his arrest, 844 pictures of Child B were discovered on his devices as well as other compromising images of Child A.

Speaking to MyLondon, a relative of Child A said: I watched [them] change from being this full of life, bubbly young kid to a sad, depressed [child]. I remember taking [them] out once and we got the photos [from the outing] back and [they] just looked dead behind the eyes. Its one of the hardest things Ive seen.

After reporting the abuse to the police in 2017, it took five years for Collins to be placed on trial, increasing the stress and strain upon his young victims. It's taken five long years, its shocking, the relative said. That is what has done half of the mental health damage because the whole long process of it all and it being years before they were interviewed again.

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BY HOLLY EVANS
14:22, 23 MAR 2023UPDATED15:08, 23 MAR 2023
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David Collins has been jailed for five years after being found guilty of abusing two children
David Collins has been jailed for five years after being found guilty of abusing two children (Image: Handout)
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A twisted paedophile who took pictures of himself abusing two young children has been jailed as the families of his victims speak about their horrible ordeal in waiting five years for justice to be served.

David Collins, 52, had abused two young children over a period of several years and was found with hundreds of indecent images of them, including selfies taken as he was carrying out the sexual assaults. Following a trial at Croydon Crown Court, he was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault by touching of two children under 13-years-old.

He has now been jailed for five years for his clever and conniving behaviour, which has torn apart the lives of his victims and their heartbroken families. Speaking to MyLondon, one family member said that they had been crushed by his actions and that the five-year long wait for a conviction had impacted the victims mental health.

His first victim, who MyLondon will refer to as Child A to protect their anonymity, first came forward with the abuse in 2017, after confiding in a schoolfriend. Their mum soon became aware, and as preliminary investigations into Collins began, Child B came forward and informed ]their] parents that they too had been abused.

Collins, a former game developer for Sony, had sexually assaulted his victims while they were sitting on his lap, using an iPad as a smokescreen to cover his actions. Upon his arrest, 844 pictures of Child B were discovered on his devices as well as other compromising images of Child A.

Speaking to MyLondon, a relative of Child A said: I watched [them] change from being this full of life, bubbly young kid to a sad, depressed [child]. I remember taking [them] out once and we got the photos [from the outing] back and [they] just looked dead behind the eyes. Its one of the hardest things Ive seen.

After reporting the abuse to the police in 2017, it took five years for Collins to be placed on trial, increasing the stress and strain upon his young victims. It's taken five long years, its shocking, the relative said. That is what has done half of the mental health damage because the whole long process of it all and it being years before they were interviewed again.

As well as awaiting years for the trial, the families were also told at short notice on two occasions that the sentencing date had been changed, causing further anxiety. It shouldnt be hush-hush, he shouldnt be getting any leniency on this. Weve been checking the sex offenders register, he still hasnt been put on there. Everything regarding this case has been wrong, she said.

While the family of Child A welcomed his five-year prison sentence, the impact on his victim has been enormous and they have been unable to continue attending school. It came out in [their] statement how [they] wanted to kill [themself], [they] didnt want to be here anymore. It's given [them] epilepsy and although theyre saying that would have been lying dormant, the trauma of this is what has triggered it, she said.

He gets to serve two years, come out and move away and he can start his life all over again while there are people out there who have been crushed by this.

Both families are concerned however that further victims may have not come forward, and are urging anyone with information to contact the police. A relative of Child B said: We dont believe that he woke up at the age of 40 and decided Im going to play with a child today. We believe there are more victims. The reason for the victims doing this is that they want to prevent this from happening again.

She continued: We believe he didnt get long enough for the crimes that he committed, his face was actually in the photographs and you could see what he was doing. I personally dont believe it was long enough however is any sentence going to be long enough? Would life be long enough? No, because hes going to get out.

Collins, of Byrnes Road, Croydon, has been jailed for five years and has been made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A West Yorkshire takeaway owner has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after he admitted sexually assaulting and raping a young woman after he “plied her with alcohol” at his Shipley premises.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that some parts of Sivaganeshan Pardeep’s prolonged attack on his victim had been captured on CCTV footage and at one point he was filmed walking about the premises without his trousers on. The 37-year-old, who had also been drinking alcohol that night, maintained that he could not recollect what had happened and even after being shown the CCTV footage he claimed that there had been no sexual contact between them.

But in January, less than a fortnight before his victim was due to be cross-examined ahead of his trial, Pardeep indicated that he would be pleading guilty to the charges of rape and two sexual assaults.

At one point during the footage his victim appeared to be trying to fend him off with a knife, but she then dropped it and collapsed to the floor. The court heard that married Pardeep, of Barnard Gardens, New Malden, London, had no previous convictions and as a result of his jail sentence he will now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Judge Andrew Hatton said the complainant, who must not be identified for legal reasons, had very quickly started to feel drowsy after drinking some of the alcohol. He told Pardeep: “You began to speak to her about problems in your marriage and then over the course of the next two or three hours when she was at times almost unconscious, and throughout under the influence of the alcohol with which you had plied her, you engaged in a variety of sex acts with her."

He said the woman had been crying and feeling faint as Pardeep attempted to kiss her and he had then removed her underwear.

“She was screaming and felt unable to breathe,” said Judge Hatton. It was said that at times Pardeep had been physically manipulating his victim’s body when she was either intoxicated or unwell. After the attack Pardeep had offered to take the woman home, but she ran from the premises and reported what had happened.

Pardeep denied there had been any sexual contact following his arrest, but his barrister Gillian Batts said he now accepted the strong scientific evidence along with the CCTV footage. She added: “He instructs me that he is sorry about what he has done."

Jailing Pardeep Judge Hatton said it had been a “prolonged and sustained” incident. He told him: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to the fact that you had plied her with alcohol and it was apparent to you the impact that the alcohol had had upon her."

The judge said the victim personal statement demonstrated that the offences had had a significant impact on the complainant.

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Leon Ward, 49, of New Addington, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Friday, 24 February where he was sentenced to ten years, to serve six years and eight months custodial, and the remainder on licence for the attempted rape and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for life. Ward had previously been convicted at the same court on Friday, 10 February.

The court heard how Ward had befriended the child in May 2020 when he had seen her in New Addington.

Further to some chance meetings, Ward soon began texting the victim and asking her to send compromising pictures of herself which she did not send.

On Monday, 18 May 2020 the victim agreed to meet with Ward for a walk into the woods, during which Ward assaulted her and attempted to rape her.

Ward was arrested on 18 May 2020 and was charged on 10 November 2021 with attempted rape of a 14 year old girl, three counts of sexual assault by penetration; two counts of sexual assault by touching and sexual communication with a child. All offences were committed against the same victim.

Detective Constable Jamie Munro, the investigating officer, said: “Ward took advantage of a vulnerable young girl believing that she would not tell anyone.

“Thankfully he was wrong. I applaud the bravery of the victim in coming forward. Her actions may have saved other potential victims from suffering the same offences.

“Identifying and apprehending those who commit violent offences against women and girls is a priority for us, and I urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to speak to police, at the very least to ensure you are supported.”