Latest Offenders

Description

A Torquay paedophile has been jailed for making indecent images of children and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Jason Black, 51, has a history of similar offending and was subject to a range of court orders and monitoring measures when he committed his latest crimes.

He ignored restrictions banning him from the internet and was caught after downloading vile images of children being abused. The 51-year-old has been jailed for three years after admitting multiple offences at Exeter Crown Court.

Prosecutor Ms Kelly Scrivener said police arrested Black in February after his email was linked to suspicious activity on a child-based image-sharing platform. Police were worried he was once again accessing indecent images.

When they searched his address they found he had been using a computer in breach of his SHPO and had downloaded some pictures.

He was released but when police searched his address a second time they found more evidence he had been using the internet on devices he should not have even been in possession of.

A further police warrant was executed in August and further memory cards and SIM cards were found. In total, Black had 16 devices capable of accessing the internet and storing images, said the prosecutor. This put him in breach of his SHPO.

Ms Scrivener said: "It was a concerted and repeated attempt to evade the prohibitions of his SHPO over the course of eight months."

Black has previously served time in jail for similar offending dating back to 2017, the court heard.

Ms Rachel Smith, defending, said he had shown some insight into the harm caused by his behaviour and that he was sorry. She said he is not in the best of health and is unfit to work.

Judge David Evans said his offending might be the product of social isolation. Black will serve half his sentence in prison and the rest on licence.

Description

A trainee doctor has been jailed for sexually assaulting a young girl during a medical examination at an NHS surgery in Plymouth. Dr Gary Lawrence had a secret attraction to young children and was separately caught by a police undercover operation in which he sent explicit fantasies about child sex to a decoy officer on a chat site.

Lawrence, aged 53, retrained as a doctor in his 40s. He was working at a clinic in Plymouth as one of the final stages of his training when he assaulted the child in 2021. The girls mother was present at the examination and realised that there was no proper medical reason for Lawrence to touch her daughters genitals.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court today praised the mother for helping to bring Lawrence to justice and apologised for the delay of more than two years since the crime was committed in June 2021

Recorder Mr Donald Tait jailed Lawrence for eight and a half years and told him: It is hard to conceive a more flagrant and serious breach of trust than this.

Lawrence, aged 53, of Honicknowle, Plymouth, denied sexual assault but was found guilty at a trial at Plymouth Crown Court in July. He admitted publishing two obscene article, and five counts of making, by downloading, indecent images of children.

He made asexual harm prevention order which will prohibit any unsupervised contact with children for the rest of his life and put him on the sex offenders register for life. Lawrence will also be banned from working with children by the Declaration and Barring Service.

The judge told Lawrence: Despite your denials throughout the trial that you had no sexual interest in young children, the evidence suggested very clearly otherwise. Before the sexual assault, it is quite clear that you spent a significant period of time accessing indecent images of children and also engaged with an undercover officer.

Your private viewing of indecent images online crept into your professional life and you committed the sexual assault. It is hard to conceive a more flagrant and serious breach of trust than this. This offence is aggravated by the extreme breach of trust and the young age if the victim.

The girls mother and her family were in court and the Judge told her: On behalf of the court, I thank you for your dedication to see this man was brought to justice. It was thanks to you this was achieved. I hope you have some element of closure by the sentences I have imposed upon him.

Mr Rowan Jenkins, prosecuting, said the sexual assault happened in June 2021 and the police investigation showed he had downloaded 15,000 images or movies showing child abuse, of which 386 movies and 1,410 photos fell into the worst category.

Many of the images were of toddlers and very young children, some of whom appeared to be in distress. The mother of the child who was abused at the surgery wrote a victim impact statement saying she had suffered such severe anxiety and depression that she had been forced to stop work.

Mr Deni Matthews, defending, said he started looking at images online at a time when he was drinking too much and was drawn into accessing more and more extreme material before committing the contact offence.

He said: He understands he will receive a significant sentence. His career has ended and everything positive in his life has ended.

Police welcomed the sentence after the case. Detective Chief Inspector Simon Foster, from Devon and Cornwall Police Paedophile Online Investigation Team [POLIT], said: We are really pleased with todays sentence. The offences committed by Lawrence are the most despicable and abhorrent breaches of trust imaginable by a doctor.

He was working in a position of high responsibility where he had a duty to protect children and young people. He chose to abuse that trust and used his position to sexually assault a child.

Furthermore, Lawrence was in possession of an extremely large collection of indecent images of all categories, including images of children and extreme pornography involving animals. Of those, 2,000 were Category A images which are the most serious in nature.

A prison sentence is the only appropriate outcome for such serious offending and I welcome todays sentence. I would like to thank the victim and their family for the courage they have shown in reporting this matter. Theyve shown true strength and continual determination to see justice served in this difficult investigation.

Specialist POLIT officers have worked closely with them, providing ongoing support throughout. We have also received close support from the NHS during this investigation.

I also wish to show my huge appreciation to the investigation team, headed by Detective Sergeant Hannah Spencer and case officer Detective Constable Alicia Smith. They worked tirelessly on a difficult and emotive investigation, putting in many extra hours to ensure justice was served against this dangerous individual.

I hope this result will provide reassurance to other victims of sexual offences and give them confidence to come forward. We want victims to know that their account will be believed, they will be supported, and we will do our utmost to hold offenders to account for their actions.

This case sends a strong message to those using the internet for deviant purposes that we have the capability to use advanced technology and specially trained detectives to uncover the truth and bring offenders to justice. We are watching and we will catch you."

Description

A social care worker has been jailed after preying on vulnerable children he was being paid to help.

Manipulative Graham Burgess (left) groomed a teenage victim and then sexually abused her, watched another teen girl get changed, and drew explicit pictures in front of a young boy.

The 58-year-old targeted youngsters in his role as a child care manager within a care team at Renfrewshire Council.

Burgess had responsibility for 20 to 25 children at one time, with his role involving him preparing reports for the Children’s Reporter, liaising with other agencies, supporting the child and agreeing a care plan to meet the child’s needs.

Most children in care have experienced trauma or loss and his post involved supporting kids and their carers, doing activities with the youngsters and sometimes arranging contact with the child and other family members.

He also was a duty worker in the team and would be asked to respond if there was a crisis or a worker was on holiday.

In 2015, while playing pool at a community centre in Paisley with a boy he was assigned to, he drew explicit pictures on a whiteboard, leaving the child “freaked out”.

After learning what had happened, the boy’s parents asked for Burgess to be banned from seeing him, and told his school he was not allowed to visit him.

In 2017 he barged into one teenage girl’s bedroom while she was getting changed – after she told him she was undressing and not to enter the room.

She ran to her gran after the incident and told her she no longer wanted Burgess to be her case worker.

He also preyed on a another teenager when she was aged between 15 and 17, grooming her before sexually assaulting her.

The court heard he convinced her to store his personal mobile phone number in her phone as ‘Art and Music Therapy’ and changed his profile picture to Vincent Van Gogh.

He told her that she should do that so her classmates did not know she had a case worker when she attended college.

He bombarded her with WhatsApp messages, texting her throughout the day on a daily basis, saying he was checking in and was “liking the banter”.

He regularly sent her funny videos, joking with her and saying he was getting to know her.

After giving her presents of arts and crafts items, a candle, a book and i-Pod, he cuddled her after arriving at her home, where she was alone, then said “someone’s excited” while looking at his crotch.

She noticed he was aroused by the interaction, leaving her panicked and feeling ‘like jelly’, before he put his hand around her neck, pulled her towards him and kissed her.

He later sexually assaulted her in the back of his car, after pulling over on a secluded road and convincing her to get into the back of the vehicle.

On another occasion, he grabbed her hand and made her touch his privates.

On Tuesday, Burgess was sentenced at Paisley Sheriff Court after having earlier been convicted of six offences relating to his conduct.

He was jailed for four years and 10 months, given a three year and two month extended sentence, which will see him supervised upon his release from prison, and he was also placed on the sex offenders’ register.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry for the harms caused by this individual and cooperated fully with the police investigation. The individual is no longer an employee of Renfrewshire Council.”

Description

A man who tried to contact girls he thought were aged 12 and 13 for sex was today jailed for six years. Neil Doherty was in fact communicating online with undercover police officers.

The defendant, of Lothians Park, St Asaph, had denied seven offences but was convicted after a trial. Caernarfon Crown Court heard the offences happened between January 17, 2021 and May 28, 2021.

Prosecutor Nicolas Williams said the crimes relate to Doherty communicating with police decoys whom he believed were 12 and 13-year-old girls and arranging to meet two of them for sex. Specific details of the offences were not outlined in court today.

The court heard he has a criminal record including a conviction for robbery in 1985 for which he was jailed for five years. Anna Price, defending, said it was a sad case in that although her client has previous convictions there are none for sexual offences until now.

She said: "Fortunately there were no children - these were attempts rather than the full offence. It's not a case where the defendant has been apprehended en route to meeting a child."

She added that Doherty has alcohol issues and heart and back problems. The judge Mr Recorder Wyn Lloyd Jones told the defendant: "It saddens me to have to sentence someone of your age for so many offences of a serious nature."

He said Doherty claimed he believed he was messaging an adult in "role play". But the judge said: "I am entirely satisfied that you committed these offences for your own selfish sexual gratification.

"You believed you were communicating with young girls. (But) the people you were actually communicating with were police undercover operatives.

"If there had been real children you would have been grooming real children - and really vulnerable children." The judge noted Doherty's relationship with his partner had broken down.

He had been feeling low at the time of the offences and was drinking nine to ten pints a day. He lives with his elderly mother, 87, and is a father and grandfather.

His family probably think a great deal of him and the proceedings must be hard for them. He jailed Doherty for six years for two counts of attempting to incite a female under 13 to engage in sexual activity which was penetrative.

 He faced three counts of attempting to cause a female under 16 to engage in sexual communication and was given four, nine and four month concurrent sentences respectively. And he was sentenced to four years imprisonment for two counts of arranging to meet a child for a child sex offence, also to run concurrently to the main sentence.

The judge also gave the defendant a sexual harm prevention order to last indefinitely. His phone which was used for the offences will be forfeited and destroyed.

Description

A murderer and serial sex attacker dubbed 'the Clifton Rapist' is back behind bars after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman whilst out on licence. Ronald Evans, now 82, is Britain's longest serving prisoner having been jailed for a string of rapes in Bristol between 1977 and 1979.

He had previously served 11 years for the murder and rape of a woman in 1963. He was released from jail under a lifetime licence in 2018 but has been on remand since his arrest and will be sentenced later this week after his conviction for molesting a woman at her home.

He was convicted at Harrow Crown Court, sitting at Hendon Magistrates of one count of sexual assault in a majority verdict of 11 to one. Appearing emotionless as the jury returned their verdicts after more than five hours deliberation he was cleared of two other counts of sex assault against a different woman

The jury in his week long retrial had been told of his previous sexual offences but his conviction for the horrific rape and murder of 21-year-old shop worker Kathleen Heathcote in 1963 was not disclosed to them. Evans admitted killing Heathcote in the Nottingham area after police found some of the victims possessions in his home.

He spent 11 years in prison before being released on a life license in 1975 and reoffending with the string of rapes on Clifton's downs in Bristol. Evans, dressed in a beige cardigan over his grey prison tracksuit and using a crutch to help him walk, told his trial he felt remorse for his previous offences but had been nothing but kind to his two latest alleged victims.

He denied three counts of sexual assault made by two separate women whom he met at a community centre in London, saying he was a reformed man who had changed his ways. Both women became tearful whilst giving their evidence in court.

The jury were told he had nine previous convictions - eight of indecent assault and one of rape - against women dating back to between 1977 and 1979. Evans terrorised the Clifton and Durdham Downs for around 20 months in the late 70s; targeting young women aged between 18 and 33 in sex attacks down dark alleyways of the city.

A honey-trap operation codenamed Argus was eventually enacted by police at the beginning of 1979 to ensnare Evans, with 11 brave young female officers acting as bait for the elusive criminal over a period of 11 weeks. Evans trial heard he was released from prison - after a total of 57 years inside - in November 2018.

The jury heard Evans began volunteering at a community centre and that, despite his old age, had maintained his inappropriate sexual desires.

After analysing his mobile phone, officers also found searches to Pornhub and sexualised conversations with friends. Why is this relevant? Ms Sales asked the jury in her opening. Well, the Crown say it is relevant because Mr Evans is a leopard that cannot change its spots.

Despite his age, he was and remains a sexual predator. The court heard Evans developed relationships with women at the local community centre; woman Ms Sales suggested were targeted by Evans as being vulnerable.

One of his alleged victims, whom Evans was cleared of assaulting told the court he told her: You can trust me; all these ladies love me. I am not trying to get in your knickers Not yet, anyway.

But the second woman who he was convicted of assaulting said he had introduced himself to her as a touchy-feely person. The court heard the second woman he targeted was lonely and wanted to make friends in the area when she befriended Evans, having again met him at the community centre.

In July last year, the woman agreed to go for a meal at a local pub with Evans, and later went back to his home with him. Evans told her he was getting spam emails with nude women on them, and began showing these emails to the increasingly uncomfortable woman.

He then began to touch her on the sofa, before she told him she wanted to go home. Hugging her as she was leaving, he grabbed her right buttock and said: Ooo can I touch your bum?.

The court heard the woman felt shocked and violated by Evans actions and messaged him the following day to say she was upset about what he had done. During a phone call later in the day, Evans said, This kind of talk will get me in trouble, before hanging up.

Ms Sales told the court Evans had targeted both women due to their physical disabilities and mental health issues. There were women with serious mental health issues that [went] to that [community] centre, she said.

That is where you went, to target them. On his previous sex convictions from Bristol, she added: They were all committed against women alone at night time.

Being a man in your 80s, you realised you had to change your tactics. You went to the community centre and seized your opportunity. A lot of people would think that a man in his 80s wouldnt have sexual desires, but its clear you maintained yours over the years.

You identified an opportunity. You are not a young man chasing women in their 30s anymore, you are an elderly man chasing vulnerable women. Are your sexual desires so out of control you cant control yourself?

You would like to think that, Evans quipped back to Ms Sales, before saying he had forgot what he had said moments earlier. Following his arrest in August last year, Evans answered no comment to all questions put to him in police interview.

You have been interviewed many times in your life, Ms Sales continued. You are not new to the criminal justice system; you know how it works, you are a clever man.

The reason the questions were not answered was because you had not made up a story yet. Evans, who became increasingly frustrated with Ms Sales whilst giving evidence, insisted hed treated the two complainants with nothing but kindness, and even suggested one may have brought the charges against him after becoming angry that he had ended their friendship.

However, lawyers said that no matter the result, whether he was cleared or convicted of the fresh sexual allegations, Evans would always have been returned to jail because he had breached the conditions of his licence. Sentencing is due to take place Thursday, November 16.

Her Honour Judge Francis told the jury: Thank you for your time and consideration. We know we are asking a lot from you and you are stepping outside your comfort zone.

But without you, the jury, the criminal justice system would not work. You ensure people have a fair trial.

Description

A WOODLEY dance company owner paid a 15-year-old girl to send him sexual images of herself, a court has heard. 

Richard Still, director of Vibez Dance Ballroom and Latin School, pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court on Monday (November 13) to four sexual offences against a child.

The 38-year-old dance champion admitted to asking a girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to send him images that were sexual or erotic in nature in exchange for payments into her bank account.

He also pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Still was also charged with four other counts including making and possessing indecent images of a child and engaging in sexual communications with a child but the Crown Prosecution Service have agreed to drop these charges.

The dance teacher was due to be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Monday (November 13) but the case was incorrectly sent to the court as a trial preparation hearing.

Instead, Still was re-arraigned and his sentencing has been adjourned until December 19 at the same court.

He remains on bail with the condition that he does not attend Vibez Dance Studio, based in Crockhamwell Road, Woodley, during opening hours, he only stay at his home address in Louden Square, Earley, and he cannot be with a child under the age of 18 without the supervision of an adult.

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THE Earl of Starthmore has been jailed for ten months after committing a sex attack in his Scottish castle.

Simon Bowes-Lyon, 34, pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman at Glamis Castle, the seat of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, part of the late Queen Mother’s family.

Bowes-Lyon, who inherited his family’s large Holwick estate in Teesdale in 2016, was sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday. His father, Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon, was the Queen's cousin.

The court heard that sexual assault was committed last February during a three-day public relations event at the castle hosted by Bowes-Lyon.

Sentencing, Sheriff Alistair Carmichael said the complainer had shown no sexual interest in the landowner.

Sheriff Carmichael said: “She had gone to bed early because she had to leave early the next morning.

“This assault involved you going to her bedroom at about 1.20pm, persuading her to open the door of her bedroom and then pushing your way into the room and pushing her down onto the bed. You then grabbed her hard by a breast and nipple, tried to lift her nightdress up, followed her into the bathroom and stopped her from closing that door, followed her back into the bedroom, pushed her against a wall there.”

He grabbed her bottom and intimate areas, the sheriff said. The multi-millionaire landowner then “got in to bed with her, pulled at her, repeatedly shut the bedroom door when she tried to open it, continued to pull at her and tried to kiss her”.

Sheriff Carmichael told Bowes-Lyon: “Throughout all of this she made it clear that she wanted you to stop.

“She told you repeatedly that she had a boyfriend, repeatedly told you to leave and repeatedly had to keep pushing you away from her.

“All of which you ignored. Once she’d finally managed to eject you from her bedroom, you returned to the door and pleaded with her to let you back in.

“You were drunk. The assault and your refusal to leave spanned some 20 minutes.”

The victim was so afraid that she locked her door and wedged a chair under the handle and was left shaking, the court heard.

The sheriff added that she still has nightmares.

He added: “The amounts of force, aggression and persistence that you used are concerning.

“In mitigation, you apologised to her soon after the assault, you have expressed remorse, you have accepted responsibility for you actions, you have no previous convictions and you appear to

be otherwise of good character.”

Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Bowes-Lyon had been assessed by experts as posing a “medium risk” of committing more sexual crimes.

The court imposed an initial sentence of 15 months and reduced it to ten months to recognise the plea of guilty at the first opportunity.

Bowes-Lyon was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

After his initial court appearance last month, he said he was “greatly ashamed” of his actions, adding: “I did not think I was capable of behaving the way I did but have had to face up to it and take responsibility.

“My apologies go, above all, to the woman concerned, but I would also like to apologise to family, friends and colleagues for the distress I have caused them.”

Description

A grandfather who looked at child abuse online says his debilitating stroke was karma.

Jason King appeared at Salisbury Crown Court on Friday (10 November) to be sentenced for three counts of the possession of incident images of children.

The 57-year-old, of Bramble Drive, Westbury, was caught with abhorrent sex abuse pictures and videos featuring boys and girls – many of them as young as seven.

Police attended his home address after receiving information from a internet service provider, seizing three laptops and a mobile phone.

During examination of the devices, 205 category A images – showing the most severe child abuse – were located. As were 399 category b images and 1371 category C.

In interview, he told officers that he had been watching pornography but claimed it was legal and that why would not find any child-related material.

The court heard that the defendant has a previous conviction for indecent assault on a child aged under 14 dating back to 1992.

Judge Angela Morris interjected ahead of defence barrister Kellie Evener opening her mitigation.

She said: “What I find most concerning about this, in your clients case, is the denial of any sexual interest in children, because it doesn’t wash, to put it in blunt terms.”

Responding, Ms Evener said: “Mr King clearly still has some difficulties in what he has preferences for, if I can put it like that.”

She said that her client “accepts where his habits lie” and has “taken it upon himself” to undertake a course to address his offending behaviour, which he has completed successfully.

Ms Evener added that King has “high levels of remorse”, which were “assessed as a genuine” in a pre-sentence report (PSR).

“He is not only a husband and a father, he is a grandfather; there are going to be consequences, far-reaching consequences.”

The court heard that King described his debilitating stroke – for which he now requires a wheelchair to get around – “karma” in the PSR.

Judge Morris said that “the notion that this was anything other than indecent images of children is frankly propitious”, but accepted he had made “efforts to try to address some of your offending behaviour”.

She said his previous sexual offence is “of concern to this court” and added that there is “there is something of a link between them”.

Judge Morris imposed a 22-month prison sentence and suspended it for two years. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years, alongside a Sexual Harm Prevention Order – which prohibits him from having contact with children.

She told him to complete 50 rehbilitation activity days with the probation service.

Adding: “Make no mistake about it, the only reason I have not sent you to prison today is because of your stroke and your immobility… this is your one chance.”

Description

A sexual predator who targeted underage girls and raped one of his victims while she was asleep has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years.

On Friday, a Bradford judge decided that Alex Honour, 25, still posed a risk to young girls and it was necessary to impose an extended licence period of four years after he concluded he was a "dangerous offender."

None of the Honours nine victims must be identified for legal reasons, but Judge Jonathan Rose heard details- in court of how the he cruelly manipulated and sexually abused them.

The judge said he was satisfied beyond any doubt that Honour, of Lentilfield Street, Ovenden, had identified and targeted young and vulnerable girls. He said the author of a pre-sentence report for Honour had noted the predatory element of his behaviour.

With that I agree, said Judge Rose.

Back in March this year Honour admitted a series of sexual offences, but some of his victims still had to give evidence during a trial which took place in August. Bradford Crown Court heard that Honour began offending when he was only 15 and his behaviour continued until he was about 20.

In one victim impact statement one of Honour's victims described how he made her feel worthless and another described being taken advantage of and used by him.

The court heard how Honour tried to get one underage girl to have sex with him in a cave, but Judge Rose said the most serious offence that he had been convicted of was the rape of another youngster while she was asleep. He said the girl was horrified to wake up to find Honour, who was then 20, having sexual intercourse with her.

Judge Rose handed out concurrent individual prison sentences for a series of offences including sexual assault, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

But he decided that the rape matter was the lead offence and increased that sentence to 10-and-a-half years to take account of the other offences.

Judge Rose said Honour would have to register as a sex offender for life and he also imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order to prevent further offending and to stop him contacting any of his victim.

Description

A West Lavington man was caught with hundreds of vile child abuse images.

Mark Sainsbury pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and appeared at Salisbury Crown Court for sentencing today (Monday).

The 59-year-old biker, of Homefield, had 442 photographs and movies on his laptop – including 13 that were categorised as being the most serious, involving penetration.

The defendant was handed a 24-month community order with the requirement to complete a Maps for Change sex offender programme and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Sainsbury must also register has a sex offender for five years and will be closely monitored with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting the same period.

Description

POLICE have released the mugshot of a sex offender who breached the terms of a court order by deleting Facebook and WhatsApp from his phone and having a secret second phone.

At Swansea Crown Court last week, Judge Paul Thomas KC jailed Luke Rogers for 16 months, running concurrently for each of the two breaches.

The court heard that Rogers had been convicted in 2020 for two offences of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16. He was jailed for 15 months, and was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, and had to register as a sex offender for the same period of time.

As part of the terms of these orders, Rogers had to notify the police within three days of buying any device capable of accessing the internet, and was not allowed to delete files, applications, data, or internet history from his devices.

At a hearing on September 20, Swansea Crown Court was told that Rogers attended Haverfordwest Police Station on August 29. During that meeting, he admitted that he had deleted the Facebook app from his phone as he had been “getting hassle” from another man. He had also deleted WhatsApp.

The court heard that he had done a factory reset on the phone.

“It was found that he had last used WhatsApp on August 23, and that he had deliberately deleted the application ahead of the meeting,” prosecutor Hannah George told the court on September 20.

The police were granted a search warrant, and a second phone was found at Rogers’ address. It was confirmed by both his partner – who provided officers with both of the defendant’s phone numbers – and his grandmother that it belonged to Rogers.

He was interviewed at Haverfordwest Police Station, and admitted two breaches of the order.

Rogers said he had bought the second phone three weeks earlier, and that he had reset his other phone because “WhatsApp was not working”.

The court heard that Rogers, 37, of Wolfscastle, had 16 previous convictions for 33 offences – of which seven were sexual in nature.

He also “has a history of failing to comply with the notification requirements,” Ms George told the court.

Stephan Alfred, who represented Rogers at the hearing in September, said that Rogers had not received any support in the form of a sexual offenders treatment programme.

He admitted there was “a cycle here in terms of breaches” by Rogers.

The case was adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report, and Rogers was sentenced on Wednesday, November 8.

Judge Thomas also ordered the defendant must also pay a £156 surcharge, and a forfeiture and destruction order was made regarding one of the phones seized.

Description

A scheming sexual predator targeted a schoolgirl by promising her "the world", including them having "matching cars" and living in a big posh house together.

Ryan Smith called her "hot", "fit" and "perfect" and he spoke of the "amazing things" that they would do together – including "incredible date nights" – but the promises turned into a nightmare for her, Hull Crown Court heard. Smith, 30, formerly of Hull, admitted meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child and making indecent images of a child.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said that an investigation began after it was discovered that a girl had been kissing Smith and had gone to meet him. Sexual messages had been exchanged between them. The girl said that they had kissed and cuddled and that they sent pictures to each other.

Smith made no comment to all police questions during interview, but a large number of messages were found that had been exchanged between him and the girl. There were intimate and sexual "grooming" conversations between them.

He encouraged the girl to send explicit pictures of herself to him. He sent her a picture with "I love you" written on an intimate part of his body.

The girl said he had promised her "the world" and he claimed that he was planning "amazing things" that they would do together. However, she added: "I wasn't allowed to tell anyone . . . he didn't want anyone to know."

Her school work had been "made pure hell" because of the problems caused. "My life became unbearable," she said.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that the majority of the contact between Smith and the girl was "by electronic means", but he had now moved to Wales. He had no previous convictions.

"It has been a difficult and shameful thing for him to acknowledge," said Mr Godfrey. "He is the author of his own misfortune."

Smith was now working full-time. "He has not put this young person through the ordeal of a trial. He had that moment of clarity because of that shame," Mr Godfrey added.

"He has made efforts to move on. There were some very unpleasant images that were shared.

"There was talk of kissing and such like and that was the sexual activity that was undertaken by the victim and the defendant. There was talk of having cars and having a house, but not imminent penetrative sexual activity."

Judge John Thackray KC told Smith: "You groomed your young victim. She was no doubt impressionable and no doubt flattered by the messages and communications that you gave her.

"You are 100 per cent to blame for this offending. Your victim was a young girl who bears no responsibility whatsoever for what took place.

"It's clear that your offending has had a profound effect upon this young girl and will continue to do so for many years. She may never fully recover from your offending and may always have trust issues."

Smith was jailed for two-and-a-half years. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.

Description

Staff at a coffee shop in Cardiff were terrorised by a stalker who made sexually inappropriate comments at their workplace and followed them after they finished their shifts. On one occasion he followed one of the victims into the staff area and tried asking for her number.

Braham Seraie, 49, was a regular customer at a Caffé Nero store in Cardiff whose victims had been warned by colleagues about his behaviour. He began specifically asking for the first victim to serve him before going on to make comments about her appearance, flirting with her, and trying to make her partner jealous when he was in the shop.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the attention paid by the defendant became more intense and he asked the victim to go to Greece with him, invited himself to drinks with her friends, and asked her what she was doing at the weekend. When he learned it was her birthday Seraie bought her jewellery and put it in her locker. He also followed her outside of work and followed her to a bus stop.

The second victim was also targeted by the defendant who made lewd comments about her and behaved inappropriately. She called him out on his behaviour and called him a "weirdo" but he responded: "I'm just trying to put a smile on your face."

He asked her to come outside the shop and asked for her number and when she went to a staff area to take a break he followed her upstairs, knocked on the staff door, and asked for her number again. Seraie then waited for her in the door of the women's toilets and asked her to go in there with him, which she refused to do. The second victim later described feeling "anxiety and stress" and both of the victims have left their jobs.

Seraie, of Hannah Street, Butetown, was arrested and later found guilty of two counts of stalking. The court heard he had he had previous convictions for sexual assault and harassment and had been made subject to sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

The defendant refused to attend his sentencing hearing from custody and did not attend his trial. He was also unpresented so no mitigation was put forward on his behalf.

Sentencing, Recorder Alun Eynon-Evans said Seraie still denies the offences and referred to the victims as "liars" in his interview with probation. He said the defendant had said he was suffering with PTSD having claimed to have served in the army in Algeria but noted it was "questionable" if this was true. He said he would give the defendant "the benefit of the doubt".

Seraie was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to restraining orders in respect of both defendants for five years.

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A 52-year-old man from Scarborough has been given a 28-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of breaching a sexual offences protection order and sex offender notification requirements.

Daniel Borgers, who is also known as Daniel Jacobs, appeared at York Crown Court on Monday, 13 November where he was also given an indefinite Sexual Offences Protection Order.

Borgers, of Scalby Road in Scarborough, met his victim, a 17-year-old girl through a ‘handyman’ business he had set up, against the direction of his police offender manager, who had told him such a business would be unsuitable for a person with his conviction.

After a relative of the girl found out Borgers was a registered sex offender, they reported the relationship to North Yorkshire Police.

He was arrested and admitted breaching his sexual offences protection order. He also failed to provide information that he was in a sexual relationship, the registration number of a car he was driving, the fact he was working as a handyman and that he had stayed in an address for more than 12 hours with a person under the age of 18-years-old.

The victim appeared in court to give evidence and explained the how the relationship and finding out he was a registered sex offender had impacted different areas of her life.

Investigating Officer PC Belinda Williamson, from Scarborough’s Police Offender Management Unit, said: “This man is an extremely dangerous individual who used a job forbidden by police to befriend a 17-year-old girl. The relationship quickly became sexual and has had a lasting impact on the victim.

“Not only did he actively lie and say he was unable to leave the house due to his mental health, he was living a secret life, running a handyman business and having a relationship with a vulnerable young girl.

“His deception prevented police from speaking with the girl and informing her of his previous convictions, which would have given her the opportunity to decide whether she wanted to continue the relationship or not.

“I would like to praise the victim for her strength throughout the investigation and giving evidence in court.

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A 57-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a series of sexual offences against children that took place throughout Scotland between 1984 and 1989.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, 10 November, Rowland Reilly pled guilty to the charges including indecent assaults. He is due to be sentenced at Edinburgh High Court on Friday, 8 December.

Detective Inspector Anna Johnston said: “Rowland Reilly now faces the consequences of his despicable and distressing actions.

“The passage of time does not make these incidents any easier to talk about. His victims have been incredibly strong in coming forward and disclosing the abuse they suffered. Our thoughts remain with them and I hope Reilly’s convictions brings them some comfort and allows them to move forward with their lives.

“We remain committed to supporting victims of sexual crime and protecting children from harm and abuse. We will use all available resources to find and arrest those responsible, no matter how much time has passed. I would urge people to come forward. You will be fully supported by officers and our partner agencies.”