Latest Offenders

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Walsall man who won an award before being jailed for sex offences

This is the face of a man from Walsall and a former chauffeur for the mayor of Birmingham who is starting a jail term of nine years for child sex offences.

Kenneth Bond, aged 56 of Sycamore Road, was awarded the Royal Human Society Testimonial last year after persuading a woman who was standing in the road brandishing an eight-inch knife to give the weapon up.

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Andrew Burke, from Cardiff, has been jailed for rape and other sexual offences.

The 60-year-old was found guilty of rape, violence against a child, indecent assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, taking an indecent photo of a child, and assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.

Burke was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, October 3, to 15 years in prison. He is also subject to a 30-year restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

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A man has been jailed for 11 years after admitting grooming an 11-year-old girl and making indecent images of children.

Alastair Hodge, 28, of Condor Boulevard, Shortstown, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court today (Thursday) after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and two separate charges of causing and inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Hodge was arrested after the victim’s parent discovered messages of a sexual nature sent by him to the child, in which he groomed her and encouraged her to send him indecent images of herself.

Officers from Bedfordshire Police then executed a search warrant at Hodge’s home and seized a number of phones and computer devices. Digital forensics officers carried out examinations on the items and found multiple indecent images of several children.

Investigation Officer Amanda Dickson, from the Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAIT), said: “Hodge’s computer devices contained images from the most severe category of child sexual abuse and there is no doubt that he is a dangerous sexual predator, so I am pleased he has received such a lengthy sentence for these sickening crimes.

“He took advantage of a young girl, grooming her via messaging apps and intentionally inciting her to engage in sexual activity, as well as encouraging her to send indecent images of herself to him which he added to his sickening collection.

“Online child sex abuse is not victimless – it causes severe harm to the children involved and is likely to have a lasting impact on them. We absolutely will not tolerate this and we are committed to tackling those responsible and bringing them to justice so that they cannot inflict their abuse on anyone else.”

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A Scarborough man has been jailed after being found guilty of rape and non-fatal strangulation.

Craig Anthony Robert Welsh, 37, previously of High Street, Eastfield, was jailed for seven years by York Crown Court on Wednesday 26 June 2024.

Following a trial at which he pleaded not guilty, a jury found him guilty of both offences that took place last year.

Speaking after sentence, investigating officer, Detective Constable Tracey Brewster of Scarborough CID, said: "Welsh denied the offences during police interviews and subjected his already traumatised victim to the ordeal of a court trial.

"She has shown courage and strength in reporting the crimes and providing the evidence to help secure justice. Welsh is a danger to women and is now rightfully serving a prison sentence for what he has done.

"While the lasting affects of the ordeal are traumatic and life-changing for the victim, I hope she can draw some strength from the outcome at court."

Welsh was also issued with a 15-year restraining order and will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A NORTHWICH man collected hundreds of indecent images of children and shared one of the most serious with someone via WhatsApp.

Paul Birleson has avoided jail after pleading guilty to a string of seven offences relating to the possession and distribution of images of children and animals.

At Chester Crown Court on Monday (October 7) the 48-year-old was handed a 24-month sentence - reduced from 30 months on account of his early guilty plea - suspended for two years.

If you had a trial I could not have given the sentence I did today, that is how close you came to going to prison, said judge Simon Berkson.

Prosecutor Tom McLoughlin explained that police raided Birlesons home on July 28, 2022, following reports of suspicious behaviour on his Google account.

Police analysed his devices and found a total of 529 images, including 28 category A images and 115 category A videos, the most serious.

Birleson was also found to be in possession of 40 category B images and 89 category B videos, as well as 124 category C images and 106 videos.

Also found on the devices were 25 extreme pornographic images involving dogs and cats.

Mr McLoughlin continued to explain there was evidence Birleson had watched these images on a TV at his home.

He had also distributed one category A image by sending it to someone over WhatsApp.

David Morton, defending, said his client was utterly ashamed of what he had done.

He added Birleson has a complicated medical history, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Birleson, formerly of Emmett Street in Barnton, also has no previous convictions and was described by the Probation Service as having a low risk of reoffending.

Ordinarily he is a bright, articulate and capable individual, said Mr Morton.

He has made it clear he is willing to put his back into effective work to rehabilitate.

Mr Morton continued, saying his client had shown he is capable of change, highlighting his battle with alcoholism, with Birleson now the best part of 20 months sober.

Taking this all into account, Judge Berkson sentenced Birleson based on what he saw as the most serious of the seven charges distribution of a category A indecent photograph of a child.

He said: Not only do you like to watch child abuse on screens in front of you but you are prepared to distribute them to others with similar interest.

Medical conditions are not in themselves a get out of jail free but here we have a combination of factors.

Birleson, now of Carlingford Road in Chester-le-Street, was also ordered to complete 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement.

On top of this, Judge Berkson imposed a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

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A sex attacker known as the 'rush hour prowler' has been jailed for six years after carrying out a string of "shocking" and "disturbing" assaults.

Married father-of-two Kevin Bond, a former nightclub owner and operations manager at South Bank University, targeted victims as young as eight across southeast London.

The 52-year-old man from Chislehurst, Bromley, usually attacked lone women or young girls in pairs before running off.

His targets would often be travelling to or from work and school.

Bond's offending was so prolific that police conducted a campaign with schools and parents across the boroughs of Southwark, Bexley, Lewisham and Bromley to make sure young girls travelled in groups or with an adult.

He first struck on 6 October 2016 but was not tracked down until November a year later when CCTV images were released in a public appeal.

Bond admitted 11 counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 after his DNA was found on the crotch of a victim's jeans.

Multiple other victims picked him out of identity parades.

Ben Lloyd, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court: "The defendant's typical offending involved following unsuspecting women and girls in public places, often on their way to and from work during typical commuting hours.

"Having followed them along the street or into buildings, he would surprise them, grab them on their private parts and then run off."

Bond attacked three people - a 13-year-old girl and two adults - in the space of less than an hour in Greenwich in last October, the court heard.

The eight-year-old was attacked on 13 November 2017 after she became separated from her friends on her journey to school.

Several of Bond's victims used personal statements to say how they were now afraid to venture out on their own and were nervous of lone men.

John Blanford, defending, said Mr Bond's life had started to fall apart after the suicide of his mother in 2016.

His marriage broke down and he started abusing cocaine, ecstasy and watching pornography before he began his campaign of assaults, the court heard.

Judge Nicholas Heathcote Williams QC said: "From October 2016 you started assaulting young girls and young women - waiting until they were alone or became detached from the group they were with.

"Or you attacked them when they were isolated - in parks, in stairwells and in a lift - then you sexually assaulted them by grabbing their crotch area or the breast area."

He continued: "What you did was deeply shocking, violating, frightening, distressing and disturbing for your victims."

Bond was also ordered to sign on to the sex offenders register for life and barred from living with, or having unsupervised contact with, girls under the age of 18 unless with the knowledge and consent of social services and the child's parent or guardian.

The defendant appeared in the dock in a white shirt and dark tie and did not react as his sentence was read out.

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A mother was shocked to find out her partner was a convicted sex offender.

Karl Everiss had assured the woman he had no previous convictions and had never even been arrested before she let him meet her children. She had no idea he had been to prison for sexual activity with a child until the police came to her and broke the news.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Everiss was jailed for four years in July 2017 for four counts of sexual activity with a child. He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

In September this year, police carried out a home visit on him and found he had been using an alias of "silver fox" on Facebook, a name he had not registered with police as he was supposed to.

Following that, police made further inquiries and discovered Everiss had been in a relationship with a woman in Ashington. They went to her home and she said she had been in a relationship with him for around 12 months and that he had been staying there two or three times a week.

She also confirmed that her children had been present on some of the occasions he had been there. His contact with the children put him in breach of his sexual harm prevention order.

Albany Kidd, prosecuting, told the court: "She said after three months she let him meet the children after asking him if he had any previous convictions. He told her he was of good character and had never been arrested and was not that kind of person.

"Her children don't permanently reside there but they had been present on numerous occasions at the same time as the defendant, although they have never been left alone with him. However he did stay overnight while they were there."

The woman said Everiss was asleep upstairs and when police went up, they found him lying on the floor and he appeared to be trying to hide.

Everiss, 53, of Juliet Street, Ashington, who has 28 previous convictions, including two previous failures to comply with the sex offender notification requirements, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with the sex offender notification requirements and failing to comply with the sexual harm prevention order.

Jailing him for two years, Judge Tim Gittins said: "It's clear from what she had to say that she had started that relationship with you and allowed you to meet her children only on the understanding you were of good character. So there was a degree of deceit and manipulation by you.

"There is no evidence of harm here, beyond, no doubt, the awful sense of the reality hitting (the woman) and her children when it transpired what your true character was, when the police notified her of the circumstances of your previous conviction."

Helen Towers, defending, said: "His greatest mitigation is his early guilty plea, entered at the first opportunity." She added: "He didn't have a huge amount of contact with the children and there's no allegation of any untoward behaviour."

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A mother was shocked to find out her partner was a convicted sex offender.

Karl Everiss had assured the woman he had no previous convictions and had never even been arrested before she let him meet her children. She had no idea he had been to prison for sexual activity with a child until the police came to her and broke the news.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Everiss was jailed for four years in July 2017 for four counts of sexual activity with a child. He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

In September this year, police carried out a home visit on him and found he had been using an alias of "silver fox" on Facebook, a name he had not registered with police as he was supposed to.

Following that, police made further inquiries and discovered Everiss had been in a relationship with a woman in Ashington. They went to her home and she said she had been in a relationship with him for around 12 months and that he had been staying there two or three times a week.

She also confirmed that her children had been present on some of the occasions he had been there. His contact with the children put him in breach of his sexual harm prevention order.

Albany Kidd, prosecuting, told the court: "She said after three months she let him meet the children after asking him if he had any previous convictions. He told her he was of good character and had never been arrested and was not that kind of person.

"Her children don't permanently reside there but they had been present on numerous occasions at the same time as the defendant, although they have never been left alone with him. However he did stay overnight while they were there."

The woman said Everiss was asleep upstairs and when police went up, they found him lying on the floor and he appeared to be trying to hide.

Everiss, 53, of Juliet Street, Ashington, who has 28 previous convictions, including two previous failures to comply with the sex offender notification requirements, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with the sex offender notification requirements and failing to comply with the sexual harm prevention order.

Jailing him for two years, Judge Tim Gittins said: "It's clear from what she had to say that she had started that relationship with you and allowed you to meet her children only on the understanding you were of good character. So there was a degree of deceit and manipulation by you.

"There is no evidence of harm here, beyond, no doubt, the awful sense of the reality hitting (the woman) and her children when it transpired what your true character was, when the police notified her of the circumstances of your previous conviction."

Helen Towers, defending, said: "His greatest mitigation is his early guilty plea, entered at the first opportunity." She added: "He didn't have a huge amount of contact with the children and there's no allegation of any untoward behaviour."

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A man from Wallsend who used social media platforms to send explicit messages to and request indecent images from children has been sentenced following a National Crime Agency investigation.

Daniel Lee, 29, used multiple social media platforms to send more than 60,000 messages across 2,405 conversations to acquire indecent images of children through conversations with victims.

NCA officers recovered a total of 97 Category A, 94 Category B and 215 Category C images and videos from his device.

Nine UK male and female child victims were identified, aged between 13 and 16 at the time of his offending.

In one chat, a 14-year-old victim told Lee her age but he continued to engage in sexually explicit messaging via social media and using voice notes.

In another, Lee asked the age of his victim and continued to ask for indecent images after he was told she was 15.

Lee also deliberately used a false profile image on his accounts, telling one 14-year-old victim that he was 16 and sending her £20 during the course of the conversation to encourage sexually explicit messages. Lee swapped more than 4000 messages with this victim alone.

When searching Lee's phone, officers found that Lee had also messaged a number of accounts asking if they were selling sexual content. Numerous messages indicated he wanted to pay for images, videos or live 'sessions' but had no money to pay.

Lee was arrested at his home in August 2022. On arrest, he told NCA officers "I hold my hands up to it, I should never have done it". He went on to provide a no comment interview.

He was charged with 45 offences including inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity involving penetration, sexual communication with a child and making and distributing indecent images of children. He pleaded guilty to all the offences at Newcastle Crown Court in July 2024.

Lee was jailed for four years and five months at the same court today. He will be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Danielle Pownall from the National Crime Agency said: "The NCA is committed to protecting children and bringing those who seek this material out to justice.

"Daniel Lee was a prolific offender, targeting children on social media sites and soliciting illegal images from them for his own gratification.

"We uncovered tens of thousands of messages on Lee's device, both to his victims and to other accounts to request sexual content. He preyed on vulnerable children to continue his offending."

Bethany Raine, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: "Daniel Lee made a number of different accounts with false personas, for the predatory purpose of targeting children online and obtaining sexual images of them.

"His offending has affected dozens of children, who were manipulated and exploited, all for his own sexual gratification.

"The CPS will continue to work closely with law enforcement partners to relentlessly pursue justice for victims and prosecuting those who engage in online child sexual abuse."

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A BASILDON man, who has been described as a "monster," has been jailed for sexually assaulting a child multiple times.

Harrison Hawkins, 37, of Kings Road, Steeple View, Basildon, was sentenced to a total of four years and six months in prison.

At the same court in May, Hawkins admitted three counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, two counts of taking indecent images of a child, and one count of possession of extreme pornographic material.

Officers launched an investigation in June 2020 after receiving reports of indecent images of a child on Hawkins' phone.

Then, allegations of sexual abuse were put to Hawkins in November 2021 after the victim bravely told officers from our Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT) about further incidents.

Hawkins was interviewed about these allegations and replied "no comment" when questioned.

He was subsequently charged and pleaded not guilty to all charges but changed his plea to guilty midway through the trial.

Today he was sentenced to four years and six months behind bars for sexual assault of a child and 24 months behind bars for two further counts of sexual assault on a child.

He was also jailed for nine months for each count of taking indecent images of a child and three months for possession of an extreme pornographic image.

All the sentences will run concurrently.

Hawkins was also given a 10-year restraining order and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The court ordered forfeiture and destruction of devices connected to the images and to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

He has been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Det Con Ian Burgess, who led the investigation, said: “Today’s sentence reflects the gravity of Hawkins’ offending.

“I want to pay tribute to the victim and her family who has been through an awful ordeal. They have displayed immense courage and dignity throughout.

“I hope today’s result brings some closure for them.”

A mum, who remains anonymous, has praised the police after her daughter's abuser was jailed.

She added: “We have been believed and I would say to anyone else who finds themselves in this position to go to the police and report it. You will be listened to and treated with respect.

“It feels like a black cloud has been lifted from over our heads and we can start to rebuild our lives.

“He was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He appeared charming, friendly, and seemed so shy.

“But I know it was all an act and he is, in fact, a monster.

“We have got a life ahead of us and that is thanks to the justice Essex Police helped us achieve.

“The officer is our hero. I’m so thankful to him. He saved our lives.”

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A man who repeatedly abused a young girl, treating her, in her words, as, “a sex toy”, was today (Tuesday, October 15) sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

Allan Spacey committed the offences on a victim who a judge said he knew was, “young, naïve and vulnerable”, at the time.

But Durham Crown Court heard that despite being convicted of the offending, following a trial in August, the 68-year-old defendant of The Crescent, High Etherley, near Bishop Auckland, remains in denial.

The court was told the victim felt alone in the world and self-harmed as well as attempting to take her own life twice, in the wake of the abuse.

But she eventually disclosed what had happened to her at Spacey’s hands and it led to the defendant being charged with six counts of sexual assault, one accounting for multiple offences.

Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said after the police became involved, Spacey sent the girl numerous messages.

He went on trial at the court on August 19 and, following a week-long hearing, was found guilty on all six counts by the jury, including some of sexual assault on a girl under 13.

Today’s sentencing hearing was read an impact statement by the victim who said she still struggles to believe what Spacey did to her and what he took from her, having put her, “through hell.”

Labelling her abuser as, "weak and pathetic", she said: “I want to protect other young girls and show them what Alan Spacey is.”

She said she was, “young and naïve” at the time and that Spacey knew how vulnerable she was.

“How can you blame a child for her own sexual assault,” she stated, and she said she fears the effects of Spacey's abuse will live with her for the rest of her life.

But she said his “sick perversions” have made her strong, and, following his conviction, she now feels, “on her way to better days.”

The court heard Spacey has 12 convictions for 38 past offences, but those are relatively old and unrelated to the present matter.

Robert Mochrie, in mitigation, said there was little he could say on his client’s behalf, as, “unhappily he still denies this was the correct verdict.”

But he said the defendant accepts, in the light of that verdict, that the judge must perform her public duty and pass an appropriate sentence.

“He is, of course, 68 and any sentence will take him into old age.

“As there are multiple offences, I ask you take into account totality.”

Mr Mochrie added: “As he will be an elderly gentleman when released you might be able to temper sentence slightly to take account of that.”

Judge Sarah Mallett quoted the victim in describing the defendant having treated her, “like a sex toy,” and having put her, “through hell”.

The judge told Spacey: “You knew how young, naïve and vulnerable she was.

“At the time she was self-harming and tried to commit suicide twice.

“Despite everything she has endured, however, she has matured and is an impressive young woman.”

The judge said the defendant has had, “a strong work ethic”, through his life and she bore in mind his age, but she noted, “there was an absence of guilty pleas in this case.”

Imposing the 15-year sentence, Judge Mallett said Spacey would have to serve at least two-thirds before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board.

Upon completion of the sentence, he will also have to serve an additional year the subject of licence supervision.

Other aspects of the sentence mean he will be barred from ever working with children and will not be allowed unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, by way of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Spacey will also be subject to notification requirements by way of registration as a sex offender, again indefinitely.

A lifetime restraining order prevents him for ever contacting or approaching his victim.

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A former police officer has pleaded guilty to sex offences after he was confronted by paedophile hunters outside his home in a Norfolk town.

Christopher Sheldrick, 56, of Suffield Road in Gorleston, was arrested on September 29 after being approached by a member of The Ghosts Online Child Protection Team.

He was then charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to breach a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register.

He was remanded and appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Saturday, October 5 where he pleaded guilty to all three offences.

Sheldrick is now due to appear before Norwich Crown Court on November 4.

Norfolk police confirmed that Sheldrick had been a police officer but had not served with them.

When confronted by the paedophile hunter group, Sheldrick admitted to them that he is a former police officer who has been out of the force for some years.

Sheldrick admits to the group in the video that he was fired from the force for a breach of misconduct and later he also says he served in the military.

A member of the group then began reading transcripts of the conversation between Sheldrick and someone who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

The person told him that they were 14 and Sheldrick asked her to "stick her tongue out" and made a suggestive comment.

Sheldrick confessed to sending the account a pornographic video telling her "she needs to learn" about sex.

He said in the video that he had been in prison for sex offences.

Additionally, when asked if he is sexually attracted to children he replies "Partly I suppose" before confessing to speaking to "three or four" other children who he says have sent him indecent images.

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A SEX offender breached a court order again by deleting an app from his phone after telling police he was being blackmailed by two men claiming they ‘worked for Fox News and the FBI’.

The court heard that Shaun Smith was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order in December 2018 after admitting attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

This order barred him from deleting apps or internet history from his devices.

On September 1, Smith contacted 101 reporting that he was being blackmailed.

Officers attended the defendant’s address on Glanafon in Betws on September 9. He told the officers that he had been contacted on an online messaging application by a woman making demands for money.

He said he was then contacted by two men who claimed they worked for Fox News and the FBI making further demands for money.

When the officers asked Smith to show them the demands, he told them he had deleted them as he had been told to when he called 101. Upon reviewing the 101, the officers found this wasn’t true.

Smith was arrested for deleting the communications app – which put him in breach of his sexual harm prevention order for the fourth time.

“He deliberately deleted the app,” prosecutor Ms Wilson said, adding that Smith’s previous breach of the order relating to him deleting the Telegram app.

On that occasion, Smith told police he had been “talking to a woman” on Telegram and via a third-party explicit website, but then deleted the app and its history because “someone was trying to scam me”.

The court heard that 58-year-old Smith had eight previous convictions for 12 offences.

“The only real mitigation is that Mr Smith had the good sense to plead guilty,” said David Singh, in mitigation.

“He did the right thing initially by reporting it to the police.

“It would suggest this is not necessarily someone trying to cover up his tracks, but it is a person with a degree of naivety.”

Addressing the defendant, Judge Geraint Walters said: “This is altogether becoming tiresome now. You pay scant regard to the terms of the sexual harm prevention order.

“What sort of site you were on, I can’t begin to imagine, which led you to call the police saying you were being blackmailed by people working for Fox News and the FBI.

“You are a devious individual, it seems to me, hell bent on non-compliance.”

Smith was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

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A convicted paedophile ordered to stay away from an ex partner phoned her nearly 250 times in a single day, and tried to get around his court order by sending her messages within bank transfers.

Robert Pratt would deposit nominal sums into her account, often just one pence, with an accompanying reference such as “ring me”.

The 31-year-old admitted breaching a non-molestation order and a restraining order and was jailed at Leeds Crown Court.

He also admitted failing to adhere to the sex offender register by failing to tell the police that he had been living at a shared property after being released from prison.

Pratt, of Manygates Lane, Wakefield, was jailed in 2016 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He was given the court orders last year to keep him away from his ex partner.

Prosecutor Carmel Pearson said that Pratt sent 31 WhatsApp messages to the woman in one day, and phones her 51 times.

The next day he tried to call 249 items and sent 72 WhatsApp messages.

Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said that Pratt accepted that jail was “inevitable”. He said he had no issues with drugs or alcohol.

He said that his father was ill and that Pratt had no contact with his own three children due to the nature of his convictions.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar jailed Lumb for 18 months.

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A Dunfermline takeaway boss who made indecent sexual remarks to two teenage girls has been put on the sex offenders register.

Eddie Yan Kin NG, 47, manager at Chinese restaurant Rice Delight in Linburn Road, told a 15-year-old she “could be naked” if she wanted and asked a 13-year-old to call him “Uncle Eddie”.

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