Latest Offenders

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An unsuspecting woman was left shocked and terrified when a creepy sex pest targeted her during a "totally random" and "offensive" encounter in her car after she innocently went to an all-night petrol station.

Kevin Pexton sexually touched her before getting into the back of her car and asking her: "Can we go back to your house, babes?" He stroked her leg and boasted to her: "I'm viral. All of the girls want me."

He made an obscene suggestion to the woman and started behaving in an unpleasant sexualised way before a man who arrived on the scene quickly saw what was happening and pulled him out of the car, Hull Crown Court heard. Pexton, 37, of Kinloss Garth, Bransholme, Hull, admitted offences of sexual assault, exposure and assault on September 8.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that Pexton went to a 24-hour petrol station in the Hull area, in the early hours and walked up to the service hatch. He asked to borrow a mobile phone and used it to send a message to a woman. She did not reply.

A few minutes later, a car pulled up on the forecourt, with two women inside. The driver saw Pexton and thought that he was "just acting silly" and she went to the service hatch.

When she returned, Pexton was standing at the driver-side rear door. When she got into the car, he touched her on the bottom. She got in the car but Pexton opened the rear passenger door and got in.

He asked: "Can we go back to your house, babes?" The woman was scared and told him to get out. Her friend went to the service hatch to seek help. Pexton was sitting directly behind the driver.

She stared straight ahead, rather than look at him, as he pressed himself up behind the seat. He stroked her leg and made a lewd suggestion to her. He started committing a sex act. The woman texted her friend, who had gone to the hatch for help.

Pexton told the woman: "Turn around and look at me. I'm viral. All of the girls want me." A second car pulled up and the woman's friend told the driver of that car what was going on.

"He pulled the defendant out of the vehicle," said Mr Hammersley. Pexton shouted: "It's consensual."

There was a scuffle and the man tried to restrain him. "The defendant was swinging his fists at him," said Mr Hammersley. "They ended up on the floor and the defendant bit his leg, drawing blood. Shortly afterwards, the police arrived."

The woman later said that the incident put her "on edge" and made her worried about being in her car. She kept having dreams and the incident from that night kept coming back to her.

She did not like going out and she had been left feeling vulnerable. "I suffer from anxiety anyway and this has made me feel on edge," she said.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that the "disgraceful acts" were out of character for Pexton. He had no previous convictions. "This is an aberration," said Mr Godfrey.

"This is plainly troubling and disgraceful behaviour, really troubling. This was disgraceful but utterly out of character.

"It's prolonged. He acknowledges that his behaviour that night was unforgivable. He has made one awful set of mistakes."

Father-of-three Pexton had lost a good job and had suffered a family bereavement in the recent past. He had been in custody on remand for about 11 weeks.

Judge Mark Bury told Pexton: "This behaviour is extremely serious. It was a random female. This is behaviour which isn't just against a person you knew.

"It's totally random and it's offensive and it's caused her significant trauma. Hardly surprising, she wants to sell her car. She can't bear to sit in it any more. The incident keeps coming back to her and she is on edge, not constantly, but more than she should be.

"All she was doing was going to an all-night garage to get some drink or something. This was in public, late at night. There was a person in the passenger seat who must have felt extremely intimidated by what was going on."

Pexton had "no business" going and sitting in the woman's car. "She must have been terrified sitting in there," said Judge Bury.

Pexton was jailed for 21 months and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Description

A convicted sex offender has had his jail term increased after another victim came forward. Damien Riley, of Ewood, Oldham, was convicted of 16 incidents of inappropriate sexual activity relating to four young boys in Oldham in the 1980s - when he was a teenager - by a jury in 2021.

The former carer was jailed for 10 years. Sentencing him at the time, Judge Angela Nield said: "The victims of your offending behaviour were four in number - they were children, children who all lived on the same estate in very different times to now, when it was commonplace for groups of children to play together on the street.

"When those children were believed, usually with good cause, to be safe by their parents, safety in numbers; sadly in this case that was far from the truth.

"Each of them was undoubtedly damaged by that behaviour and by their premature and inappropriate exposure to sexual experiences.

"All these young men were part and parcel of a group of children who should have been enjoying the delights of playing with their friends and the games that were enjoyed in the streets of Oldham, but there was a very much darker undercurrent on that street."

Following the sentencing in 2021, another victim who lived in the area at the same time, has come forward.

Amy Weir, prosecuting, said Riley, who was a teenager at the time, performed a sex act on the boy. Mitigating, Michael Johnson said his client was a child at the time, and the maximum sentence for such offences which were committed in the 1980s was 12 months imprisonment.

Jailing him for a further year, Judge Nield said: “In 2021 and following a trial in respect of four separate complainants who alleged similar types of behaviour. I sentenced you to 10 years imprisonment.

“This complainant did not come forward until much later and you chose to have a trial, which is your right. He had to give evidence about something which was very distressing to him.

“It was open to you to acknowledge your guilt and potentially to come clean and avoid the situation you have now found yourself in.”

Riley was sentenced to 12 months, to be served consecutively to his current sentence, for indecent assault on a child.

Description

A convicted child sex offender died in HMP Liverpool on the day he was due to be sentenced for new offences. John Sadler, previously of the Woodchurch area, died at the Walton prison on Tuesday, November 26.

The 32-year-old, whose address was most recently listed as HMP Altcourse, was convicted of a number of offences on Monday this week following a trial. According to charge sheets, Sadler faced communication and image charges involving both real children and police decoys.

The ECHO understands Sadler was facing the prospects of a sentence up to 10 years' imprisonment. A source told the ECHO that Sadler was due to be sentenced on video link on Tuesday afternoon but the hearing got adjourned due to a medical emergency.

Both the Prison Service and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has now confirmed to the ECHO that Sadler died. A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: "HMP Liverpool prisoner John Sadler died on 26/11/2024. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate."

Adrian Usher, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, added: "My office are conducting an independent investigation into the death of Mr John Sadler at HMP Liverpool on 26 November 2024. We will publish our final investigation report into his death after the inquest concludes."

The ECHO has previously covered Sadler's previous appearances in court. In 2014 the then 21-year-old groomed a 13-year-old girl before having sex with her in a Wirral park. He met the victim online and chatted to her through Skype before meeting up with her on multiple occasions.

Sadler denied five counts of sexual activity with a child but was found guilty after trial. He was handed an extended prison sentence, as well as a consecutive term for contempt of court after he threatened the victim's family, telling them: "I’ll ****ing have you when I’m out."

Sadler attempted to challenge his sentence at the Court of Appeal in 2017 claiming he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. He said his password was "known to others" and that his computer and mobile phone had been hacked. Despite the strength of the prosecution case, Sadler fought a futile battle to prove his innocence - including making representations to the Queen about his case.

The dangerous offender, branded "manipulative and calculating" by his trial judge, was refused permission to appeal, with a high court judge concluding: "These convictions are entirely safe, he has failed to identify a single valid ground." Sadler's offending time frame for his recent offences stretched between March 2019 and September 2021, according to charge sheets.

A number of separate investigations are currently ongoing by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman into deaths at HMP Liverpool. he most recent inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons praised its "caring culture". The chief inspector of prisons wrote: "The prison’s strategy for reducing self-harm evidenced a good approach to care, predicated on good staff-prisoner relationships, which were a real strength at HMP Liverpool."

The Ministry of Justice's most recent performance list ranked HMP Liverpool as good. However, a whistle-blower at the prison told the ECHO staffing levels were "frighteningly low", adding the prison's resources were severely stretched, "putting staff and prisoners at risk". In response to the whistle-blower's claims, the Ministry of Justice said the prison had increased the number of officers and invested in new security measures.

Description

A POLICE worker and kids’ football coach was caught engaging in depraved sex chats with someone he believed to be a ’14-year-old girl’.

Gary Marsden actually communicated with and shared a sexualised photo with an undercover police officer.

The 50-year-old appeared before Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Monday, to face sentence after admitting a charge of attempted sexual communications with a child.

It was heard that, in his pre-sentence report, the dad-of-two claimed not to have a sexual interest in children except on the day of the chats.

However, this basis of plea was abandoned, allowing the case to proceed to sentence without the need for a trial of issue.

The charge arose out of internet chats that he took part in on February 8, 2023, explained Martyn Walsh, prosecuting.

Marsden communicated online with an undercover police officer who was posing as both a 22-year-old woman called Sophie and a 14-year-old girl named ‘Emz’.

The court heard how he sent a sexual image of himself in his boxer shorts and solicited a photo of the ‘girl’ in her nightie.

The officer played the roles of both Emz and Sophie during the course of the conversation, and the defendant, the Crown said, ‘believed and intended all that he wrote in those messages’.

At the time of the offending, the defendant was employed by Cheshire Police as a civilian supervisor in the motorway control unit, based off Robb Lane in Newton-le-Willows – a job he had been in since 2014.

He resigned from the force in May 2023 during an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The case against him was that he used a work computer to log into his Twitter account, and that he was in work when he was talking with the undercover officer.

The prosecution case was also that he took a photo of himself in his boxer shorts to send to the ‘child’ when he was in work.

Moreover, at the time of the offence he was the manager of a children's football team, and when he was arrested, he was living at the family home with his wife and two children.

During chats, after being told by the ‘girl’ that she was aged 14, Marsden asked to see her nightie and called her ‘cute’ after being sent a photo by the officer.

He also asked her to show him her legs, and after being sent another photo by the officer, he replied ‘hot hot hot’.

The defendant called the girl ‘babe’ and ‘very sweet’, discussed having an erection and commented “I don’t mind some risk.”

Marsden also made mention of the ‘girl’ visiting his office on work experience and ‘kissing her all over’, adding that he thought she was ‘so sexy’ and ‘perfect’, and that he ‘liked her a lot’.

Chats included references to her ‘perfect bum’ and that he was ‘excited’ by the photo of her in the nightie.

The chat with the undercover officer ended that same day, with Cheshire Police officers attending his home address the following day, February 9, and arresting him.

Items seized from the address included his mobile phone, on which authorities found the corresponding chats and photos.

When interviewed under caution on March 9 2023, Marsden admitted that the Twitter account was his profile, and that it was only used and accessed by him.

He admitted the communicating with the female profiles and sending all images within the communication, but he claimed he did not believe it was real or that he was communicating with a child.

In mitigation, it was heard from Steven Nikolich, defending, that his client, who has no previous convictions, should be given some credit for his guilty plea entered during a trial.

“Clearly, he is someone the Probation Service can work with,” Mr Nikolich said, with the court hearing that the date of sentence was a ‘seminal day’ as Marsden had admitted his sexual interest in children.

Commenting that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in his client’s case, Mr Nikolich asked the court to suspend the sentence of imprisonment.

Before sentencing, judge Anil Murray said: “Clearly, the threshold for custody has been crossed.

“The sentence is short enough to be considered for suspension, you are not thought to be a risk to the public, and you are a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

“On balance, I can just about suspend the sentence.”

Marsden, of Snowshill Drive in Wigan, was sentenced to nine months in prison, but this was suspended for the next two years.

During this time, he must also complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Moreover, the defendant was ordered to sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next 10 years.

Towards the cost of court proceedings, he was told he must pay £1,200, while an order was approved for the forfeiture and destruction of his mobile phone seized on his arrest.

Judge Murray added: “I reserve any breaches to myself, and if you reoffend or fail to carry out the work, we will meet again, I will remember you, and I am not likely to give you a second chance.”

Following the hearing, IOPC director of operations Steve Noonan said: “Marsden’s actions were abhorrent in sexually communicating with someone he believed to be a child.

“His actions amounted to predatory behaviour for his own sexual gratification.

“Marsden’s conviction sends a clear message for his appalling behaviour which significantly undermines the public confidence in policing.

“Our involvement ensured independent oversight of this sensitive investigation, and I am grateful to Cheshire Police’s counter corruption unit for its efforts in holding the former staff member accountable for his actions.”

The IOPC recommended Marsden had a case to answer for gross misconduct, and following a hearing in January this year, it was determined that his actions breached the police standards of professional behaviour.

This was relating to authority, respect, courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity at the level of gross misconduct.

It was ruled he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned, and he was placed on the barred list, meaning he cannot be employed in policing in the future.

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A transgender pervert who raped and abused an 11-year-old schoolgirl has been jailed.

Aria Peers, 51, abused the child after bonding with her over Star Wars, with the sickening campaign of rape and assault leaving an "untold impact" upon her.

The offending came to light after the complainant confided in friends and teachers about the abuse.

Now, Peers has been jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of two counts of rape, attempted rape three charges of sexual assault and two offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a jury following a trial.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 51-year-old, of Camberley Drive in Halewood, began by touching the victim's breasts and private parts before encouraging her to use a sex toy on herself. She was then raped.

The court heard how Peers identified as male when the offences were committed in Wirral, but now identifies as female.

Anthony O'Donohoe, defending, told the court: "There is nothing I can say about the facts of the case. The defendant accepts that a significant, lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable in this case.

"The defendant has settled on the wing that she is on, and that is encouraging. That was a matter of some concern. The custodial experience for her in her particular circumstances is likely to be more difficult to navigate than in other, more usual, cases."

Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "I accept that, in this case, there is an element of grooming with the close bond that you developed and took advantage of.

"It became more sinister, with you grooming her so that you could start to abuse her. You took the opportunity to fulfil your own sexual desires. You were disbelieved by the jury and convicted. You still deny these matters today. She is a brave young woman who, by coming forward, has stood up to you. I hope that, with the support of her family, she will be able to move on with her life.

"Prior to this, you worked as a support worker for a number of years. You have suffered with periods of anxiety and depression and have struggled with your gender identity throughout your life.

"I appreciate that, as a transgender prisoner, there will be issues which you will have to navigate during the very long period of your sentence."

Pierpoint continued: "You targeted a young female child for your own sexual gratification.

"The impact on her is untold. This was offending behaviour on numerous occasions over a period of time."

Peers was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and a lifelong restraining order and will be required to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

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A SEX offender has admitted masturbating on a public bus in front of a group of children and threatening to rape a schoolgirl.

Gordon Sawers told a primary school-aged female that he was “going to rape and stab yous" during the incident on board the vehicle which was travelling between Kilmarnock and Ardrossan.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to a total of five charges when he appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Tuesday, November 26.

The Stagecoach vehicle was pulled over by police in Kilwinning on February 25 this year.

Sawers accepted a charge of communicating indecently with teenage girls, another of indecently causing a youth to hear sexual communications and threatening her with sexual violence, along with an offence of public indecency.

The incident took place at around 4pm on the day in question, procurator fiscal depute Fraser Alexander told the court, when Sawers was travelling on the double decker bus, sitting within the rear seats upstairs.

During the journey, a group of girls came on board and sat together close to where Sawers was located.

"Sawers then began to engage the girls in conversation. Very quickly this turned onto a sexual conversation," Mr Alexander told the court.

"To be clear, it was the accused only that was making any sexual references."

The prosecutor then detailed a number of specific explicit remarks made by Sawers, who is now described as a prisoner at HMP Kilmarnock, towards two of the group.

He told the pair "I will take you to my house and s**g you", adding “I will inject you with heroin” before warning he would “get with your maw".

Sawers made further comments which were directed towards the youngest member of the group.

He stated that he wanted to perform a sexual act upon the girl and told her “I’m going to rape and stab yous and that”.

The court heard that Sawers then proceeded to perform a sex act on himself, causing the youngsters to be "distressed" and "visibly upset".

It was at this stage that another passenger who was travelling on the bus informed the driver of Sawers' conduct - with the police immediately contacted.

The bus pulled over on Pennyburn Road where officers attended and traced the offender.

He was arrested and taken to Saltcoats police office where he was cautioned and charged and made no reply.

Sawers later appeared in court and was granted bail - an order which he breached on two occasions in May of this year having been found out with his home address.

Defence solicitor Brian Holliman asked for sentence to be deferred for the preparation of background reports and to call alongside other, unrelated, matters which are outstanding.

Sheriff Nicola Patrick set a date for sentencing in the new year with the lawyer reserving further comment until then.

Sawers will be remanded in custody in the meantime and was added to the sex offenders register in the interim.

Description

A dangerous sex offender who abducted and raped a man at gunpoint will find out later this week if he is going to the subject to life-long monitoring.

Nathan Sim was found guilty of the sustained and brutal attack following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in August.

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A young woman raped multiple times today said her childhood had been stolen from her but she is leaving the "darkness" behind. Osian Owen, now 28, raped the girl when she was under 13 and targeted another victim several years ago.

Mold Crown Court heard he had been found guilty of five counts of rape against the first victim after a trial last month. He was also convicted of causing or inciting the second girl, also aged under 13 at the time, to engage in sexual activity.

Today a judge branded the defendant, of Min y Ddol, Maesgeirchen, Bangor, as "depraved" and said he had shown no remorse for his crimes. At a sentencing hearing, prosecutor Joshua Gorst said the rape victim wanted to read out a statement about her ordeal herself.

The young woman, who cannot be named to protect her anonymity, said she was disbelieved until the truth came out. She said of Owen: "He stole my childhood (but) today I leave all the darkness, shame and burden with you.

"I will carry on - free from the shadows of your cruelty." The prosecutor read out a statement by the second victim, who cannot be named either.

In it she said Owen had made her feel disgusted and dirty and it made her school life harder. She added: "It was a horrible secret to keep."

It was so long ago she didn't think anyone would believe her but she eventually felt able to speak out as an older teenager. "This made her a stronger version of herself. I could stop being your victim and leave the past behind," she added.

Gareth Bellis, defending, said Owen was a much younger person when he committed his crimes over six months.

The judge His Honour Rhys Rowlands called the defendant "depraved" and said his behaviour had been shameful and wrong. He jailed Owen for four and a half years for each of five counts of raping a girl under 13, to run concurrently, and for six months for causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He must sign the Sex Offender's Register indefinitely and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order. He was also handed a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victims.

Description

A predator who raped a 14-year-old girl after grooming her online has been jailed for eight years.

Rhys Walker, 24, spent weeks messaging the teenager before he forced her to engage in sexual acts with him, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He had denied rape and sexual assault but was found guilty of both offences by jurors.

Judge Tim Gittins said Walker, from West Boldon in South Tyneside, knew about and "preyed upon" the "particularly vulnerable" girl's age and her difficult home life.

'I can move on'

Walker was 21 when he befriended the girl on social media and quickly started sending her sexualised images, the court heard.

After three or four weeks he offered to let the girl stay at his home, jurors were told.

Judge Gittins said it appeared on the face of it to be an offer of sanctuary, but Walker was actually "seeking to get her alone" where he would be prepared to use force to have sexual activity with her.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said the attack had severely damaged her mental health and led to her self-harming, while she also suffered flashbacks and an inability to sleep.

"I am relieved people have believed me and I can get closure knowing he can't do this to anyone else," the girl said, adding: "I can finally start to move on with my life."

Walker, of Hall Gardens, must also sign the sex offender register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order limiting his use of internet-enabled devices for an indefinite period.

Description

A Cambridge man who sent a “13-year-old-girl” explicit photos and said he wanted to have sex with her has been jailed.

Natalya Draven, 50, was challenged by an online child activist group in St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, at about 8pm on 20 July, 2022.

The group had arranged to meet with Draven after engaging with him for several months on Facebook Messenger using the guise of a teenage girl.

Officers arrived after Draven called 999 and said the group had assaulted him.

Draven, who was using the name Fane Aro Cardei in chats with the “girl”, said he wished to be her boyfriend and wanted to have sex with her. He also sent explicit photos despite the decoy saying from the outset she was 13. He also described her as “stunningly beautiful”.

In 285 screenshots that showed contact between the pair between May and July, Draven spoke about meeting up and booking a hotel room for them both to spend time together so they could have sex.

Draven was also arrested for breaching his Sex Offenders Register notification requirements after not telling police within three days of registering the name Fane Aro Cardei.

After his arrest when his mobile phone and laptop were examined, an indecent video of a child was found on the phone.

Draven, of Mill Road, Cambridge, was jailed for two years and seven months on Friday (22 November) at Cambridge Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and failure to comply with Sex Offenders Register notification requirements. He was also found guilty of one count of making indecent images of children.

Det Con Andrew McKeane said: “Draven brazenly continued to talk to the decoy and sent explicit photos of himself, despite being told she was 13-years-old.

“We will do everything in our power to bring those who groom, or attempt to groom, children to court and I am pleased Draven has now faced justice.”

Description

A man has been jailed for four years and a further four years on extended licence for the sexual assault of a woman in Exeter City Centre.

Fawzi Omar, 27, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Friday (November 22) after pleading guilty to sexual assault.

The court heard how Omar, a Sudanese national of no fixed abode, targeted the victim, who was a stranger to him, as she was walking home in the early hours on Wednesday May 8.

Omar approached the victim, grabbed her and proceeded to sexually assault her despite her telling him she did not want it to happen.

City centre CCTV operatives were made aware following the report and identified that they had the incident captured on CCTV.

A description of the suspect was passed over the radio and the suspect was tracked across the city by Exeter city centre CCTV operators until the suspect went out of frame and was no longer identifiable.

Officers continued searching the area, but there was no trace of Omar, who at the time hadn’t yet been identified.

Omar’s image was circulated, then, at 1.25am on Tuesday June 11, an Exeter city centre CCTV operator identified a male matching the description of the suspect.

An officer attended South Street Exeter and arrested Omar on suspicion of sexual assault.

Detective inspector Paula Trevett said: “We are happy that Fawzi Omar is now behind bars for a horrific attack carried out on a complete stranger.

“We’d like to commend the bravery of the victim in this case for helping ensure Omar was brought to justice.

“This is another example of outstanding work carried out by Exeter officers – response, neighbourhood, CCTV and CID.

“Omar was previously unknown to police and remained at large for four weeks after the offence. It was thanks to the diligent work of one of the city centre CCTV operatives who recognised him one night when he was walking around Exeter City Centre, that Omar was arrested.

“He was wearing the same clothing and had a distinctive walk.

“Omar was arrested and denied the offence however forensics were fast-tracked and a Magistrates’ extension was sought whilst we awaited the results. Omar’s DNA came back as an exact match with the swabs taken from the victim.

“This example of fantastic teamwork demonstrates the drive we all have to make the streets of Exeter safer for women and girls.”

Description

A Renfrewshire former Scout leader and foster parent who sexually abused two boys has died in jail.

William Quigg, 83, of Bridge of Weir was jailed for 10 years in 2019 after being convicted of sexually abusing two children.

His offences took place between 1980 and 1986 at two addresses in Glasgow. Quigg admitted sexually abusing one boy when the victim was aged between 12 and 15 but denied raping the other boy and sexually abusing him from the age of 12 to 16.

Neither of the boys were scouts.

He was told at his sentencing at Livingston High Court that his name would remain on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.

A fatal accident inquiry will take place following Quigg's death at HMP Dumfries.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual.

“Following the death of someone in our care, Police Scotland are advised, and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Fatal Accident Inquiries are held in due course.”

Description

A "committed paedophile" who tried tried to meet 'schoolgirl' and downloaded child abuse and sex-with-snake clips has been handed a sentence of over nine years.

Stockton's Paul Whitfield, 53, arranged to meet a "13 year old girl" in Lincoln - but the online profile he was chatting with actually belonged to a police decoy who called herself "Carrie." When police raided his home, they found videos on his phone showing young children being sexually abused.

Whitfield had also downloaded videos of adults involved in sexual activity with a snake and a horse.

On Wednesday, Whitfield appeared at Teesside Crown Court, on video link from Stafford prison. The court heard that he pretended to be a teenager and he began talking to "13 year old Carrie" in February 2023, about "holding and kissing" her.

The two discussed telling her school that she had a dentist appointment, on February 15, when they agreed to meet - but undercover cop Carrie cancelled the meeting.

Police then raided Whitfield's house and took away two mobile phones - that he had failed to register as a convicted sex offender.

The phones showed Whitfield's arrangements to meet the girl, and he had also downloaded over 900 photos and videos of children being sexually abused. He had looked at videos showing sexual activity with "multiple animals."

Whitfield forwarded some of the videos to other people, including one category A video - featuring the most severe type of child abuse - to a group of 227 users.

Whitfield, formerly of Fairfield in Stockton, but now of Stafford prison, pleaded guilty to:

• arranging the commission of a child sex offence;
• making and distributing indecent images of children;
• possessing an extreme pornographic image betraying an act of intercourse with an animal
• breaching sex offender notification requirements.

Previous offences

In 2015, Whitfield was handed an extended 13-year sentence for the attempted abduction of a child, where he had watched a 10 year old girl for two hours, from his car. When she left the playground, he told her to get in his car to hide "because the police were looking for her." The girl ran off to her grandmother.

Hours earlier, he had approached a nine-year old in Stockton, telling her she was beautiful. The girl ran off. The court was told that Whitfield said the thought of having a child in his car gave him a “sexual thrill”.

In 2023, Whitfield was sent back to jail for 16 months, for breaching his sex offender notification requirements.

Mitigating for Whitfield's latest sex offences, Tom Bennett told the court that in the case of the arranged meeting in Lincoln, there was "no actual child victim."

Judge Timothy Stead told Whitfield that he is a "committed and determined paedophile" and handed him an extended prison sentence totalling nine-years-and-eight-months. He will serve four-years-eight-months in prison; and the remaining five-years on licence in the community.

Description

THIS convicted sex offender has been jailed due to his “unhealthy” and “degenerate” interest in children.

Wayne Mansbridge, 57, of Oak Grove in Twycross, was sentenced to a total of 14 months after being found with 149 pictures and videos of child sexual abuse on his phone.

“These images are shared extensively on the internet and they remain on the internet forever and a day,” said Judge Huw Rees, as he branded Mansbridge’s interest in children as “unhealthy” and “degenerate”.

“These are not just victims, but real children,” he said.

“The court has given you opportunity after opportunity.”

Swansea Crown Court heard that police attended Mansbridge’s home on June 26 last year and arrested him in relation to an unrelated matter.

That matter has since been discontinued, prosecutor Caitlin Brazel said, but as part of the investigation his phone was seized and analysed.

A total of 149 indecent pictures and videos of children were found on Mansbridge’s phone, of which 138 were accessible and 11 inaccessible.

Ms Brazel said the images involved children as young as eight years old.

Mansbridge attended Haverfordwest Police Station on January 5 this year relating to the unrelated matter, and was then further arrested for possession of the indecent images.

The court heard he had eight previous convictions for 11 offences, and was subject to the sex offender notification requirements at the time of these offences.

He was convicted in 2013 of possessing extreme pornography and of sexually assaulting a serving soldier who he had given a lift to in the rain between Tenby and Castlemartin in 2014. Earlier this year, he was also convicted of breaching the terms of his sex offender notification requirements after he jetted off on holiday to Morocco without notifying the police.

Wayne Mansbridge was jailed after being found with indecent images of children. (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

Mansbridge pleaded guilty to three offences of possessing indecent images of children – of categories A, B and C – and two offences of making indecent images – of categories B and C – of children.

“The defendant stands by his guilty pleas. He accepts his offending,” said Matthew Murphy, for Mansbridge.

Mr Murphy added that – despite the defendant making comments when speaking to the probation service which “ran contrary to his guilty pleas” – the author of the pre-sentence report had said there was “a prospect of rehabilitation” in his case.

Judge Rees revoked the community order the defendant was currently serving, and imposed the 14-month sentence.

Mansbridge must register as a sex offender for 10 years, and was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A "warped" teenager has been jailed for raping two 16-year-old girls who were both walking home at night.

Nathan John, 19, attacked the girls 19 months and ten miles apart.

John was found guilty of three counts of rape and sexual assault at Swansea Crown Court.

He was sentenced to a 20-year extended sentence, made up of 16 years in custody in a young offenders institute and four years on licence.

The court heard he launched a "frenzy of sexual violence" in the darkness after the girls, who were making their way home after a night out, rejected his advances.

John denied the first rape in October 2022 in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, and the second in Haverfordwest in May 2024.

He met the first girl at Circles nightclub in Milford Haven where he kissed her but she "wasn't interested in anything else".

But he walked her home, before throwing her onto the ground, taking his trousers off and carrying out "a frenzy of sexual violence".

John was arrested and told police in interview that the girl had consented and was released under investigation.

But he was caught out when he launched the same attack on another girl 19 months later.

'Doesn't take no for an answer'

The victim was out with friends when John offered to walk home together.

He told her: "If you don't do it I'm going to kill you." He then raped her.

John again claimed the sex had been consensual.

Prosecutor James Hartson asked the jury to consider "the striking similarity between these two allegations, ten miles and 19 months apart, made by two young women who do not know each other".

"He's a man who is powerfully built," he said.

"When he decided he wanted sex, these two girls - isolated and alone - didn't stand a chance.

"This young man doesn’t take no for an answer."

John was further charged with two offences of making indecent images of children - one Category B and one Category C image and possessing an extreme pornographic image between July and September last year.

Judge Huw Rees told him: "These are undoubtedly serious offences. Two offences which included features of degradation and violence.

"Both were 16 years old. Both were lured in to isolation.

"You demeaned both of these girls and in the process you demeaned yourself as a human being," he said.

"You have a warped interest in sex.

"I readily find that you pose a danger to young girls and young women."

John must register as a sex offender for life. Both victims were granted lifelong restraining orders against him.