Latest Offenders

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Jack Gilmartin, 23, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of rape; harassment; assault occasioning ABH; intentional strangulation; and possession of controlled drugs. The offences took place in the St Helens area in 2022.

Gilmartin was found guilty of the rape offence following a retrial this week, having pled guilty to the other offences last year. He remained in custody between the trials.

Gilmartin was also handed a 10-year restraining order against his victim.

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A Keighley man has been locked up for more than three years for sex offences involving an underage girl.

Daniel Want was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court of two charges of sexual activity with a girl under 16, possession of a folding pocket knife, and sexual communication with a child.

Want, 33, of Parkwood Court, Parkwood Rise, Keighley, was jailed for three years and four months.

He was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A 55-year-old man who paid thousands of dollars to watch children being exploited on the internet has been jailed for 16 years.

Sidney Morris, of Brompton Road in Weston-super-Mare, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (Monday 29 April) after pleading guilty to 15 counts, including:

• One count of attempting to cause / incite a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• One count of attempting to cause / incite a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity
• Seven counts of attempting to arrange / facilitate commission of child sex offence
• Three counts of making indecent photos of a child
• Three attempts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

The investigation was led by Avon and Somerset Police’s Internet Child Abuse Team (ICAT) in partnership with North East and the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCU).

In June 2022, officers from West Midlands ROCU discovered Morris had been messaging someone he believed to be a young child from the UK, engaging in inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature.

Morris was arrested from his home address in Weston-super-Mare in July of the same year and his devices were seized.

A detailed examination of the devices found Morris had 574 indecent images of children, comprising of 84 category A images (the most serious), 170 category B and 320 category C.

They all appeared to show children from an Asian country as young as four being sexually exploited.

During the investigation, officers discovered that Morris had paid more than $14,000 to people abroad to exploit the children in the photos. It is believed he was also using other payment channels so the true value he spent is likely far greater.

As the investigation continued, North East ROCU discovered Morris was actively trying to facilitate the abuse and exploitation of children online. He was arrested on 1 November 2023 and was subsequently charged with the 15 offences.

Investigating officer, DC Benn Murphy, said: “Morris poses a very real and significant risk to children.

“He has tried to hide his actions behind the anonymity of the internet and by targeting vulnerable people both in the UK and abroad.

“This should serve as a warning to those who look to exploit or abuse children; there are no safe places to hide.

“The true scale of harm he has caused, is unlikely to ever truly be known but we continue to make every effort to identify and safeguard individuals affected by this investigation.” 

Description

A convicted sex offender has been jailed for nine years for a catalogue of abuse he committed more than three decades ago.

Charles Donnelly repeatedly raped a younger woman and subjected a boy and girl to sex crimes in Fife throughout a 16-year period.

Judge Lady Carmichael told the 70-year-old at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had caused "lasting harm" to his victims.

Donnelly was previously jailed for seven years in 2015 for sex offences and after his release from that jail term was recalled to prison for breaching his licence by being in the company of a child.

He was due to stand trial at the High Court earlier this year facing a series of further charges when he pled guilty to four offences, in what police called a "complex and disturbing case."

The first involved the repeated rape of a younger woman between January 1977 and September 1981 at addresses in a Fife village.

The victim said Donnelly was "helping himself to sex" despite her telling him "no".

She made it clear to him that she did not want sex but Donnelly ignored her and repeatedly assaulted and raped her, the court heard.

His second victim was a young boy who Donnelly spanked before committing a serious indecent assault at a house in Dunfermline on an occasion between September 1976 and September 1979.

His third victim was a girl who was subjected to prolonged abuse from the age of five by Donnelly at addresses in a nearby village beginning in 1983.

The sex offender told his young victim not to tell anyone as she would get into trouble if she did.

Donnelly molested the child and carried out sex acts on himself in her presence. He admitted two offences of indecent behaviour towards the girl, committed between 1983 and 1992.

'Immense courage'

Det Con Karen Nairn, of the non recent child abuse investigations team, said the victims had shown "immense courage" in reporting the crimes.

She added: "It is right that Donnelly now has to face the consequences of his disgraceful actions.

"My thoughts remain with the victims and their families. This conviction is a direct result of them coming forward."

Defence counsel Michael Anderson KC said Donnelly, who was held in prison awaiting his trial, had been through "significant difficulties of his own throughout his life".

He said Donnelly's previous experience of custody following his sentencing in 2015 had proved difficult for him.

He added that Donnelly had not offended since 1994.

Lady Carmichael ordered that he should be monitored in the community for a further five-year period following his jail term.

During that time, he will be under licence and can be returned to prison if he breaches its conditions.

Donnelly was told by a video link to prison that he will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following his sentencing today.

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A "dangerous" and "manipulative" convicted sex offender brazenly targeted an impressionable 11-year-old girl for highly sexualised messages on Snapchat – just a few weeks after he had been released from prison.

Sexual "predator" Steven Bennett took advantage of the girl's naive belief that he could be trusted as a friend and his seedy behaviour cynically "stole her innocence".

He callously preyed upon the vulnerable girl and caused her horrified mother to endure a "nightmare" ordeal after she discovered, only by pure chance, what had been secretly going on, Hull Crown Court heard.

Bennett, 42, who had been living in a Hull bail hostel before later being remanded in custody, admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child between November 21 and 28, 2022, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and three offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Patrick Palmer, prosecuting, said that Bennett was released from prison on October 31, 2022 after serving a previous six-year sentence for sexual offences and he went to live in a bail hostel in Queens Road, Hull.

But on December 10 of that year, police were alerted that Bennett had been sending sexualised messages to an 11-year-old girl on Snapchat. The girl's mother had been keeping tabs on her daughter's messages.

She became concerned about messages that she saw, involving her daughter, that had been sent from a man at the location address of the bail hostel. "It was, of course, this defendant," said Mr Palmer.

Bennett had tried to get the girl to tell her friends to "add him" on Snapchat. The mother took screenshots of the messages before they disappeared. The girl had sent an intimate video of herself to him.

Bennett was arrested at the hostel on December 11, 2022. He denied any contact with the girl and claimed that he had no recollection of any chat with her.

"He claimed that he had no sexual interest in children and he denied that he was guilty of those matters on his record," said Mr Palmer.

The girl's mother said that she believed that Bennett was a "predator" who had quickly identified her daughter's insecurities and had taken advantage of her. She felt "utter disgust, panic and regret" and she believed that Bennett's contact with the girl "stole her innocence" through the messages.

"This would not have happened if this disgusting paedophile had not been released from prison early," she said. She would not want the "nightmare" that they had endured for 18 months to happen to anyone else and she wanted to thank the police involved in the case.

Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said: "Sadly, there is nothing positive that can be said on this defendant's behalf. It's inevitably a significant custodial sentence.

"Risk reduction work is necessary and he knows that only he can do that in the long term. The circumstances make for difficult reading. He has had the good will to plead guilty at the first opportunity."

Bennett had previously been branded a dangerous offender and, after his release from prison, there had been further offending. He had limited previous convictions but they were "highly relevant and deeply concerning" because of their nature.

"There is clearly work that needs to be done for rehabilitation," said Mr Shipley.

Recorder David Kelly said that Bennett used Snapchat to communicate with the girl. "Fortunately, her mother became aware of it," said Recorder Kelly. "She was able to screenshot some of your conversation before they disappeared and was able to identify both you and the place where you were located.

"It turned out that you were a registered sex offender who, at the time, was living at the Queens Road bail hostel. Your victim had sent you photographs and videos.

"She naively thought that you were a friend who she could trust. You were extremely manipulative in your behaviour. You also tried to get her to get her friends to join in these conversations.

"You had been released from that previous sentence only three or four weeks before you were committing these offences and you were on licence. The prison sentence from which you had been so recently released was for very similar offences."

Bennett had also been jailed for two years in July 2006 for sexually assaulting a girl under 13. He had been released from prison after the six-year sentence on October 31, 2022.

"Here you were, while in the bail hostel, almost immediately doing it again," said Recorder Kelly. "I am satisfied that you are dangerous. You pose a significant risk of committing further offences."

Bennett was jailed for four years and eight months. He will be on extended licence of three years after his release. The indefinite sexual harm prevention order will continue.

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Two men who secretly photographed members of the public in swimming pools in London and the south west of England have been sentenced following an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation into significant public voyeurism.

Adam Dennis, 38, of Ernest Fitches Way, Littlehampton, and Robert Morgan, 32, and of Bradmore Park, London were sentenced to a combined 42 months at Inner London Crown Court on 24 April.

Dennis had previously pled guilty to conspiracy to one count of voyeurism, one count of conspiracy to make indecent photographs of a child, one count of conspiracy to distribute indecent photographs of a child and one count of possessing indecent photographs of a child. He was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment, to serve half and spend the remainder on licence.

Morgan had previously pled guilty to one count of voyeurism, one count of conspiracy to make indecent photographs of a child, one count of conspiracy to distribute an indecent photograph of a child, three counts of possessing indecent photographs of a child, one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and one count of possession of a controlled drug. He received a 20 month sentence, suspended for 2 years, as well as 120 hours unpaid work and attendance to a rehab programme.

Both men are also subject to a 9 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order with the following prohibitions: 

To not share any images showing the genitals of any woman or female child via the internet or file sharing application, including (but not limited to) email and / or social media apps
To not enter any female only or mixed sex changing room area of any swimming pool or leisure centre.
To not contact each other, including via the internet or telephone. 
To not communicate in any way with any other person that he knows or has reasonable suspicion that that person has received a conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in respect of sexual offences against children under 18 years of age.
The two men came to detectives’ attention as a result of a separate investigation into an assault, which happened on board a train in March 2017, where a mobile device was seized. They were both subsequently arrested for voyeurism offences in November 2017.

Forensic examination of items seized from their addresses showed covert filming of victims using the bathroom and images of victims in changing room cubicles. Online chats showed them sharing and trading images of victims filmed covertly in swimming pool changing rooms and creating profile documents for them.

Officers have been able to trace a number of victims, some who were children at the time of the footage being captured, to inform them of the investigation. None of those who were spoken to were aware of being filmed or had given anyone permission to film them whilst they were getting changed. The investigation flagged at least 6000 potential victims and detectives have identified a number of these, however a large number of the photos are unidentifiable.

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Claire Jackson-Harwood, said: “This has been a long running investigation with officers working tirelessly to ensure the victims get the justice they deserve. Dennis and Morgan’s insidious actions will have a life-long impact on the victims who were preyed upon while they innocently enjoyed a hobby.

“They have given no thought to the victims and simply acted for their own gratification. Not satisfied with just recording the images, they have worked together to go on and create profile documents and researched their victims on social media. These actions make this offending even more shocking. I hope this outcome gives the victims the closure they deserve.”

Description

A Keighley man who sent an indecent image of a child to her relative and filmed himself engaging in sexual contact with another has been jailed.

Aidan Whittingham, 21, distributed the nude photograph to a relative of one of the girls and secretly recorded some of the sexual activity he had with another under-age girl. He also had sex with a third teenage girl, but Bradford Crown Court heard on Monday she had been branded a "liar" by others - despite Whittingham being convicted.

Whittingham, of Whinfield Avenue, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child. He was found guilty of voyeurism and sexual activity with a child following a trial in October last year.

In addition to the five-year jail sentence Recorder Jackson KC also told Whittingham that he would now be subject to a sex offender registration with the police for life and he must also comply with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Barrister Abigail Langford, for Whittingham, highlighted his learning disability and other issues and said her client had already spent over a year in custody on remand. She said expert reports from a psychiatrist and a psychologist had referred to her client’s lack of maturity and his vulnerability.

But Recorder Jackson said Whittingham’s pattern of offending had escalated and he was satisfied that he had targeted young females. He said Whittingham knew what he was doing, and intended to do, and it was not a consequence of his learning difficulties.

The judge explained that Whittingham would have received an even longer sentence for his offending but for his young age and the difficulties that he had. Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Paul Maxwell from the Child Vulnerable to Exploitation Team in Bradford said: “We welcome the sentence handed down to Whittingham today. He is a danger to children.

“I would like to praise the bravery of the victims in coming forward and reporting these crimes to us. Offences of this nature are always taken very seriously, and we have a dedicated specialist safeguarding team who will support victims to get them justice.”

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An ex-BBC employee has been jailed after he being caught with over 58,000 indecent images of children.

David Mundy, 85, was arrested by National Crime Agency officers on April, 13 2022 after attempting to download illegal content.

The NCA investigation discovered Mundy to have not only searched for indecent images of children, but stored thousands of them on floppy discs, CDs, USBs and hard drives. His offending covered two decades.

Officers seized a total of 47 digital storage device during a search of Mundy’s home address and 31 were found to contain indecent images of children, and many had been labelled to indicate their contents, reports the Mirror.

This included Micro SDs marked “Misc = boy undone”; “Franze, Czech etc. lots” and “several vid+pix”, as well as a bag of discs, 124 of which contained illegal material. Mundy had accessed illegal content online that involved children as young as six years old, though the majority of the images involved boys between eight and fifteen.

He used a peer to peer sharing system to obtain this material, though he stated that he didn’t communicate with other members of the groups he used. At his address, NCA officers also found non-digital evidence of Mundy’s offending – including a 15-page double sided booklet called “sensitive content movies” sorted by keywords, and several how-to guides on accessing the dark web and ensuring anonymity online. He claimed he had yet to use them.

Mundy was charged the following year with three offences relating to indecent images of children. When interviewed, Mundy admitted to first looking at sexual images of children shortly before retiring from the BBC in 1998.

Stating that he was unsure what the definition of abuse was, he argued that his interest was only “in pleasure”. Almost 2,500 images found on his devices were category A, the most extreme. Mundy pleaded guilty to all three offences. Today, 29 April 2024, he was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court to 10 months imprisonment. Adam Priestley, NCA Senior Manager, said: “Despite clear evidence showing the scale of his offending, and the horrific nature of the content he repeatedly accessed, Mundy told officers that the images he had saved simply showed kids enjoying themselves.

“This could not be further from the truth. Behind each image is a vulnerable child who has been violated and abused for the benefit of offenders like Mundy. “We at the NCA are committed to protecting children and ensuring that individuals who collect this material, creating a demand for abuse content, are held to account.”

Mundy has been added to the sexual offender's register for 10 years.

Description

A former school support worker from south London has been jailed for sex offences after a fast-paced investigation by the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Team.

Michael Commettant was working as a learning behaviour mentor at a school in south London but was arrested after he was circulated as wanted by detectives.

Police were looking for him after the school reported concerns about his behaviour, and on Wednesday 17 May, a day after being reported to police, Commettant was arrested and interviewed.

Two days after his arrest, he was charged with sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a person in a position of trust.

Officers discovered he had struck up a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, who they took immediate action to safeguard.

After being charged, a search was carried out at his home, and his digital devices were seized and examined. The team was able to determine that he had communicated with the victim via a secret email account, and had tried to hide messages sent by him, to her.

However, detectives were able to very quickly build a picture of his offending and discovered how he had groomed the teenager by examining phone records. These proved he had called the victim multiple times from a withheld number, meaning he had broken the safeguarding practices he had agreed to follow in his role at the school.

During interview, he stayed silent and instead gave a prepared statement, which denied he had ever forced the girl to commit any sexual acts.

In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to all charges and on Wednesday 17 April, at Woolwich Crown Court, he was jailed for 18 months.

Detective Constable Isa Hemphrey, who led the investigation and supported the victim and her family during the court process, said:

“I am very pleased with the decision of the court to jail this man, who committed an utterly disgraceful abuse of trust.

“This individual was entrusted to support children and instead of honouring this vital role, he chose to ignore all professional boundaries and enter into a wholly inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenager.

“His conduct was appalling and he quite rightly will never be able to work with children again.

“I am grateful to my team and to all my colleagues who worked tirelessly and professionally to give this case the time and energy it deserved. I hope that this result helps the victim and her family in their journey to recover and move on from this experience.

“Most of all, I hope that this case will encourage anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to the victim to have the confidence to speak to police and know that they have a voice.”

Upon release, Commettant, 27 (13. 06.1996) of St Lawrence Way, Lambeth, will be on the sex offenders register for 10 years. He will also be managed by officers in the Met’s Jigsaw team, who manage sexual offenders in the community and take action against them to prevent reoffending.

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A 55-year-old man from Beaconsfield has been sentenced to nearly a decade behind bars for sexually assaulting three people.

Richard Cunningham, of Maxwell Road, was found guilty of sexually assaulting three people by a jury on February 28, following a week-long trial at Aylesbury Crown Court.

He was also found guilty of assault by penetration and not guilty of one count of rape in relation to offences committed in Chalfont St Peter between 2015 and 2019.

Cunningham was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison on Friday, April 19.

The 55-year-old also previously pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker after her pushed a female police officer to the ground on Maxwell Road, causing a head injury that required hospital treatment.

Detective Inspector Christopher Birtles said: The three victims in this case were brave and resolute and this conviction shows their determination to see not only justice for what happened but also to prevent it from happening to anyone else.

Richard Cunningham preyed on these vulnerable victims and the sentence he received reflects the awful nature of the crimes he committed.

I hope this case shows that we will always support victims of sexual offences and do all we can to put offenders before the courts.

We also simply will not accept assaults on our dedicated and hardworking police officers while serving the public so Im glad Cunningham has also been brought to justice for this offence.

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A man who had sexual activity with an underage South Yorkshire girl in the back of a van has been jailed by a Sheffield court.

Mohammed Qasim, aged 38, of Sable Crest, Bradford, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court last week for sentencing after admitting to engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in the back of a van. Police said he threatened to kill the girl, who is from Barnsley and cannot be named for legal reasons, if she told anyone.

Qasim, who told his victim he would buy her things if she kept quiet, was jailed for four years last Wednesday (April 17) following a lengthy investigation by South Yorkshire Police.

Det Cons Rosie O'Grady, who works in Barnsley's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, said:

"This sentence follows meticulous work from our officers who strived to bring a child sexual offender to justice.

"Exemplary forensic work helped to secure justice but ultimately, this conviction wouldn't have been secured had it not been for the brave testimony of Qasim's vulnerable victim.

"I want to commend the girl and her family for their courage in coming forward to tell us about what happened, and I hope the passing of this sentence.”

Description

A woman who sexually abused a young boy and shared images of the incidents has been jailed following an investigation by specialist safeguarding officers in Leeds.

Emily Hedigan, aged 21, of Broadlea Grove, Bramley, pleaded guilty to eight offences when she appeared at Leeds Crown Court on February 29.

She was convicted of offences of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual touching of a boy aged under 13, taking, making and distributing indecent images of a child, and possession of cocaine.

Police were alerted on January 29 this year after a person obtained Hedigan’s mobile phone and found images of the boy on it.

She was arrested and her phone was examined by expert digital forensic investigators who recovered video and still images of her sexually abusing the child on a number of occasions.

Further work by digital media investigators established that Hedigan had been sending the images to a man elsewhere in the country in exchange for money.

She admitted the offences when interviewed but claimed she had been providing the images under duress.

She was sentenced to a total of four years and eight months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

She will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life and was also given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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Convicted paedophile who instructed a 14-year-old girl to carry out sex acts on video calls with him whilst he masturbated.

Ethan Rich, 24, of Cwmann, was jailed for nine years and nine months for a series of sexual offences, with an additional three years extended licence period.

Rich was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order and was on the sex offenders register for life after he was convicted in August 2020 of “strikingly similar” offences to those he was back before the court on.

Dyfed-Powys Police attended Rich’s address on August 30, with his mum answering the door. Rich – who was living in a caravan at the rear of the property – didn’t reply when asked by officers whether he had access to mobile phones.

He admitted he had a phone when his mum encouraged him to “tell the truth”, prosecutor Hannah George said.

The officers were also told he had been staying at an address in Cellan for seven or more days between May 28 and July 8 without notifying the police.

Rich was bailed and that phone was registered with the police.

In October, officers received a report that he was contacting a 14-year-old girl, Ms George said.

He was arrested at his home address, and after Rich’s previously registered phone was seized, a second phone could be heard vibrating.

Each of the phones were analysed, and it was found Rich had a WhatsApp account under the name ‘Bob Ross’ and a Snapchat account under another false name. He had also made searches for ‘how to change your display name on Snapchat’ and ‘how to sign in to Snapchat on two accounts on an iPhone’.

“The defendant was aware she was under the age of 16,” Ms George said, adding that the girl had sent Rich pictures of her in her school uniform and of her classroom.

The court heard he had also searched for ‘age of consent’, ‘young teen’, and ‘what is a paedophile’.

On his devices, Rich had seven Category A indecent images of the girl. Amongst these were recordings of five video calls between them from between October 1 and 3. In the videos, Rich was instructing the girl to carry out various sexual acts on herself while he could also be seen masturbating on the calls.

He was also charged with a further breach of his sexual harm prevention order relating to this communication with an underage girl.

Rich was arrested and initially claimed in interview that he believed the girl was 19.

He later pleaded guilty to four offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, one of breaching the sex offender notification requirements, one of possession of indecent images of a child, and five offences each of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual activity in presence of child.

Georgia Donohue, in mitigation, admitted that it was “inevitable” that Rich would receive a very lengthy prison sentence”.

Ms Donohue said the defendant was “perhaps someone who presents as significantly younger than his chronological age” and that he had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and was receiving support for autism.

She added that Rich “struggled with his mental health”, which was “perhaps exacerbated” by his drug use.

Ms Donohue said Rich realised “he has to deal with the repercussions of his actions”, and had spent his time in custody well – getting a job as a cleaner and starting to learn French.

Sentencing Rich, Judge Paul Thomas KC said: “In the past, you have made the subject of orders which led to you undergoing courses. It is clear that despite a great deal of effort being put in by the criminal justice system to get you to change your ways, you have learnt nothing – or at least nothing positive.

“Your immaturity is a source of danger to young girls as you do not learn your lesson.”

Rich will remain subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must remain on the sex offenders register for life.

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A PAEDOPHILE who began raping children on his 12th birthday paid tribute to murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail, it has emerged.

Kristofer Johnstone, now 33, preyed on two girls in a 15-year campaign of abuse.

And in a horrifying twist, a picture of him holding a heart-shaped balloon in memory of tragic Alesha was shared online before he was unmasked as a beast.

Alesha, of Airdrie, was raped and murdered by fiend Aaron Campbell, then 16, who abducted her as she visited her grandparents and dad on Bute in 2018.

Johnstone, of Kelloholm, Dumfriesshire, was convicted after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow of abusing the children — aged between five and 11.

He struck between his 12th birthday on February 28, 2003 and 2018, in Glasgow’s Knightswood, nearby Maryhill, Paisley and on the Isle of Bute.

Caging the married dad of two for ten years this month, judge Alasdair MacFadyen said: “The evidence of sexual abuse was overwhelming, alarming and distressing.

“As a teenager and an adult, you committed serious offences against young children. Your actions appeared motivated by your deviant sexual desires.”

He was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely and banned from contacting both his victims.

Monster Campbell, now 21, of Bute, was jailed for at least 27 years, cut to 24 on appeal, in 2019.

We told how he struck up a warped pen pal relationship with a caged sex offender.

He rarely leaves his cell for fear of attacks by fellow cons sickened by his crimes.

He was brutally beaten in 2022 in his cell at Polmont Young Offenders.

Description

An Exmouth sex offender who tried to chat up a 13-year-old girl online has been jailed after being caught by a police sting operation.

Mark Watson aged 28, of Langstone Drive, was already on the sex offenders’ register and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a suspended sentence when he used the Chat Avenue website to contact the person he thought was a schoolgirl.

In fact he was speaking to an undercover officer when he offered to meet the girl and buy her treats, and he was caught after sending a selfie which police were able to check against their files.

Watson broke the Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in three different ways. He used a false name, used Snapchat, and he communicated with someone he believed to be a child.

The order was imposed after he was caught downloading indecent images at his home in Exmouth two years ago, leading to him receiving an eight-month suspended sentence and being sent on a sex offenders’ treatment course.

Watson admitted attempted sexual communication with a child and three counts of breaching a SHPO and was jailed for two years and ten months by Judge Martin Picton at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: “You were given a suspended sentence for very similar offending and have gone on to offend again. You thought you were speaking to a 13-year-old child and your behaviour demonstrated a sexual interest in children which is obviously of deep concern.

“You did not learn the lesson from the last experience or from the course you went on. The breach of the SHPO was very serious because you breached it in a variety of ways with determination.

“You could have done very serious harm if you had got in touch with a real child as you hoped. The dangers are obvious.”

Mr Ian Graham, prosecuting, said the SHPO was imposed in January 2023 and included restrictions on Watson’s online activity intended to prevent him using chat rooms to try to meet underage girls.

 Watson contacted the undercover officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl on February 20 this year on Chat Avenue and moved the conversation to Snapchat, which has an auto-delete function.

Miss Kelly Scrivener, defending, said Watson had tried to work with an organisation called Catch 22 to change his behaviour and has sought help from his doctor for mental health issues including depression.