Latest Offenders

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A disgraced former Yorkshire cub scout leader is back in prison again after he admitted indecently assaulting a young boy in the 1990s - but for only 30 months.

Former Ilkley man Peter Francis, now 68, was given a life sentence in 2002 for a raft of serious sexual offences against boys and girls and while still serving that sentence he was given a further five-year jail term in 2014 for abusing another boy.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday (July 3) that Francis actually served a total of 18 years behind bars and it was his impending release by the Parole Board in 2020 which prompted another victim to report the “dark secret” he had been carrying for years.

 Read more: Two people injured after pensioner crashes Skoda into man, house and car in Lindley 

Francis was actually released by the Parole Board on July 1, 2020, but he was arrested the next day and the inquiry into the latest allegations was started.

The court heard that Francis, of Grattan Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty in May to four charges of indecent assault on the complainant, who was a young boy in the early 1990s, and cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Francis was initially interviewed about the allegations in July 2020, but his solicitor advocate Julian White said he had no recollection of the specific offending.

Mr White submitted that because his client had been out of prison for the last three years and the risk he posed was being properly monitored the judge could take an exceptional course and suspend his prison sentence.

But Judge Colin Burn said it was important not to lose sight in an extremely complex sentencing exercise of the fact that there was a victim in the case who had suffered significant psychological harm on a long-term basis.

He said Francis would have been jailed for 40 months following a trial, but his guilty pleas meant that sentence could be reduced to 30 months.

In his victim impact statement the complainant described the abuse he suffered decades ago as horrific and said it had changed him forever.

He said he had been carrying a “dark secret” and Francis’ actions had not allowed him to fulfilled his potential.

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A paedophile has been jailed after pleading guilty to raping two schoolchildren over a number of years.

Demetrios Patsalides, 73, of Carr House Road, Doncaster, warned one of his victims to not tell her friends about what he had done.

He has now been locked up for 12 years after admitting several sexual offences against two young girls.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of raping a girl under 13, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, and four counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Patsalides was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Patsalides sexually assaulted his victims and performed sexual acts in front of them, before warning one of the girls to "not tell her friends at school" about the abuse she had suffered.

Patsalides was interviewed by officers on 13 March 2023, during which he admitted writing a note confessing to sexual activity with a child.

Asst Det Sgt Christopher Beaumont, who led the investigation, personally commended the two victims for their courage in coming forward.

He said: "It is difficult to put into the words the trauma and suffering they endured, and their bravery must be recognised in disclosing the sexual abuse that took place at such a young age.

"Patsalides is now behind bars and facing up to the consequences of his heinous actions, and I hope this is justice served for his two victims who can now move forward with their lives.

"I really hope this harrowing case shows that we will not stop to seek justice for all victims of sexual offences, regardless of when the abuse took"

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A paedophile has been jailed after he travelled more than 100 miles to meet an underage girl which turned out to be a police decoy.

Leslie Gearing, 78, went from his home in McKenzie Road, Chatham, to Central Park in Peterborough on February 20 after arranging to meet up with a 13-year-old girl.

He began grooming the “girl” online in December, exchanging messages and sending multiple sexually-explicit images.

He asked all traces be cleared of their conversations and said any photos he received would be put in an encrypted folder on his computer’s hard drive.

He complimented the girl’s appearance but unbeknown to him he was speaking to an undercover police officer. Gearing said she was a “very pretty girl” and he wanted to take naked photos of her and have sex.

He was arrested upon his arrival in Peterborough in a pre-planned operation carried out by members of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT).

A search of the man’s car found child-size underwear, sex toys and camera equipment.

More than 30,000 indecent images of children were discovered on different devices in his home and a further examination found more sexual communications with children and adults, with some attempts to arrange sexual activities with minors.

On Monday (September 18), at Cambridge Crown Court, Gearing was jailed for three years and 11 months.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child and two counts of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity.

He also admitted two counts of distributing an indecent photograph of a child, one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one count of attempting to meet a child under 16 following grooming.

Gearing was found guilty of a further count of attempting to meet a child under 16 following grooming and this was ordered to lie on file.

DC Cheryl Lee, from the POLIT, said: “Gearing, through his self-serving depravity, was prepared to travel more than 100 miles with no care for the physical and emotional damage he would have caused by engaging in sexual activity with an underage child.

“The items he brought with him show just how much of a risk he poses to children. Thankfully he has been exposed and caught and will be held accountable for his actions.

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A self-confessed "monster" who raped a woman at knifepoint only admitted his crimes once his victims had already given evidence in a sex abuse trial.

David Gillespie, 71, finally entered guilty pleas on the third day of his trial in September, and on Friday, was jailed for 14 years.

Gillespie, of Convent Walk, Sheffield, was arrested back in 2020 and maintained his denials until the prosecution were allowed to put evidence of his appalling previous convictions before the jury.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Friday that in the mid 1980s he hit a woman with a bottle before subjecting her to a knifepoint rape and Recorder Simon Kealey KC also referred to other assaults on Gillespie’s record which he committed against other women over the subsequent years.

Gillespie eventually pleaded guilty to charges of buggery, assault and three indecent assaults relating to his two victims, who must not be identified for legal reasons.

The court heard that the non-recent offending led to the victims having to leave the area in order to escape Gillespie’s abuse and violence.

In their victim impact statements, read by prosecutor David McGonigal, the women described how they suffered anxiety and nightmares as a result of the abuse and both said they spent years “looking over their shoulders” in case he was there.

One victim said: ”I’m angry he made me go through this (in court) only to plead guilty afterwards.”

Barrister Katy Rafter, for Gillespie, said her client had reflected on the victims’ evidence to the jury and the next morning he told her he accepted that he had been “a monster” when in drink as a younger man and couldn’t dispute what they had described. She said Gillespie had been in the grip of alcohol and gambling addictions at the time and he was now deeply ashamed of himself.

Ms Rafter said due to his age and ill-health it was highly likely that Gillespie would never be released from prison.

Passing sentence Recorder Kealey referred to the violence meted by Gillespie including punching and kicking and even putting a wire round one complainant’s neck. He said: “She was often left bruised, battered and humiliated by you."

The judge said the offending had caused panic attacks and anxiety for both complainants and added: ”What you have done to both of them has been long-lasting and severe. You accept that you were at that time a monster in drink and that at least presents to your victims, who are listening to this, a very small element of remorse.”

Gillespie will have to serve two-thirds of his 14-year sentence before being released and he will have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

He must also comply with a restraining order which bans any contact with the two complainants.

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A Rotherham man who raped and sexually abused multiple children has been jailed for a catalogue of sickening seuxal offences.

45-year-old Darren Thomas repeatedly abused and exploited the vulnerability of children for his own gratification for a period of more than 10 years from 2010 to 2021.
 
A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said Thomas 'silenced his victims,' making threats and 'telling them to keep his evil sexual abuse a secret'.

During a hearing held today (Tuesday, December 19, 2023), Sheffield Crown Court heard how Thomas used alcohol to take advantage of his vulnerable victims, forcing them to perform sexual acts. Two days prior to his arrest, Thomas sent a text message where he referred to himself as a ‘paedophile,’ the court heard.

Thomas had previously pleaded guilty on September 5 at Sheffield Crown Court to two counts of rape of an under 16-year-old, five counts of sexual assault, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of digital penetration. All convictions relate to offences committed between 2010 and 2021 involving children and young people aged between 11 and 17.

At the conclusion of today's hearing,Thomas, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 18 years and seven months in prison. He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and restraining order for life.

Speaking after Thomas was jailed, officer in the case, Detective Constable Caroline Anderson, said: "This has been a complex investigation, with evidence spanning almost eight years to uncover and review. It has undoubtedly been a long and difficult process for the victims, and I want to commend their tremendous bravery in coming forward and providing statements and key evidence.

"I hope the result has brought the victims a certain level of closure, but nothing can eliminate their ordeal.

"They will have to deal with the consequences of his actions for the rest of their lives, but thanks to their support a dangerous and prolific offender is now off the streets and serving time behind bars, unable to prey on anyone else.

"I am proud of the results of the investigation and would encourage other victims of sexual assault to come forward, so we can support you in seeking justice and continuing to make our communities safer, together."

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A PAEDOPHILE distributed explicit images of children being sexually abused to other online users, and engaged in illegal chat with what he thought was a teenage girl.

Simon Tiller, 57, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday (Monday) for what a judge described as a pattern of continued sexual offending which was wired into his DNA.

It was following chat between Tiller and an undercover police officer that he was unmasked as the person using a number of different online aliases. Discussions, through a messaging application, related to the sexual abuse of minors.

Michael Scholes, prosecuting, said of the communication method: This is a platform often favoured by those with an interest in the sexual abuse of children owing to the high level of anonymity it offers.

Tiller was arrested in May 2022, at a motorhome in which he was living within the grounds of a private north Cumbria property.

Several phones were recovered including a Samsung Galaxy in Tillers shorts that he had tried to hide. This was found to contain many hundreds of accessible indecent images of children including 317 stills and videos classed in category A, the most serious.

Over several months, Tiller was found to have discussed with others the sexual abuse of children and distributed indecent images.

The court heard Tiller had also covertly taken indecent photos of a child which he said he was prepared to pass on.

Tiller admitted nine charges involving the possession and distribution of indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornographic images and attempted sexual communication with a 14-year-old girl who was actually a police officer. He was convicted by a jury of one voyeurism offence.

Kim Whittlestone, mitigating, said Tiller had expressed remorse, despite conclusions to the contrary which had been drawn by a probation officer.

He will use his time in custody as well as he can, said Miss Whittlestone.

He is realistic that the court will keep him within a custodial environment for some time hence.

Tiller was jailed for a total of 39 months by Judge Michael Fanning, who concluded that he had sought to minimise his offending and shown a degree of self-pity.

You are a paedophile, said the judge. The (pre-sentence) report shows you are a risk to children. This offending was into your DNA, and until you accept and address that you remain a risk to children.

Tiller, latterly of Blackford, near Carlisle, must sign the sex offender register, and comply with the strict terms of a prevention order, for 10 years.

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An Exeter man has been sent to jail after he was caught by paedophile hunters sending sexual messages to decoy children online. Jamie Short used Facebook and WhatsApp to pester what he thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls.

The 51-year-old sent them disgusting pictures of himself and tried to get photos of the children in return. He suggested they have sex, masqueraded as a teenaged boy and even offered to pay £300 to one child to watch him pleasure himself.

He was traced and arrested by police. Short, of Chestnut Avenue, Exeter, has been given an 18-month prison sentence at Exeter Crown Court. The defendant, who has a history of violent crime, is already serving four and a half years for robbery.

Prosecutor Herc Ashworth said the first offence happened in November 2019 when Short contacted a decoy account of a 13-year-old operated by a paedophile hunter. He quickly turned the conversation sexual and offered to meet her when she came to Devon on holiday.

He then claimed to be a 14-year-old boy and sent the child naked images of himself. He also tried to call her via WhatsApp.

Then in March of last year he was at it again contacting another account - despite being on bail at the time. He claimed to be 17 years old and sent more perverted images of himself.

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Short was living an isolated and lonely life at the time. He also has a degenerative muscle condition which means he can no longer use his hands properly.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three offences of attempted sexual communication with a child and two of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

His 18-month sentence will run consecutive to the robbery term he is already serving making a total of six years.

Short was given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the sex offender register.

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A man who sent pictures of his dog to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in a bid to groom her has been jailed.

Scott Burke, 37, of Leverington in Cambridgeshire, contacted the "teenager" on social media in November 2021. She was in fact a police officer.

Cambridgeshire Police said he quickly sexualised the conversations and sent a photograph of his penis, along with one of him with his dog.

Burke pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to arrange, facilitate or commission sexual activity with a child and was jailed for two years and six months.

Burke, of Leverington Common in the village near Wisbech, repeatedly discussed sex and a desire to meet up with the girl during a fortnight of online conversations, Cambridgeshire Police said.

He claimed he had booked them a hotel room and suggested taking the girl to a sex toy and lingerie retailer.

On arrest, he told officers he had been hacked.

Burke also pleaded guilty to one count of being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to cause or incite a girl aged 13-15 into sexual activity.

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A sex offender prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children has now twice since become involved in relationships with young mothers who were unaware of his past convictions.

Phillip Yarrow was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after being convicted of sexual communication with a child and attempted sexual activity with a child, online grooming of a girl aged 13 to 15, in February 2019.

Durham Crown Court was told that the terms of the SHPO included forbidding him having unsupervised contact with any child under 16 where the parent or guardian has no knowledge of his convictions.

He was also made subject of notification requirements as a sex offender in which he must inform his risk manager if he lives at any address for more than 12 hours.

Jon Harley, prosecuting, said a complaint was received by a woman, with a daughter aged under four, who was using a dating app in December last year.

She began messaging the defendant, who was described as “32 and from Coxhoe”, for two weeks, before meeting him close to her address on January 2, after which he went back to her home, although her daughter was not present as she was staying with her grandmother.

Mr Harley said Yarrow did not stay over, but the following day, at 4pm, Yarrow went back to the woman’s home at 4pm, when he daughter was present.

He stayed for two hours but had little contact with the girl and was never alone with her.

Mr Harley said that the next day he went over at 7pm, but this time did stay over at the address, having watched tv.

The following morning he left after the woman booked him a taxi, and that would be the last time she saw him.

Mr Harley said throughout the defendant’s contact with the woman there was no mention of his previous convictions.

When it came to light he was interviewed by police and accepted responsibility for the offence.

The court heard Yarrow, 32, of Grange Crescent, Coxhoe, pleaded, or indicated he was guilty, when he appeared before magistrates last month.

Mr Harley said the defendant now has three convictions for ten offences, all sexual of some description.

The court heard that following his original conviction, in February 2019, he was dealt with back at court for making indecent photos of children and failing to comply with notification requirements as a sex offender, in June 2021.

Mr Harley said the latter offence was for staying at an address for more than seven days where the female householder, with two young daughters, was not informed of Yarrow’s past conviction.

There was also said to be a further breach of the SHPO in July 2022 by the defendant.

Martin Scarborough, for Yarrow, said he had found work, through an agency, at a glass factory prior to being taken into custody which prevented him from being able to seek to make the employment full-time.

Mr Scarborough said, relating to the latest offence, his client had little contact with the child, and none while unsupervised.

Judge Jo Kidd said not for the first time Yarrow has chosen to engage in a relationship with a mother of a young daughter having failed to inform them of his offending history.

She told him: “The sentences you have received have increased with each further breach and, so, the sentence I will pass now will be an increase on them.

“You have a clear history of disobedience of court orders.”

She said it appears that up to now, he has not stepped back from his, “risk-taking behaviour.”

Imposing a 20-month term of imprisonment, she warned the defendant if he commits further offences during his licence period, upon his release at the mid-point, it is likely that he will be readmitted to prison to serve the remainder of the sentence.

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Paul Armitt pled guilty to carrying out the attack on the woman on April 28 last year on Seagate.

The 43-year-old touched the woman’s back and seized her buttocks.

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TWO "predatory" sex offenders who filmed the vile rape of a woman in a car have been jailed.

Bujar Jashari, of Victoria Road, Southend, has been jailed for seven years for his role in the attack in Hornchurch town centre, in east London, last June.

Jashari, 34, and his co-defendant Rinor Korqa, 25, approached the 34-year-old victim when she became separated from her friends during a night out.

She was alone in a bar when two men approached her, took her to a car and drove away.

The victim, who has been praised by police for her bravery in speaking out and contacting the force, recalled being raped inside the car by one of the defendants while the other recorded the attack on his phone.

Staff who worked at a nearby bar told police officers during their enquires that both Jashari and Korqa had been spotted approaching several women before leaving with the victim.

Following the conviction, both men were branded “predatory offenders” who “would likely” still be offending if they had not been caught.

The pair were eventually traced and charged.

During a sentencing hearing on January 24, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Jashari, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for rape.

Korqa, of Romford, east London, was sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment for rape and failing to disclose his mobile phone PIN.

Both men had been convicted of rape two days earlier at the same court.

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A Dunfermline man sent an indecent image to someone he thought was a young girl.

However, the recipient of Ernest Nicholson’s photograph was, in fact, an undercover police officer.

Nicholson, 58, of Berry Law Place, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that between January 9 and 16 last year, he sent an image of a naked penis via social media to someone he thought was a child but was, in fact, an undercover police officer, and thus attempted to cause a child to view a sexual image.

He also sent sexual written communications to someone he thought was a child and thereby attempted to communicate indecently with a child.

Sentencing was deferred until March 14 for reports. He was put on the sex offenders register.

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A 31-year-old registered sex offender has been sent back to prison after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Freddie Millar, who the court was told also identifies as Xenia Jade Millar, previously of Northampton, was issued with the SHPO in 2017 after being convicted of raping a woman.

As a registered sex offender, Millar was required to abide by very strict conditions after leaving prison in September last year or face going back to jail.

These conditions included notifying police of any new relationship, any new social media accounts created, or the purchase of any devices capable of accessing the internet.

However, on December 8, 2023, when police officers from Northamptonshire Police’s MOSOVO Team spontaneously visited Millar, they found a laptop and a woman inside the address who claimed to be in a relationship with Millar. Neither the laptop nor the relationship had been disclosed to police.

Then on January 22, Millar was once again visited by the MOSOVO Team who discovered a mobile phone with multiple social media accounts that hadn’t been disclosed. They also found conversations which suggested Millar had once again formed friendships/relationships that police weren’t aware of.

As a result, Millar was subsequently charged with one count of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and one count of Breaching Notification Requirements.

After pleading guilty to both offences at an earlier hearing at Northampton Crown Court in December 2023, Millar returned to the same court last week (February 5) and was sentenced to one year and four months in prison.

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A man and woman exchanged hundreds of "vile" messages about young girls, a court heard.

Indecent images of children aged between four and 13 were found on convicted sex offender Colin Dawson’s laptop and phones after they were seized by police.

In court, Annette Punter, 65, from Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to being in possession of extreme pornography and was given a 20-month prison term, suspended for two years.

Dawson, 61, also of Wolverhampton, admitted making indecent images of children and was jailed for two years and four months.

Investigators had identified Dawson's home as being linked to online chats referring to child abuse.

Following her arrest Punter told detectives she was manipulated by Dawson, who police said she was in a relationship with at the time.

Both pleaded guilty to conspiring to take indecent images of children between 9 and 19 November 2018.

Dawson, of Merridale, also admitted making 44 indecent images on various dates between 4 November 2018 and 7 July 2020.

Punter, of East Park, admitted a further charge of taking and distributing indecent images of children between 2 and 5 November 2018.

Dawson will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life and Punter will be on it for 10 years.

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POLICE have praised the courage of an underage sexual assault victim following the sentencing of a “dangerous” Hythe man.

Brandon Foss (20) of Butts Ash Gardens, was recently jailed for 20 months after admitting seven counts of sexual activity with a child, which he committed between May and June last year.

Southampton Crown Court heard the victim was under 16 years of age.

PC Robert Thomas, who led the investigation, said: “It took a lot of courage and bravery for the victim to come forward and make these disclosures to us.

“I have nothing but the greatest admiration for this young lady, who fully supported our investigation and remained confident in our ability to get a conviction in court.

“I am so pleased for her that justice has now been served in this case, and that she has now seen Foss put behind bars, where he belongs.”

He added: “He abused her for his own sexual gratification, and must now serve time in prison, where he will have to reflect upon his crimes.

“While I know this result won’t rid the victim of the memories of what he did to her, I truly hope it allows her to move forward with her life, safe in the knowledge that he can no longer harm anyone else.”

Foss also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing class B drug, cannabis.

Judge Nicholas Rowland imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which places restrictions on Foss to prevent further offending.

He was also ordered to pay £167 in court charges.