Latest Offenders

Description

A man who had more than 64,000 indecent images of children on his computer admitted his guilt as soon as police entered his Bournemouth home.

The haul of still and moving images David Ballam possessed included scores of the most serious type.

Some of the content involved children no older than 10 years of age.

Officers had been contacted about suspicious online search activity relating to child sex abuse from the IP address associated with his home address.

Following an investigation, police visited the 52-year-olds address in Belle Vue Road, where he lives with his elderly father, in December last year.

Prosecutor James Nash told Bournemouth Crown Court: Police officers went to his home address. Mr Ballams father let them in.

He (the defendant) presented his hands.

"He said: I am guilty. I have been looking at pictures. They are there. They are very young. I have been looking for the last couple of months.

Police seized his computer and found a total of 64,116 still and moving images, with 178 Category A (the most serious), 122 Category B and 63,816 Category C.

At the hearing on December 4, Mr Nash confirmed Ballam had not been involved in the creation of the images but sought them out online and downloaded them over a year-long period, with evidence of systematic storage on the computer.

Mitigating, Tom Evans said the defendant, who had no previous convictions, was remorseful and aware of the contribution his offending had on child sex abuse crimes.

Mr Evans added that Ballam, who is the full time carer for his father, was an extremely isolated individual who suffered from mental health issues for some years.

In sentencing the defendant, who admitted three counts of making indecent images of children at an earlier hearing, Recorder Alexia Power said his mental health had contributed to the offending.

She said a large number of children were seen in the images and only a custodial sentence could be justified although suspended the sentence, noting there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Ballam was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay 200 costs and a 140 surcharge.

He was issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years, required to follow an eight-week overnight curfew and told to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

DI Neil Third, of Dorset Polices paedophile online investigation team, said: The possessing and sharing of indecent images online fuels the demand for their production, which results in truly awful acts of sexual abuse being carried out against children that have a devastating and lifelong impact on the young victims.

We are determined to identify those responsible for these offences and bring them before the courts. We work with a range of other agencies to gather information and intelligence and will act on this to ensure offenders face justice and victims are safeguarded.

Description

A woman was left suicidal after being raped and sexually abused by a man decades ago, a court has heard.

The victim was in her 50s when she "plucked up the courage" to report the sexual abuse she had been subjected to by Robert Reynolds when she was a child.

Norwich Crown Court heard the offences were committed over almost a decade, between July 1972 and March 1982.

Duncan O'Donnell, prosecuting, said the sexual offending started when the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was just eight.

Reynolds, 80, of Shortthorn Road, Stratton Strawless, appeared in court for sentence on Monday (September 13) having previously been found guilty following a trial earlier this month of four counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and another of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13.

Before Reynolds was sentenced an impact statement was read out on behalf of the victim who said she had "never been able to tell my story of sexual abuse as a child" but had "thought of suicide" at her lowest point.

She said she had thought sex "was about control" and that she has "never made anything of my life".

The victim said: "It will never be over for me. It will with me until I die".

She said following Reynolds' conviction earlier this month she wanted to "ask that a custodial sentence is given" adding that he has "had his freedom".

Sentencing Reynolds to a total of 14 years, made up of 13 years in prison and an extra year on licence, Judge Alice Robinson said the offences, committed over "a number of years" have had a "serious impact" on the victim.

Ian James, mitigating, said mitigation was rather limited and accepted the seriousness of the offending he had been convicted of and the fact a custodial sentence was "inevitable".

Mr James said the fact he had "stayed out of trouble for the majority of his 80 years should be taken into consideration" as well as his age when sentencing.

He said there was no suggestion that other than the victim in this case that "this sort of behaviour has been repeated with anyone else".

He added: "Its something that has lain dormant literally for decades now."

Reynolds was put on the sex offenders' register for life

Description

Michael Pick, of Holland Road, Old Whittington, approached both girls in separate incidents while they were with out with their friends.

In April 2021, Pick approached a girl and invited her to his house for a cigarette. The girl waited outside and as she lit the cigarette he had given her, he sexually assaulted her.

She pushed him away but then he grabbed her by her waist and tried to kiss her, but she managed to push him away again and run back to her friends.

They reported what had happened to police and Pick was arrested. He denied the offence during interview and was bailed.

On Saturday 4 June 2022, while on bail, the 21-year-old approached a different teenage girl who was sat with friends at a park just off Albert Avenue in New Whittington.

He commented on the appearance of the girl and her friend, said that he wanted to have sex with them and showed them a knife he had in his bag.

Pick then crawled over to the victim, pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. One of her friends pushed him off. As they were walking away, he approached the victim again and sexually assaulted her for a second time.

The group reported what happened to passing patrol officers, and Pick was seen in the area but ran off from the officer.

He was arrested later the same day at his home address, charged and remanded.

Pick was convicted at Derby Crown Court of two counts of sexual assault of a teenage girl, possession of a knife and inciting an under-age girl to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed following the hearing on Friday 7 July for 50 months with an extended post-release licence period of 24 months.

Pick was handed five-year restraining orders in respect of both victims and is also subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

Anthony Moores sent disgusting photos of himself to the child and told her he was ‘horny’ – but it was in fact an undercover police officer.

The 33-year-old committed the crime while on police bail for no less than 17 child sex offences, failing to heed warnings after admitting the disgusting offences but before being sentenced.

After seeing his current jail sentence extended, he was told that he was clearly dangerous, and that an extended sentence was needed to safely protect the public.

Moores admitted attempted sexual communications with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity and appeared before Manchester Crown Square Crown Court to be sentenced.

Rachel Shenton, prosecuting, explained how the defendant had previously been sentenced in August 2021 to four years in prison with an extended licence period of a further four years.

This was for 17 offences including causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, making indecent images of a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child committed in September 2020-.

 The court heard how he encouraged a ’vulnerable’ 11-year-old girl in residential care to send videos of herself performing sexual acts, while also engaging in sex chats with 12 other girls who he believed to be between the ages of 12 and 15, but were in fact decoys created by members of a paedophile hunter group.

The offences for which he was sentenced for in this latest hearing were committed in January last year – while on bail after being convicted of the former offences, but before being jailed for them.

He was arrested while a prisoner at HM Prison Forest Bank in Salford in November 2021, following analysis of devices seized after police visited his home on Buttermarket Street in Warrington town centre on March 23 earlier that year.

This came after he was caught having sexualised chats via online dating site MeetMe with a profile he believed belonged to Billy, a 13-year-old girl from Ipswich, but which was in fact controlled by an undercover police officer.

The profile he was chatting with had a photo of a 13-year-old girl, and on January 29 last year, the officer received a private message from the defendant’s profile, which was in his own name.

Chat messages included ‘what are you looking for’, to which the officer replied: “Some fun, but I am young.”

Moores told the officer that he was ‘horny’, and when he was told by the ‘girl’ that she was 13, he replied that he was 31.

Messages continued on WhatsApp, where the defendant told the ‘girl’ that she was ‘so cute’ and asked what ‘stuff’ she had done with her last boyfriend. 

 He asked for video chats and whether she would like to see him perform a sex act on himself, before sending a photo of such activity.

The defendant asked for a photo of her breasts, made references about her genitalia, asked if she liked the photos he sent and asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend, as well as a discussion about meeting up.

He asked her to perform sex acts on herself and himself and told her that he loved her before the messages ended on February 14.

When he was interviewed in prison, he answered no comment to most questions.

Michael Johnson, defending, spoke of how Moores’ learning disability ‘contributed to his offending in having a bearing on his conduct’.

He said that his client ‘craves intimacy’, but shields behind social media platforms due to ‘esteem issues’, and he asked for any sentence to run concurrent his current one – meaning no extra time behind bars.

Before sentencing, judge Hilary Manley said: “You engaged in sexual communications with an undercover police officer – she said she was 13 and you did not care.

“There was a significant difference in your age and what you believed her age to be.

“You failed to respond to warnings after already being caught, had pleaded guilty and was awaiting sentence, and you did it again.”

“Because you have been convicted of a specific offence, I have to consider dangerousness, and whether you present a significant risk of serious harm by committing other offences – I am satisfied that you do present that risk,” she went on to say. 

 “When I sentenced you in August last year, I took the view that you were dangerous, and this view has only been reinforced by what I now know.”

Moores, whose address in court was simply listed at HMP Altcourse, was jailed for 22 months with an extended licence period of a year.

This will run consecutive to the four-year sentence imposed in August last year, and once he has served two thirds of the total custodial term, the parole board will determine if he can be released and serve the five-year extended licence period.

He must also sign the sex offender register for life and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely. 

Description

Predatory paedophile Harley Palmer, 27, targeted the young boys and molested them when they were alone.

He would buy his terrified victims gifts in order to buy their silence.

He was described at Taunton Crown Court as a dangerous and 'manipulative' abuser with a sexual interest in young boys.

His victims, aged nine and 13, were initially too scared to tell anyone what had happened and feared they would not be believed.

When the offences did come to light earlier this year Palmer initially denied doing anything wrong and described himself as a 'cuddly person' who would just tickle the children. But police found naked images of a child on his phone and he pleaded guilty to four offences.

Palmer was jailed five years and three months with an extra extended licence period of four years imposed due to the danger he poses to children.

The parents of one of the victims said in a statement they were 'devastated' by what he had done and he had destroyed their son's childhood.

The teenage victim said he still had nightmares.

Mr Harry Ahuja, defending, said Palmer was immature for his age, anxious, confused about his sexuality and sorry.

Palmer, of Friarn Avenue, Bridgwater, pleaded guilty to two offences of sexual activity with a child under 13 and two charges relating to the indecent pictures.

He was put on the sex offender register for life

Recorder Philip Mott QC told the defendant: "What took place was classic grooming behaviour by you.

"You are described as a manipulative person and a high risk of causing serious harm to pre-pubescent boys."

Palmer must serve two-thirds of his five years and three months sentence in jail before he can be considered for release by the parole board.

Recorder Mott said: "It is quite clear from the victim personal statements that there has been a serious psychological effect on the children.

He added: "It is very important to say to the two victims you are not to blame for anything that happened. It was not your fault.

"To your parents this is perhaps your worst nightmare and what your children need now is calmness, and above all love. For you to be strong and not to allow fear and anger to turn into a prison for your children."

Description

Kieran O’Connor, of Dorleigh Court, Cwmbran, breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order given by Newport Crown Court on September 9, 2020, after sending messages to two teenage girls on Facebook.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the 21-year-old had been placed into a hotel as part of his prevention order.

However, the hotel had a smart TV enabling O’Connor to access Facebook and communicate with children.

Via Facebook O’Connor asked a 14-year-old to meet and do "dirty stuff". He also contacted a 15-year-old girl.

Judge Shomon Khan said: “You have been given chances before.

“Everyone has tried to work really hard for you, you are very determined to reoffend and are unmanageable in the community.”

The court also heard how O’Connor’s family had tried to ban O’Connor’s access to the internet and regularly changed their passwords.

O’Connor was jailed for 20 months for both offences to run concurrently, he was also ordered to pay a court surcharge of £156 three months after his release.

Description

Mark Warcup targeted the boys, were both under 12, in 2020 but continued to deny any wrongdoing while providing a “ludicrous story”, before he eventually confessed. The boys had already given their recorded evidence in preparation for the trial which was due to start in September last year.

The 45-year-old has now been jailed for more than four years at Leeds Crown Court. Prosecutor Christopher Rose said he showed the first boy videos of men having sex on his phone, made the youngster touch his penis and would try to pull the boy’s underwear down.

The second victim said that the defendant had tried to force the boy to touch Warcup’s penis through his jeans. Further details cannot be disclosed to help protect the identity of his victims.

Victim impact statements were read out for the boys, with one saying he regularly felt suicidal, and said of Warcup: “It makes me want to kill him.”

Warcup, of Colenso Gardens, Holbeck, eventually admitted engaging in sexual activity in presence of a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of sexual assault of child under, and two of causing/inciting child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted two counts of possessing indecent images of children after more than 130 images were found on his phone after he was arrested. This included two category A images – the most serious – and 129 category C.

Mitigating, Stephen Uttley said there had been no further offending from Warcup and there was no suggestion of any other victims. He said that Warcup himself suffered an “appalling” childhood, and was subjected to sexual and physical abuse.

He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has previously attempted suicide. He said Warcup was also drinking heavily at the time of his offending, had a gambling addiction but had become involved in the church.

The court was also told Warcup had learning difficulties. He has no previous convictions but a caution for making indecent images of children.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC told him: “It involved the sexual abuse of two very young boys. Your attitude was to abuse them. You had an opportunity to admit your wrongdoing, and you are not even admitting it now to the probation officer.

"It was only in September 2023, three years after, that you pleaded guilty when it was listed for trial. You came up with a ludicrous story and denied any form of wrongdoing.

"It was highly-manipulative behaviour and grooming behaviour in my judgement. You have intellectual difficulties and have a low IQ. But you, of all people who suffered abuse, should have realised what you were doing.

"You created opportunities to sexually abuse them. It was calculated and manipulative behaviour.”

He jailed Warcup for 51 months, put him on the sex offender register for life, and also made him subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Description

A creepy passenger who stared at a woman and her children while fondling himself on the bus to Cullompton has been sent to prison - a year after being convicted of an almost identical offence. Nikolay Nikolov was on his way home from some unpaid work ordered by the court when he sat himself close to a family on the top deck.

The 23-year-old Bulgarian was soon staring at the woman's breasts before shifting his perverted gaze to her three-year-old daughter. The woman told him to stop and moved seats but Nikolov followed them and carried on acting strangely.

The children told the woman that the man had exposed himself and CCTV later revealed he spent much of the journey between Exeter and Cullompton rubbing his crotch and masturbating.

Nikolov admitted outraging public decency when he appeared at court. The offence also put him breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed by the courts in 2022 for touching himself while staring at teenage girls on a bus.

Nikolov, of Fore Street, Cullompton, has now been jailed for 16 months. The judge said he had not learned his lesson from his previous sentence and was still a risk to the public.

The offence happened in September after Nikolov had completed a session of unpaid work and boarded at Exeter Bus Station. The woman, two children aged three and seven and her 13-year-old nephew, were upstairs on the back seat.

Nikolov sat in the row in front of them - ignoring many empty seats, said prosecutor Ms Hollie Gilbery. He started staring at the woman, trying to look down her top, and at the younger child. When she told him to stop he said he was sorry but 30 seconds was at it again.

The woman moved with the children to a different part of the bus but Nikolov crossed the aisle to get closer. He resumed his staring at the child and the woman went downstairs to tell the driver.

While she did that the older children noticed his exposed penis. CCTV revealed he had been fondling for a significant proportion of the journey. The woman called police who recognised the description and arrested him at his home.

He initially told police he had been masturbating on the bus but denied he was aroused by the other passengers.

Nikolov was banned from sitting next to females on public transport at the time because of his previous behaviour. He has breached his SHPO twice before and been punished with more unpaid work.

Mr Brian Fitzherbert said he had not been able to complete rehabilitation work with probation previously because of his lack of English. But he said his English language skills were not much improved. He is sorry for his behaviour and wants to stop.

Judge David Evans said Nikolov was not a good prospect for rehabilitation at the moment and his risk could not be managed in the community. The defendant will serve half of his sentence in prison and be subject to a SHPO for seven years.

The order bans him from following and sitting next to females on public transport.

Description

A man who made plans to travel across the country in order to rape two children has been jailed.

Martin Allaway, aged 47, of Nobes Avenue in Gosport, also downloaded more than 2,000 child abuse images, 166 of which were Category A – the most serious.

Allaway appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on 27 September 2023 where he admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, and one count of attempting to arrange/facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard on Friday 19 January this year that between January and May 2021, Allaway had been speaking to a woman online and detailed how he intended to travel to Sheffield in order to rape two children.

Allaway researched train times and ticket costs, and planned the date and time in which he would travel. He did not proceed with his plans, however, and subsequently withdrew from further communication with the woman.

The person Allaway had been speaking with was in fact a covert investigator from the Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU), and the ‘children’ that were discussed during their conversations did not in fact exist.

Following further investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Allaway was charged in August last year, and at the sentencing hearing he was jailed for 32 months. He was also ordered to sign on to the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Description

A man from Kent has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to directing the sexual abuse of young children around the world.

Matthew Bower, aged 52, from Swanley, was identified by National Crime Agency officers after information was received by the FBI that a man from the UK had been paying for images of a young girl being sexually abused.

The victim, a 15 year old girl, spoke to police officers in the US in early August 2017 and told them she had been sexually abused by a female family member for a number of months. She stated that the abuse was photographed and the images were being sent to a man in the UK for various sums of money.

Officers from the FBI arrested the woman and she provided them with an email address, username and Paypal details of the man she had taken the photographs for.

This information was sent to officers at the NCA who were able to identify Bower.

He was arrested on the 22 August 2017 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children and arranging & facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. Officers searched his house and a number of devices were seized.

Upon examination of the devices, chat logs were recovered which showed Bower using the username evo5_mat - telling the woman what he wanted her to do to the victim. In some of the chat, he says OK KINDA LIKE TO SEE BOTH OF U PICS, SO MAYBE WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW IS SHE FREE and then SENT U 80 SO EXPECT A LOT.

NCA investigators identified that she had sent Bower 308 images of herself with the victim, as well as two live-streamed videos between 2016 and 2017. Financial records showed that over a six year period, Bower had sent her approximately 6,000, the majority in return for the abuse material.

NCA officers also found additional chat logs and online conversations where Bower was actively encouraging others to sexually abuse young children.

They also identified a woman in Romania who had been abusing a child under the age of two, as directed by Bower. Information was shared with international law enforcement partners and the woman was arrested in August 2018. She was convicted in December 2019 of rape and child abuse offences and is currently serving more than eight years in prison.

Bower had also been contacting a number of children online via Skype, encouraging them to send him naked photos and perform sexual acts on camera. Two girls, aged 8 and 15, from the United States were identified as having been coerced by Bower into sending indecent images. Both have since been safeguarded by the US authorities.

He initially told officers he had been the victim of hacking, but in October 2023, pleaded guilty to 15 offences including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and making over 1,700 indecent images of children, including category A images.

Jen Cruickshank, Senior Investigating Officer at the NCA, said:

Bower is clearly a dangerous individual who has a depraved sexual interest in children. For a significant period of time he actively sought people online both adults and children whom he could coerce into sending him abuse material for his sexual gratification.

Id like to pay tribute to the victims who bravely spoke about the abuse they had suffered. The initial victim report was the catalyst for this investigation and ultimately led to us being able to identify Bower and ensure further victims were safeguarded.

The NCA is dedicated to protecting children and disrupting the highest harm offenders wherever they are in the world. Collaboration with our international colleagues is imperative in achieving this.

Sentencing him at Croydon Crown Court today (25 January) HHJ Lowe gave Bower an extended sentence, saying he had no hesitation in concluding you are dangerous.

The offences Bower pleaded guilty to were committed between 2008 and 2017.

Description

A paedophile 'systematically' groomed a young girl for years. Dale Pendleton-Briers, 32, 'pretended it was just a game' when the abuse first started, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The abuse was non-recent and involved a victim who Pendleton-Briers targeted from a young age. She 'knew what was happening was wrong and asked Pendleton Briers to stop repeatedly', but the abuse continued.

When the victim was a teenager, she accessed counselling due to her declining mental health and eventually challenged Pendleton-Briers.

Several years after, she reported the abuse to her family and the police, who launched an investigation. When Pendleton-Briers was interviewed, he denied the allegations and said his victim had made them up. He said she had told him she 'intended to ruin him.'

A review of his mobile phone by police revealed he'd searched for extreme pornography and the sexual abuse of children. Last September, Dale Pendleton-Briers, of Latham Road, Manchester, was charged with 28 offences of sexual abuse of a child; and possession of indecent images. He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault of a child under 13; one of assault by penetration of a child under 13; four counts of sexual assault; two of sexual assault by penetration; and one offence of possession of extreme pornography.

He was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Thursday (January 25) to 12 years in prison. He was made the subject of an indefinite restraining order; an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order; barred from working with children; and ordered to sign the sex offender register for life.

DC Herminder Hira of Cheshire Constabulary said: “The victim was supported from the moment they made the call to us right through to the court process. As well as our specially trained officers, we have a network of support services which we can direct the victim to, to get professional help and advice.

“I hope seeing justice done today will help the victim with their ongoing journey to recovery. I would like to acknowledge the bravery they have shown and their belief in the Criminal Justice System. Trauma no matter how long ago is still very raw and the toll it takes should never be underestimated.

"I hope others are encouraged by this victim's bravery to come forward, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. It doesn't always have to end in a court case, just telling someone and being believed is a vital step for anyone who has suffered in this way."

Senior Crown Prosecutor Lydia Durkin, a specially trained lawyer in the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: "Dale Pendleton Briers used his victim almost as some sort of experimental toy for him to do whatever he wanted with. What he systematically failed to acknowledge was that his victim was a human being who did not want any of this to happen.

"She has had many years of counselling that has helped her see this as the dreadful destruction of her youth. She gained the skills to end what was happening to her and finally told the police and he has been brought to justice for his crimes.

"The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank her for her persistence and courage in supporting this prosecution. We hope all the efforts she is making to rebuild her life."

Description

A former Fareham teacher has been jailed for non-recent sexual offences against a school child.

Nicholas Brooks, now aged 71 and of Park Gate, was a teacher at Meoncross School in Stubbington at the time of the offences, which took place between 2008 and 2011.

The allegations came to light after a woman approached police in 2020 to report abuse she suffered at the hands of Brooks when she was a pupil at the school.

The woman described feeling ‘trapped’ by Brooks, with offences taking place on the school premises, at Brooks’s home address and in his car.

Police launched an investigation, and Brooks was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child aged 13-17 – adult abusing a position of trust – and two counts of being an adult abusing their position of trust to cause/incite sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17, following a trial at Southampton Crown Court on 13 December 2023.

Appearing at the same court on Friday 26 January 2024, he was jailed for 3 years.

Description

A man has been jailed for almost a decade after he outlined his depraved sexual fantasies online to an undercover police officer.

Dean Ward, 39, described how he was abusing his eight-year-old daughter, though the child did not actually exist.

He also talked about the abuse he "wanted to happen" to the child and to the undercover officer's six-year-old daughter, who also did not exist.

Norwich Crown Court heard there was "extremely graphic and deeply disturbing" conversations between the two of them, including the rape of both imaginary children.

Danielle O'Donovan, prosecuting, said Ward, whose previous convictions include sexual assault and making indecent images of children, discussed in detail the rape of the girl and other fantasies.

Ward, who has five previous convictions for more than 20 offences, appeared for sentencing on Tuesday via videolink from HMP Norwich after admitting arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence on June 5, 2023.

He also admitted three breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) between May and June 2023.

Recorder Matthew Happold said Ward, of Barrett Road, Norwich, had engaged in "extremely unpleasant discussion" about "damaging, abusive acts" and "including the rape of both children".

Imposing an extended 13-year-sentence, made up of nine-and-a-half-years imprisonment and three-and-a-half years on licence, Recorder Happold said it was a "very serious offence".

Andrew Thompson, mitigating, said there was "never a real child".

He said there was no meeting and there could not have been as the child was "fictional".

Mr Thompson said Ward, who "never had a child" and "does not have a daughter" had been engaged in conversations about a "sexual fantasy" with the undercover officer who had also been talking about a non-existent child.

He said Ward was an "isolated" and "socially awkward" individual who "operated behind a keyboard in his bedroom".

Ward was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A sex offender from Sidcup has been jailed after targeting a child for two years.

Danny Mackney subjected his young victim to countless instances of sexual abuse between 2018 and 2020.

Mackney, of Harman Drive, groomed his victim before bombarding them with sexually explicit messages and images, demanding they then send some in return.

He was arrested in November 2020 and pleaded not guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to two counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of making indecent images of a child.

Mackney was convicted following a trial and sentenced on Friday, January 26, 2024, to four years and six months’ imprisonment.

The 37-year-old will also be subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A high school teacher is facing jail after sending a 15-year-old girl sexual Snapchat messages and seedy photos, and trying to entice her to go to a hotel with him.

James Connal, 31, a maths teacher at Larbert High School, Stirlingshire, groomed the girl while giving her private tuition at her home.
She was not a pupil at his own school, and he had been given her phone number so lesson times could be arranged.

A jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that his contacts with the girl "started out innocently enough but within a couple of weeks had developed into something that was anything but innocent".

Connal began to text her throughout the day, including during school hours, telling her she was "pretty", that he "looked forward to seeing her", and then asked her to go away with him and stay in a hotel in Edinburgh with him.

He added her on Snapchat and sent her selfies of himself topless and with his hand down his trousers, messaged asking if she "wanted to see something hard", and texted to ask if he could put his hand down her top.

She said in evidence he had tried to kiss her on two occasions when he turned up for maths lessons, and he had also told her to delete some of the messages he had sent.

Connal tutored the girl, now 18, for about two months from the start of October 2021 to November 28th 2021, when her mother spotted on her daughter's phone some of what Connal had been sending, cancelled a lesson set for that day, and the police were called in.

The seedy pics showed some had been taken in his classroom at Larbert High School, and showed his "distinctive tattoos".

The court heard that because the Snapchat app only transmits new photos just taken, the "obvious conclusion" was that some of them had been sent "live" from the school.

Connal, of Hallglen, Falkirk, denied a charge of indecent communication and causing the girl to look at sexual images. He did not give evidence himself but entered a special defence of incrimination that suggested the photos and messages had been sent by another, unspecified, person.

Prosecutor Jamie Hilland told jurors: "Use your common sense. The ragingly clear conclusion is that they were sent by Mr Connal. I would suggest you should have little difficulty in rejecting the possibility that someone else had been sending them."

Referring to Connal's suggestion to the girl about going with him to an Edinburgh hotel, Mr Hilland said: "The implication of that is pretty clear."

After a two day trial, jurors took less than 15 minutes on Wednesday, January 24, to find Connal guilty. The decision was by majority. He was also found guilty of breaching the terms of an undertaking -- so-called police bail.

He showed no emotion when the verdicts were returned.

Peter Keene, defending, said: "The benchmark in this case might not be a jail sentence."

Sheriff Christopher Shead deferred sentence for reports until February 22nd, and continued bail.

He told Connal: "These are serious matters, and the court is duty-bound to consider all disposals, including custody."

Placing Connal on the sex offenders' register, he added that he "had been professional person", but that had been ended by the jury's verdicts.