Latest Offenders

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A trainee Church of Scotland minister has been placed on the sex offenders register after he was caught in an online police paedophile sting.

Trevor Martindale sent sexual messages to who he believed was a 12-year-old girl including asking the ‘child’ for pictures of her wearing her school uniform.

Martindale, 43, also repeatedly made references about sexual intercourse and agreed to meet up with the ‘schoolgirl’ at a future date while chatting to her on the social media apps Chatib and Snapchat.

But instead of being in contact with a young girl the trainee minister was in fact speaking to an undercover police officer who had set up the profile in a bid to snare online predators.

Officers raided his Edinburgh home in September this year and he spent three nights in custody before appearing at the capital’s sheriff court to plead guilty to communicating indecently with who he believed to be a child.

Martindale is now facing disciplinary action by the Church of Scotland who said it moved “swiftly and decisively” to suspend him as soon as the allegations emerged.

The disgraced clergyman returned to the dock for sentencing on November 1 where Sheriff Wendy Sheehan placed him on a supervision order and on the sex offender’s register for 18 months.

He was also sentenced to a programme requirement where he will have to attend sessions with the sex offenders rehabilitation programme Moving Forward 2 Change.

A strict conduct requirement was also issued that prohibits his internet activity and has banned him from having any contact with children under 18 and from attending at school and nursery grounds without prior approval from his supervising officer.

Martindale born and brought up in South Africa and after moving to the UK as a teenager he has been living in Scotland for the past 23 years.

Martindale has been in training to become a minister with the Church of Scotland over the past few years and has been undertaking ministry placements in several churches in the Edinburgh area.

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: “The Church moved swiftly and decisively as soon as the allegations made against Trevor Martindale came to light and he was immediately placed on administrative suspension while court proceedings were underway.

“His safeguarding clearance to work with children or vulnerable people has been revoked and the Church is taking further action in terms of its disciplinary procedures.”

Martindale pleaded guilty to indecently communicating with who he believed was a child, but was in fact a police officer, on social media apps Chatib and Snapchat on various occasions between September 11 and 13 this year.

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A man who has been repeatedly convicted of child sex offences has been jailed again for sending a 15-year-old girl "abhorrent" messages.

James Harbertson, 34, who was previously jailed for nine years for sexually abusing a child, used the handle GeordieBoyJames when he tried to illicit girls to perform sex acts online in 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

After he was jailed for 32 months for offences against four girls aged 14 and 15, police found SnapChat messages to a 15-year-old on a mobile phone, which brought Harbertson back to court.

Harbertson, of no fixed abode, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) made in June 2013, and was jailed for a further four months.

'Dangerous' offender

Judge Tim Gittins said Harbertson had an "appalling record for being interested sexually in children".

Harbertson's first offence was in 2012 when he was given a community order for possessing indecent images of children.

The following year, he was deemed a "dangerous" offender and jailed for nine years for multiple counts of sexually abusing a child, for which he was also made subject of a SOPO for an indefinite period of time.

That order banned Hartbertson from having any contact with a child under 16 or deleting any logs of his internet activity.

In 2022, police seized a number of phones and found he had been messaging several girls between April and August who were "clearly under the age of 16" on SnapChat, which was a breach of his SOPO.

He had also deleted multiple SnapChat messages, which was another breach, and he was jailed for 32 months.

While he was incarcerated at HMP Durham, police found a further illegal chat Harbertson had had with a 15-year-old girl in June 2022, in which he said he wanted to perform sex acts on her.

Judge Gittins said the girl had never been identified but she "could have a been very vulnerable young girl" and the chat was "abhorrent".

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A sexual predator who got “a thrill” from preying on underage girls with explicit chats on Facebook messenger has been jailed.

Michael Hughes encouraged his three victims to perform sexual acts on themselves, and to send him images of them doing so.

The 62-year-old also sent the girls photos of genitals.

But, unbeknown to the pervert, he was in fact communicating with online paedophile hunters who had set up fictitious ‘decoy’ profiles as part of a sting.

Following his arrest in June 2021, he candidly confessed to police that the conversations had given him a “sexual thrill”.

But he also claimed that he had been simply giving “sex education” to one of the victims, and had asked another about “d**k pics” because he wanted to warn her about online dangers.

Hughes admitted multiple offences and appeared before Maidstone Crown Court for his sentencing hearing last Tuesday (October 29).

The offender, who was living in the Medway area at the time, groomed the three “girls”, purporting to be aged 11, 12 and 13, over a period of three months.

Maidstone Crown Court heard their ages were clearly stated from the outset of the chats with Hughes.

His explicit messages included instructions on how to masturbate, telling the 'girls' to "think of my c**k" and "think of me touching you".

Hughes told another that she was "pretty and bright" before asking if she wanted "to chat about sex", saying "We can be boyfriend and girlfriend on here".

Bartholomew O'Toole, defending, told the court the offences were “borne out of fantasy and disenchantment” after his 20-year-long relationship with his partner “turned sour and distant”.

He also told the court that Hughes had “succumbed to temptation” after answering messages that arrived in his inbox, adding that the victims were not ones “hunted down by a predator”.

But the lawyer said although the sex offender did not actually receive any indecent images or send images of his own penis, he did not “seek to demur” from his frank admissions made to police.

“He has expressed his shame, embarrassment and remorse,” added Mr O'Toole. “His words to his solicitor were ‘I very much regret this behaviour. I'm ashamed of myself for behaving in this way’.”

The court was also told that having been a boxing champion, Hughes used his building skills to work hard all his life and provide for his family.

However, his arrest has left him living in a caravan “in a field or garden”, said the barrister, and he no longer has contact with them.

But Mr O'Toole said the three-year delay in Hughes’s case reaching its conclusion was not his fault.

Having been interviewed in June 2021, his first appearance before magistrates was not until April this year.

These are disgusting offences…

He then pleaded guilty to a total of eight offences relating to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Jailing Hughes for three years, Judge Gareth Branston told him custody was inevitable.

“These are disgusting offences. You were potentially preying on vulnerable, young children,” he said.

On his release, Hughes will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years as well as indefinite sex offender notification requirements.

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THE taxpayer was put to unnecessary expense by a man who claimed hackers had put child sex abuse images on his devices.

But Aaron McHugh had the good sense to retract his not guilty pleas and admit his guilt, before being sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

Cheshire Police received information in April last year that an ‘xmaker2014’ Gmail address had uploaded suspected indecent images of children to a Dropbox account, explained Alaric Walmsley, prosecuting.

This email address was attributed to McHugh, who was arrested on April 6 by officers who searched his home.

They came across an iPhone and a laptop, with both submitted for a forensic analysis.

Following the search of his home, the defendant was interviewed by officers in the presence of his mother and a solicitor.

Here, he read from a prepared statement which declared that he had no knowledge of the images, and that he would be answering ‘no comment’ to all other questions, which he did.

Following an examination, authorities confirmed that incident material of children was found on both electronic devices.

In total, there were 39 images of children being sexually abused, 10 of which were graded in category A – the most severe category involving child rape – while 20 were category B and nine were category C.

On the iPhone, experts found three images at category C level in a Snapchat folder, but the court heard that these were inaccessible without sophisticated software.

More images were found in the cache of a Discord app, which were again inaccessible, but referenced sexual activity involving a 13-year-old child.

The court heard how the dates involved in possessing the material spanned back to May 2016, when now-21-year-old McHugh was aged just 15.

Following the examination, the defendant was interviewed again on December 11 last year, where he ‘exercised his right to remain silent’.

But he was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children by downloading them and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He initially denied the offences before Warrington Magistrates’ Court and the case was sent to the crown court for trial, after he claimed that his devices had been ‘hacked’.

A trial date was set for February next year, but in August he changed his pleas to guilty on all counts.

Mr Walmsley revealed that McHugh has no previous convictions, cautions or warnings on his record.

In mitigation, defence barrister Carmel Wilde said: “This is a young man who has never been before the court before.

“The offences were committed between the ages of 15 and 20, against a backdrop of being mentally abused by his stepfather.

“He was associating with the wrong crowd and was the victim of bullying throughout secondary school. He was in a wrong place, a dark place.”

It was said that with this ‘wrong crowd’, he was abusing nitrous oxide in balloons and cannabis ‘laced with goodness knows what’.

She said that her client is working in a bar in Warrington and needs to address the underlying issues in his offending, which he would be willing to do through a court order.

Before sentencing, judge Ian Harris said: “The offences are serious as, without members of the public willing to make images and distribute them, there would be no market for the indefensible abuse of children.

“Without people like you, there would be no market for this toxic trade. On a daily basis, children are being abused to feed businesses trading in this dreadful abuse.”

Judge Harris accepted ‘no doubt’ that the defendant’s background ‘had an impact on his offending behaviour’.

“The case crosses the custody threshold, but given the mitigation, I believe in trying to assist you in staying out of trouble instead of sending you to custody,” he added.

McHugh, of Robson Grove in Fairfield, was handed a two-year community order, including 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, the Building Choices programme and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also told he must sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next five years.

In addition, orders were approved to deprive the defendant of his laptop and iPhone.

On McHugh’s initial denial of the offences, Judge Harris commented: “You initially pleaded not guilty and claimed that your computer had been hacked.

“You put the prosecution to unnecessary expense because of your failure to admit these matters in the lower court, so there will be a costs order.”

Despite an application by the prosecution for court costs in excess of £1,000, the defendant was ordered to repay £500.

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A predator who engaged in a filthy online chat with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl had repeatedly told her she was “too young”.

Married Kevin Wood, 43, was snared by members of an online paedophile hunting group.

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A man was jailed after he raped and stalked a woman. Dean Wall, of Pinehurst Avenue, in Anfield, was found guilty of rape and was sentenced on Tuesday, November 5, at Liverpool Crown Court.

The 37-year-old raped a woman at her home in Wavertree on Friday, March 15 and for this offence he was jailed for eight years and three months. He was also jailed for nine months after he pleaded guilty to stalking the same victim, with the two sentences to run concurrently.

Wall has also been issued with a ten-year restraining order against the woman and will sign the Sex Offender Register for life. Detective Chief Inspector Andy McCourt said: “I would firstly like to acknowledge the courage and dignity shown by the victim throughout this investigation.

"I sincerely hope that this sentencing shows that violence against women and girls will simply not be tolerated and we will work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice. Wall denied rape but thankfully a jury found him guilty and he will now spend a significant time in prison for his appalling actions.

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A creepy Fife bricklayer stashed “numerous” secret intimate photos of his former partner that she did not know he’d taken.

Self-employed Steven Brown, of Ellisland Avenue in Kirkcaldy, secretly snapped pictures of his long-term partner while she was asleep, getting changed and bending over to pick up things.

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Christopher Kofi Taylor (26/12/1975) of Dorothy Street, Salford on Tuesday 5 March 2024 was sentenced to life imprisonment at Manchester Crown Court for four counts of rape of a female under 16, trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, and section 47 assault after pleading guilty.

He will serve a minimum of 11 years and four months.

Officers were called to an address in Trafford just after 6am on Monday 23 August 2021, to reports a 15-year-old had been attacked in an isolated incident.

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A Glasgow sex offender kept his past secret as he accepted a job to work in schools.

John Paul Hogg had been jailed in 2011 and later banned indefinitely from any role involving children. But, a decade later, the 46 year-old went on to take up the offer by an educational IT firm for a post that included "unsupervised" work in schools.

Hogg did not reveal his previous conviction - and it was only when background checks were made that it emerged at the last minute.

Hogg has now narrowly avoided a jail term as he appeared in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He pleaded guilty to a charge under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act.

The date of the offence was March 1, 2022.

Hogg, of the city's Sandyhills, was ordered to carry out unpaid work as a concerned sheriff told him: "You should have been well aware of these restrictions."

Hogg had been locked up for 12 months in 2011 for a sex offence. He was later barred from "regulated work" with children indefinitely. Fiscal Lauren Donnelly said it was also explained to him that it was an offence to seek or do a job which involved this.

In 2021, he was temporarily employed as a service desk engineer with a company called RM Education. They work with the educational sector including providing technology and software. His line manager told him there was a full time post for that job with schools.

Miss Donnelly said: "He advised he thought he would be suitable for the role and asked if Hogg would consider applying." It was explained to Hogg that the role could involve "on-site" work which was "unsupervised".

This then meant Hogg would have to apply to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme given the type of job it was. Hogg said he was interested and accepted the offer. He was also given a PVG application to complete.

In March 2022, Disclosure Scotland - who makes checks on individuals being recruited for certain jobs - later reviewed this and it was only then discovered Hogg was "barred from regulated work with children".

Hogg was told the PVG application had been rejected.

The fiscal: "He was asked by (his line manager) if he was aware why this would have happened. He explained he was barred from regulated work with children.

"Hogg was asked why he did not make them aware of this. He stated: 'People always say they will do a check, but they do not'."

Hogg was initially suspended before being fired by RM Education. Disclosure Scotland went on to contact police.

He was charged in November 2022 and claimed: "In my job, we had no contact with children." Hogg's lawyer told the court the latest offence came from a "genuine misunderstanding" on his part.

Ciara Bradley, defending, said Hogg had been put on the sex offenders register for 10 years and this had ended in December 2021.

Miss Bradley: "He thought he was no longer required to disclose this offence to future employers.

"The company took on contracts with other agencies and entered into a contract with a school. That is when he was required to submit an application. He did so as he thought the requirements had ended."

Hogg was now said to have "turned his life around" and had another job in technology.

Sheriff Collete Gallagher said the offence "crossed the custody threshold", but she instead told Hogg to carry out 108 hours of unpaid work as part of an 18-month community payback order.

She stated: "Legalities are put in place to protect vulnerable people including children.

"Ignorance is no excuse for this matter. The fact you had a number of opportunities to disclose your previous conviction is a concern as is your attitude.

"I consider that this lack of insight presents a risk to the community."

Hogg was told again he should have no contact with children without permission from a supervising officer. He also has to declare "any romantic relationships" and get permission before he changes address.

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A man has been jailed for six years after sexually assaulting two women in Southport.

Peter Hudson, 52, of Cranfield Drive, in Cheshire, was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and was sentenced on Friday 1 November at Liverpool Crown Court.

The two victims, who both have vulnerabilities, were each sexually assaulted by Hudson in Southport.

The first incident occurred in August 2021 and the second in February 2022. Hudson was arrested in February 2022 and later charged following a complex investigation.

As well as a prison sentence, Hudson has also signed on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.

As a result of the sexual assault, both women suffered PTSD, panic attacks, insomnia and depression. 

His first victim, who is aged in her 20s, said: “My mental health deteriorated as a consequence of the sexual assault I was subjected to. It has affected my life in many ways. For months after the incident I suffered with awful nightmares in which I would relive what he did to me time and time again and eventually this developed into PTSD.

“I don’t trust any man now. Any man that has cause to speak to me in person, it puts me in a fear. Even after all this time I can’t relax and can’t stop thinking about what I’ve been subjected to.”

His second victim, aged in her 30s, said: “My mental health has really deteriorated since the assault and in more recent time I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I am very frightened going out anywhere.

“When I get in bed I start to worry, panic, have flashbacks of the assault. I have vivid nightmares and relive what happened. I have terrible insomnia and don’t get much quality sleep at all. I cry during the night and feel frightened.

“My day-to-day life has been affected because I just feel so depressed and anxious. I feel very isolated because I do not trust people and have become withdrawn.”

Detective Constable Nicholas Gray, who led the investigation, said: “Hudson displayed predatory behaviour and targeted his two victims, who had vulnerabilities, to carry out despicable sexual assaults.

“He also denied the allegations and therefore forced the two women to relive the ordeal in a trial. Thankfully he was found guilty and will now spend a significant amount of time in prison for his actions.

“I want to commend the bravery of the two women in reporting what happened and helping us to put this man behind bars. While no sentence will repair the trauma which was inflicted on his victims, I hope this sentencing will not only provide them with justice, but also encourage other victims to come forward and have the confidence in us as a police force to take reports seriously and ultimately ensure offenders are put before the courts.”

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A sex offender has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of rape and other sexual offences in Kirklees.  
 
Adam Martin (26) from Cleckheaton was jailed at Leeds Crown Court today (Friday November 1st) for two offences of rape, sexual assault and other offending in what has been described as a sustained and shocking attack on a lone victim.   

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to the offences which took place in a Cleckheaton cemetery during the early evening of December 7, 2023.

Aside from the two rape offences, he was convicted for attempted rape, three other sexual offences, Section 47 assault, threats to kill and two offences of intentional strangulation.

Martin will have to serve a minimum term of 13 years and nine months as part of his sentence.
 
The court heard he had spotted and then followed his victim walking home from the bus station. 

Martin followed and then dragged the victim into Whitcliffe Cemetery where a serious sexual attack then took place.
 
The victim returned home after the incident and was able to report what had happened.
 
Officers arrested Martin within hours of the offence, and later charged him for a first appearance before magistrates on December 11.  
 
The case was investigated by the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET). 
 
DI Jodie Hayes of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “Adam Martin committed a shocking attack against a lone victim, and we welcome his sentencing at court today.  
“He identified and followed his victim before committing a sustained and vicious attack.  There is no doubt whatsoever that he is a highly dangerous sexual offender who has acted in the most predatory way.  
“It is welcome that his guilty plea may have spared the victim the ordeal of a trial but, in truth, the weight of evidence against him was so substantial he had little choice but to enter this plea.”  
 
She added: “Reports of sexual offences are treated incredibly seriously by West Yorkshire Police and victims are encouraged to come forward and report incidents.  
 
“West Yorkshire Police are a victim focussed organisation, and the welfare of victims is paramount to us.  All reports are fully investigated by experienced detectives who can also signpost victims to services which can provide the help and support they may well need.”  

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A promising teacher with his career ahead of him has been jailed after he raped a female he met during a night out.

Sam Mitchell forced himself on the victim, put his hands around her throat and slapped her across the face. He unknowingly also gave her a sexually-transmitted disease.

The 23-year-old was found guilty of three counts of rape and three counts of assault by penetration after a recent trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The court heard that Mitchell had been out on January 22 last year. He was with a friend and he met the woman in a nightclub. He had been drinking and taking drugs, but denied throughout his trial that it had affected his judgement.

They later got a taxi back to his friend’s home in Wakefield and they eventually fell asleep on a sofa.

The victim said “no” to his advances but he forced himself onto her.

Mitchell, of Canal Court, Lofthouse, appeared in court this week from HMP Lincoln where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating, Lucy Brown said there was little that could be said in Mitchell’s defence due to his denials, but did point to his young age at the time of the offences, and that he has no previous convictions.

She said that his teaching career was now over and said: “It’s the start of a difficult journey for him to accept what happened.”

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC told Mitchell: “You had the world at your feet. You were a talented and gifted young man.

“Something led you to behave that way that was totally out of character for you. The drinking and drugs must have played a part.”

He jailed him for seven years and put him on the sex offender register for life.

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A pensioner sexual predator who repeatedly abused young girls in Dundee has been jailed.

David Duncan, 77, targeted a child at sleepovers in Dundee, Angus and Spain and abused a four-year-old in a parked car outside a school.

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A 28-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a string of devastating sexual offences against children after being confronted with overwhelming evidence uncovered by the Metropolitan Police.

Sam Phillips, 28 (07.04.96), of Hillcroome Road, Sutton, appeared at Harrow Crown Court on 30th October, where he admitted to 38 offences committed between December 2023 and February 2024.

His crimes, which targeted six vulnerable children, including over 20 counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, alongside further charges of sexual communication with a child and making indecent images of children

The Met investigation demonstrated the tireless dedication of the officers involved, whose swift actions and relentless pursuit of justice ensured that Phillips could not continue his reign of abuse. Their work uncovered the extent of his crimes, providing crucial evidence that led to his guilty plea and ensuring that he will face the full weight of the law.

Chief Superintendent Sara Leach, who leads policing in north-west London where the investigation was undertaken, said:

“Phillips is a predator of the worst kind, preying on innocent, vulnerable children for his own gratification. The scale of his offending is both appalling and heartbreaking, and no child should ever have to endure the trauma these young victims have suffered.

“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the children and their families who had the courage to come forward. It is impossible to imagine the pain and fear they have experienced, but their bravery has allowed us to hold this dangerous individual to account.

“I am pleased Phillips has pleaded guilty, it is a testament to the strength and diligence of the case that Met officers have built. This outcome reflects our unwavering commitment to bringing sexual abusers to justice and ensuring that victims are heard and protected.”

The investigation began in late January 2024, when officers were contacted with serious concerns regarding the welfare of a child who had potentially been sexually exploited. Met detectives in north-west London immediately launched an investigation.

Through meticulous investigative work, officers uncovered that two additional children had also been groomed by Phillips. He had manipulated these children online, sending them money in exchange for inappropriate images of themselves. Detectives quickly traced the payments to Phillips’ account, and he was arrested on Monday, 11 March 2024. Initially charged with 11 offences involving three children, further analysis of his phone and financial records revealed more victims, leading to the total of 38 charges which were pleaded guilty to.

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A 24-year-old man has been sent back to prison after he harassed a woman who was selling baby products online.

As a registered sex offender, Josh Guilder, previously of Northampton, was required to abide by very strict conditions after leaving prison or face going back to jail.

However, in May of this year, he committed multiple breaches including harassing a woman online who was selling baby products.

At first, the woman in question believed Guilder to be a genuine buyer, however he then went on to send her messages about wanting her baby to “suck on the dummies” she was selling as he “wanted them used”.

The woman, who described feeling “shocked and disturbed” by Guilder’s messages, stopped engaging with him. However, he sent her another message which read “can I take the dummy out of your baby’s mouth and suck on it.”

But this wasn’t the end of Guilder’s breaches as he was also found to have deleted messages in WhatsApp which was contrary to his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) before making admissions to having contact with two unknown children when buying used baby products from the internet.

Guilder was charged with one count of harassment without violence, two counts of breaching his SHPO and one count of attempting to breach his SHPO.

After pleading guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court in June, Guilder returned to the same court this week (Monday, October 28) where he was sentenced to over one year and six months in prison.