Latest Offenders

Description

A woman told police she was ‘appalled’ after intimate videos of her taken 18 years ago without her permission were found in the possession of a serial child sex offender.

The videos were found in the possession of 87-year-old Alan Barclay of Fenwick Road, Falmouth who had recently been released from prison following a conviction for the possession of hundreds of vile child rape and bestiality pictures and videos 

He appeared for trial at Truro Magistrates Court in handcuffs from Exeter Prison on Wednesday, where he’d been recalled following the discovery. He pleaded not guilty to one charge of voyeurism relating to 2006.

As previously reported by the Packet, Barclay was sentenced to 21 months in prison at the crown court in 2022, after the judge heard discs were found at his home with a large quantity of pictures and videos of children being abused, including 285 videos and 64 images of Category A - the most severe category of child abuse.

He had previously been convicted of a similar offence in 2019 but had escaped prison after he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which prevented him from using a computer or devices capable of connecting to the internet.

The court heard in March last year police went to Mr Barclay’s address in Falmouth as part of a routine visit after he was released from prison for his original offence as part of his bail conditions.

They carried out a search of his home and found CDs in racks in his “office” upstairs. When police looked at them they found six intimate videos of a woman that appeared to have been taken secretly. They also found many more child sex pictures and videos.

They identified the woman who told them she’d been totally unaware they had been taken.

One of the officers involved in the prosecution told the court that when they told the woman what they’d found she was horrified and devastated.

“She had no idea she’d been filmed,” she said. “Because of the type of lady she was, she was a classy lady, I think she would have been horrified that I’d seen that video.”

In a statement given to the police the woman said she was appalled by what had happened. She said had never sent any intimate videos of herself to Barclay or anyone.

Barclay took to the stand in court, without any representation from a solicitor.

He told the magistrates: “I’d like to say that I have been totally honest right from the first time I was arrested.

“I do not tell lies. I was brought up under the influence of my grandfather, who was a sergeant major in the army. He instilled in me to allows tell the truth.”

Barclay claimed the videos had been transferred from the camera onto a disc in bulk, along with a lot of other pictures that he had taken on holiday.

He also claimed to the court that he was impotent and “had no feeling whatsoever”, so had been unable to gain sexual gratification for “probably 17 years now”.

He concluded his evidence by saying: “If I go back to prison it would be a life sentence. I’ve been in the prison hospital for a month and I’m very poorly, and I’m not getting better.”

He denied to the prosecutor that the real reason he had downloaded the images onto a disc was so they wouldn’t be found.

“I have never been a voyeur of anybody,” he added.

However, the panel of three magistrates found him guilty of the charge, saying they found Barclay “to be deceitful” and his evidence not credible.

It was agreed to transfer Barclay to the crown court for sentencing next week.

Description

David Spencer, 45, was originally jailed for 10 months in 2019 after he was convicted of trying to meet a teenage girl in a car park following grooming.

He was found with a mattress in the back of his van.

Spencer was also slapped with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order to allow police to closely monitor his movements, contact with youngsters and use of the internet.

He has now been jailed again for breaching the prevention order seven times.

It included not telling a woman, who he was seeing and who had a daughter, of his conviction.

Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said: “He attended her home four or five times when her daughter was present.”

The woman found out about Spencer’s sick past after trying to Google his address and found press reports of his conviction.

When police checked his phone, they found he had deleted hundreds of text messages relating to another woman he had previously been seeing.

It was also discovered he had used alias names on a porn website and had been chatting to various women in a sexual manner on the app Kik.

Spencer, formerly of Hartlepool, and most recently of The Crescent, Middlesbrough, had also used Snapchat in breach of the harm prevention order.

Sentencing him to 43 months’ jail, Recorder Paul Reid said: “This is a series of serious breaches of the sexual harm prevention order.”

Paul Green, mitigating, said Spencer had started to show signs of progress.

Description

A MAN was caught with vile videos of young girls being raped just weeks after he was given a suspended prison sentence for assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

Paedophile Lee Griffiths, 38, from Blaina was jailed after Newport Crown Court heard he had watched child abuse films on a cracked iPad.

The victims were aged between eight and 12 and he had sent a message to a contact online that he wanted “dirtier” material.

The defendant had also told that person: “Jail time would be worth it”.

Speaking about one of the movies, prosecutor Christopher Evans said: “There was pain visible on the face of one girl.”

Griffiths pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images of children.

He had five category A images – the most serious kind – and these included three videos and two photographs.

There were three category B images, one video and two photographs, and two category C images with both being films.

Griffiths also admitted being in breach of a suspended jail sentence by committing the offences.

The defendant had been handed a prison sentence of eight weeks, suspended for two years, in March 2022 after he was convicted of the battery of an ex-partner.

He had no previous convictions for any sex offences.

Paul Hewitt representing Griffiths said: “There is no evidence of him search for the images – he was sent them.

“The defendant can work with probation on a sex offender programme.

“He is someone who can be rehabilitated.”

Judge Carl Harrison told Griffiths: “You had images of children being raped and you are also in breach of a suspended sentence.

“Only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

He sent him to prison for 58 weeks.

The defendant will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until 2034.

Griffiths will have to pay a £156 victim surcharge following his release.

Description

A Swindon man molested a teenage boy while managing a restaurant.

61-year-old Carl Brown was running Jack’s, in Victoria Road, Old Town, when he sexually assaulted the youngster at the establishment in 2022.

The defendant was found guilty at his trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in September 2023, before returning for sentencing on 4 January this year.

At a previous hearing, prosecutor Asha Seenauth said he grabbed the boy’s penis and put his finger into his bottom over his clothing.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order, which includes 30 rehabilitation activity days and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was told to pay £300 compensation to the victim, and pay £620 costs and a £95 surcharge.

Brown, of Highworth Road, must register as a sex offender for five years.

Description

A paedophile branded a 'danger to children' by police sexually assaulted three young girls at a family event - months after being released early from prison. Stuart Eyles set upon the children while mingling with hundreds of locals at the event in Stockport.

The 47-year-old targeted the victims after getting drunk. When the girls complained to their parents and Eyles was pointed out as the culprit, he denied wrongdoing but admitted drinking seven pints of beer at the event last summer.

At the time, he was on licence after being locked up for 30 months in April 2021 after pleading guilty to 57 offences involving online grooming and possessing child pornography.

He was also on the Sex Offender Register; had been made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) banning him from having any contact with children under 16; and had completed a Home Office 'Horizon' programme aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders.

It is thought Eyles was freed early from jail in July 2022 under government rules allowing the automatic release of prisoners halfway through their sentences. He had three months left on his parole when he struck again.

In a statement to police, the father of one of the girls said the incident had 'rocked' his daughter's confidence.

''As for me I feel terrible too as I feel I have let my daughter down, I've hardly slept since," he added. The mum of another victim said her daughter had become 'socially withdrawn' and had undergone counselling 'to cope with the trauma'.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Eyles, of Buckley Drive, Romiley, Stockport, was jailed for 15 months after being convicted of three charges of sexual assault. The SHPO order will be renewed for another 10 years.

Sentencing, Recorder Alexandra Simmonds told Eyles his behaviour had been 'predatory and opportunistic'. "You took advantage of the crowds to try and disguise your behaviour and it was the deliberate target of young girls on your part," she added.

''It is clear you were seeking out opportunities to touch young girls in the way you did and the impact of your offending has been significant. You have previous convictions for internet based child-related sexual offending and were on licence at the times of these offences. You completed the Horizon programme and yet have gone on to commit these offences despite that intervention.

"You have of course shown no remorse because you don't accept responsibility for these offences and are you are assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to children."

Eyles was originally reported to Greater Manchester Police by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit back in 2018 after he began unwittingly swapping messages with one of their undercover detectives over the KIK social media platform, which they had been using to trap online predators.

The undercover operative informed Eyles, whose username was 'Squid Thing', that the profile was that of a 14-year-old child and offered to cease the conversation, but he stated he did not want that to happen and began to sexualise the conversation and asked for indecent images to be sent.

In March 2019, a warrant was carried out at Eyles' home where various devices were seized, including a laptop, a camera, a mobile phone and a USB stick. Following this warrant, officers met Eyles outside his workplace and his mobile phone was seized.

Detectives conducted a forensic examination of all his electronic devices and discovered further criminal activity, including online sexual activity with a girl who he had sent sexually explicit pictures of himself and asked to meet for oral sex. She was the only person known to have existed as the others were police officers masquerading as young girls.

They also found various indecent images of children stored on the devices. Eyles, who also used other platforms, told police he committed the offences whilst ''bored' working nights. He claimed he was aware some of the profiles were fake and insisted his actions were 'hypothetical and fantasy to push things'.

He later admitted one count of sexual communication with a child; five counts of attempted sexual communication with a child; one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity; one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; 21 counts of making indecent images of a child; and 30 counts of distributing indecent images of a child.

Description

A "predator" who followed a teenage girl along a quiet country road has been described as a "dangerous man" by the victim's family.

Convicted sex offender Barrie Hill started following the girl in his camper van when he spotted her walking alone after midnight. He subjected the girl to a shocking and frightening ordeal when she realised to her horror that he was repeatedly driving up and down. She claimed that he stopped his van, got out and shone a torch into her face.

Speaking after Hill was jailed at Hull Crown Court, the girl's stepfather – who came to her rescue and confronted Hill – said: "We are all pleased that he was jailed. He's a dangerous man off the streets."

Hill, 57, of Swanland, denied breaching a sexual harm prevention order by following, harassing and intimidating a female, but he was convicted by a jury after a trial. He was branded a "true predator" by the prosecution.

The court heard how the girl had "sneaked out" of her Holderness home after an argument with family members. The first thing that they knew about it was when she telephoned them in sheer terror.

She saw a van driving up the road and it stopped in front of her and pulled into a lay-by. The converted camper van, driven by Hill, went up and down the road five times, the court was told.

The girl claimed that Hill got out of the van and followed her after she tried to escape into a field. He went into the field after her and he shone a torch in her face as tried to retreat further away.

Hill denied that he was following the girl or that he shone a torch in her face. During cross-examination, the defence asked the girl: "The driver of the van says that he did not get out of the van and shine a torch in your face. Is he telling the truth about that?" She replied: "No."

The girl's stepfather told the jury that she called at about midnight. He answered the phone and it immediately became obvious that she was in distress.

She told him: "Help me, help me. I am being followed." The man told the court: "I leapt out of bed." He asked her: "Where are you? Where are you?"

She was a mile away. "I started running downstairs," he said. "I ran out of the door and jumped in the car."

The stepfather said that he told the girl: "I am on my way. I won't be long. Stay there." He added: "I saw some headlights in the distance facing me." The girl, who was still on the phone, told him: "That's the van."

'I know what you're doing'

The stepfather told the jury: "I was very angry. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how many people were in the van. I pulled directly across the road, so I was right next to his driver's door."

He confronted the man and said: "I know what you are doing." The man did not respond. "He looked shocked and surprised that he had been approached by me and quite shocked, I would think."

The stepfather followed the van, which had driven away, in order to get its registration number. The stepfather shouted at Hill: "I know what you are doing. I know what you are up to."

The stepfather said that Hill told him: "I'm lost. My sat-nav's not working." The next morning, the stepfather spoke to the police. Hill was later arrested.

Convicted sex offender

The court heard that Hill had previous convictions for indecent assault, breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender. The sexual harm prevention order, given at Caernarfon Crown Court in 2017, followed a series of incidents in North Wales, in which he left women upset and shaken by making crude and inappropriate sexual comments.

He had been ordered not to approach any lone women and not to offer her a lift in his vehicle, or to give or offer any woman a massage. A judge had told him: "You are more than a pest. You are potentially a predatory individual unable to stop yourself behaving inappropriately towards young females."

Hill was later jailed for 26 weeks for breaching the order. At another hearing before Caernarfon Crown Court in October 2018, he was locked up for one year for further breaches.

Following the guilty verdict at Hull Crown Court, Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that Hill was the carer for his mother, who was suffering from a serious illness. He was registered disabled and would find prison difficult.

He had been on bail during the trial. No mitigation was offered for the offence because he had fought a trial. Hill was jailed for four years.

Following sentencing the girl's stepfather told Hull Live that, had Hill's motives been entirely innocent, he would have asked the girl if she was all right. Instead, he had said nothing to her during the terrifying incident.

The stepfather said he believed that the encounter could have ended up a lot worse than it did. And he questioned why, in view of Hill's history of sexual offending and breaching court orders, he had been on bail during the trial.

Description

Despite using a fake name on his Facebook page Barnard was identified by members of the vigilante groups who then turned up at his house before calling the police. The defendant's advocate told Swansea Crown Court that his client's life had been a "lonely one" and he had spent increasing amounts of time online.

Georgia Donohue, prosecuting, said the offending took place in November 2022 when the defendant, using the name William Stanley on Facebook, contacted the profiles of what appeared to be 14-year-old girls. She said profiles were actually decoy accounts being operated by adults acting as part of online paedophile hunter groups. The court heard Barnard started messaging the first profile and asked her whether she had a boyfriend and asked her if she had ever heard odd noises coming from her parents' bedroom. The pair then exchanged phone numbers and began communicating by text.

Later that month Barnard began messaging a second Facebook profile and his conversation with what he thought was another 14-year-old girl quickly turned sexual in nature. The court heard the defendant talked about masturbation with the girl and said he would teach the child how to do it. He also told her all men would want sex with her because she was "beautiful" but they couldn't because of her age and told her to keep their conversation secret.

The prosecutor said by December 1 the two groups behind the decoy profiles identified Barnard as the person behind the William Stanley Facebook page and turned up at his home address. Police were contacted and Barnard was arrested at 7.22pm that evening. In his subsequent interview the defendant answered "no comment" to all questions asked.

Andrew Barnard, now aged 56, of Brynmill Avenue, Brynmill, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communications with a child and to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Dan Griffiths, for Barnard, said it was acknowledged there was only one kind of sentence the court could impose and his mitigation went only to the length of the custodial sentence. He said Barnard experienced an "extremely difficult childhood" at the hands of his abusive father and at an early age was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He said Barnard's life had been a "lonely one" and he had spent increasing amounts of time online. The advocate said it was still to be explored whether the defendant's "adverse childhood experiences" were correlated to his offending but he said Barnard was anxious to take advantage of any help that professionals could provide.

Judge Geraint Walters told Barnard that the public have a "huge distaste" for the kind of behaviour he had engaged in. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas Barnard was sentenced to 27 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time to manage his access to the internet. Sending the defendant down the judge told him if he had been talking to real girls rather than decoys his sentence would have been "a great deal longer".

Description

A Brighouse man who put his two victims through a trial after sexually abusing them three decades ago has been jailed.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Thursday that Jonathan Montgomery, 44, was found guilty by a jury of one charge of rape and two allegations of indecent assault. He was jailed for six years.

The court heard that Montgomery, of Whinney Hill Park, committed the offences when he was aged between 14 and 16.

In her victim impact statement one of the two complainants, who must not be identified for legal reasons, said she was angry that the case went to trial and she had to give evidence. The other complainant said she would not forgive Montgomery for his offending against her and his failure to admit his part in it.

One of the women said in her statement that she felt angry and disgusted by what Montgomery was doing, but at the time she did not speak out because she did not think she would be believed.

Barrister Paul Canfield, for Montgomery, told the court the defendant had suffered with mental health issues, but he was now engaging with services while in custody. Mr Canfield said his client had also struggled with a drug addiction for many years, but he had now been clean for four months.

Recorder Palmer said it was plain from the victim impact statements that Montgomery’s offending against the two complainants had had a lifelong effect upon them.

The judge said he had seen and heard the rape victim give evidence during the trial and he sentenced Montgomery on the basis that she had suffered severe psychological harm as a result of his offending. He explained that the sentence for an adult after a trial would have been 10 years, but Montgomery was only 14 at the time of the rape and it was appropriate for that sentence to be reduced because of his youth.

Recorder Palmer jailed Montgomery for five years for the rape and indecent assault against one of the complainants and imposed an additional one year in jail for his indecent assault against the second victim.

Montgomery will now have to register as a sex offender with the police for an indefinite period and he will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the next 10 years.

Description

A high-risk sex offender has been booted off the Falkland Islands and back onto Scotland’s streets.

Sheep shearer Roland Wedgwood-Orekoya was jailed in the South Atlantic for a terrifying attack on a teenage girl he lured to his home.

But the 32-year-old has now landed in Britain – with a warning he presents a danger to women.

Police chiefs went to court in Glasgow last week to make sure he signs the sex offender register.

Wedgwood-Orekoya – known as Seyi – has travelled the world working on farms and has strong connections to Aberdeenshire.

But in 2021 he arrived on the Falklands, taking jobs as a shearer and in the fishing industry.

In April 2022 he struck up a conversation with his victim as they queued at a late-night burger van in capital Port Stanley.

The girl was drunk but made clear she wasn’t interested in him. But, according to the court, Wedgwood-Orekoya “clearly intended luring her back to [his] accommodation in order to have sex with her”. He offered to share his stash of cannabis if she went to his digs.

When they arrived, though, he stripped naked and tried to force himself on her, tearing off some of her clothes and leaving her bruised in the “sustained assault”.

She escaped after punching the predator. Wedgwood-Orekoya denied sexual assault but was found guilty.

A probation report said his “transient lifestyle”, flitting between countries to shear sheep, added to the danger he poses.

Sentencing him to 18 months’ jail, judge Malcolm Simmons told him: “You have been assessed as being a high risk of harm to the public, namely females, especially those to whom you are s exually attracted. There was clearly a level of violence in the way you
manhandled your victim.

“This was clearly a frightening event for her.

“What occurred was not a momentary touching but a sustained assault.

“She was living at home with her parents, having recently left school. You are a man in your thirties.

“You specifically targeted a particularly vulnerable victim, a young girl who you knew had been drinking. You continue to deny the offence. You have shown no remorse.”

Last week, Police Scotland took legal proceedings at Glasgow Sheriff Court to reduce the risk he poses to women.

The force secured an order to ensure Wedgwood-Orekoya signs the register till 2032.

It means he will have to notify the police of any change of address or name. He will also be subject to frequent monitoring.

Description

A pervert from Dawlish has been jailed for amassing a huge collection of child abuse images and videos downloaded from the dark web. Paul Powell, 56, also set up a spy camera to secretly film a woman in a bathroom.

Police seized computers from his home and found he had been looking at more than 50,000 images and movies showing the sexual abuse of children. About 3,000 were in the most serious category showing the worst type of depravity.

The defendant, of Springfield Gardens, has been jailed for two years and four months. The judge said Powell had been heavily addicted to viewing porn online and the material became more extreme over time.

Prosecutor Mr Nigel Wraith said police traced an IP address linked to illegal downloads to Powell. They searched his property in February 2022 and took away a number of devices.

A pervert from Dawlish has been jailed for amassing a huge collection of child abuse images and videos downloaded from the dark web. Paul Powell, 56, also set up a spy camera to secretly film a woman in a bathroom.

Police seized computers from his home and found he had been looking at more than 50,000 images and movies showing the sexual abuse of children. About 3,000 were in the most serious category showing the worst type of depravity.

The defendant, of Springfield Gardens, has been jailed for two years and four months. The judge said Powell had been heavily addicted to viewing porn online and the material became more extreme over time.

Prosecutor Mr Nigel Wraith said police traced an IP address linked to illegal downloads to Powell. They searched his property in February 2022 and took away a number of devices.

Analysis showed a large number of indecent images of children "downloaded from an extremely secure dark web network," said Mr Wraith. There were 2,967 in Category A; 2,403 in Category B; and about 50,000 in Category C. He also searched Google looking for child abuse material, the investigation showed.Police also found footage from a spy camera he had bought. Powell saved footage showing a woman visitor using a shower. She had no idea she was being filmed.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic images and possessing prohibited images of a child.

Mr Warren Robinson, defending, said Powell was a man of previous good character who had sought help for his behaviour. He had tried to stop before but had slipped back into his deviant habits. He had not shared any of the images and is sorry.

Judge James Patrick made Powell subject to a sexual harm prevention order and told him to sign the sex offenders' register. Both for ten years.

Description

A child molester who subjected youngsters to repeated sexual abuse and violence during a campaign of cruelty was today (Friday) jailed for nine years.

Thomas Dow (41) carried out a spree of assaults and rape against three victims in crimes spanning 14 years.

Dow preyed on two girls and a boy at addresses in Inverkeithing and Rosyth, and on car trips when he was supposed to be caring for the children.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had effectively robbed victims of their childhood.

Judge John Morris KC said: "Only a very substantial prison sentence is appropriate for the crimes of which you were convicted."

He ordered that Dow, formerly of Park Road, Lhanbryde, in Moray, should also be monitored for a further two-year period when he can be returned to prison if he breaches the terms of his licence.

Dow had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of 13 offences committed between June 2003 and December 2017, including crimes of rape, sexual assault, assault and indecent conduct. The court heard that Dow continued to deny any wrongdoing.

Dow began targeting one girl when she was aged seven and subjected her to repeated assaults during which she was hit, punched and kicked on the head and body.

She was also pushed about, struck with a brush and grabbed by the head and hair. The child abuser repeatedly sexual molested her and raped her.

He preyed on a second girl from the age of three and subjected the child to repeated violence. During it she was kicked, punched and pushed, shouted at and threatened.

Dow also put a hand over her mouth and nose, restricting her breathing and hit her with a remote control and other objects.

He also assaulted a boy from the age of three who was punched, kicked, pushed and struck and threatened with violence. The child was also subjected to repeated indecent assaults by Dow.

One victim told the court that she did not like it when Dow was looking after her "because he was abusive".

The woman said: "He would hit me, be verbally abusive to me and be sexually abusive.

"Sometimes he would be quite a happy drunk. Sometimes he would be quite an angry drunk. I was scared he would have another drink and become angry."

The former deliveryman claimed that the victims were lying in their evidence and that he was not a bully.

Defence counsel Michael Anderson KC said: "If there is an alcohol problem in the background he is motivated to deal with it."

Dow was told he would be placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following the sentencing.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE who abducted two young girls from a seafront arcade and then sexually assaulted them is set to be jailed.

Predatory paedophile Jason Hoodlass, 27, has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences after the heinous Lincolnshire attack.

Grimsby Crown Court heard he befriended the two girls at a Cleethorpes arcade and gave them money to use the machines on 16 July 2023.

He then took the pair to Ross Castle, a mock fortification ruin, on the promenade and sexually assaulted them.

After, they went to a clothing store in Grimsby town centre, where the Immingham man took indecent photos of the girls in a fitting room.

Hours later, the children left and told an adult what had happened.

Hoodlass admitted to a multitude of offences on 9 January in the Grimsby Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault by touching a child, three counts of taking indecent images, two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, two counts of voyeurism and two counts of abduction.

Hoodlass has previous convictions for sex offences and was the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed at Hull Crown Court, Grimsby Live reported.

He has a previous conviction for sexual assault of a child under the age of nine years and previous convictions for possession of indecent images of children between 2013 and 2019.

Hoodlass had also already admitted breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He admitted two breaches of the order after a member of the sex offender management team went to his property and seized electronic equipment which was later analysed and found to contain indecent images.

He admitted 10 charges in relation to those offences committed in May last year.

Judge Woolfall ordered a pre-sentence report and a further report to assess the dangerousness of the defendant.

He adjourned sentencing until a date in March. Hoodlass was remanded in custody.

PC Eleanor Burgess, from the force’s Protecting Vulnerable People Unit, said: “This was a shocking case, in which a perverted criminal targeted two vulnerable young children and sexually assaulted them for his own depraved gratification.

“I want to commend the children and their family for the courage and bravery that they have shown throughout the investigative and court process.

“By reporting this incident to us they have helped put a dangerous offender before the courts, ultimately resulting in him being remanded in custody and unable to target any other children.

“We take all reports of sexual offences incredibly seriously and will continue to seek prosecution for anyone who commits this type of crime.”

Description

A paedophile caught with a massive collection of child abuse images had carried out secret online searches for "ISIS rape" and baby porn.

James Somerville, 38, of Hazelfield Court, St Helens, had 217,824 indecent images on five different electronic devices stashed in his home. 217,076 of these were category C images, 375 were category B, and 373 were of the highest category A, "involving children in penetrative sexual activity or sexual activity with an animal, or sadism".

He was caught on January 22 2019 when police executed a search warrant and seized a number of items, including a hard-drive, a USB stick, three storage devices and a disk drive. He denied three counts of making indecent images of children (categories A, B and C), but was found guilty following a trial. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, January 12, for sentence.

Prosecutor Lee Bonner told the court Somerville had used an anonymous browser to carry out online searches for indecent images of children as young as three-years-old and "babies in diapers", as well as for "jihad rape" and "ISIS rape". On his devices, files were found from Eastern European and Russian companies which provided "images of young 'models' under 16 of a sexual nature, with themes such as Christmas or Birthday parties".

Jonathan Rogers, defending, said Somerville continued to maintain his innocence. He said several letters from his family, including his partner and son, showed a "positive side to his character, for example the sacrifices he has made to care for his partner, the charity work he has done for others, the volunteering at soup kitchen in the city centre, and the evidence he had helped strangers who were suffering in his community."

Sentencing Somerville, Judge Simon Killeen said: "It should be shouted in courts throughout England and Wales that this trade, the trade in abusive films and images of children, is utterly horrific. People like you, who download these images, encourage the makers of these to abuse children. There are real people on the other end of these films. "You denied your guilt and still do, and there's clearly a total absence of remorse on your part, or any insight into what the jury, on compelling evidence, found what you had done."

Somerville's girlfriend, supporting him in court, sobbed as he was sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison, and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Somerville had to be ordered by the judge to leave the docks and go to the cells after remaining to talk with his girlfriend.

Description

A teenage girl was raped in a newsagents after being lured into a back room by a shop worker who had promised her cigarettes.

Saidi Hussain gained his victim's trust by plying her with free vapes before attacking her once they were alone together inside the store. But the 24-year-old "remains in complete denial" over his horrific assault, having accused the youngster of "making the whole thing up".

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Thursday, that he had befriended the teen as a customer of the store on Linacre Lane in Bootle where he "helped out from time to time". Hussain, of Louis Pasteur Avenue in Netherton, was said to have given her complementary e-cigarettes during past visits before she attended the premises at around 8pm on Sunday, March 5, last year in order to buy cigarettes.

He "told her they were kept in the back of the shop" before "showing her the way through to a back room in the premises", then sexually assaulted her. The defendant then persisted in his vile behaviour by "telling her she could have cigarettes if she performed sexual activity upon him", before exposing himself to the girl and proceeding to rape her on a pile of boxes.

She subsequently fled to a friend's house and disclosed her ordeal. Hussain was arrested the following day, but under interview claimed there had been "absolutely no sexual contact at all" with the complainant.

He later changed his account, stating that she had "initiated all of the sexual contact". However, he then reverted back to his original story at trial.

Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, said: "This was a back room of a shop premises, into which she was tricked to enter. It must have been apparent to him that she had been drinking, and to that extent there was an element of vulnerability about her - in other words, she was in a situation where somebody could take advantage of her, and he did."Iranian national Hussain, an asylum seeker with "no right to remain in the United Kingdom at the present time", has no previous convictions. Gerald Baxter, defending, told the court: "He has no previous record, but of course for this type of offence that is of little significance."

Hussain was found guilty of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault by a jury. Appearing in court via video link and assisted by a Kurdish interpreter, he was jailed for nine years - a term of which he must serve at least two thirds before being released on licence.

Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "She was known to you as a customer in the shop where you helped out from time to time. She knew you, and you had been friendly towards her and had given her free vapes in the past.

"On this Sunday, she had been drinking and was tipsy but not falling down drunk. She went into the mini market in order to obtain a vape.

"Having got that, she left. She then telephoned a friend, who asked her to go back to the shop to obtain some cigarettes, so she returned to the shop.

"When she returned to the shop, you were the only other person there. She asked you for cigarettes, but you told her they were kept in the back of the shop, and so you showed her the way through to a back room in the premises.

"Once there, you having directed her to be in the back of the shop with you, you raped and sexually assaulted her. By this time, she was in a state of complete panic.

"She did not know what to do. She had been entirely traumatised by your assault of her.

"You were interviewed by the police and lied, saying that there had been absolutely no sexual contact with her at all and that she was, in effect, making the whole thing up. You later changed that account to say that, in fact, she had initiated all of the sexual contact - you being reluctant and she being the person in charge.

"You later changed that account, and before the jury said that no sex took place between you in the back of that shop. She has found it very difficult to come to terms with what happened.

"She had been drinking, and you were friendly from previous occasions. You took advantage of that and isolated her in an unfamiliar environment so as to commit these very serious offences.

"The main mitigation is your previous good character. You came to the United Kingdom in order to flee persecution as a Kurd in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"While you have clearly abused the protection offered by the United Kingdom by committing these offences, you have otherwise led a law-abiding life. You remain in complete denial of what you have done.

"That is your right, but it means that until you accept what you have done there is very little that can be done towards your rehabilitation. You do not accept any responsibility for your actions that day."

Hussain was also told to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was given a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim indefinitely.

Description

A dangerous and “devious” middle-aged paedophile posed as a teenage girl online to convince a 13-year-old to sexually experiment on herself.

But convicted sex offender Sukhpal Sidhu had no idea that the girl he was grooming was a decoy profile belonging to an online paedophile hunter group.

The 51-year-old, who was previously jailed for sex activity with a child, was handed an extended six-year jail term at Leeds Crown Court this week after the judge deemed him to be dangerous.

In November last year, just months after he was released from prison, Sidhu sent a friend request online to the profile who accepted it, but repeatedly told him she was just 13. He boasted that he was a businessman who was setting up a charity to help feed the homeless. He also turned to conversation sexually, saying he had women so turned on by his voice that they would say “dirty things” to him.

Having received a decoy photo from the supposed girl, he called her “beautiful”. He then bizarrely pretended to be a 14-year-old girl who had access to Sidhu’s account, and ramped up the sexual discussions, encouraging the victim to touch herself sexually, prosecutor Joel Wootten told the court.

He was eventually confronted by the paedophile group, C.O.S.T (Child Online Safety Team) after a week of swapping messages. They livestreamed the conversation over the internet in which he denied any wrongdoing. The police were called and he was arrested.

Sidhu had been jailed for eight years in 2015 for sexual activity with a teenage girl in Greater Manchester, having posed as a teenage boy to gain her trust. He denied the offences but was found guilty after a trial. It was heard that he would drive across the Pennines from West Yorkshire to meet the girl and have sexual encounters in his car.

As part of his sentence, he was given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to limit his internet use, and put on the sex offender register for life.

For his latest offending, Sidhu, of Bradford Road, Stanningley, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, breach of his SHPO, and an attempt to breach his SHPO.

He appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds where he has been held on remand since his arrest.

Mitigating, Amber Walker said Sidhu accepted it would be a custodial sentence, but little else was said on his behalf.

The judge, Recorder Ian Mullarkey told him: “It was a fictitious profile to engage a girl in graphic sexual conversations. That devious, manipulative and cunning.

"It relied on sophistication to commit sexual offences against children. You were quite determined to persist in these conversations. You do not express any remorse or recognition of the harm this kind of offending causes.”

He said that Sidhu had refused to take part in a sex offender programme to rehabilitate him and . He jailed him for three years, with another three years extended licence.