Latest Offenders

Description

 A SEX offender from Merseyside has been jailed after committing sexual offences against "vulnerable" teenager from Bury. 

Kyle Jago, 24, was sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to several sexual offences against a 15-year-old girl from Bury.

Jago, of Higher Road, Halewood, met the victim on social media in May this year, before arranging to meet her in person later that month.

The defendant proceeded to groom the girl and engage in inappropriate sexual behaviour, including exchanging sexually explicit images.

Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, told the court that Jago travelled with the victim from Manchester Piccadilly rail station to a park in Bury on three occasions.

On the third occasion, the court heard the victim has sex with the defendant in a nearby wooded area. 

 Mr Cadwallader described the girl, who has additional learning needs, anxiety and depression, as “immature and extremely vulnerable".

He said: “It shows how successful he was at grooming her.”

“She was besotted by him and wanted to marry him.”

Jago was arrested on June 22 this year at his home after the victim’s mother found sexually explicit images on her daughter’s phone.

Jago was transferred to Bury Police Station where he was interviewed by members of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) Child Sexual Exploitation Team. 

Through her victim impact statement, the victim's mother told the court her daughter was “trusting of all the wrong people".

She said: “Since the sexual assault and grooming, she is no longer trusting of people.

“She finds it hard to trust what I say.

“Our relationship has been set back.”

Mark Shanks, defending, told the court that Jago deserved credit for pleading guilty to the charges at the earliest opportunity.

He told the court that Jago had suffered a difficult start to life and has been unable to access adequate mental health support while in prison.

He said: “He has begun his life in a very, very difficult and chaotic way.”

“Since he has been in prison he has been threatened.”

“To say he has not had a good time of it is an understatement.”

Judge Tina Landale jailed Jago for four years and made a restraining order for him not to contact the victim and her mother.

Addressing him, Judge Landale said: “You contacted [the victim] on social media and you knew she was 15 from the very beginning.

“Your corruption and grooming of her were so skilful that she became besotted with you.”

Jago is now subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has also been ordered to sign the sex offender’s register for life.

Detective Sergeant Ben Harris, of Bury’s Complex Safeguarding Team said: “We are pleased with today’s sentencing result.

"This is another example of GMP getting those who target children off the street.

“There’s nothing more important than protecting Greater Manchester’s young people from harm.

"Our district’s complex safeguarding teams are here to build strong and positive relationships with victims and young people who are at risk from child sexual exploitation (CSE), support them into adulthood and help change their futures.

“We are supported by partner agencies and support services, who do invaluable work in helping us get sexual predators off the street.

"If you, or anyone you know, is a victim of this type of crime, we encourage you to contact us either by dialling 101 or through our LiveChat facility on our website, www.gmp.police.uk.

"We can assure you that you will be listened to and supported.” 

Description

A child sex offender hid his past to go on a caravanning holiday with a friend and her young son, a court has heard.

Jonathan Harris was also a regular visitor to the family's home, including on occasions sleeping there overnight. However, the 27-year-old is banned from having unsupervised contact with boys under 16 unless the child's parents know about his past conviction for causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Swansea Crown Court that Harris' concealing of his past was the second beach of a sexual harm prevention order in less than two years - on the first occasion he had secretly installed WhatsApp on his phone and had been visiting online chat rooms with names such as "teen chat" and "squirt". 

Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, said Harris befriend a woman he met in Swansea Market, and though the relationship was initially sexual it later became platonic in nature. He said the defendant was a "regular" visitor to the house where the woman lived with her child, on occasions spending the night at the address. Then in September Harris went with the woman and her child to a caravan park for a three-night break.

The court heard it was only in October that Harris told the woman about his previous conviction for child sexual offences, and about the restrictions he was under as a result. The mum reported the matter to police and the defendant was arrested at his place of work in Swansea Docks. He subsequently made full admissions in interview.

Jonathan Harris, formerly of Sageston, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, but now of The Kingsway in Swansea city centre, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching the conditions of a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

In 2019 Harris was sentenced to 27 months in prison for causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act, and he was placed on the sex offenders register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to control his access to young boys. Just days after getting out of prison on licence for those matters he breached the SHPO by joining dating websites including Match and Elite Singles, making online searches using terms such as "teen porn", visiting online chat rooms with names including "teen chat" and "squirt", and installing the WhatsApp messaging application. In October 2020 he was jailed for what the judge described as that "flagrant breach" the order.

David Rees, for Harris, said the defendant moved to Swansea to make a fresh start after "effectively being hounded out" of Sageston by vigilantes, securing his own accommodation in the city and then finding a job. He said his client retained the support of his family, and also acknowledged the omissions which had led him to being in dock.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Harris he had committed a "persistent and blatant" breach of SHPO, not only by being a regular visitor to the woman's house but also going on holiday with her and her young son. The judge said he accepted the defendant had eventually told the woman about his past conviction but he said it was clear Harris had not learned his lesson following his jailing for the first breach. With a one third discount for his guilty plea, Harris was sentenced to 10 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.

Description

A paedophile targeted teenagers in chatrooms and shared sexual fantasies and pictures with another pervert, a court heard. Mark Stevenson, 37, struck up conversations with what he thought were girls aged 12 and 13 and asked if they wanted to have sex with him.

He did not know the people he was chatting to online were undercover police officers looking to catch paedophiles. But even after his arrest he continued to offend, asking one decoy if she was a virgin and sending videos of himself masturbating.

Stevenson, of Pilton Causeway, Barnstaple, was described in court as a lonely man who led a solitary life. He said he was not motivated by a sexual interest in children but admitted multiple offences, including distributing indecent pictures of children and attempting to engage in sexual communication with children.

The judge said: "The offences represent a series of offences that demonstrate you have a clear sexual interest in young children and those in their early teens. It is quite clear you were seeking out various contacts with those in their early teens and were quickly made aware the children concerned, in each case decoys or similar, made their age known to you but you did not desist."

Stevenson was jailed for 21 months.

Prosecutor Ms Victoria Bastock said Stevenson was arrested after a visit by police to his home address in November 2020. They seized a number of devices and found messages dating back to November 2017.

They showed Stevenson in enthusiastic communication with another paedophile sharing fantasies about rape and sex with children. He also shared indecent images of children aged between five and 16.

Stevenson also joined a teen chatroom and started talking to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl. He followed this up with messages to other decoys on Kik Messenger, Skype and WhatsApp. In each case the conversation was sexual and Stevenson would make lewd suggestions and ask if they wanted boyfriends. He also asked for photos.

Stevenson was released under investigation but committed almost identical offences in July 2021. He joined the UK Teen Friends chatroom and direct messaged a 12-year-old decoy, sending her an indecent video of himself and saying he wanted to see the child naked.

Mr Jason Beal, defending, said Stevenson endured a difficult lockdown, family bereavement and was a good candidate for rehabilitation.

Judge Peter Johnson said Stevenson had minimised his crimes by suggesting he was sharing in the fantasies of others.

The defendant admitted distributing indecent photos of children; making indecent photos of children; four offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with children and two of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

He must sign the sex offender register for 10 years and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period. 

Description

The founder of an Army veterans' charity who groped a woman's bottom to check if she was wearing underwear has been spared jail.

Timothy Evers, 54, sexually assaulted the woman when she posed for a picture with him at an awards night at a Westminster hotel.

The former Royal Engineer founded Sapper Support in 2014 and had won the prize for Best New Charity on October 5, 2017.

Evers, a father-of-two, now serving in South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, denied sexual assault and told Westminster Magistrates' Court it 'did not happen'.

But District Judge Neeta Minhas convicted Evers of sexual assault following a trial last month.

Judge Minhas referred to a Twitter exchange between Evers and the victim, where he blamed 'fizz and exuberance' and said: 'No malice, but also no excuse.'

The judge added: 'I interpret the tweet as him apologising for his actions.'

Wearing a grey suit, blue shirt and red striped tie, Evers was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work.

He must also attend a 15-day rehabilitation program and register as a sex offender for the next five years.

The woman had told the court how Evers approached her and asked for a photograph with her.

'His charity had won. I did recognize him as one of the winners,' the woman said.

Evers told her to 'come over this way' for the picture.

'I didn't like that. I thought that was weird,' she said.

She said they then went to another part of the building, where she saw a large group of men on the stairs.

'I thought they wanted a group picture. They were all giggling and watching him take a photo of me.

'One of them took the photo.

'He put his arm around me like that [indicating her waist], and then put his hand on my bum.

'He put his hand all the way around my bottom and squeezed it.'

'He said "I just wanted to check if you've got knickers on". He then pointed to his colleagues and said "sorry lover, they dared me to do that".

The victim said that she shouted at Evers as she tried not to cry, before running away.

She said she then went and told someone at the event what had happened.

'I was crying and saying "that bloke just touched my a*se".

The woman added: 'At an event like that at that time of night I assume everyone's a bit squiffy. He wasn't staggering.

'I went home and sat in my room. I was furious I was crying. I was really upset. It occurred to me to call the police. But I didn't.

'I felt very humiliated. I don't like to use the word triggered, but I was very triggered at being touched on an intimate part of myself.

'I felt very angry with myself because I kept thinking what I could have done to avoid that. I was cross with myself for walking with him and not staying where I was.'

The woman said she wrote a tweet to charity Sapper Support, which replied saying 'exuberance and fizz were to blame.'

'I assumed it was him. I felt it was very dismissive, and not connecting with the fact that I was hurt,' the woman said.

The victim reported the incident in 2020.

'It happened just before the #MeToo movement which was significant to me,' she explained.

Evers, who has been a firefighter for 26 years, said he founded the charity after hearing about the death of a fellow 'Sapper' from PTSD.

He told the court he had a single glass of champagne at the event that evening.

'This was a big deal for me. We were a very junior charity. I wanted to be able to remember it,' he said.

He said he asked the woman for a picture for his social media and she agreed.

'I put my arm around her waist. I had my trophy in my hand,' said Evers.

'The pictures were blurred, it was dark. I deleted them. I said I wasn't going to bother her again.'

His barrister asked: 'She says you lowered your hand and squeezed her buttocks.'

Evers replied: 'That did not happen.'

He said when he saw her tweet 'I felt sick to my stomach if I'm honest. I was astounded that she thought we did it. So I wrote a clumsy reply at four in the morning.'

In the tweet, Evers said 'too much alcohol and exuberance were probably to blame. No malice, but also no excuse.'

He told the court: 'It wasn't an admission of guilt. It was a badly worded, early morning tweet.

'I asked if any volunteers had had any interaction with her.'

Evers said he deleted the tweet because he got a 'torrent of abuse.'

'It was quite vile. I was called a paedophile,' he said.

Prosecutor Jennifer Gatland asked Evers and asked him why he used the words 'sincere apologies'.

'I wasn't apologizing for anything I've done. I didn't know who had done it... I thought one of my volunteers might have done it,' he replied.

Ms Gatland asked: 'Did you delete it because you realized you were admitting to touching her?'

'No, not at all,' said Evers.

Evers, of Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, denied the charge but was convicted of sexual assault.

The judge had said of the victim: 'I found her a compelling witness. The incident left a lasting impression on her.'

According to the Sapper Support website, Evers joined the Royal Engineers in 1992. 

After an operational tour he moved to 33 Engineer Regiment EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Wimbish, later serving in Bosnia. He became a fireman after leaving the military.

He founded the charity in 2014 after a close friend of his committed suicide after suffering from PTSD, a court heard.

Evers' colleague and close friend Mike Jenkins described him as 'the driving force behind a charity that quite literally saved lives.'

Description

A Glenrothes sex offender was told his “deviant” sexual interests are legal – so long as he does not act on them.

Richard Heatherill was jailed for a catalogue of offending against multiple teenage girls.

The 24-year-old’s offending culminated in having sex with one of them before she turned 16.

At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court he turned to his weeping mother and mouthed “I love you” as he was jailed.

‘Underage sex’ was consenting but illegal

Jonathan Crow KC, defending, said his client’s offending occurred when he was 19 or 20 years old.

“These offences are serious, there’s no escaping that,” he said.

“The complainer was some age short of her 16th birthday and whilst consenting, he committed the offence of what is sometimes referred to as ‘underage sex’.

“He accepts full responsibility for these offences.”

"It’s not an offence to have these issues and its not an offence to have these interests – it is unlawful to act on them… Children under 16 are off limits. Full stop."

— Sheriff Alistair Brown.

He said the offences were committed against a background of psychiatric issues, including gender dysphoria, which had seen Heatherill previously referred to a specialist sexual health clinic.

The dysphoria had led to him being bullied and withdrawing into his bedroom, where he spent time browsing the internet and developed his “deviant” interests, which he then acted upon with the teenage girls.

However Mr Crow said Heatherhill had since had help to resolve these issues.

He added: “Mr Heatherill is apologetic for his actions.

“He’s accepted the impact he’s had on his victims and what he did was, in his words, bad.”

‘Deviant sexual interests’

Sheriff Alistair Brown said a social work report had laid out the nature of Heatherill’s sexual interests.

He said: “I recognise and accept that you struggle, or at least suffer psychiatric issues, as a result of your gender dysphoria and it’s right that the court should be sympathetic of that.

“Sympathetic though I am to your difficulties the fact remains that you did what you did.

“It’s not an offence to have these issues and its not an offence to have these interests – it is unlawful to act on them.

“It’s significant that you did not act on them in relation to an adult woman, who may be better equipped to deal with them, you acted on them with a child.

“Children under 16 are off limits. Full stop.

“You subjected this child to what the report describes as ‘deviant sexual interests’.”

Placed on Register for decade

Heatherill admitted sending sexual messages and images to four girls, all between the ages of 13 and 16, at locations across Fife between October 2017 and April 2019.

He further admitted engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old at Eastfield Industrial Estate, Glenrothes, on an occasion between September 1 and October 17 2017.

Sheriff Alistair Brown jailed Heatherill, of Beechwood Drive, Glenrothes, for 21 months.

He also placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Description

 A convicted sex offender caught with an indecent image of a child he had downloaded on his laptop has been jailed after he breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Craig Neal Jenkins, aged 52, and from Burton, has been sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment after appearing at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday, October 19.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at the same court. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years and made the subject of a further Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was caught on August 2, when he was visited by officers from Staffordshire Police’s Sexual Offender Management Unit, who checked his devices as part of the Sexual Offences Prevention Order he was subject to. The order had been imposed in 2014 and was to last 10 years. A check of his mobile phone identified deleted WhatsApp messages, one of which was an indecent image of a child, said a Staffordshire police spokesman.

Jenkins denied having any other devices. However, a search of his home was conducted following his arrest. A camcorder and several camcorder tapes were recovered and seized by officers. He was found to be in possession of indecent images of children and to have breached his order by deleting his WhatsApp history, failing to hand over devices and using an incognito browser.

Jane Mulliner, from the Sexual Offender Management Unit, said after the court case: "We take the management of sex offenders extremely seriously. Jenkins rightly, has very strict notification requirements he is expected to abide by and he has shown a complete disregard and lack of respect for them."

Description

A convicted sex offender has been jailed again after dressing up as a schoolgirl and asking female pupils: "Do you like my tie?"

Mark Nicholson, 55, sat outside Blessed Trinity school in Burnley, Lancashire, dressed in a white tie, blazer and skirt.

A court heard that he tried to engage in conversation with three girls, aged between 10 and 15, by asking if they liked his tie last November.

Preston Crown Court was also told that in May this year, he met two runaways teenage boys who had been reported missing from their care home.

He took them back to his house where they smoked cigarettes and he gave them a cup of cider.

Kathryn Johnson, prosecuting, told the court: “The police received a call from the safeguarding lead at Blessed Trinity to say that three female children from the school, aged between 10 and 15, had seen a male sat outside on Queen Victoria Road dressed in a school uniform that matched theirs.

“He was wearing a white shirt, a tie, blazer, and a skirt, and had tried to engage in conversation with the girls, saying ‘Do you like my tie?’.

“He was arrested the following day at his home address and the school uniform was recovered by officers from his bedroom.

“The defendant was interviewed the same day and told police he didn’t speak to the girls but accepted that he had been wearing the uniform, saying that he wears it for comfort.

"On May 15, the police were contacted by an engage worker who reported that two children were missing from a residential care home in Blackburn.

“When the children returned, they said they had boarded a hospital shuttle bus and had gone from Blackburn to Burnley. They had met the defendant and asked if they could go back to his home, and he took them.

“While there they smoked cigarettes, and the defendant gave them a cup of cider. They stayed around an hour and then left and returned to Blackburn.”

Defending Nicholson, Anna Chestnutt said his behaviour "had no place" and he would "not be repeating it".

In respect of the offences in May, Ms Chestnutt said her client encountered the boys on a bus and it was them who spoke to him first.

She said: “Nothing sexual took place in the hour they spent at his home address.”

Nicholson has 22 convictions for 60 offences and was previously jailed for 18 months for child sex offences in 2019.

He was jailed for 16 months for two breaches of his sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Stephen Unsworth KC said: “This is a worrying picture that’s presented to the court and is extremely worrying for the parents and carers of these children.

“If there’s any repeat of this behaviour you can expect lengthier periods in prison – you must stay away from young people and must stop this behaviour.”

The judge banned Nicholson from wearing items of clothing relating to a girl’s school uniform and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A brave teen who was raped by her father at just nine years old has decided to share her ordeal as she braces herself for the possibility that he could be released from jail next month.

Danielle Keenan, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, courageously waived her right to lifelong anonymity at the age of 18, so she can tell her story for the first time and warn others about child abuse.

Michael Keenan sickeningly started to abuse his daughter at the age of seven, which was just a year after they had moved to Germany where he had been stationed in the military.

“He said if I told anyone, I would have to shoot him and the Army would make me watch," Danielle told the Manchester Evening News.

"But I just knew he was my dad and I loved him because he was my dad.”

Danielle recalls feeling ill after catching a stomach bug and said she was sick into a bucket when her father sexually assaulted her for the first time around Christmas.

She said: "I had underwear on but he would grind up against the back of me. A couple of weeks later, he came back into my room and did it again.”

Danielle says the abuse worsened when her mother, who has asked to remain anonymous, went into labour with twins. She caught an infection and was in hospital for several weeks, meaning Danielle was left alone with him at home.

“He said he was lonely because mum wasn’t there and it started properly every night," Danielle added.

"Mum went into labour and got quite ill. Before he went to work, he would start doing it every morning and night. He would come into my room and ask me to get into bed with him.

“We lived in Germany and I was away from all my family and friends. We were constantly moving all the time, and that’s one of the things he was banking on. I didn’t have anyone else permanent other than my mum.”

Danielle's dad raped her when she was nine. The horrific attack happened in the basement when Danielle was asked to clean out the rabbit hutch.

She said: “He followed me downstairs. We had a pull-out sofa because it was a kids’ room. I didn’t know what it was, it just hurt. He said if I told anyone, no one would believe me and I would ruin the family.”

Danielle, who now studies health and social care at college, says she tried to tell others about the abuse but “couldn’t find the words” to describe what had happened to her.

It wasn’t until her mother, 38, noticed she had become withdrawn that Danielle was finally able to tell her everything – using teddy bears to show what her dad had done.

Danielle said: “One night, he was in my room and in bed with me as normal. My mum came upstairs to check on me and she looked at me and could see on my face that something wasn’t right.

“I had to use two teddies to show her. I told her everything after showing her. After that, I knew he was lying and they would believe me.

“He denied it. He kept saying it never happened and that I was lying. But when my mum looked at me, he turned and said: ‘She’s telling the truth’.”

Danielle‘s mother can recall the moment she found out what had been happening to her daughter – just by looking into her terrified eyes.

She said: “Leading up to this, I had already been concerned about Danielle. I had spoken to him about it and he said she was probably just adjusting to the move and missing her friends.

“I went upstairs to find him and Danielle’s door was cracked open. He was lay down with her and I didn’t see anything, but I saw Danielle’s face and she wasn't there. It wasn’t my little girl there. There was no life – nothing.”

Danielle‘s mother hesitated in the doorway for a second before the harrowing realisation set in.

She continued: “I swear to God, for two seconds, I don’t even know how long it was, I was arguing with myself in my head. I thought: ‘This can’t be it.’

“He started play-fighting with her because she sat up on her knees and pointed at me. She kept looking from me to him while he tried to play fight with her. It was so staged; I’m not stupid.

“He was waiting for me to leave first, and obviously I wasn’t going to. As he walked out of the room, I shut the door behind him.

“I looked at Danielle and said: ‘Has daddy done something?’ and she said: ‘Yes’. I asked her to tell me and she said she didn’t know how.

“I gave her two teddies and asked her to show me. She put them together and I knew. She touched my face and said: ‘Are you okay mum? Is daddy going to get shot?’“

Keenan, who was 34 at the time, was arrested that night after Danielle‘s mother alerted military police. Keenan walked out of their home, which sparked a police search, before he eventually handed himself into a barracks.

In court, he admitted 10 child sex offences and was sentenced to five years imprisonment in July 2015.

Then, on New Year's Eve of that year, Danielle messaged her grandmother on an iPad and told her she had been raped by her father. The police were immediately alerted.

Following a trial at the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester, Essex, Keenan was found guilty of rape of a child under 13.

In 2017, he was sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison. But the dad-of-six, who served with the Royal Logistics Corps, could be released on parole next month.

Description

A man has been sentenced to more than 12 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to five counts of rape and one count of controlling and coercive behavior.

Initially the victim of the offences – an adult female - had been afraid to report the crimes but after confiding in close family and friends and seeking support, she gave permission for police to be called.

This led to officers arresting Tobias Lee, 32, of Macaulay Road, Rothley, and an investigation being launched.

Enquiries included accessing a phone recording which had been made by the victim which showed bullying and controlling behaviour by Lee as well as obtaining statements.

This included statements bravely provided by the victim regarding the rape offences which Lee had committed against her.

The investigation led to Lee being charged and at Leicester Crown Court last Tuesday (25 October), he was sentenced to 12 years and six months imprisonment after pleading guilty to the offences. He was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Support continues to be provided to the victim.

Officer in the case, Police Investigating Officer Anita Vaughan said: “Thanks to the bravery of the victim in reporting these horrendous crimes, we were able to ensure she had the right support available while carrying out a full investigation.

“This led to Lee pleading guilty to the offences and being sentenced.

Description

A man who was snared by paedophile hunters held a knife to his chest during a doorstep confrontation broadcast live on Facebook.

In footage that has been viewed more than 20,000 times, Lossiemouth sex offender George Innes clutches a kitchen knife to his body and can be heard saying “my life is not worth living”.

The sting took place after Innes, 57, sent sexual messages and indecent images to a decoy profile that he believed was a 14-year-old girl called Savannah.

Innes has now appeared via videolink from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted a single charge of attempting to cause an older child to view a sexual image and attempting to communicate indecently with an older child.

Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that, on June 5 of this year, a member of the English paedophile hunting group Elite Predator Interceptors set up a decoy profile claiming to be a 14-year-old girl on an app called Rando Chat.

“That same day the accused initiated a conversation,” she said.

The decoy told Innes that she was just 14, after which he sent her a picture of his face and the pair began talking over WhatsApp.

For the next 18 days, Innes and ‘Savannah’ exchanged messages on a daily basis, with the chat soon becoming inappropriate and sexualised.

‘What bra size are you?’

Innes asked the decoy if she wore school uniform and whether she was going topless on holiday. He also repeatedly talked about her pyjamas and whether she was wearing any underwear.

The chat log also featured personal questions, including: “Do you mind chatting about sex?”, “What bra size are you?” and “Do you ever look at yourself naked in the mirror?”

Innes said they could “do anything you wanted” and suggested they might “cuddle” or “touch”.

Innes also sent ‘Savannah’ a total of 14 images over WhatsApp, which include images of his private parts, a picture of himself in underwear and a scar from a hernia operation,  the court heard.

Logs of the chats were passed to the Scotland-based Wolfpack Hunter group, which travelled to Innes’ home in Lossiemouth to confront him.

When they explained why they were there, he replied: “Yeah, I shouldn’t have done it. I am sorry too.”

He also remarked that he had “ruined his life,” Mrs Gair said.

Paedophile held knife to chest

She said that Innes then went to his kitchen and when he returned to the front door he was holding a knife towards his chest.

“Due to having concerns the accused would harm himself the group removed the knife from him,” she added.

Police were contacted and Innes made “full admissions” during his interview.

Sheriff Sara Matheson called for pre-sentencing reports and placed Innes on the sex offenders’ register with immediate effect.

Innes’ solicitor Stephen Carty reserved his remarks in mitigation for sentencing, which will take place next month.

Description

A student flying to Manchester Airport said she "just wanted to have a shower" after a vile sex attack on an easyJet flight.

A court heard how Andrew Reay told the 17-year-old Spanish student that he wanted to "f*** her" and touched her leg while onboard an easyJet flight from Lanzarote on September 2, 2020. Minshull Street Crown Court heard the 46-year-old left his victim feeling "awkward' and 'disgusting" on board the flight - but Judge Maurice Greene allowed him to walk free from court and return to the Canary Islands, insisting that Reay's employees would be 'affected' by a prison sentence for their boss.

Prosecuting, Virginia Hayton, told the court how Reay, who was sat to the right of the student, was "loud and messing around" with another passenger who appeared to be his friend. Reay bought alcohol from the cabin crew and, after consuming it, began to make the Spanish teenager feel "uncomfortable", MEN reports. 

Ms Hayton said: "She tried to move but he would get hold of her arm, telling her to stay." She told the court that after more than an hour, Reay's friend fell asleep, before the defendant 'turned all his attention' to her.

Ms Hayton explained that the teenager described Reay being 'super friendly' and encouraging her to have a drink. Despite making her feel "awkward", Reay "kept on at her" and eventually she "relented" and had a drink.

The court heard that Reay boasted about having taken drugs before the flight - claiming cannabis was "not hard enough" for him so he had "put white powder" in his joints "to make them good". Reay was "touchy" with members of cabin crew, Ms Hayton said, while he continued to grab the girl's arm.

Ms Hayton said Reay opened his legs wide enough to touch the teenager's, which made her feel "horrible". He then placed his left hand on her thigh and "ran it up and down over her trousers", leaving her feeling 'disgusting', the court heard.

"She said she just wanted to go home and have a shower," said Ms Hayton. The court heard how Reay made comments about having sex with the teenager and she pushed his hand away.

Ms Hayton said: "He said 'it's a shame' she was only 17 and 'he would like to f*** her'. She felt like crying. She felt scared. She thought he could get violent at any time."

The teenager called cabin crew, who moved Reay to another seat on the plane. Ms Hayton told the court that another passenger, whose son had autism and wore a head harness, then described Reay "shouting and swearing" at them.

In a statement, the flight's captain said he considered diverting the flight to Birmingham Airport because of Reay's behaviour. But Reay eventually fell asleep in his new seat, and he was arrested at Manchester Airport on arrival.

The court heard Reay, of Lawton Street, Crewe, now lives on the Canary Islands and runs a business there. He had pleaded not guilty to section 3 sexual assault on a female at Manchester Magistrates Court, but was convicted following a trial.

Defending, Eleanor Gleeson said her client "understands the seriousness of the offence" and now shows "remorse" for his actions. Reay had no convictions since the year 2000, and although His Honour Greene said the defendant had a number of difficulties in his youth, had since "made a life for himself in the Canary Islands".

The judge described the incident as "extremely unpleasant", but felt it was "not the behaviour that [Reay] exhibits on a regular basis" - instead suggesting he was affected by the influence of alcohol, drugs or both. His Honour Greene also commented how a prison sentence would have an "effect on his employees" and told court he was following guidelines before sentencing Reay to a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

He added: "You targeted this 17-year-old Spanish student who was minding her own business and you were suggestive to her. You gave her little room, opened your legs out so your legs were against her legs, and then rubbed her leg up and down.

"You knew that was unpleasant for her. You said at one point, 'am I making you uncomfortable?'. You knew she was 17 because you said 'it's a shame you are 17 because I want to f*** you.

"This was a young lady of 17 who all she wanted to do was fly from one place to another, and she had to contend with your attentions in a place that she could not really escape, on a plane."

Reay must also pay costs of £400 and had signed the sex offenders register following his conviction.

Description

A registered sex offender has been jailed for more than two years after he breached a sexual harm prevention order.

Kevin Chaffey, 49, of Meryon Road in Alresford, was previously convicted in April 2022 for the improper importation of indecent or obscene articles, making and possessing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, and possessing extreme pornographic images.

He was handed a 24-month suspended prison sentence and a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, which prohibited him from having mobile devices without registering them with the police first.

In September 2022 officers found an unregistered mobile phone at Chaffey's home address.

On Friday 21 October 2022 at Winchester Crown Court, Chaffey was sentenced after pleading guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

PC Gemma Southcott, from the Internet Child Abuse Team, said: "Chaffey is a danger to children and the wider public, and this is further evidenced by his complete disregard for the SHPO imposed by the courts.

"These types of order are imposed specifically for the purpose of restricting the activities of sex offenders and protecting our communities.

“There are of course individuals such as Chaffey who deliberately ignore what is required of them, and are rightly sent to prison for this.

“We take the management of sex offenders incredibly seriously, and invest significant resources into doing so in order to keep the public safe.

"I hope this case provides reassurance to people of our commitment to monitoring dangerous individuals in the community, and insuring they are dealt with robustly when they don't comply with what is required of them."

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A PREDATOR who engaged in disgusting sex chats with someone he believed was a young girl has been jailed.

Alan Brocklehurst believed he was flirting with a 14-year-old child in online chats and through WhatsApp on his phone.

When he was asking if she wanted ‘naughty fun’ however, he was in fact communicating with a volunteer online with the purpose of catching child sex offenders and protecting real children.

The 50-year-old was caught and charged with attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempted sexual communications with a child.

He appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, where he was told that the only possible sentence was one of immediate imprisonment.

Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, explained how the defendant was using the internet on his mobile phone to access chat rooms and use WhatsApp to talk to someone who was purporting to be a child.

The person in question was a woman volunteering for a ‘child welfare support team’, who had set up a decoy profile claiming to be a 14-year-old girl named Gemma.

Brocklehurst communicated every day with the profile over seven days from December 7 last year, after initiating the conversation on fastflirting.com.

From the outset, the profile declared to the defendant that it was of a 14-year-old girl from Wallsend, with most messages from the defendant ending with kisses.

When informed by the ‘girl’ that she was 14, Brocklehurst said: “It has been ages since I had young p***y.”

He then asked her what she was looking for and gave her his mobile number, after which she asked him to add her on WhatsApp, which he did.

Conversations ranged from him asking to see her in her school uniform to requesting she performed sex acts on herself.

On one of the days, he asked her if she had told anyone about him, and when she said she had not told her mother, Brocklehurst said this was good as she would ‘get mad’.

On another he asked if she wanted ‘naughty fun, while there was also a discussion about her being naked after having a shower, to which the defendant said: “You are gorgeous because you are 14.”. 

 In addition, the defendant requested she perform sex acts on herself, to which the profile confirmed she had.

The following day, he said that one day he hoped she would show him her boobs and asked if she wanted to meet up with him.

Throughout the period, there were requests from Brocklehurst for the girl to send him ‘naughty pictures’ of herself.

Brocklehurst was identified and arrested on December 16 at his place of work, and police seized his mobile phone. He gave no comment to questions during his interview with officers.

In defence of his client, Jeremy Rawson referenced his guilty pleas, ‘remorse and regret’, and the fact that he is a carer for a dependant relative.

“It is sad to see a man of his age come before the court for offences of this type, when the only way to deal with him is an immediate custodial sentence,” he commented.

“He is sorry for what took place during a period of madness, when he indulged in quite shocking conversations, and he now realises the stupidity of what he has done.

“He recognises offences of this type are not victimless. The internet is a happy hunting ground for people who wish to prey on vulnerable victims,” which recorder Mark Ainsworth described as a ‘parent’s worst nightmare’.

Mr Rawson spoke of Brocklehurst’s lack of any previous convictions and asked that the prison sentence of the ‘otherwise decent and hard-working individual’ to be kept as short as possible.

Before sentencing, recorder Mark said: “You will understand now, if you did not before, the serious view courts take of this sort of conduct.

“There is no way you would not have known that Gemma did not exist, and as far you were concerned, you were communicating with a 14-year-old girl, having her perform sex acts on herself and talking in this sexual way.”

Brocklehurst, of Wilson Patten Street in the town centre, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

He must also abide by a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender registration requirements, both for an indefinite period.

In addition, the court approved an order to deprive the defendant of his mobile phone. 

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A man who was dressed as a woman has been jailed for 12 weeks after trying to have sex with a dog in public. 

Peter Lerwill, 30, was caught in the act by a woman in his hometown in Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, and was initially arrested before being released on bail.

He appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday and plead guilty to attempted intercourse with an animal, resulting in a 12-week prison sentence.

Lerwill has been banned from owning or having control of a dog for five years and is also now a registered sex offender.

Following the incident, which took place in June, the dog was taken to the vet where they determined it had suffered no injuries. The dog was then returned to its proper owner. 

Lead investigator with Sussex Police Oliver Robinson said: “This was an extremely upsetting case where Lerwill preyed on a defenceless animal. This was also a challenging case which relied on witness accounts rather than the victim, as in most cases.

“Thanks to the prompt reporting by the informant we were able to arrest Lerwill and complete forensic examinations within a timely manner which helped secure the conviction.

“The dog was able to be returned to its owner who can be confident that their dog and others cannot be targeted by Lerwill going forward.”

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A "sugar daddy" who attempted to meet a 13-year-old girl was lured into a trap by paedophile hunters.

Paul Cammidge, a married grandfather from Yorkshire, was angling for a sexual encounter with the girl after sending her explicit pictures of himself. But she was actually a decoy, Hull Crown Court heard.

The 64-year-old businessman wanted the girl to watch pornography and suggested meeting up for sex, our sister site the Grimsby Telegraph reports. He admitted attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child between November 29 and December 16, 2020.

When talking online, Cammidge boasted to the decoy girl that he was a "sugar daddy". Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said Cammidge went online saying on an adult site that he was a "silver fox" and a "wealthy older man" and a "sugar daddy".

He called the girl "delicious and beautiful" and sent her indecent pictures of himself. At the time he lived in the York area and offered to travel to the decoy's home, supposedly in Yorkshire. He assured that that he would be discreet.

Cammidge has since moved to Grimsby. "He asked her for a naked photo and video of herself, which she declined," said Mr Welch. "He told her not to tell her Mum about their conversation. During the chat, he also started to delete sexually explicit parts of his conversation between them."

Paedophile hunters went to his home and contacted the police. Cammidge was arrested on December 17, 2020. He told police: "Oh, right. I have done it. I shouldn't have done it. I am sorry for doing it. Can you just let me go? I should not have got sucked into this silly thing. What I have done is wrong."

Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said: "He fully accepts what he did. He is thoroughly ashamed of himself. He acknowledges his offending. This offending is two years ago and there has been nothing since. This defendant was not, at the outset, seeking out children."

She added: "He retired and struggled to come to terms with his lifestyle and turned to excessive alcohol abuse. He has addressed his alcohol misuse and his addictions."

Cammidge had two adult children and grandchildren. "He has a long-suffering wife of 38 years and she continues to support him," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. "This defendant's behaviour was outrageous. He knows that he has made their life a living hell."

Judge Mark Bury told Cammidge: "You were in trouble in the 70s when you were a bit of a tearaway but you have lived that down and developed a successful business and earned good money. You retired when you were in your 50s in comfortable surroundings.

"You were in the habit of contacting sex sites to chat with, and possibly meet, like-minded adults for sexual encounters. On one such site, you came across somebody masquerading first of all as a 19-year-old girl.

"You encountered her again but it was clear that she was only 13. In fact, this was a decoy. You were messaging her on WhatsApp. Some of the things that you were saying were totally repugnant. You sent her a naked picture and asked her if she wanted sexual intercourse.

"More seriously, you invited her to watch pornography, aware, as you were, that she was sexually inexperienced. All the time, you were fully aware that she was 13 and you told her not to tell her Mum. You made it clear that you could get into trouble and could go to prison if you were caught.

"It came to an end not because you voluntarily ended it but because paedophile hunters turned up mob-handed at your door and the police were called.

"There's simply too much of this going on. In a civilised society, you simply can't get away with being 64 and contacting a 13-year-old girl for sex. What you have done, I am afraid, is too serious to overlook. I have to look at the harm that you intended "

Cammidge was jailed for one year and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

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A paedophile who was discovered with a haul of baby rape videos has been sent to prison for 28 months.

The sickening haul was found when convicted sex offender David Robertson was discovered with child abuse material for the third time in a decade.

Robertson was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and under a supervised release for a further 14 months.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told Robertson had illicit images on a phone which police officers found hidden under the pillow in his bedroom.

Further images – featuring babies being raped – were found on a second device during a morning raid on his home in Cupar on May 9 this year.

Third similar crime

Fiscal depute Gavin Burton told the court: “This is his third offence of a directly analogous nature.

“Police received intelligence to the effect there may be a device within the locus which contained indecent images of children.

“A search was carried out.

“There was a mobile phone under the pillow in the bedroom.

“An examination proved positive for indecent images of children.”

Mr Burton told the court the images featured children aged from birth to 10 years old being sexually assaulted by adults and other children.

Previous offences

In August 2018, The Courier told how Robertson – then a shop assistant living in Methil – was caught with a storage device and two mobile phones which contained more than 300 child abuse images.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard 23 of the images were of the most serious level.

He admitted taking or permitting indecent photographs of children to be take – by downloading – at his home.

He already had a previous conviction for the same offence dating back to 2012, which had been dealt with by a probation order.

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A sex offender cried and told his victim he 'couldn't help it' after attacking her.

William Roberts repeatedly sexually assaulted the youngster over a period of around six months and told her on one occasion "I can't help it". Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Monday, that the 42-year-old's crimes were discovered after he was taken to hospital due to concerns about his mental health and alcohol consumption.

While in hospital Roberts, of Alpha Street in Bootle, admitted his crimes to his sister and told her "I don't know what's real" and believed that his victim was plotting to kill him.

Peter Killen, prosecuting, said he confessed that he had "heard voices in his head telling him to touch" his victim over the previous eight months and admitted having done so. When police contacted the complainant, she confirmed that he had regularly touched her on the bottom and chest over her clothing.

The schoolgirl described one occasion in which she confronted him and he began crying. Roberts, who appeared via video link to HMP Altcourse, told her: "I can't help it."

Under interview after his arrest, he stated to officers that he had "been hearing voices in his head telling him to touch her". The defendant added: "I can't take it anymore."

Roberts "denied a sexual motive", but said that the girl was "beautiful" and "attractive". He had also heard "voices telling him to rape her, but he wouldn't do it".

A statement read to the court on behalf of the victim's mum said: "He took a happy teenager and destroyed her confidence. He broke her spirit.

"I will never recover from this, but we will slowly start to rebuild our lives. Our lives are devastated.

"We pray the court will ensure that he never has the opportunity to repeat this with another person. I really worry the abuse has left a mark on her."

Roberts, who has no previous convictions, admitted two counts of sexual assault. Recorder Ian Harris jailed him for three years and handed him a sexual harm prevention order, a notification requirement and a restraining order.

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A man who sexually abused his school-aged victim back in the 1990s has been jailed for 20 years after police officers built an extensive case against him.

Kris Bond, 61, began abusing his school-aged victim in the 90s, forcing his young victim into sexual acts and raping her over several years while she was a child.

He bribed and threatened her into keeping quiet and it was not until years later in 2018 that she made the brave decision to contact the police and disclose her past trauma.

After a lengthy investigation from specialist officers working for Northumbria Police, Bond, of Lyncroft, Ashington, was charged with ten offences, including four counts of rape, four counts of indecency with a child and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He claimed to be innocent of any wrongdoing and the case was sent for trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

But a jury found him guilty of all ten offences on August 15 this year.

On Friday (October 21), at that same court, a judge handed Bond a 20-year jail sentence.

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A young man has narrowly avoided a prison sentence after offering a girl a place to stay after a night out in Falmouth before going on to grope her while she was asleep. Finian McCormick, 27, then sent the girl messages the next day saying that nothing had happened.

McCormick, of Bar Road in Falmouth, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to sexual assault by touching.

Prosecuting the case, Jason Beal described how McCormick and the victim had been on a night out in December of last year. They visited Beer Wolf and then left the last pub between midnight and 1am.

The victim was feeling very sick and when they got to McCormicks flat he gave her a pair of shorts and a blanket so she could take off her jeans and get into bed. She kept the top half of her clothing on and wrapped herself up in the blanket. Mr Beal told the court that the victim then drifted off and woke to find McCormicks hand down her shorts and pants.

He was stroking her vagina and she could feel his erect penis behind her. Mr Beal said: At first she lay in a frozen state. She then got out of bed and put on her jeans. The defendant asked if she was okay and she began screaming at him. She picked up her belongings and ran off.

She then received a number of messages on Facebook Messenger telling her nothing happened and checking she was okay. There were further messages saying he thought she said yes (to sexual contact). McCormick went on to tell police that he believed she consented.

Defending, Rupert Taylor described McCormick as industrious and as someone who has started his own company. He said: There are a raft of references on his behalf. This was poor behaviour on just one occasion which is regrettable. It has led to shame not just for him but for his family. Every other aspect of his life was on track and he understands hes at fault.

Sentencing McCormick, Judge Simon Carr said the circumstances of the offence were truly appalling. He reiterated that the victim was so drunk she was physically sick and agreed to stay at McCormicks flat as she trusted him.

Judge Carr said: This is something shell have to carry for the rest of her life. On the other side of the equation you are 27 and of previous good character. Ive read references from your friends and previous partners.

In the vast majority of these cases defendants plead not guilty but you have showed courage by pleaded guilty and that allows me to pass a sentence quite different and take a truly exceptional course.

McCormick was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He must also complete 250 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement. McCormick must now sign the sex offenders register and a restraining order was put in place.

Description

Image: Crown Prosecution Service, Thames Valley Police

A convicted groper continued to protest his innocence as he was jailed for almost a year.

Mitigating on his own behalf, Artig Emmanuel, 24, said of a set of offences committed against five women in Didcot in November 2020 for which he was convicted in September: “We do not even have any evidence that any of these things happened.”

He told Oxford Crown Court on Friday that there was ‘no DNA’ and ‘no identification’ evidence collected by the police, who obtained CCTV footage of him in the area around the time of the attacks.

“They [the prosecution] just skipped straight to trial,” he said – claiming that, had the victims been black rather than white, ‘it would have been different’. “White women, you’ve got some privilege,” he said.

Appearing to accuse the justice system of racial bias, he told Judge Maria Lamb that he had wanted a ‘diverse jury’ and cited research that a more diverse jury was ‘less likely to convict a black person’.

He criticised coverage of his second trial in the media and, in particular, reporting of the fact he quoted the title of Shaggy’s 2000 hit ‘It Wasn’t Me’ in addressing the jury.

“That is an unimportant point. Don’t put clickbait over the truth,” said Emmanuel, who during the second trial also cited the title of rap star Skepta’s single ‘That’s Not Me’ and quoted the words of Old Testament figure King Solomon that ‘what is lacking cannot be counted.

Sentencing him to 48 weeks’ imprisonment, Judge Lamb noted that Emmanuel had told the probation service that he ‘would not cooperate’ with conditions attached to a community order or suspended sentence.

“I am sorry that the pre-sentence reports make clear that you do not wish to avail yourself of the help that the probation service could offer to you,” she told the defendant, who spent more than 200 days in prison on remand.

“I do not think that it would be appropriate to impose a sentence of community service here in any event.

“These offences are too serious for that. They attract a prison sentence and it wouldn’t be right to seek to impose a community service order, you having spent so much time in custody already.”

He will be on the sex offender register for 10 years.

Emmanuel, of Blackthorn Road, Didcot, was convicted in February of sexually assaulting a female dog walker in Wantage in 2021. He was subsequently refused permission by the Court of Appeal to challenge his convictions.

In September, he was convicted of five counts of sexual touching. He had slapped or touched five women over two nights in November 2020.

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A sick paedophile who preyed on a teenager with learning difficulties and convinced her to have sex with him was caught after the youngster revealed all to her mum. Pervert Sam Collier persuaded the 'vulnerable' 14-year-old to skip going home after school and instead spend time with him at the Birmingham hostel where he lived.

Her worried mother raised the alarm when she failed to return home, with police discovering her in Collier's flat the next day. But the youngster only revealed she had been with the 28-year-old after her concerned mum spotted 'marks'.

It came just weeks after Collier was arrested when paedophile hunters duped him into thinking he was meeting up with a different schoolgirl for sex. Now vile predator Collier has been locked up after a judge branded him a 'dangerous offender'.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how a member of a so-called paedophile hunting group was 'clearly' posing online as a 14-year-old. The schoolgirl 'repeated' her age throughout conversations with him on Facebook Messenger from December 27, 2018, and January 3, 2019.

Prosecutor Ben Williams said: "The messages were turned into a sexual direction by the defendant, really from the outset. He also lied about his age, insisting he was only 15. The messages involved the defendant quickly beginning to press her to send him intimate pictures. She did nothing to encourage the defendant's messages."

Collier sent her explicit pictures before planning to meet in Kings Heath for sex, where he was met by members of the paedophile hunting group.

The paedophile was arrested but was released on bail and started speaking to a real girl on Facebook. Their conversations moved to texts and WhatsApp, with the girl making it clear she was 14. She was 'extremely vulnerable', with a reading age of eight, and needed extra help at school, Mr Williams said.

The young victim also had a history of self-harm, which she referred to in her conversations with Collier. Mr Williams added: "The defendant must have known she had mental health issues and [was] vulnerable."

The pair arranged to meet in Wolverhampton about a fortnight later but the child's mother stopped her from leaving the house. Three days later she failed to come back home from school, with her mum identifying Collier from messages on her tablet.

Police then discovered the girl at Collier's flat - which was within a Handsworth hostel - the next morning. Her mum spotted 'marks' on her neck and body, with the girl revealing she was taken to Collier's home.

Mr Williams said: "It was the defendant who arranged to meet her after school with the specific reason given that her mother would not be there." Callum Church, defending, said Collier has had a 'chaotic existence' since childhood and does not speak to any of his family members.

He understands he 'needs a new life', Mr Church added. The court was told how Collier had previous convictions dating back to when he was a youth, including burglary, battery and breach of a court order.

Sentencing, Judge Rhona Campbell said the convict was 'desperate' for his conversations with the real girl to become 'sexual'. She added: "She was an extremely vulnerable girl. Her mental health was of such fragility that she had been accessing the children and adolescent mental health services."

Collier admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and committing an offence with the intention of committing a relevant sexual offence. The judge said he was 'dangerous' and handed him an extended sentence of 13 years on October 13.

It means he must serve at least two-thirds of his 10-year jail term and will be subject to an extended licence period of three years once released. Collier, from Bolton, Lancashire, was also made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must remain on the sex offenders register for life.

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A MAN who sexually assaulted an elderly patient at Liverpools Royal Hospital just a couple of months after he had assaulted another woman has been jailed for three years.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Carl Burger, 55, of Fenwick Street in Liverpool, assaulted the elderly woman when she was in the accident and emergency unit at the Royal Liverpool Hospital in August 2022.

The 81-year-old woman was in a cubicle at the hospital, awaiting further treatment by staff.

Pretended he was a doctor

Burger entered the cubicle and pretended he was a doctor. He then sexually assaulted her.

A nurse entered the cubicle and challenged him.

He tried to leave but was detained by the nurse with assistance from colleagues and security until police attended and arrested him.

He was later charged with sexual assault.

In June, a couple of months before this attack, Burger had assaulted a woman in her own home in Liverpool in the early hours of the morning.

The victim had been asleep and woke to realise she was being assaulted.

She raised the alarm and he was told to leave. A report was immediately made to police who attended and took statements. He was later charged with sexual assault.

Guilty to both offences

At Liverpool Crown Court last month he pleaded guilty to both offences.

On Friday, October 21, 2022, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

A restraining order was imposed and he was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Victim - I cannot believe someone would do something so awful

The Victim Personal Statements of both women were read to the court and showed the devastating impact such offences have on victims and their families.

The elderly victim said: I am in the later stages of my life, a period where I should be carefree and just be able to enjoy being with my family.

"Since this incident however I am more vulnerable than ever. I feel I have lost my spark and my family would also share those concerns.

"I appear like I have just given up, defeated and my family say they have lost the nan they know and love.

"The males actions have not only had a profound effect on me, but also my family. They fear the worst, and we hope that no other person has to suffer at the hands of this terrible male.

"I cannot believe someone would do something so awful to a vulnerable person in need, and hope this male is punished for what he has done.

In her Victim Personal Statement, the younger victim said: I worry about him ever turning up at my address and worry that I will come across him again.

The incident has made me feel incredibly conscious and worried about everything, at night I want every door to be locked and checked as I worry that someone will creep into the house and do something to me.

'Serial sex offender'

Senior Crown Prosecutor Chris Fontaine, a specialist prosecutor in CPS Mersey Cheshires Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit, said: Burger is a serial sex offender who preyed on vulnerable women in circumstances that meant they were even more vulnerable.

"We would like to thank the victims, their families and the staff at the Royal Liverpool Hospital for immediately reporting these offences to the police and stopping this offending behaviour before it escalated further.

"It is because of their actions, their evidence and their support that Merseyside Police and the Crown Prosecution Service were able to build a strong case and bring this case to justice in a timely manner.

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Benjamin Cain said he did not know the youngster had a crush on him - but struck up a relationship as she left the care home he worked at.
 
A care worker at a Fylde children's home struck up a relationship with a teenager before going on to rape her at her supported accommodation.

Benjamin Cain, 42, was working at a care home when he met the youngster. During a trial at Preston Crown Court, the girl said she became besotted with Cain and fell in love with him while she was in Local Authority care at the home.

Cain, who was more than twice the girl's age, claimed to have been oblivious to her 'schoolgirl crush.' But when it was time to move to her own flat, she said Cain hugged her and kissed her full on the lips, describing it as 'a snog'. "She was absolutely delighted", Judge Philip Parry, sentencing, said.

The following morning Cain promised to visit the youngster at her new home when he returned from his holiday two weeks later From that point Cain and the teen had a sexual relationship which lasted for around 14 months.

"You maintained the power dynamic between you", Judge Parry said. The girl described how Cain had a temper and would arrogantly tell her, "you're my girlfriend - I can have sex with you whenever I want."

On one occasion, she said something changed while they were having sex and she told Cain to stop. He carried on and became violent, pushing her against a wall and pushing her face into a pillow as she 'screamed the flat down'. As soon as the ordeal was over the young woman accused her boyfriend of rape, but she told the court he laughed in her face.

The girl ended the relationship but told the jury that in the month that followed she would see Cain hanging around close to her work. A year after the relationship ended he contacted her by text, saying he wanted to smooth things over.

Judge Parry said: "Her responses were absolutely spot on. She said you were only contacting her to ease your guilty conscience. You knew that a little less than a year earlier you had committed the offence of rape and you wanted her to not say anything. That backfired spectacularly."

The woman told her partner and later the manager of the children's home where she and Cain had met. Cain was arrested and denied any wrongdoing, but was dismissed from his position as a care worker.

However following a week long trial he was convicted of rape and sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. Handing down a sentence of five years and nine months in prison, Judge Parry told him: "You were trained in relation to how you should behave around vulnerable children including how to avoid situations where a vulnerable child could be exploited.

"You knew the rules and the reasons why you should not behave inappropriately with children in your care. You were trained in the way you should act." The judge accepted Cain has no previous convictions but said it was this previous good character which unlocked the defendant's access to vulnerable girls.

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A fireman used social media to groom young girls across the UK and threatened to publish indecent images of them online.

Lewis MacLeod, 24, bombarded the teenagers with messages and live video calls, pressuring them over a three-year period to keep sending obscene pictures and footage to satisfy his perversions.

He was jailed after admitting the offences at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court and has been removed from his role in the fire service. 

 MacLeod, described as a high-risk sex offender, used the Snapchat platform to target his 15-year-old victims and show them pornography before begging them to carry out sex acts on themselves.

He threatened two of the girls that he would disclose the images and videos they sent him unless they supplied him with more.

A third victim was forced to strip and perform an indecent act after MacLeod vowed to expose her on social media unless she allowed him to access the private area of her Snapchat account.

MacLeod, of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, who changed his online profile when the girls tried to block him, was exposed after his victims gave statements to the police and officers seized his phone and electronic devices.

 He admitted six charges under the Sexual Offences and Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Acts, carried out between April 2018 and February 2021.

Gordon Ghee, defending, told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court MacLeod “was taken from mainstream education due to his parents’ religious views and was home-schooled – he experienced substantial isolation from social situations and his peers”.

Sheriff Alistair Watson said the victims could never be certain if images of them would reappear.

He said he would have sentenced MacLeod to three years but, due to his age and background, would restrict it to 14 months. He also placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Dunlop of Police Scotland said: “MacLeod used social media to befriend and groom girls throughout the UK. He will rightly face the consequences of his actions and a lengthy period in prison.” 

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Convicted Paedophile Back In Jail After Battering His Girlfriend Three Days After Prison Release.

A woman allowed a paedophile to stay at her home following his release from prison, only for him to beat her black and blue three days later.

Derek Wiswall formed a relationship with his victim while he was behind bars. But when the 33-year-old was freed from custody and went to reside with her, he spat at her and punched her to the floor - falsely believing that she was having an affar.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he and Abigail Cowell met in February this year, and she would send him money "on the basis that he would pay her back upon his release". Ben Berkson, prosecuting, described how Wiswall moved into her home in Widnes "while he was looking for accommodation" when he was released on licence on May 17.

But on May 20, the defendant discovered that she had been messaging another man on Facebook and incorrectly believed she was having an affair with him. He responded by repeatedly spitting at her, pushing her around the flat and punching her in the face - causing her to fall to the floor crying.

Wiswall, of no fixed address but from Runcorn, then called her a "fat s**g" and was told her "she deserved everything she got". Ms Cowell tried to call a friend whom she hoped to leave and stay with, but her abuser grabbed and snapped her phone then punched and damaged her laptop when she tried to reach out using that device.

The complainant suffered a "swollen black eye" during this initial assault, but did stay at the address that night. Wiswall, who appeared via video link to HMP Altcourse, "continued to accuse her of infidelity" the next morning however.

She went to buy him beer from shop, and upon her return he threatened to kill himself with a broken shard of a glass bottle then punched her in the face and damaged television sets in the living room and bedroom by thumping them. Ms Cowell managed to escape and sought help from a neighbour, after which the police were called.

The events had a "long-standing impact" upon her. In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, she described having been "left very scared" - and also had to move back in with her mum.

Wiswall has three previous convictions for eight offences, being jailed for seven months in October 2020 for possession of indecent images. In February 2022, he received 18 weeks for failing to comply with notification requirements as part of this sentence.

The thug committed his latest crimes while out on licence. Martyn Walsh, defending, said: "He does offer his remorse to the victim and asks that the court accepts that as genuine."

Wiswall admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage and was locked up for 16 months on Wednesday. He was also handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Cowell for five years and was told to pay a victim surcharge.Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb described his attack as a "prolonged and persistent assault" which "involved a breach of the trust which should exist between partners in an intimate relationship" - adding: "This took place in the complainant's home She now feels unsafe and scared.

"I have reached the conclusion that in the circumstances of this case, in which you were on licence for just three days before the commission of the offence against a person who had given you accommodation to which you were released, only a sentence of immediate custody can provide adequate punishment. I do not consider that the prospect of rehabilitation outweighs or outbalances that fact."

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A SERVING Sellafield police officer secretly amassed a depraved collection of more than 18,000 child abuse images, including ones which showed the “sadistic rape and abuse” of babies.

Shaun Mandale, 45, plunged the “very depths of depravity”, said the judge who sentenced him at Carlisle Crown Court.

The defendant, from Belvedere Road, Workington, was jailed after he pleaded guilty to several offences. They included possessing 18,135 child abuse images, of which 7,651 were classed as Category A, the most serious kind; possessing 52 prohibited images of children; and possessing 96 extreme pornography images.

He was accessing the images over a 17-month period - from February, 2020, until July, 2021.  Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson outlined the upsetting facts of the case.

He said the offending came to light when police raided Mandale's home, the officers having had a tip-off that the defendant was using a “cloud storage” facility to access illegal child images.

Mandale was using various internet browsing tools to keep his habit of downloading such sickening images – still photos and videos – secret from everybody around him. 

He was also using cryptocurrency.

In secret communications with fellow perverts, he spoke of needing to be “discreet” because his wife was in bed in another room. The court then heard details of some of the images collected by Mandale.

“It was a huge collection of child sexual abuse material,” said Mr Rogerson. “It included rape and the sadistic abuse of babies.” Some of the abuse victims were tethered while they were being abuse.

One such victim was a boy thought to be about one year old, the court heard. The image showed him screaming in distress and struggling as he was being abused, the court heard.

Brendan Burke, defending, said that Mandale’s life had been “devastated” by his offending, leading to the end of his marriage and what had been a “genuine” and "almost successful" suicide attempt.

But, said the barrister, the defendant had taken steps to address his behaviour.

This included two things: firstly, he was working with an organisation called Safer Lives, designed to make him more aware of his flaws and to take steps to address them; and secondly, Mandale had turned his back on drugs and alcohol.

“That was one of the reasons for the offending,” said Mr Burke.

The barrister spoke also of Mandale having issues not just with substances but also with Asperger’s syndrome, which led to obsessive behaviour and “unbridled curiosity.”

Judge Ian Unsworth KC told Mandale: “You have plunged the very depths of depravity... having images of babies of six months being subjected to the most appalling depravity one can imagine.

“It truly defies belief that someone would have contemplated such a thing, let alone recorded it for paedophiles like you to watch.” The judge noted also that Mandale deployed sophisticated software to conceal what he was doing.

Judge Unsworth added: “It’s important to note that each and every one of those children are victims; somewhere in the world they were being abused. If it were not for people like you, if it were not for paedophiles who want to look at such material, it may well be that such activities would be less likely to occur.

“It’s worth noting that these are not just images; they are babies, or children; and they have suffered a great deal.”

The judge jailed Mandale, who has no previous convictions, for 33 months and put him on the Sex Offender Register for life. He will also be subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for the next decade.

A spokesman for the Civil Nuclear Constabluary described Mandale's offending as "repugnant". 

CNC Chief Constable Simon Chesterman said: “All those who work in the police service know that their behaviour and actions have to be of the highest standards to ensure we maintain the trust of those we police by consent. On behalf of the CNC, I can say that we are angry, upset and sickened by his vile actions.”

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A THUG who was previously jailed for a shocking attack on a youth in a park has been sent back to custody.

Ethan Moran knocked the boy’s front tooth out and left him with hearing problems after disapproving of him being in a relationship with a younger girl.

However, the 21-year-old has now been jailed again for having sex with an underage girl.

Moran was charged with engaging in sexual activity with a child, and he appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, explained how the offence occurred in the summer of 2020 when he was 19, while the complainant was a girl under the age of 16.

One evening, while both were at loose ends, they met up at the defendant’s flat on his invitation to watch a film.

The court heard how the defendant knew she was underage and she knew he was 19, but he met her outside and escorted her upstairs.

She thought they would only be watching a film due to her age, the court was told, however this escalated to kissing on the couch and then unprotected sex.

At the time she said she was ‘fine’, but then became ‘panicky’ due to the age difference.

The court heard that the defendant lied to the complainant’s parents about his age, but they soon found out and Moran was arrested in December 2020.

He admitted to police that they had engaged in sexual activity, but he told them he was in a ‘bad place’ at the time mentally and with drugs.

In an impact statement, the court heard how the complainant has suffered from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts since the incident.

Ms Mottram revealed to the court that Moran has one previous conviction for wounding, for which he was handed 12 months detention in a young offender institution in May last year.

That offence took place three months after the sex offence, but before he was arrested for it.

It arose after his punch in Brickfield Park in Orford knocked a teen’s front tooth out and left him with hearing problems.

Moran, who had taken class A drugs beforehand, launched the attack on a 16-year-old boy, as for ‘reasons unknown’, he objected to his victim starting a relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

The defendant continued to punch the teen five or six times to the head after knocking him to the ground and only stopped after desperate pleas from shocked onlookers.

 The boy took his tooth to the dentist the next day, where he was told the tooth would not stay in and would require an implant which requires replacing every 10 to 15 years.

He also revealed that he must wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life due to hearing problems developed as a result of the attack.

In defence of his client, Anthony Rose referenced Moran’s guilty plea and the fact that ‘this is not a situation where there was an element of coercion or grooming’.

“This was an inappropriate and wrong sexual relationship between two consenting people,” the barrister explained.

“The defendant is a different person then than he is now, as he has been through a significant custodial sentence which had a profound effect on him.

“He has done a lot of growing up since then, and he was very immature a the time of the offence.”

Mr Rose told the court that the defendant has been volunteering with a group helping to deliver food parcels as he ‘wants to pay back and become a better person’, and added that there is a ‘compelling argument to allow this man to have his liberty’.

But this view was rejected by judge David Potter, who concluded that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.

He said: “This was clearly inappropriate and wrong sexual activity, which you accept.

“The offence is a serious offence, and I am satisfied that you knew the person you had penetrative sex with was under 16.

“The law exists to protect children, sometimes from themselves. You should have known and acted better.

“The offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.

“The sentence is capable of being suspended, but I am satisfied that only adequate punishment can be achieved by the imposition of an immediate sentence of imprisonment.”

Moran, of Poplars Avenue in Orford, was sentenced to six months in prison.

He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and must abide by sex offender registration requirements for the same length of time.

In addition, a restraining order preventing him from contacting the complainant by any means was imposed for an indefinite period. 

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Robert Johnson, 40, was jailed for 27 months and has now been prohibited from teaching indefinitely in any school in England.

A Durham schoolteacher who distributed indecent videos and was snared during an FBI investigation has been banned from teaching indefinitely.

Robert Johnson, 40, was caught after FBI agents identified links between his home computer IP address and a file sharing site being used to distribute indecent images. It was then referred to the National Crime Agency in the UK who picked up the investigation alongside local police. In 2020, Johnson was jailed for 27 months at Durham Crown Court after being found guilty of two charges relating to the distribution of indecent videos of children.

The court heard Johnson, who worked as a history teacher, undertook steps to protect his identity while using a cloud storage site to share indecent videos. He used sophisticated privacy software, including the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to hide his IP address to avoid detection. 

Two years on from his prison sentence, in September this year, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) remotely convened to consider the case of Johnson before prohibiting him from teaching indefinitely. Before his conviction, Johnson was employed as a teacher and was the head of humanities at a County Durham school and was arrested in March 2019. He was then suspended from his role at the school before being dismissed on the same day he received his prison sentence on the grounds of "frustration of contract".

The panel meeting heard Johnson signed a statement of agreed facts and admitted his conviction after he requested the allegation be considered without a hearing. Because of the request, the meeting took place in private and in his absence.

A report of the meeting, which has now been published, said: "The panel noted that Johnson’s actions were relevant to teaching, working with children and working in an education setting due to the nature of his conviction. Similarly, the panel also noted that the behaviour involved in committing the offence could have had an impact on the safety or security of pupils and/or members of the public.

"The panel also took account of the way the teaching profession is viewed by others. The panel considered that Johnson’s behaviour in committing the offences could affect public confidence in the teaching profession, given the influence that teachers may have on pupils, parents and others in the community."

The panel also took into account that Johnson "acknowledged the sexual nature of his misconduct (and) is likely to be considered as permanently incompatible with the teaching profession …” The report added: "The lack of any apparent insight or remorse means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils."

The panel made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that Johnson should be the subject of a prohibition order, with no provision for a review period. The panel also made a recommendation that a prohibition order should be imposed with immediate effect. This means that Johnson is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegation found proved against him, it was decided that Johnson shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

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A 'perverted' 66-year-old man abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl he had met online. Dinato Rizzi knew the girl was under 16 and had planned how he would cover his tracks if he was caught, a Leicestershire Police investigation found.

Rizzi, of Netherhall, Leicester, The court heard he had been in contact with the child online and later said he was not aware of her age - a claim described by a detective on the case as "completely absurd".

Rizzi's victim bravely shared her experience with specialist officers after her mother discovered she had been in touch with him. The mum contacted police in January to say her daughter had disclosed she met a man online and had been to his home in of New Romney Crescent.

She provided screenshots of messages the man and her daughter had exchanged. The girl then told police that she met with Rizzi on a number of occasions over the previous weeks and sexual activity had taken place between them at his address.

Detectives from the force's child sexual exploitation team investigated and subsequently arrested Rizzi and later charged him with a number of crimes against the child. He was found guilty of 13 offences following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court and was sentenced on on Friday, October 21.

Detective Constable Sue Cockerill, who investigated the case, said officers uncovered messages exchanged between the two where Rizzi, who is known locally as Dean or Deano, acknowledged the girl was under 16 and how he would cover his tracks if he got caught.

Detectives are still investigating Rizzi and suspect he could have other victims. Det con Cockerill added that investigators are examining devices recovered from his home and suspect he may have been in contact with other girls.

She said: “Rizzi claimed that he didn't know that the girl was under 18, a claim which is completely absurd. Anyone who takes one look at this young girl can see she is that – a young girl who doesn’t even look like she could be 16 years old let alone 18.

“She told him her real age and this man simply chose to ignore it, sexually exploiting her and taking advantage of her vulnerabilities for his own perverted gratification. This young girl and her family have been through a terrible ordeal. 

"She has been exceptionally brave in recalling her interactions with Rizzi. I hope now, finally, she and her family can start to rebuild their lives and move past what has happened.

“I would like to thank Claire Fraser KC and Sarah Holland from the Crown Prosecution Service for their significant hard work and commitment in bringing this case before the court and securing a conviction against Rizzi. We are continuing our investigation into Rizzi which includes the examination of devices recovered from his home.

"We suspect that he may have been in contact with other girls and could well have committed sexual offences against others. I would therefore urge anyone who may have been a victim to please contact us. We have officers who are trained to speak sensitively to children who may have been victims of similar offences.”

Rizzi was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He was

A jury found Rizzi guilty of the following offences between December 2021 and 27 January 2022

• Two counts under the Child Abduction Act namely taking a child so as to keep her
• from a person having lawful control
• One count of taking indecent photographs of a child
• One count of taking an indecent image of a child
• One count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
• Four counts of rape of a child under 13
• Two counts of One count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration
• Two counts of rape of a child under 13

The young victim's mother has shared the impact of the offences on her daughter in a statement, which she said will affect her for the rest of her life. The mum said: “She should be at a point in her life where she is looking forward to her future but she feels she doesn’t have one.

"She can’t see her friends as much and her schoolwork has suffered massively. Her social development has suffered in many ways as well and she continues to sleep in my room at night," she said.

Detective Inspector Gary Bee, who leads the force’s exploitation team, said: “This case highlights the dangers that can lurk online and the sophisticated methods that sexual perpetrators use to exploit young and vulnerable children. It’s a timely reminder to all parents to ensure that they have safeguards in place at home to understand their children’s use of the internet and social media.

“Rizzi’s level of offending against such a young child is particularly concerning and I would urge anybody with any concerns around historic or ongoing abuse by him to contact Leicestershire Police, your concerns will be dealt with confidentially and by specially trained officers.”

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A 'predatory' child rapist has been jailed for more than a decade after targeting a vulnerable young girl two decades ago.

Michael Scott, who has a number of convictions for sexual offences, was found guilty of raping the young girl following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

The 45-year-old’s depraved attack left his young victim traumatised and she is still struggling to come to terms with the impact of his rape.

In a victim impact statement, she told the court how throughout her childhood and into adulthood she had suffered from anxiety and struggled with trusting people.

She said: “It is still affecting me now; I have anxiety and depression; I have relentless nightmares and it have affected the way that I parent.

“It has affected my relationships and day-today life.”

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she suffered a mental breakdown in the lead up to Scott’s trial and is still receiving therapy to deal with her trauma.

She added: “I would like Michael Scott to go to prison for as long as possible as it will help me move on knowing he is not out there somewhere. He will do this to someone else, he has done it before, he has done it to me and he will do it again.

“He doesn’t deserve to be free to sexually abuse any more children.”

Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, said the defendant was jailed for five years and eight months in 2018 for sexual offences and had also been jailed in April 2006 for six years for sexual assault.

Scott, of Dufton Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, was found guilty of a single count of rape, which occurred in the late 90s, despite refusing to take part in the trial.

Lee Fish, in mitigation, said his client continues to deny the offence, which predates all the offences that he has already been convicted for, and accepts that he does pose a risk of re-offending.

Judge Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, branded Scott a ‘predatory sexual offender’ as he locked him up for 12 years and issued him with a one-year extended licence.

He said: “It’s plain from her victim impact statement the offence of rape you committed towards her has had a lasting and damaging effect on her.”

Scott was issued with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life, and an indefinite restraining order.