Latest Offenders

Description

A sex offender who abused a young boy in Sheffield in the 1980s/1990s has been jailed for over 16 years.

Michael Copeland, aged 74,  groomed the victim over a number of years when he was aged between eight and 12 years old.

The victim, who is now an adult, bravely reported what had happened to him in November 2022. Copeland, who lived in Sheffield at the time of his offending but later moved to Cornwall, was arrested at his home in Truro. Following a thorough investigation, he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of non-recent sexual abuse.  

At Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (26 September), Copeland was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigating officer Wendy Howe, who led the investigation, said: “The victim in this case showed tremendous courage in coming forward to tell us what happened to him when he was a child. I am pleased Copeland has been handed a significant prison sentence for his vile actions and hope it may help the victim to begin to find closure and move on with the rest of his life.

“As this case demonstrates, it is never too late to report sexual abuse to us, even if it happened many years ago. If you have suffered sexual abuse in the past, please tell us. We will investigate and we will pursue justice on your behalf.”

Description

Warped David Shanks, 75, latched onto the profile, before sending pictures of his genitals and said he would “bring condoms” for the meeting with the supposed 14-year-old boy.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Shanks, of Dewsbury Road, Hunslet, made contact with the fake profile on July 18 via the social-media site for gay people, Hornet.

He sent several messages before the recipient replied, who made it clear they were only 14, but Shanks wanted him to come to Leeds for the weekend “for the gay scene”.

Having traded phone numbers, Shanks asked him if he wanted sex, told him he had contraception and had baby oil “in the fridge” and “could not wait” to meet him, prosecutor Beatrice Allsop told the court.

On August 3, police went to the railway station where they found Shanks near the entrance and arrested him. He told them he was waiting for the 14-year-old boy, but claimed he had no intention of meeting for sex, telling officers during his interview that he had planned to buy him food then put him back on the train. His claim was rejected by Judge Simon Batiste.

Appearing in court from HMP Leeds, where he has been held since his arrest, he admitted attempting to meet a child under 16 after grooming, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Michael Morley said: “He is not the first man to find himself in this position. Despite entering guilty pleas he has struggled to come to terms with the position he has landed himself in. He has never been in trouble before.

"He has worked from the ae of 16 to 74. He accepts that he does need help.”

Judge Batiste jailed him for 26 months, gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to limit his internet use and put him on the sex offender register for the same period.

He told Shanks: “It was not simple fantasy because you went to the railway station to meet him. It’s clear your intention was for sexual activity.”

Description

A vile pervert caught distributing sickening child abuse images for a second time has been jailed.

In August 2021, Matthew Lumley was locked up for three years for distributing, making and possessing indecent images of children. He had more than 13,000 indecent images and had been sent some by a man showing his son being abused.

He was released from that sentence in February this year but despite being subject to a sexual harm prevention order, he was soon back offending in a similar way. He communicated with what turned out to be an undercover police officer who had set up profiles online, including on a Russian photograph sharing website on which users can upload sexual images of children.

year-old daughter and posted an email address, which Lumley contacted with a username including the phrase "loveboys1997".

The officer said he was interested in boys and girls aged from 0-10 and Lumley said he was the same and liked "crying and tying up". He went on to say he "loves torture and pain", adding "any age turns me on". Lumley also asked the officer if he could create a custom video for him including a child screaming.

Within a few days he was soliciting videos of the officers six-year-old daughter. Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said: "He described in detail what he would like to see."

Lumley, 26, of Kingston Park, Newcastle, went on to sent two category A videos to the officer, including of a two-year-old "tied up and gagged" and "in obvious pain and distress" being abused by a woman.

Miss Dowling said: "The conversation continued for a few more days, with the contents of the video discussed and the defendant suggesting he had videos of babies being raped. They continued to exchange grotesque sexual fantasies about the abuse and torture of children."

When he was arrested, police found 826 indecent images on his phone, including 307 of the most serious type, category A.

He pleaded guilty to distributing two indecent images of children to the undercover officer, two counts of breaching the sexual harm prevention order and three counts of making indecent images of children. He was jailed for three years with an extended licence period of a further five years. He continues to be subject to sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Tim Gittins said Lumley is a dangerous offender and told him: "They included images that can only be described as sexual torture and terror committed against those children of the most tender years, babies and toddlers."

The judge said while Lumley's autism might be a factor in his obsessive collecting of images and social isolation, it is not the sole or decisive behaviour in his offending. He added: "You remain an intelligent young man despite those difficulties.

"You attended mainstream school and college and gained significant qualifications, in one sense worryingly, in relation to ICT and cyber security. You remain deeply sexually preoccupied and preoccupied with underage children in a sexual way."

Matthew Purves, defending, said: "Most people would describe this as absolutely unimaginable offending when one looks through the descriptions given by the police officer who viewed the images.

"The defendant is trying to process his own behaviour but has to accept the only real mitigation is the fact he has pleaded guilty. All of the offences are online, there are no contact offences.

"He accepts he has a particular interest, something that has not been the case historically and there are routes of treatment and rehabilitation available."

Description

A convicted sex offender who brazenly refused to register his details – because it would mean being "labelled as a paedophile" – was later caught with a large stash of crack cocaine ready for selling on the streets.

Drug addict James Fox hurriedly tried to make a run for it when he was spotted and chased by the police – and he threw a bag of cocaine away. It landed on the ground and split open, spilling a large amount of white powder on the street, Hull Crown Court heard.

Fox, 28, of Hull, admitted possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply, offering to supply crack cocaine and three offences of failing to comply with his notification requirements as a sex offender. Nick Peacock, prosecuting, said that Fox had been convicted at Hull Magistrates' Court of sexual assault and he had been ordered on October 16, 2020 to register as a sex offender, including notifying any change of address within three days.

Checks were made on May 19 last year at the home of his mother, which Fox had registered as his address, but she said that he had not lived there since January last year. He was circulated as wanted and financial checks revealed that he had failed to register a bank account that he was using on the day that he had been sentenced.

He failed to attend at Clough Road police station, Hull, on October 16 last year for his mandatory annual registration as a sex offender. On June 26 this year, police identified Fox as he drove a Ford Focus in Hull. They attempted to pull the car over but Fox failed to stop and he was pursued.

He was eventually pulled in and, while he was standing outside the car, he tried to run off and threw a bag, which burst open when it hit the ground, spilling a large amount of white powder – cocaine – on the street.

"This was swept up and seized," said Mr Peacock. "It was a relatively large amount of cocaine, 14 or 15g." It would have had a street value of about £1,500.

Two mobile phones were seized. One of them had a drugs message on it reading: "Got some nice pure if anyone needs it. It's James."

Fox later told police that he would never register as a sex offender because this would mean him being "labelled as a paedophile". The police would have to arrest him again because he would not comply.

He had convictions for seven previous offences, including possessing drugs, but not for supplying them. Richard Butters, mitigating, said that Fox had pleaded guilty at an early stage. "This defendant was, at the time, and had been for about three years, a crack cocaine addict," said Mr Butters.

"He was addicted to crack cocaine. He was completely off the rails. While he was taking crack cocaine, he was completely out of control. He was massively in debt.

"He was homeless at the time. He had nothing. He was dealing crack cocaine to pay off debts, to pay for food, to pay for drink and to live. He was not doing this for any form of wealth or power. He was doing it to live.

"He says that it was a blessing that he got caught. It slowed him down. He is now clean of any form of drug. He has been a fool, he knows that. He knows what life can be without crack cocaine.

"He has lost everything. He had a girlfriend prior to taking crack cocaine. She has left. His family and friends have disowned him.

"Prior to crack cocaine, he had a business in partnership with a friend of his, gardening and landscape. That went to pot when he started to take crack cocaine because he couldn't concentrate on his business."

Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC told Fox: "Trafficking in controlled drugs fuels all sorts of other criminal behaviour. It ruins lives. You were operating a supply line for Class A controlled drugs from your own mobile phone. You expected significant financial advantage from that illicit controlled drug."

Fox was jailed for three years and four months. The phone seized will be forfeited.

Description

A McDonald’s supervisor ‘grabbed and squished’ the breasts of the young trainee, a court heard.

Shift boss Geary Fernandes sexually assaulted the teenage girl in a freezer at one of the fast food chain’s restaurants in Swindon in December last year.

The 34-year-old, of Warneford Close, Toothill, denied the offence and claimed it was an accident – but was convicted at trial on 10 August.

At Swindon Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday), prosecutor Tom Power said that the girl turned around after she felt hands on her waist.

Now facing Fernandes, “her breasts were grabbed and squished by the defendant”.

He asked the victim to stay and work additional hours, but she refused. When her mother arrived to collect her from work, she disclosed the assault.

Mr Power said that since the incident, the girl has suffered with anxiety at night, is insecure and struggles to stand near boys.

The court heard that the father-of-one – who is assessed as a medium risk of sexual reoffending – is expecting his second child in December, and is also a step-father to two other children.

Emma Hillier, defending, said that her client is unemployed as a result of his conviction – claiming benefits as his pregnant partner works a low-paid part-time job “to get by”.

She encouraged the magistrates to impose a community order or suspended sentence because the “impact [of immediate custody] would be massive”.

Ms Hillier said Fernandes is hoping to get back into work and he is exploring his options with the probation service. She said his operations are limited as a sex offender.

Whilst the defendant maintains his innocence, his lawyer said that he “accepts he was found guilty of this offence” and has “struggled to come to terms with it”.

Ms Hillier said that his partner and the father of his step-children are aware of his crime.

She said that Fernandes has no family or support in this country and his family live in Goa.

Magistrates imposed a 20-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and must complete 40 rehabilitation activity days. He was told to pay £620 costs and a £154 surcharge.

Fernandes will remain as a registered sex offender for seven years. On 9 October, the same court will consider whether or not to impose a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

In a statement released following his conviction at trial, Wiltshire Police investigator Tina Willison said: “I want to commend the victim for coming forward and speaking to us about this incident, and for then speaking about it in court.

“She has shown remarkable bravery and I’m pleased it has resulted in a guilty verdict for Fernandes today.

“Fernandes clearly took advantage of his position as supervisor of the branch, abusing his position of trust by preying on a new member of staff.

“He waited until they were alone in the freezer section and sexually assaulted her, before lying to defend himself, claiming the contact wasn’t deliberate.

“We will always take reports like these seriously and victims will always be listened to.

“If you have a been a victim of a rape or sexual assault, please get in touch with us on 101. In an emergency, call 999.”

Description

A former school child protection officer who sexually abused his pupils has been jailed.

Alexander Charles Ralls, 47, was found guilty of over 40 non-recent sexual offences at Bradford Crown Court.

The court heard he had carried out the offences while working at York public school Queen Ethelburga's.

Ralls, of Hazel Mead in Bedfordshire, was jailed for 16 years on Monday, and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

During a six-week trial at Bradford Crown Court, it was heard how, over a four-year period, Ralls used his position of trust to exploit his victims in the UK and on school trips abroad.

He was suspended from teaching and subsequently dismissed in 2015 following a disclosure made by a former student, according to the school.

'Sickening actions'

North Yorkshire Police said Ralls posed as a person with medical knowledge who told his victims to remove their clothes to examine them and then molested them.

Ralls was found guilty of 31 charges of sexual assault, 10 charges of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and two charges of assault by penetration.

Investigating officer Det Con Suzanne Hall said Ralls had used his position of trust to "coerce and influence".

Det Con Hall added: "The extent of his offending was staggering and the fact that he continued to use the same excuse of providing medical care to carry out his sickening actions, shows his utter arrogance towards and contempt of his victims."

A spokesperson for Queen Ethelburga's said "significant improvements in safeguarding practices" had been made since then.

The spokesperson said the school wanted to express their "heartfelt sorrow and regret" to the victims.

Description

A senior project manager at power firm SSE has been caught with a cache of obscene child abuse images.

Police raided David Dickie’s Perth city centre home after learning illicit files were being downloaded to devices connected to the property.

They seized the 35-year-old’s mobile phone and discovered dozens of photos featuring children as young as one.

Perth Sheriff Court heard some of the material included “sadistic sexual activity.”

Dickie admitted possession of the files over an eight month period from November 2021.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and will be sentenced next month.

Home raid

Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan told the court: “At the time of these offence, the accused was 34 years old and was employed as an engineer manager by SSE.

“Confidential and reliable information was received by Police Scotland that indecent images of children were being held at the accused’s address in Princes Street.

“As a result, police craved and were granted a search warrant.

“This was executed at about 8.20am on Wednesday, October 12 2022, when the accused was at home.”

Mr Duncan said: “A systematic search of the property was commenced and a number of electronic devices were recovered.

“A forensic preview was carried out on all devices and a Samsung mobile phone was found to contain approximately 90 child sexual abuse material at Category A.

“The picture files featured boys and girls approximately one to 10 years.”

Further examination

The court heard that a further, more in-depth analysis was carried out.

“The device was attributed to the accused by various social media and email accounts in his name,” said the fiscal depute.

“The accused also provided PIN numbers for the phone.”

Cybercrime experts found 166 images on the phone, with 59 at the most obscene level.

“The images contained sexual activity, sexualised posing and sadistic sexual activity,” said Mr Duncan.

Sheriff William Wood told Dickie: “Because of the nature of this charge I can’t deal with you today. I need to obtain background reports.

“In the meantime, you have been convicted of a sexual offence and you will require to be subject to the Sex Offenders Register.”

The sheriff said the length of time he will remain subject to the requirements will be determined when he returns to court on October 26.

According to his now deleted LinkedIn account, Dickie was a “senior authorised person” and lead project manager in network construction at SSE.

The company has declined to comment.

Description

A 19-year-old man has been jailed in connection with serious sexual offences against two children in Dundee.

At the High Court in Aberdeen on Wednesday, 27 September, 2023, Brandon Wallace was sentenced to five years in prison with a further three years extended sentence.

He was found guilty at the High Court in Aberdeen on Tuesday, 9 May, 2023, of serious sexual assaults which took place between June 2017 and June 2020.

Detective Constable David Scott said: We acknowledge the sentencing of Wallace, who will now face the consequences of his deplorable behaviour. I hope this provides some form of comfort for his victims.

"Police Scotland is committed to thoroughly investigating those responsible for this type of crime and bringing them to justice.

Description

A man sexually abused three boys in Leicester between 1990 and 2014 and may have further victims. John Fowler, aged 69, abused each of his victims - who are now adults - at his home or when he had taken them to play sports.

The abuser's first victim came forward to police in 2017 to report what happened, followed by the second in 2019. A third victim was identified through a police investigation and shared his account with detectives in 2020.

Fowler, today of Gainsborough Road, Knighton, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault on a male person – two relating to one victim and the other relating to a second, at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, September 26. He was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault relating to a third victim.

Detective Constable Joe Parker, the investigating officer, said: "Fowler’s victims have shown great courage both in recounting what happened to police and then again in court, where he continued to claim he was innocent.

"I hope the fact he’s been convicted of his crimes – and is now serving time in prison – provides them with a degree of closure and allows them to move on with their lives.

"We remain open-minded to the fact there may be other victims who may have been sexually abused by Fowler but have never contacted police. If this is the case, then I hope today’s outcome may also encourage them to come forward. It’s never too late to do so."

Fowler was jailed for a total of eight years at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, September 26. He was also placed on the sex offender register for life and disqualified from working with children.

Description

A Dundee paedophile’s stash of sick child abuse files was found when he handed over a bag of stuffed unicorns to a stranger at a city lock-up.

Adam Fraser had only been out of prison for weeks for his last sickening offence when he and his wife agreed to give the bag of toys to a woman they had met on a community Facebook page.

Buried among the toys they handed over at their Dryburgh safe storage unit were mobile phones.

The recipient switched on the devices and found the horrifying filth Fraser had collected.

Fraser, who was jailed for two years in 2020 for having abuse images, has now been returned to prison for 15 months after pleading guilty to three charges at Dundee Sheriff Court.

‘Helping others in Dundee’

Fiscal depute Lee Corr explained Fraser’s wife – and former co-accused – Gail had agreed to meet a woman on November 21 2021 at their Keepsafe lock-up at Rutherford Road to hand over the stuffed toys.

The couple had advertised the cuddly items for free on the “Helping others in Dundee” Facebook group.

Fraser was reported as being nervous during the exchange.

When the recipient got home, she uncovered three mobile phones in the bag.

She switched on two and began charging the third.

The first, a Samsung, had almost 200 twisted files stored on it.

37 accessible videos and 15 inaccessible videos were uncovered, with a back-to-back run time of almost three hours.

23 of them were categorised as being the most graphic and featured children aged between eight and 14 being abused by adults.

140 sick images were discovered too.

A second device, a Motorola, also had disgusting material stored on it – 20 videos with a run time totalling more than four hours.

Fraser admitted possessing, taking or making and distributing the illicit files.

Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown jailed him and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.

Prolific offender

In 2020, Fraser was jailed for two years after being caught with sick child abuse files.

He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment in 2015 after being found guilty of brandishing a gun at a woman and demanding she take off her clothes.

On that occasion, Fraser was also convicted of sex attacks against three children in Dundee – dating back to 2000.

Description

A pervert was caught with a sick haul of child sex abuse images after a police raid at his home.

Allan MacLeod was snared after cops received intelligence that indecent material was being downloaded at his address.

Officers traced MacLeod after linking him to a Virgin Media internet subscription and swooped in on his Edinburgh flat.

More than 2000 vile images of child abuse were recovered from a seized computer unit, the Record reports.

MacLeod, 35, appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Tuesday and pled guilty to possessing indecent images of youngsters.

Fiscal depute Jennifer McLaren said MacLeod was at his home in the Niddrie area when police arrived at his door.

Ms McLaren said cyber crime experts examined a system unit taken from the property.

The court heard 163 Category A - the worst level - were found to have been downloaded.

The prosecutor said there were also 163 Category B stills and another 1956 at Category C which had been downloaded.

She added: “The images were found in different locations in different databases.

“The file names were indicative of child abuse material.”

Sheriff Ian Anderson deferred sentence on MacLeod until next month for reports.

The sheriff placed MacLeod on the sex offender register on an interim basis until sentencing.

Description

A pervert who was caught having sex chats with a police officer posing as a young girl is back in jail. Dean Warren was jailed for 20 months last September after he tried to persuade a 13-year-old 'girl' to take part in sex videos

But the 'girl' was in fact a decoy. In his police interview he admitted his behaviour was for his own sexual gratification. In his police interview he admitted his behaviour was for his own sexual gratification.

As well as the jail sentence, 34-year-old Warren was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years which prohibits him from using any device capable of accessing the internet unless it has the capacity to retain internet use and does not delete internet history.

But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the police visited Warren on May 13, the day after his release from prison. They checked his phone and gave him advice about removing some apps.

Officers returned to his home on June 29 and again checked his phone. Prosecutor Rupert Jones said: "It revealed a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which allows the user to browse the internet without the history being recorded. He told the police he had used it to view adult pornography. The usage placed him in breach of the SHPO.

"He had installed the My Cleaner app which is designed to delete evidence of activity. And he had used WhatsApp and Facebook social messaging platforms but had deleted some of the messages sent."

He was arrested. He said he used the VPN to view adult pornography. He said he realised he should have paid more attention to the detail of the terms of the SHPO.

Warren, of no fixed address but formerly of Bentilee, pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching a SHPO. Rob Holt, mitigating, said Warren accepted he would be jailed as he has been recalled until March.

Mr Holt said: "These offences started quickly after his release. He deleted the history. There is no suggestion that there was any contact with children. My instructions are that he was in contact with adults and viewing adult pornography. There seems to be no inherent interest in children."

Recorder Anthony Warner said: "The SHPO made at the time you were sentenced is an important part of the protection of the public in the case of a sex offender such as you going forward.

"Very shortly after you were released you were visited by the police and it was quickly discovered that you had been deleting messages and using apps designed to disguise internet activity. All were a breach of the SHPO.

"It is a deliberate and very serious breach involving the deletion of social media messages and the use of apps designed to disguise internet activity.

"The aggravating features are there were three breaches of the same order and they were very soon after your release from the sentence passed on you for the offences which gave rise to the order in the first place.

"You need to consider how you are going to respond going forward because if you continue to breach the SHPO you will be in the cycle of returning to prison, unless you engage and are assiduous in following the requirements of the SHPO."

Description

A "dangerous offender" who carried out a catalogue of abuse against four young girls has been jailed for 20 years.

Daniel Bottger has already served around half of a 14-year sentence for the rape of a fifth girl which took place after the latest offences which were brought before a court. Bottger had been released from prison prompting four other victims to come forward, Hull Crown Court was told.

Bottger, 35, of Sculcoates Lane in Hull, denied nine offences including two of rape and others of attempted rape and indecent assault. He was convicted by a jury after a trial.

One of the victims said in a statement: "I try to be a strong person but I am not really . . . I don't want anyone else to go through what I have been through." A second victim said: "All I have is trauma . . . I feel like I am on the verge of a mental breakdown. I live in a constant state of panic. I feel isolated like a prisoner in my own home. I look at the same four walls day in, day out.

"I get triggered by every noise. It has been extremely difficult to live with the awful pain for so long, but I have finally gained the strength and courage to speak out."

A third victim said her experiences had been "horrible". A fourth victim added: "Peace still feels very far away. This almost killed me. It almost stole my will to live. The key word in all this is 'almost'."

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that psychological harm had been caused to the victims and Bottger had been assessed as posing a high risk of committing further sexual offences. He had committed no further offences since being released from prison after his 14-year sentence for two offences of rape against the fifth girl, for which he was convicted by a jury in 2013.

The two rapes against the fifth girl had been committed after the offences involving the other four girls, but they came to light first. "Since his release, he has made the choice to isolate himself," said Miss Baines.

"He has not been in any relationships. He was keeping his head down and sticking to his licence conditions. He was living an isolated existence with his dog. These are all factors that reduce his risk."

Bottger still denied the offences and claimed that the four girls had all lied, the court heard. He had been on bail during the trial and arrived each day at court on a bicycle, which he left secured outside the court. He was remanded in custody after being convicted of the offences and the bicycle remained secured outside the court for several days until eventually being removed.

Judge Mark Bury told Bottger: "You have left in your wake four traumatised young women. Chickens have a habit of coming home to roost and I can tell you that yours have. Each of these four complainants have had severe psychological harm.

"I hope that they can get some closure from the end of these proceedings. Your attitude was to blame everybody but yourself. You wouldn't discuss the offences with the probation officer. This is a clear case where you pose a significant risk to members of the public. You are, therefore, a dangerous offender."

Bottger will not be released from prison until the Parole Board decides that it is safe to do so. He will be on extended licence of four years after his release.

Following sentencing, Detective Constable Emma Andrew, of Humberside Police, described Bottger as "an abhorrent man" who "cruelly abused his victims". DC Andrews added: "He has shown no remorse for his actions, putting his victims through the further torment of a trial by refusing to admit his crimes.

“I am reassured that Bottger is now facing significant time behind bars for his crimes . . . I want to thank the victims for their bravery in coming forward and commend them for the courage they have shown.”

Description

Stephen Pocklington, who has been jailed before for crimes against children, made contact with girl over Messenger earlier this month, but was a decoy profile run by a paedophile hunter group.

Leeds Crown Court was told that the 50-year-old initially asked an innocuous question about liking chocolate, and when the profile responded making it clear she was just 12, he told her not to tell anyone.

It quickly turned sexual and over the course of two days, he encouraged her to masturbate and asked if he could perform sex acts on her, prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore said. He also asked for her phone number and when she would be alone, telling her it would be their secret.

The case was handed to another hunter group who then went to his home on Clifton Road, Sharlston Common, Wakefield. The court was told that Pocklington has five convictions for 17 offences, 12 of which are against children. He was jailed for 33 months in 2018 for multiple counts, including causing a child to watch sexual activity. He also attempted to pay a child for sexual services.

He was put on the sexual offender register and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

For his latest offending, he admitted attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, breach of the SHPO and breach of the terms of the sex offender register.

Mitigating, Ian Cook told the court: He understands his only real mitigation it entering his guilty pleas at an early opportunity and co-operating with the police investigation. He has expressed a willingness and desire to work with probation in the prison environment to get to the bottom of his offending that causes him great shame. He feels it is triggered by alcohol misuse.

Jailing him for 32 months, and putting him on the sex offender register indefinitely, Judge Simon Phillips KC said: Its part of a clear pattern of offending behaviour. You pose a risk towards female children. This was determined sexualised behaviour towards what you thought was a young child.

Description

A callous rapist who was "on the prowl" outside a Hull nightclub – and deliberately targeted a vulnerable woman who was "hammered" after a night out – has been jailed for 12 years.

Lazarus Olleh coaxed her into a car within about three minutes after he approached her outside in the street. He had earlier parked nearby at about 5.10am to look out for a woman to have sex with and he found just that person, Hull Crown Court heard.

Olleh, 38, of Belmont Street, Hull, denied raping the woman but he was convicted by a jury after a retrial spanning about seven days. An earlier jury in April had been unable to reach a verdict.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said that, during the early hours of October 29 last year, Olleh decided that he wanted to have sex. He was so determined to do so that he drove the short distance from a friend's flat in Whitefriargate, Hull, and parked in a taxi bay outside the Propaganda nightclub – and waited at about 5.12am.

"Over 15 minutes later, at approximately 5.30am, that lone female presented herself – she was 18 years old – and she left the nightclub, dressed in a schoolgirl uniform, together with fake blood on her clothing and face, in a Halloween-theme costume that both she and her friend had chosen when going out the previous evening," said Mr Evans.

The woman, who is now 19, and her female friend had been to Bar Babylon and then Silvers/Yates Bar before going to the Pink Parrot cocktail bar and the Atik nightclub, where they stayed until 3am. The original plan was for them to get a taxi home at about 5am but the two friends became separated and could not find each other.

The woman had been drinking heavily and seemed to be struggling to put her arms into a jacket that had been on her shoulders.

"She crossed the road and sat, alone, with her back to the wall, with her knees pulled up towards her chest," said Mr Evans.

"Within seconds of watching her leaving that nightclub, the defendant walked over, crouched down in front of her and engaged her in conversation.

"In little over three minutes, the defendant walked her to his car, with his arm around her, and assisted her into the front passenger seat before driving away at 5.34am.

"He drove her a short distance, parked up in what turned out to be a short walk from his friend's flat on Whitefriargate." He almost "frogmarched" the woman and she had little option but to comply because because of her drunken state. "He was preying upon a drunken woman," said Mr Evans. "This was the very reason that he targeted her. The defendant had taken hold of her arm at the wrist and then placed his arm around her shoulders as he ushered her to the entrance of the flat."

Olleh took the woman to one of the bedrooms and raped her. She could not remember much about it afterwards except for waking up on her side, facing a wall and immediately realising that someone had been having sex with her.

"Such was her state of fear at the time that she could do nothing to resist," said Mr Evans. "Her next recollection was losing her consciousness once again."

DNA tests later confirmed that Olleh was responsible. The woman was awoken by a second man and helped from the bed to her feet. Olleh and the woman walked to the car, followed by his friend. Olleh asked her for her phone number and she gave a false number.

She was scared, confused and feeling insecure while they were in the car. She asked to be dropped off at the end of a street where a friend lived.

Olleh was eventually traced after police made inquiries at his friend's flat in Whitefriargate. When he was told that the police were looking for him, he contacted them. He gave mainly no comment replies to questions, despite being told about the DNA found.

"She doesn't see herself as a victim," said Mr Evans. "She sees herself as a survivor."

Liam Gregory, mitigating, said: "The verdict has come as a shock to him." Judge Mark Bury replied: "The only person that it has come as a shock to, then."

Mr Gregory said: "It's something that he is going to have to come to terms with. He still feels that he is not guilty of this offence."

The fact that Olleh turned up in his own car and did not use a condom suggested that there was not detailed pre-planning, claimed Mr Gregory.

Olleh was from Nigeria and he had been in this country for only about six weeks at the time. He had previously lived or studied in Canada and Ukraine.

Judge Bury told Olleh that he rejected the idea that Olleh had wanted to help and look after the woman by getting her something to eat and then taking her home.

"She was so out of it that she could not protest or fight you off and she fell back into unconsciousness," said Judge Bury. "She was hammered."

She was awoken after the rape by Olleh telling her: "We are going."

Judge Bury said: "That was because you had achieved your aim, which was to look for and find a vulnerable young female to have sex with. You were on the prowl outside Propaganda and you found exactly what you were looking for in her.

"It's plain that she had no capacity to consent. She was too drunk and too tired. There was some abduction because she did not want to go with you. She was just not able to stop you taking her.

"She has suffered severe psychological harm. She was devastated in the hours following the incident. You were a total stranger. This is the sort of nightmare that people worry about.

"All you wanted was to have sex and, if it involved rape, then so be it and that's what happened."

The woman had the worry for several weeks that she might become pregnant or suffer a sexually-transmitted disease. She later received the all-clear.

"You are a Nigerian national and that means that you fall to be deported at the end of your sentence," said Judge Bury.

Olleh, wearing a white long-sleeved top, showed no emotion as he was led out of the secure dock to be taken down to the cells. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.