Latest Offenders

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A SEX offender who poses a “substantial” risk to children has been sent back to prison.

Ashley Connock has a history of child sex offences and flouting court orders while living in Thatcham.

At Reading Crown Court on Friday, May 26, the 29-year-old was sentenced for his latest breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) designed to protect children from him.

The court heard that Connock was first convicted of sex offences in 2008 and by 2009 had committed the first breach of the SHPO.

He defied the order again in 2013 and was jailed in 2016 for breaching a restraining order.

There were subsequent, serious child sex offences and further breaches of the SHPO.

Judge Heather Nott remarked: “And here we are again.”

Gabrielle McAvock, prosecuting, said the latest SHPO breaches involved Connock, who was living in Pound Lane, Thatcham, repeatedly lying to his offender manager.

Connock admitted two SHPO breaches and three counts of failing to comply with the SHPO notification requirements.

He had been secretly using the internet without allowing his browsing history to be checked and without risk management software being installed, said Ms McAvock.

Connock also had several different bank cards without notifying his offender manager of them, she added.

Ms McAvock concluded that Connock had told a “catalogue of lies” to avoid scrutiny and had persistently flouted court orders designed to protect children from him.

Caroline Stewart, defending, said her client was “the author of his own misfortune.”

She said that Connock’s latest deceits had not been aimed at covering up paedophile activity but at concealing his gambling.

Ms Stewart went on: “It is foolish and self destructive behaviour because it makes people fear he is doing something far more serious.

“He had begun to use illegal drugs and got into financial difficulties.”

Judge Heather Nott told Connock: “These are serious offences; you know how serious they are.

“Your record highlights the risk you pose and that risk is substantial.

“You have a long history of committing sex offences and breaching court orders.

“These are persistent and deliberate breaches and I don’t accept that here the only risk was you gambling with your own money.”

Judge Nott pointed out that, since his initial child sex offences, “there have been further, serious offences against children and further breaches of the SHPO – and here we are again”.

She sentenced Connock, who had recently been living on Oxford Road, Reading, to 20 months imprisonment, half of which will be spent locked up and the remainder on licence in the community.

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A paedophile who had been performing sex acts outside the home of a woman he had become 'obsessed' with was snared after she set up a 'makeshift trap' using a bucket and a fishing line.

His victim turned detective when she suspected something was amiss. It later emerged Farhan Zafar, 22, had been seen standing naked in the woman's garden illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst performing the disgusting acts.

When he was arrested he was found with dozens of indecent images of children on his phone. Zafar had, a year earlier, had sex with a 14-year-old girl on multiple occasions during four months of abuse. He has now been jailed for over four years. He met the girl in the summer of 2021, the court was told.

"They began a relationship at the defendant’s suggestion about two weeks afterwards," John Close, prosecuting said. He said Zafar invited her to her his house to 'do what grown-ups do' and in August they had sex at his house, this was one of six occasions he sexually abused her with other encounters taking place in his car.

The girl told her mother what had happened in November that year and he was arrested. During his police interview he said he said he did not know it was a crime to have sex with a 14-year-old if both consented. However, a judge said he 'clearly knew' it was a crime as Spain has the same age of consent.

Zafar was released on bail and moved to Nelson in Lancashire. And it was in September 2022 that he became 'fixated' with an adult woman he met there. Several days after first meeting her, he knocked on her door and asked via Google translate if she would teach him English. The woman declined and thought this was a 'little strange', Mr Close said.

A few days later he returned and again using the translation app asked if she would go out with him. Despite her saying no he came back on numerous occasions, asking her to borrow things and asking her out again. She also saw him on numerous occasions near her back door.

"On several occasions, (the victim) had noticed residue on her back door which she initially thought was bird faeces but which she began to believe was semen," Mr Close said. "Such was her concern and suspicion, she set up a makeshift trap of a fishing line and a metal bucket which meant that any intruder to her backyard would cause a noise when entering.

"On one occasion in early November, she heard the bucket clatter late at night when she was in the bath and heard a male voice which sounded disgruntled. The backyard was walled and accessible only through a locked gate, so she thought the intruder must have come over the wall." She reported the incident to the police.

Police investigations found that during this period neighbours had seen Zafar wiping something on the woman's front window. "They had also seen him stood at the window in the early hours of the morning, completely naked, illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst masturbating," Mr Close said.

Police arrested him at his home on November 23 last year. His phone was seized and 384 indecent images of children as young as 12 were discovered. 137 of these were classed as most serious in nature. In a victim impact statement his adult victim, who lives alone, said he had left her feeling 'anxious and uncomfortable.'

Zafar, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 16 offences; five counts of sexual activity with a child, one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of outraging public decency, three counts of making indecent images of children, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child, one of possessing an extreme pornographic image, and stalking.

Sonya O'Brien, defending, said that Zafar came to the UK from Spain six years ago after his father discovered his cannabis habit. However, she said he had continued smoking strong variants of the drug here in the UK prior to and whilst committing the 'very peculiar set of offences.'

She said Zafar had now disclosed to a professional that he was the victim of a 'very serious sexual assault' himself as a youngster and that he 'carries a great degree of shame' regarding it. The offences were, she said, 'born out of isolation and drug misuse and his childhood trauma that he's carried into adulthood and that he's not yet addressed.'

Judge Maurice Greene told him: "You are still young, and were only 20 at the time of the sexual offences."

The judge added: "You were isolated at the time because of the fact your English was so poor. You have had a traumatic time in your youth. Perhaps as a result of that, you started using cannabis regularly, and to extremes, so much so it's clear from the psychiatric report that it has affected you.

"Although I don't accept that it reduces your culpability in any significant way as it was self-induced over a prolonged period of time. There's some remorse but I do note you seek to blame the taking of cannabis."

He jailed Zafar for four years and two months. He was also ordered to sign the sex offender's register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. A 10-year restraining order was also put in place preventing him from contacting in any way his adult victim.

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Two men who kidnapped two women have been jailed and one will be on the sex offender register for life. 

The Met said both men laughed in their police interviews when shown CCTV footage of their attack and told the officers the women had consented.

At around 5.30am on July 16, 2022, both Dhari Alshammari, 28 of Hester Road, Wandsworth, and Badr Alhadidi, 39, of Talbot Street, Birmingham, targeted two women in a nightclub along Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, first approaching them on the dance floor. 

CCTV footage inside the club showed Alshammari pour a vodka into some glasses while Alhadidi waited for the women outside the toilets.

All four left the club around 6am when Alhadidi and Alshammari forced the victims into a car.

They drove the women to an address at Beauchamp Mansions, Kensington. Further CCTV footage nearby showed Alshammari drag one of the victim-survivors along the pavement. Both were forced through a doorway where they collapsed.

Inside the property Alshammari raped one of the women. After he went to a nearby McDonald’s to order food before returning to his home address.

Later that morning, Alhadidi drove the woman to a petrol station in another area of London and left them. 

One of the victims reported to police they had been on a night out and couldn’t remember a portion of the evening. She stated she remembered being pinned down in a car and sexually assaulted in a room.

Officers began an investigation which led them to identify and arrest the two men two days after the attack.

Alhadidi was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for kidnap at Isleworth Crown Court last Wednesday.

Alshammari was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years for rape and kidnap. He will be on the sex offender register for life. 

Detective Sergeant Tony Larkin, who led the investigation, said: “Alhadidi and Alshammari are two predators who set out that night with only one sinister intention in mind. 

“They had a clear plan of how they were going to target the victims and thought they could get away with it. 

“They’ve shown no remorse and have no idea how much harm and distress they have caused. 

“The CCTV footage reviewed as part of our investigation was harrowing and showed real violence and monstrous treatment of the victims.

“I would like to thank the victims in coming forward and reporting this to police, they have been extremely brave.”

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A persistent sex offender says he "holds his hands up" after he was found to be hiding a mobile phone inside a sock when police searched his home.

Liam Hunter, 29, was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order - due to end in 2025 - in 2019 after he was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16 and meeting a girl under the age of 16 following sexual grooming.

Hunter was jailed for three-and-a-half years and released, but was still subject to the order which means he had to tell police if he acquires a device that is capable of accessing the internet within three days.

Prosecutor Austin Newman told Leeds Crown Court on Friday that Hunter was visited at his home in Harehills by his police offender manager on February 28 this year and was asked about his possession of any devices capable of accessing the internet.

Mr Newman said: "He denied having any, saying he was waiting for the probation service to supply him with a phone. Shortly after, a mobile phone fell from his pocket, only his table. It was seized by the officer and it was apparent it was a smart phone capable of accessing the internet. He was asked why he lied and said he had only got the phone that day but this was plainly another lie."

When officers viewed the search history of the phone, there was a search history going back to February 18. An examination of the device showed Hunter had searched the internet using the term "animal porn."

Mr Newman told the court Hunter was arrested and during that arrest he indicated he wanted to take some clothing with him. A search was carried out and another mobile phone was found inside one of his socks. During his interview, the court was told, he made "full and frank admissions." He went on to plead guilty to two breaches of the sexual harm prevention order.

Representing himself, Hunter said: "I'd just like to apologise for my behaviour. I fully admit it and hold my hands up. I was wrong and that's why I thought I didn't need a defence."

Hunter told the judge he "fully respects" his decision and added: "There's nothing more I can really say."

His Honour Judge Batty jailed him for 20 months and said he will be released on licence halfway through the sentence.

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Justice has finally caught up with a child sex offender who abused two young girls decades ago.

Behind the facade of Kenneth Runciman's apparent respectability lurked the secret of his vile behaviour years ago, which left his victims traumatised. Now the 66-year-old is finally behind bars after jurors convicted him of 13 offences.

As he was locked up at Newcastle Crown Court, statements were read from both victims outlining the devastating impact his offending had on them.

One woman said: "I coped with what happened to me as a child by pushing it to the back of my mind. I did this while it happened and afterwards and years later."

She said Runciman told her his abuse was "our secret" but added: "I felt disgusting, like it was my fault.

"I went to school and tried to be normal with my friends. I wanted their life, not a life where I was worrying about the next sexual abuse happening."

The other victim added: "I don't feel like a victim, I feel brave, strong and justified. My conscience is clear and I'm glad I don't have to live with yours."

Runciman, formerly of Ayton, in Berwickshire, was found guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault and two of indecency with a child. He was jailed for 13 years and must sign the sex offenders register for life.

Judge Tim Gittins told him: "You fall to be sentenced for sickening behaviour." The judge said Runciman had sought to "blacken the name" of one of the victims by claiming she had an ulterior motive for reporting his offending and claimed the second victim was lying - which was rejected by the jury.

Judge Gittins added: "It says something for their strength of character and determination that they have been finally vindicated, having lived with the burden of your abuse while you have got on with your life...as a man of apparently good character and respected in the community."

The judge labelled his abuse "vile" and paid tribute to the "eloquent, poignant and powerful" victim statements, which "make it clear you blighted their childhoods". He added: "It appears, thankfully, they will come through this not as victims of your offending but survivors of it, but that's no thanks to you.

"No sentence can replace two lost childhoods."

Brian Mark, defending, said Runciman continues to deny the offences.

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A takeaway and supermarket worker who sexually attacked a Little Red Riding Hood-costumed student on Cowley Road was caught in part from the DNA he left on her red cape.

Bilal Haider, 27, who worked shifts at the takeaway and Tesco while he studied for a masters degree in Oxford, was caught on CCTV running after the young woman as they both headed east towards Cowley.

The victim was on her way home, having spent the night at the Fishies club night at the O2 Academy in early November 2021.

Jurors at Oxford Crown Court this week heard she was alone, had lent her phone to a friend then lost sight of her, and although she had been drinking was not drunk.

As she walked down the Cowley Road, Lonsdale-tracksuited Haider – who it later emerged had pictures on his phone of random young women - could be seen jogging to catch up with her.

Opening the case earlier this week, prosecutor Henry James said the lone woman heard footsteps behind her then a man’s voice asking whether he could kiss her.

“She said she was fine and said he could not,” Mr James said.

Undeterred, the man offered her money.

He went on to try and kiss her, groped at her body and pushed his hand beneath her dress.

The woman was ‘terrified’, the jury was told.

She ran to a university halls on nearby Glanville Road, where she knew a security guard would be on duty, and knocked at the window to raise the alarm.

The guard made sure she was okay and, later, the woman was able to get back home, the court heard. 

She told friends about what had happened to her.

But it was not until police officers searching for a missing child found her distressed on a bridge in Oxford that she told detectives what had happened to her.

Using CCTV, the detectives were able to trace Haider’s route backwards down Cowley Road to the takeaway where he worked.

When they visited the eatery they found he was working behind the counter, the court heard.

DNA tests on woman’s Little Red Riding Hood cape showed the presence of the defendant’s saliva on the item of clothing.

From the witness box this week, he flatly denied sexually assaulting the woman.

Despite not saying so in a legal document prepared ahead of the trial and setting out his defence, he claimed to have seen the woman fall to the ground and had helped her to the feet and across the road.

On Friday, jurors returned unanimous guilty verdicts after more than six and a half hours of deliberations to charges of sexual assault.

They returned to court later in the afternoon, having found Haider guilty by a majority of 10 to two of sexually assaulting the victim by penetration.

Judge Michael Gledhill KC told the defendant: “You have been convicted on very clear evidence, in my judgment, of these three serious sexual offences.”

Haider, of Hawkins Street, Oxford, was jailed for four and a half years and will remain on the sex offender register for life.

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An Oxford college kitchen porter who molested two girls in the woods has been jailed for four years – as his victims told the Cowley man they just wanted him to accept he had done wrong.

Barry Walton, 61, who worked in the Hertford College kitchens, used a ‘thorny stick’ to sexually assault one of the girls, and sought to bribe her with sweets and money.

He later sexually assaulted the younger girl in Spindleberry Park, Blackbird Leys, telling her to sit on him.

In a victim impact statement read to Oxford Crown Court on Friday (June 16) by prosecutor Gabrielle McAvock, the older girl said: “Because of what he did we never got a normal childhood.”

The younger child said that, if she did wrong she would acknowledge it. “[The defendant] has never said sorry for what he has done,” she said.

Walton, of Saunders Road, Oxford, was found guilty in April of multiple counts of sexually assaulting girls under-13. He had no previous convictions.

Jailing him for four years, Judge Michael Gledhill KC recognised that Walton had a number of intellectual difficulties.

“That said, you knew perfectly well what you were doing over those years,” he said.

“You knew it was wrong.

“You couldn’t stop yourself doing it and you carried on time after time, knowing what you were doing was wrong.

“And the consequences have been dreadful. You have heard the victim impact statements read of both your victims this morning. They make chilling listening.”

Paul Mason, defending, asked the judge to ‘take seriously’ the concerns raised in a psychological report about his client’s intellectual difficulties.

In the report, Walton was described as an ‘extremely naïve individual who lacked the self-confidence and intellectual prowess to protect himself in a custodial setting’.

Initially dealing with the case on Friday morning, Judge Gledhill adjourned the case until after lunch in order to read the psychological report and consider whether he could impose a community order or suspended sentence, allowing Walton to receive rehabilitative help. 

Returning to court at 3pm, the judge said: “Well, in order to even consider that route [a community order], I would have to have the assistance of a pre-sentence report prepared by a probation officer to set out what programmes could be offered to you to make you understand the gravity of what you’ve done and change you.

“As [the psychologist] Dr Wilson says, there is no point because you don’t accept you’ve done anything wrong and therefore there is no basis in putting you on any programme or giving you, in my view, a community order.”

Walton was given a seven year sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offender register for life.

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A WHITEHAVEN man serving a community sentence for possessing child abuse images committed a similar offence within a year.

But for unexplained reasons it took police two years to charge 34-year-old Liam Rothery, who this week entered a guilty plea the downloading 23 indecent child images of Category C.

These are considered the least serious category of child abuse imagery. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Gerard Rogerson outlined the facts.

He said the Rothery, of Ceda Park, Whitehaven, was sentenced for his previous offending in August 2020, with his three-year community order including rehabilitation and a sex offender treatment programme.

But in April 2021, police made an unannounced visit to his home because of suspicions over the delivery of 'equipment' to his address.

Though there was no issue with that equipment, police did ask Rothery to hand over his Apple iPhone while they were at his home so they could check it.

On the device they found a bookmark that linked to a website which was being used by people wishing to share illegal child images.

“It appeared to be Eastern European or Russian in origin,” said Mr Rogerson.

A forensic examination of the phone revealed that the defendant had downloaded 23 child abuse images. When interviewed, Rothery gave no comment replies to the questions put to him by the police.

Mr Rogerson added that the police found evidence on the phone that Rothery had made 'deliberate or systematic searches' for images of young children and that he had saved some of those illegal images.

Judge Nicholas Barker said that if the case had been dealt with in a timely manner the sentencing judge may have concluded that Rothery was not minded to change his ways and dealt with him accordingly.

“For a reason I am struggling to understand the police did not charge you for this offence until two years later,” the judge told the defendant.

But in the last two years, said the judge, the sex offender treatment programme that Rother had now completed and his work with the Probation Service had rehabilitated him.

His pre-sentence report was positive and there had been no repeat offending, observed the judge. In view of this, Judge Barker imposed an 18-month community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity days and an eight week 6pm to 6am curfew.

Rothery will be on the Sex Offender Register for five years.

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Disgust as Ayrshire sex beast first aider worked at charity event while on bail

Scott Faulkner appeared at a string of events after being released on bail in 2021 including the Ayrshire Hospice Go Purple Walk.

A caged sex beast continued to work as a first aider despite facing trial for rape and abduction of a teenage boy.

Creep Scott Faulkner continued to carry out his job providing emergency care at major events.

The Ayrshire Post can reveal the shameless first aider from Cumnock attended a string of events between July 2021 and September 2021, despite being charged for offences in February of that year. 

The 34-year-old was jailed at Glasgow High Court last month for 12 years after he was previously convicted after a trail in Edinburgh of six charges.

But despite facing those charges in 2021, Faulkner popped up at UK music festivals as far away as London and Peterborough.

Scott Faulkner continued to work with now defunct Burnside Event First Aid (Image: Burnside Event First Aid) 

The then suspected rapist also appeared at events back home, including the Ayrshire Hospice Go Purple Event.

Another chilling image shows Faulkner smiling behind a mask as he raises his hands up in the air in celebration.

This week the Ayrshire Hospice have stressed they were unaware of charges Faulkner was facing and that he broke their trust by appearing at their event.

Burnside Event First Aid boss at the time, Jonathan Peffers, has claimed he wasn’t aware of Faulkner’s attendance at such events until this newspaper alerted him to Faulkner’s appearances.

 Scott Faulkner was sentenced at Glasgow High Court last month 

Following his arrest Faulkner was removed as director of Burnside Event First Aid with Jonathan Peffers appointment in March 2021, as listed on Companies House.

Mr Peffers who now owns his own first aid firm Skylark Event Medical Services claims he was “out of the country” when Faulkner ghosted in to work three events, including the Go Purple Walk.

A spokesperson for Skylark Events Medical Services: “Both Jonathan Peffers and Skylark Event Medical Services Ltd deplore the behaviour and actions of Scott Faulkner that were the subject of his conviction.

“Mr Peffers was not aware of Scott Faulkner’s behaviour and actions. After he was charged and released on bail, Scott Faulkner strenuously denied to Mr Peffers that he had committed the acts of which he was ultimately convicted.

“Following Scott Faulkner’s release on bail, Mr Peffers did not give authority for Mr Faulkner to attend any events. Mr Peffers was unaware until yesterday, (6 June 2023), that Mr Faulkner had attended an event at Ayrshire Hospice in September 2021.

“Mr Peffers was unaware until today (June 7, 2023) that Mr Faulkner had attended events in Peterborough and London in July 2021.

“Mr Peffers did not authorise Scott Faulkner’s attendance at these events, all of which occurred when Mr Peffers was out of the country. Neither Mr Peffers or Skylark Event Medical Services Ltd have a continuing relationship with Scott Faulkner.

“Skylark Event Medical Services Ltd prides itself on providing excellent medical and rescue support services for its customers’ events and the priority now is to continue working with those customers to ensure all their future events are adequately supported.”

Faulkner was put on the sex offenders list indefinitely

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Police have paid tribute to the "brave" victims of a notorious sex offender who subjected them to "completely abhorrent" abuse.

John Murden, 66, "preyed on the vulnerabilities" of two children to satisfy his own sexual deviancies, officers said.

Murden, of Hedon Road, Hull, was already serving a 14-year sentence received in 2016, after he pleaded guilty to sexual offences against another two children. On that occasion, a Hull judge described him as a depraved man who "sought to sexually corrupt" young girls.

Now, Murden has been jailed for a further 12 years after pleading guilty to two counts of rape of a child, two counts of indecency with a child and eleven counts of sexual offences against a child. Doncaster Crown Court heard he would also have to spend eight years on licence when released from prison.

Detective Inspector Adamson, of Humberside Police's Protecting Vulnerable People unit said: “Murden took advantage and preyed on two children’s vulnerabilities to satisfy his own sexual deviancies, without them realising at the time that what he was subjecting them to was completely abhorrent.

“I know how difficult it can be to take that first step to come forward, and I would like to commend those affected, and their families, for their bravery. Whilst the outcome at court doesn’t take away the pain they have suffered, I hope that a sense of justice is being felt to know Murden has been locked up for the rest of his life.

“We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and want to reassure anyone who may have experienced anything like this – at any point in their lives – that when you’re ready to come forward and talk, you will be listened to and supported.”

Murden's latest sentence will be served concurrently with his jail term imposed in 2016. Seven years ago, he pleaded guilty to four indecent assaults, two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, sexual activity with a child, and three other sex offences against a child. His offending dated back several decades.

One victim had been left so traumatised that she attempted suicide, Hull Crown Court heard in March 2016. When Murden was arrested and interviewed by police, he told officers: “Alcohol makes you do daft things doesn’t it, when you’re drunk.”

Sentencing him on that occasion, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC (now KC) told him: “John Murden, you are a depraved man and your culpability for the crimes you have committed is very high. You sought to sexually corrupt each of these women when they were young girls.”

Humberside Police say anyone who has been the victim of rape, sexual assault, or any sexual offence, or who knows someone who has, can report offences directly through the non-emergency number 101, or by calling 999 if in immediate danger.

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A vile Peterhead man has been found guilty of repeatedly raping his unconscious wife while she was on strong medication to help her sleep.

John Lindsay raped the mother of his children on various occasions at their Portlethen home while she was in a deep sleep and would not wake up.

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Gary Lewis was found guilty of 7 counts of child sexual abuse following an 5-day re-trial at Chester Crown Court.

The 57-year-old returned to Chester Crown Court on Friday 16 June 2023 where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

In addition to his prison sentence, he has also been added to the Sex Offender Register for life.

During the trial the court heard how Lewis began abusing his victim when she was just three years old.

He held a position of trust and was supposed to be caring for her, instead he used his position to fulfil his own sexual gratification.

Over the next four years he subjected her to repeated sexual offences, including indecent exposure and rape. He would force her to watch pornography and encouraged other people to sexually abuse her.

The girl attempted to seek help at the time of the abuse, but Lewis denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the victim was lying.

The abuse finally came to an end in 2003 when all contact between the pair was stopped.

In April 2019 the victim contacted Cheshire Police to report the offences and Lewis was subsequently charged with multiple offences.

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A Sidmouth man who ran a paedophile internet chat group has been jailed after police were tipped off by the FBI in America.

Nicholas Craig, aged 37, of All Saints Road, used four online aliases to hide his identity and posed as a 15-year-old boy from Slovakia when he acted as administrator of a Kik chat group called teenpixunder18.

The group was infiltrated by an FBI agent who discovered that it was being used as a front to exchange child abuse images and movies and for adults to share child sex fantasies. Police arrested Craig in February last year as a result of information from the FBI about the Kik chatroom.

Craig was found with the middle section of an anatomically accurate child sex doll when police searched his home. They found more than 1,000 images and movies on his computer, phone and a memory stick.

Officers also discovered that he had been using Twitter, Telegram or Instagram to contact children as young as 10 and engaging them in sexual chat.

Craig admitted three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, one of distributing and 15 of making or possessing indecent images of children.

He was jailed for three years by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court. He was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention order which will restrict his access to children and the internet for 10 years, and put on the sex offenders’ register for the same period of time.

The judge told him: ”It is quite clear that you have a sexual interest in children and was acting on it. Still to this day, you underestimate and minimise the harm caused by your offences.

“The most significant aggravating feature is your role as administrator of a group which was sharing indecent images of children.”

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Craig got involved in the chat groups while living on his own and isolated from normal human contact during the Covid lockdowns.

He said: “He entered the rabbit hole of the online indecent images community and has to accept that he travelled a fair way down that rabbit hole.”

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A 35 year-old man from Southsea has been sent to prison for 28 months after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child in Havant.

We received a report on Sunday 11 July 2021 that a 14 year-old girl was indecently touched by an adult at an address in Havant. Following an investigation involving specialist officers supporting the victim, Daniel Plumstead of Fawcett Road in Southsea was arrested and charged with sexual activity with a child.

On Thursday 15th of June 2023, Plumstead was found guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court and was sentenced at the same court on the same day. In addition to the 28 month custodial sentence Plumstead was sentenced to an additional month in prison for a bail act offence to be served consecutively. Plumstead will have to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for the same period.

DC Paul Osborne who investigated the case said: “This result sends a clear message that we investigate these kinds of reports thoroughly. I’m pleased that we’ve secured justice for the victim, who can move forward with her life safe in the knowledge that Plumstead is in prison.

“We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously, and we have specially trained teams that can investigate these kinds of offences and provide support to victims. If you have experienced these kinds of offences we can make a commitment to you that you will be heard and listened to, and your report will be believed. We are determined to put victims first and relentlessly pursue offenders, especially when investigating these kinds of cases”

“I would like to commend the victim for her bravery in reporting this matter to the police and for providing evidence”.

If you have been affected by child sexual abuse you can contact police on 101 and speak to a police officer in confidence.

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A 34-year-old Dolgellau man has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for rape.

Thomas John Cato, of Bristol House, Smithfield Street, Dolgellau, was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday, 14 June, after being convicted of a rape that occurred in Dolgellau on 9 November, 2022.

He received an 11-year custodial sentence, with an extended period of six years on license following his release.

Cato was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), must register as a sex offender for life, and was handed an indefinite restraining order against the victim.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Bethany Clarke said: “Cato is a dangerous individual with a history of violent behaviour.

“The length of his sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence and the impact it has had on not just the victim, but on the local community.

“My thoughts are with the victim who has shown remarkable bravery throughout the investigation, and I hope that she can find closure and comfort in knowing that justice has been served today.”

Detective Inspector Chris Hargrave of the North Wales Amethyst Team said: “We continue to be committed to bringing perpetrator of sexual crimes to justice and I would encourage anyone who wishes to report a sexual crime to come forward and speak to us.

“The Amethyst team is made up of specially trained officers to support victims through the investigation. We work closely with the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to provide confidential medical, practical and emotional support from specialist doctors, nurses and support workers.”